Conventional Fixtures - Express Compatibility

[Grog12]

If I write a show with an Express 24/48 I won't have to do anything special to load the file onto a Express 125 right?

Am I crazy?

I'd have problems going the other way because of the whole channel limitation thing...but this direction....no problem?

[Clifford]

Express all use .shw. As long as you aren't going from, as you said, one console to another where there are channel limitations, I can't foresee any problems.

[Grog12]

That's what I thought Cliff...I'm just having moments of self doubt today.

[Clifford]

No problem. I always think it's better safe than sorry.

[zac850]

I've done it multiple times, no issues. And since your going from a smaller capacity console to a larger capacity console, you don't need to worry about channel counts not lining up (if you go from a 125 to a 24/48, the 24/48 will ignore all data above channel 96).

[Clifford]

Interesting, it'll just ignore the channels over its limits? It doesn't just not opent the show?

[NABster07]

One thing just to watch out for is the name of the file. For an express, it will only find the file if its named EXP2.shw. I ran into this problem when writing shows on the offline editor, and naming them with the name of the show and having it not be able to find the show on the board. But other then that you should be fine.

[zac850]

Interesting, it'll just ignore the channels over its limits? It doesn't just not opent the show?

It opened the show fine, everything was just as i wanted it, for the first 96 channels. It had no knowledge or care about channels 97-125.

I should add, this was after a show where I brought an Express 125 in since I needed the added channel count (moving lights eat up channels quickly). As I was leaving I put my show file on the theaters 24/48 so they would have a patch to start from.

[Clifford]

One thing just to watch out for is the name of the file. For an express, it will only find the file if its named EXP2.shw. I ran into this problem when writing shows on the offline editor, and naming them with the name of the show and having it not be able to find the show on the board. But other then that you should be fine.

Is that in the manual or something? Or is it just some idiosyncrasy of Expression? I thought you were supposed to just be able to name them anything and as long as it was in .shw it would work. DId you use this Zac?

[SteveB]

[QUOTE=Clifford;92554]Is that in the manual or something? Or is it just some idiosyncrasy of Expression? I thought you were supposed to just be able to name them anything and as long as it was in .shw it would work. DId you use this Zac?[/QUOTE

There's a ton of info. out there that never made the manual. Some stuff is documented by folks on the Tips and Tricks section of the ETC users forum, but to be honest, there's not a lot as most folks simply don't have the time to post.

I have found that Express/ion Off-Line does not like file names with a lot of text, such as "Whitman Spring Dance Recitals 2008". I have crashed the off-line editor at various times and finally learned to truncate the file name "WWSprngDnc".shw", or "Brooklyn.shw" for a show disk requested by the company.

I'm guessing that as the Expression line is out of manufacture (I believe) with Express to follow, and who knows what's going on with Emphasis, that there is not going to be a new updated manual coming out for these consoles.

Steve B.

[zac850]

In the example I gave, I never needed to use the offline editor, I just dropped it from one console to the other.

I know I have opened files in the offline editor with names like 'WSS' or 'RCDS Rep Plot' and the offline editor didn't care about the name. I navigated to the .shw file on my computer, and it opened.

I am trying to remember if I ever saved a show file with a different name to a floppy and put it onto the console. I don't believe so, since I would write the file to the disk via the offline editor, just to be sure it would work. No idea how the offline editor dealt with the file name. When I get some time I'll look into this and try it out.

[derekleffew]

It's been a long time, and I may be confusing ETCedit, EOL, and HogIIPC, but in one or all, the show MUST be saved onto floppy from within the offline editor. Copying the show from hard drive to floppy, the console will not accept; but the other direction is fine.

[SteveB]

It's been a long time, and I may be confusing ETCedit, EOL, and HogIIPC, but in one or all, the show MUST be saved onto floppy from within the offline editor. Copying the show from hard drive to floppy, the console will not accept; but the other direction is fine.

This is correct for Express/ion Off-Line. You have to use the OLE Export command to save the show on a floppy. You cannot copy a .shw file from the PC's HD to a floppy.

SB