Introduction
 
Setup
 
Groups &
Commands
 
Use with LanBox-LCX, LCM, LCE,  and LC+
 
Use with LanBox-LCII

Light editing with the LanBox DMX controller is mostly done by using our LCedit+ lighting editor. LCedit+ is running on Macintosh or Windows platform, but there is an other alternative, using the serial port or (WIFI) TCP/IP connection of a LanBox: LCedit for PalmOS (3.1 - 5.x), which also runs on many WinCE devices, using Styletap.

Although LCedit for PalmOS is simple, it can be used to edit almost all settings in any LanBox, running either LCII or LC+ firmware (LCX, LCM, LCE = LC+).

Features with LC+:
Edit, Go, Next, Prev, Pause, Run, Append, Replace, Insert, Delete, Clear and Action buttons. It also has a DMX page in order to set light channels to DMX addresses, and to read/set light channels for testing purposes. New is 15 pages of 10 buttons, free programmable macro screens for easy recalling of cues/shows and settings. The Macros can also instantly be recalled with a numerical pad. We also added navigation button support to change (DMX) values even easier.

Features with LCII:
Edit, Go, Next, Prev, Run, Replace, Delete and Action buttons.

Common features:
User definable presets (macros) made from a "LanBoxCmd" message pad.
User channel/groups list made from a "LanBoxGrp" message pad.
User IP device list made from a "LanBoxPref" message pad.
User navigation buttons list made from a "LanBoxPref" message pad.

Note: The Cmds list is a bit technical, but ANY command can be made!
 

Setup
To start using LCedit for Palm, your PalmOS device (v3.1 or higher) needs either a network (WIFI, Ethernet) connection to a LanBox-LCX, -LCE, or a serial connection to the LanBox-LC or LCM. For the LC there are two possibilities to achieve it.
1. Use a Macintosh 8p mini DIN hotsync serial cable for your palm device.
2. Use a 9p male modem cable, and our LanBox <-> PC cable.
For the LanBox-LCM you only need a 9p male modem cable.

LCedit for Palm has the same possibilities as LCeditII and LCedit+, with the following exceptions:
1. There are no stage, fixture and tools windows, only the bare group/channel list to select from (but you can make the group list easy in a memo pad).
2. There is limited feedback of data to the Palm device.
3. There are no patching tools for LCII.
4. By creating cmds memo pads, you can create very easy "script" commands in order to go to a named cue (scene), to set certain channels to a preset value etc. The command list is just a named list of LanBox commands as they are described in our manuals.

When the connection is made and you start LCedit for PalmOS, it detects automatically LanBox type and firmware version. Also during start, the message pads database is scanned for three specific message pads, ones that start with "LanBoxCmds for LCn", "LanBoxGrps" and "LanBoxPref". The cmds file(s) are loaded in the macro lists, while the grps messages are loaded into the group list. The pref messages contain preferred tcp/ip addresses.

Note: The tcp/ip connection can only be used if your handheld has a WIFI (wireless), Ethernet or modem connection with your Ethernet network or internet. The default address of a LCX or LCE is 192.168.1.77, port 777, password 777.
 

Creating groups & commands memos

Before you can use LCedit, you need to create at least one memo pad for your lighting fixtures and groups. We included a text file "LCedit presets", which contain examples for a group memo, a LC+, a LCII, a LCM, LCE, and LCX commands memo. Note that the MemoDB.pdb file can be installed directly into your Palm device.

The first line of a group memo should start with the exact word (without quotes) "LanBoxGrps". Every group starts with a name, followed by light channel number(s) to use, separated by commas. A group is ended with a return.
 

A command memo pad is used in order to quickly send common used commands, like preset certain channels, Go to certain cues, etc. The first line of a command memo should start with the exact wording (without quotes) "LanBoxCmds for LCn", where the n can be a +, 2, M, E or X. So, "LanBoxCmds for LCM" is only for the LanBox-LCM. The commands are the same as described in the LanBox manuals for using serial communication. As the commands are different for LCII and LC+, they are described in the appropriate section.

It is allowed to have multiple group and/or cmd memos, but they will be merged by LCedit into one group list and one command list. If you want to prevent e.g. a mix of LC+ and LCII commands, just put a dummy character (like a *) in front of the unwanted list, and it will be skipped by LCedit

The pref memo
The preference memo looks like this:
LanBoxPref for LCedit v1.4

1234:demo.lanbox.com, demo.midilite.com,192.168.1.77, 192.168.1.76
11,12,28,29,54

The second line after LanBoxPref contain the TCP name(s) or IPs for the choose pop-up, the first name is used when starting LCedit+ as default device to connect to. Only the first name (or IP) of may be prepended by the password ending with colon. Note that password 777 does not need to be supplied, as it's the default password if the pasword field is empty.

The third line defines what key value should respond to Up, Down, Left, Right, and Center keys. You can see your key values when in the Interface screen; the key values are displayed in the Msg field.

In the Control screen, Up/Dwn is defined for the Set DMX value, Left/Right is defined as Next/Prev Step. In the DMX screen, Up/Dwn is again DMX Up/Dwn, but the Left/Right buttons are used for selection Dwn/Up.

Use LCedit for PalmOS with a LanBox-LCX, LCE, LCM or LC+

The Macros screen
After connecting successfully (or by clicking on the top right arrow buttons, or using the menu), you are entering into the Macros screen. LCedit loads from the current cmds memo, the first 10 commands into the 10 macro buttons of page 0. The macros are ordered in columns of 5, starting top left, and ending right bottom. As there can be 15 pages (0-14), you can navigate through them with the bottom arrow buttons.

When you click on the page number (within the dotted rectangle), you will see the Macro keypad, as show left. While clicking the wanted macro number, the button text is instant updated. This way you can execute any of the 150 Macros with a few clicks

As explained before, you can create near any command you like and use the Macro screen for easy, instant usage. The example file we included, contains commands like "Go next cue in layer A", set channel 1-4 to 100%, set manual fading of layer A to 10sec, or just simple "Go cue 50.1 in layer A". Macro buttons are extremely handy, for casual operators to select from some pre-defined lighting options.

The DMX screen
When entering the DMX page (by clicking on the top right arrow buttons, or using the menu), LCedit loads the current patch table from the LanBox and shows the first and last address. As this selection is used for patching as well as setting light channels to DMX values, it can be changed in several ways. If e.g. your selection is from 1 to 17 and you increment the from field, the through field is also incremented. The use of most buttons are obvious, but some needs explanation.

• When the "C" (Coarse) buttons is black, the "+" and "-" buttons adds +/- 16 instead of 1 to a value.
• The displayed DMX values are read from the DMX output, and are auto-updated every 3 sec. Clicking anywhere on the screen suspends auto-updating for 30 sec, or until the "Upd" button is clicked.
• Clicking on the "Set channels" text, sets the value entered in the following field to the selected range of light channels (using fixed layer A).
• The lower "Set" button patches your selected DMX channel(s) to the light channel number.
• "Incr" is near the same, but auto increments the typed light channel number .

Note: "The set channel to" commands also uses the selected channels, but the channels are light channels, -not- DMX channels.
 

The Control screen
When an Engine (A in this case) is running, your screen will look like the image right. The top left list are the commands (macros), while the lower left list is used for selecting your fixtures and groups. The use of most buttons are obvious, but some needs explanation.

• The "Ed" button toggles between Run and Edit mode. You can change cue steps only in edit mode.
• The displayed values are auto-updated every 3 sec. Clicking anywhere on the screen suspends auto-updating for 30 sec, or until the "Upd" button is clicked.
• If you select a channel or group from the list, you can set the DMX value by clicking the plus and minus buttons. When the "C" is active every click changes the DMX value by 16, otherwise by one.
  Note: If you want fading for manual control, make a macro like "Man A xf10s ,*4D0103# *4E012C# ", which sets the engine fader to cross fade of 10 Sec.
• Activating the "Actions" toggle, shows the current action instead of the groups list.
   

When an Engine (A in this case) is in edit mode, your screen will look like the image left. In edit mode the complete set of edit buttons is now shown.

• The Go field holds the target cue list and step, on which all edit commands will be applied.
• The creation of a new cue list will be asked, when you try to append to a non existing cue list (enter a plain cue list number, without step number, into the Go field before Appending).
• Deletion of a complete cue list will be asked, when you try to delete a plain cue list, without step number.
   
   

Editing of actions is possible (in a basic way), when an Engine is in edit mode, and the Actions toggle is active.
Note: You can also make some macros with your preferred action settings. See e.g. the "A xf30s/h30s" macro, which set the action to a cross fade and a hold time of 30 Sec.

• The group list is showing the up to 7 action parameters (in Hex and decoded), see also the LC+ reference manual from page 82 and further.
• A selected parameter can be changed with the plus/minus buttons.
• Note: The action parameters are written into to LanBox, but in order to make the action permanent, you still need to insert, add, or replace a cue step!
   
   

Use LCedit for PalmOS with a LanBox-LCII

When the LCII sequencer is running, your screen will look like the image right. The top left list are the commands (presets), while the lower left list is used for selecting your fixtures and groups. The use of most buttons are obvious, but some needs explanation.

• The "Ed" button toggles between Run and Edit mode. You can change scenes only in edit mode.
• Clicking the "Upd" button updates LCedit with fresh data from the LanBox-LC.
• If you select a channel or group from the list, you can set the DMX value by clicking the plus and minus buttons. When the "Slw" is active every click changes the DMX value by one, otherwise by 16.
  
• Activating the "Actions" toggle, shows the current action instead of the groups list.
   

When the LCII is in edit mode, your screen will look like the image left. In edit mode the edit buttons are shown.

• The Go field holds the target scene, on which all edit commands will be applied.
• An empty scene can be activated by the replace button, but must be selected by Go afterwards.
• Deleting a scene is actually only deactivating of a scene.
   
   

Editing of actions is possible (in a basic way), when the LCII is in edit mode, and the Actions toggle is active.
Note: You can also make some macros with your preferred action settings. See the "0010" command in the serial section of the LCII manual.

• The group list is showing the up to 6 action parameters (in Hex and decoded), starting from the Hold time.
• A selected parameter can be changed with the plus/minus buttons.
• Note: The action parameters are written into to LanBox, but in order to make the action permanent, you still need to replace a cue step!