Lesson 9. Import and the constructor

This lesson is for two situations. The first: you are moving over from another program (QLC+, FreeStyler, grandMA2/MA3) and do not want to set everything up again. The second: your fixture is not in the library, but a profile file exists somewhere — or it will have to be built from scratch. We will go through every route: importing files, moving a whole project over, the constructor and sharing profiles with other users.

First let’s recall a word from the first lesson: a profile is the “passport” of a fixture model, describing which channel does what. Everything in this lesson revolves around profiles.

Step 1. Importing a profile from a file

Many programs have their own profile file formats. SvetoMaster currently reads five:

Format Where from
.svf A SvetoMaster profile (sent by another user, for example)
.fxt / .pff Profiles from FreeStyler
.qxf Profiles from QLC+
.xml Profiles from grandMA2 (including ones converted from GDTF)
.gdtf The industry format GDTF — used by grandMA3, Onyx, Capture, Depence and others
📍 Where: Patch → “Add fixture” → the “Import from a file” section → choose the format and point to the file.

The fixture appears in the patch and its channel editor opens straight away, so you can check with your own eyes that everything is in place.

💡 Tip: if the fixture has a .gdtf file, take that one. It is the only format that carries measurements rather than guesses: the purpose of every channel is written as a machine code, and the colour of every piece of glass in the colour wheel comes as real coordinates instead of being guessed from a name like “Congo Blue”. A .gdtf usually holds several modes — the program will ask which one to take, as it does with QLC+. Fixture files live in the shared GDTF Share database. With grandMA2 profiles it is the other way round: one file is one mode, so there is nothing to choose.
Fig. 1 — The “Add fixture” menu: the “Import from a file” section
Fig. 1 — The “Add fixture” menu: the “Import from a file” section
💡 Tip: a single QLC+ profile file often holds several modes (the same fixture may run as a 6-channel or as an 11-channel one). The program will ask which mode to take — choose the one your fixture is actually running in (you can see it in the fixture’s own menu).
⚠️ Careful: if something did not come across completely on import (an exotic channel, say), the program says so honestly with a “check the profile in Patch” hint. That is not an error — just look into the channel editor and compare it with the fixture’s manual.

Step 2. Moving a whole project over from QLC+

If you have been working in QLC+, there is no need to recreate the show from nothing: SvetoMaster can import the whole project — a .qxw file. Fixtures, scenes and chases come across.

📍 Where: the File → Import QLC+ project (.qxw) menu.

How it goes:

  1. You choose the .qxw file.
  2. The program shows a report window: how many fixtures it recognised exactly, how many it matched approximately, how many scenes and chases it will bring over. No surprises in the dark.
  3. You confirm — and the project is replaced by the imported one.
⚠️ Careful: the import replaces the whole current project. If there is unsaved work in it, press Ctrl+S first (lesson 8). And know your safety net: “File → Restore from auto-backup” brings the previous project back if you change your mind.
💡 Tip: the feature is in beta. Simple things (the patch, scenes, chases) come across well; complex QLC+ automation (EFX generators, matrices, the virtual console) does not, and the report tells you what was skipped. The plan is this: bring the foundation over → add the beauty in SvetoMaster.

Importing a FreeStyler project works the same way. But not every feature can be brought over, and you will get a notice about it. That comes from the way a FreeStyler project is built.

Step 3. The constructor — building a non-standard fixture

First, why this is needed at all. With a simple PAR everything is out in the open: the dimmer channel, the red, green and blue channels — from a list like that it is immediately clear how it shines. With a complex fixture, though, bare DMX no longer tells you what it looks like in action: which of the “spider’s” beams is which, where each segment of the matrix points, what pattern hides behind a number on the gobo wheel. The program only sees “channel 7 equals 128” — it does not know that this means “the third beam has turned” or “the gobo is a star”. An extended profile makes up for the shortcomings of the DMX512 specification and adds what is missing: the geometry of the fixture (its shape, the arrangement of the beams) and the names of the gobo and colour wheel slots. Then the visualizer draws the fixture close to reality and the AI assistant understands what it is driving. Without one, a complex fixture runs in “compatibility mode” — it shines, but only basically.

Without an extended profile the visualizer cannot depict the output of a complex fixture correctly, simply because it does not know its particulars! That is, it will either ignore those particulars or show them differently from how they really are.

And now suppose that fixture is neither in the library nor in any file, and what you have is a rare “spider”, an LED matrix, a multi-beam head. For cases like that there is the constructor — a step-by-step wizard that builds a profile from scratch.

📍 Where: “Add fixture” → “Extended profile”.

How the build goes:

  1. What kind of fixture is it? You answer a couple of questions: does the head turn, how are the beams arranged (one, a line, a matrix, a fan) — and the program works out the “shape” of the fixture itself.
  2. Channels. The nicest step: open the fixture’s manual at the page with the channel table and simply retype it as a list, one line per channel:
1: Pan
2: Tilt
3: Dimmer
4: Red
5: Green
6: Blue

The program parses the list by itself and works out which channel does what.

  1. Preview. On the right you see at once how the fixture will look in the visualizer. Looks about right — press “Save” and the fixture appears in the patch.
Fig. 3 — The constructor: the steps on the left, a live preview on the right
Fig. 3 — The constructor: the steps on the left, a live preview on the right
💡 Tip: the constructor is only needed for non-standard fixtures. An ordinary PAR or head is almost certainly in the library or will be recognised from a photo — there is no point in making life difficult for nothing.

Step 4. Sharing fixture profiles

Built a rare profile — do not keep it in a drawer: it can be shared with every user of the program.

Giving yours away:

📍 Patch → open the fixture in the editor → the “Share with others” button. The profile goes off for moderation and appears in the shared database once it has been checked.

Taking somebody else’s:

In the profile library the search results come from two sources: the built-in database (thousands of checked profiles, works without the internet) and “From the community” — profiles shared by other users. Community profiles show their status (“Approved”, “In voting”), the number of downloads and the 👍 ratings.

Fig. 4 — The fixture profile library, “From the community”
Fig. 4 — The fixture profile library
💡 Tip: once you have downloaded a community profile, the program offers you the chance to rate it (“Works” / “Has problems”). Do not skip it: your ratings help the next users pick a working profile. That is how the database gets better for everyone.
💡 Tip: your profile can also simply be saved to a file — the “Export (.svf)” button in the same editor. Handy for sending it to one particular person or keeping it for later.

Let’s sum up

Now neither a move nor a rare fixture is anything to fear:

  • importing files — .svf, FreeStyler (.fxt/.pff), QLC+ (.qxf, with a choice of mode), grandMA2 (.xml) and GDTF (.gdtf), the industry format shared with grandMA3;
  • moving a QLC+ project (.qxw) — fixtures, scenes and chases with a clear report (and the auto-backup as insurance);
  • the constructor — a non-standard fixture from its manual: questions → the channel list → a preview → done;
  • exchange with the community — share yours, download somebody else’s, rate it and help the rest.

What is next: in the following lesson — big venues: what to do when 512 channels are not enough, and how to send light over the network with Art-Net and sACN.