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> Working with Media > Communicating with Media Components > DMX > DMX Control Console

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DMX Control Console

Use the Control Console to control your fixtures using your library and patch selection.

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Workflow
Options

The Control Console simplifies DMX debugging and gives you quick control of a set of fixtures, which can be virtual or physical. It auto-generates and populates faders based on your library and patch selection. You can then use these faders to generate and send DMX data.

Workflow

To open the DMX Control Console, go to the Main Toolbar and click DMX > Control Console.

Library Selection

A Control Console can use a single DMX Library. In the DMX Control Console details panel, use the dropdown to browse to the DMX Library asset that contains the patch and fixture database to use in the console.

Library Layout Options

You can select one of two layout modes for a DMX Library:

Default: A layout that auto-generates Fader groups only for selected Fixture Patches. If you select more than one Patch, then multiple Fader Groups will be created and then organized using the global Layout options.
User: A user-defined layout where you manually create Fader groups for Fixture Patches in the right panel.

Patch Selection

The Fixture Patch list shows all the Patches in the current DMX Library. You can toggle each Fixture Patch to enable or disable sending DMX for the specific Patch.

Add Fixture Patches

In Default layout mode, patches are added to the console by selecting them (see Layout Options).

In User layout mode, you can add all the fixture patches from the DMX Library or add them manually one by one:

Click + Add All Patches to add all fixture Patches in the list to Fader groups.
Click + Add Patch > To the right to add your selected fixture Patches to the right side of the selected row.
Click + Add Patch > To next row to add your selected fixture Patches to a new row.
Click + Add Patch > To selection to add your selected fixture Patches to the selected Fader group, replacing the previous Patch.

When you add a fixture patch to the Console, a Fader is created for each of its functions and placed in a Fader group. You can inspect a Fader group's details, and edit them where applicable, in the Details View on the right side.

Send DMX Data to Unreal Engine

To start sending DMX data to Unreal Engine, click Send DMX in the Control Console toolbar. While DMX data is being sent, you can change Fader values and see the changes reflected in real time in Unreal Engine.

To stop sending DMX data, click Stop sending DMX.

Add Raw Faders

A Raw Fader is a DMX Fader that's not connected to a fixture patch. To create a Raw Fader:

In the Fader group area, click the Add New (+) button and then click Next or Next Row.
Click on the Add (+) button inside the fader group to create a Raw Fader.
Select the Raw Fader and edit the Fader properties in the Details panel to specify its precision (8-bit, 16-bit, or 24-bit) and other required parameters such as the Universe ID, Starting Address, Min Value, and Max Value.

Oscillators

Oscillators provide a way to animate selected sliders. By default, the Control Console provides a square wave and sine wave oscillator. Custom oscillators can be created in Blueprints.

Create Custom Oscillator Blueprints

In the Content Drawer, click Add + > Blueprint > Blueprint Class.
Under All Classes, search for and select DMXControlConsoleOscillator.
Click Select to confirm.
In the Content Drawer, go to the Blueprints folder and open your new blueprint.
Click Override Get Normalized Value.

Options

Control Options

The Control options specify if you want Patch sliders to work in absolute or relative mode:

Absolute: The values of all selected Faders are set to the same percentage.
Relative: The values of all selected Faders are increased or decreased by the same percentage. If the Faders start with different values, they keep this difference so long as you don't clamp them to either lower or upper bounds.

View Options

The View options adjust the shape and exposed properties of Fader Groups.

Collapse All or Expand All Fader Groups. In the following example, the left is collapsed and the right is expanded.
Set Faders view to Basic or Advanced mode. In Advanced mode, you can set min/max Fader values.

Layout Options

The Layout options change the way that Fader groups are displayed:

Horizontal: Sets all Fader groups to be on the same line.
Vertical: Sets all Fader groups vertically one on top of each other.
Grid: Sets all Fader groups in a grid pattern. In default layout mode, Patches of the same Universe appear on the same horizontal line.

Selection and Search Options

Selection options can select all Fader groups in the DMX Library or only filtered ones:

Select All: Select all Faders regardless of the active search filter.
Select Only Filtered: Select Faders that correspond to the search filter.
Dropdown Auto-Select: Automatically select Faders inside a Fader group when selecting a Patch or multiple Patches from the DMX Library.

Search accepts a range of inputs such as Fader group names, attribute names ("Red, Green, Blue, Dimmer"), fixture IDs ("1, 2, 4-5"), universes ("Uni 1, 2, 4-5"), or addresses ("1.512"). You can toggle Auto-Select to automatically select Faders that match the search filter.