The entire main window is built around five modes — these are the “rooms” of the program, and you switch between them constantly. Let’s figure out what is where.
Top to bottom:
| Area | What’s there |
|---|---|
| Menu bar | File · Edit · View · Fixtures · Settings · Help (14.01) |
| Header | Left to right: logo + license status, Undo/Redo, CLEAR · master dimmer, mode switch · Highlight/Blind, DMX, SOUND, BPM, BLACKOUT |
| Workspace | The contents of the selected mode |
Five modes (the switch in the center of the header, or Alt+1…5):
| Mode | What for | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Prog | The “studio”: set up the light, build scenes and chases | Chapter 03 |
| Live | The “concert”: run the show live — banks, faders, crossfader | Chapter 07 |
| Patch | The “registry office”: fixtures, their DMX addresses and profiles | Chapter 02 |
| Cons | All 512 channels on faders — diagnostics | Chapter 11 |
| AI | Chat with the AI assistant: generating scenes and chases from a description | Chapter 09 |
Groups and card order
In PROG and LIVE, the scene, chase, preset and playlist lists are organized in the same way. The “Groups” button is to the left of search and opens the groups panel. “All” shows the entire library, while “Ungrouped” shows items that do not belong to any group yet.
- You can create, rename and delete groups. Deleting a group does not delete its scenes, chases, presets or playlists.
- One item can belong to several groups at the same time.
- To add an item to a group, drag its card onto that group. To change the order, drag cards between other cards.
- If the groups panel is hidden, right-click the card → “Add to group”: a separate group-selection window opens.
- The cross on a card inside the selected group removes the item only from that group; it does not delete it from the library.
- Each group has its own card order. It is shared between PROG and LIVE: rearranging cards in one mode immediately affects the other.
- Groups, membership and order are saved with the project in the .smp file and in the automatic backup.
- Ctrl+Z undoes creating, renaming or deleting groups, membership changes and card rearrangement, but it does not undo the light itself.
Permanent controls in the header (left to right):
- License status — a badge right after the “SvetoMaster” name (15.01).
- Undo / Redo — the edit-history arrows (Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y).
- CLEAR (key C) — clears unsaved programmer edits.
- Master dimmer — the overall brightness slider for all the light (also in Live as the Grand Master).
- Highlight / Blind — highlighting the selected fixtures (03.02) and the blind mode.
- DMX — connecting the adapter (13.01); the connection status is always in view.
- SOUND — turn on the program’s “hearing”: the light reacts to music (10.01).
- BPM field — the current tempo; you can type it in manually or tap it out with TAP (10.01).
- BLACKOUT — instantly kill all the light / bring it back (the Space key, 07.03).
💡 Tip: almost every interface block has a “?” icon — hover over it for an on-the-spot explanation, without opening the manual (14.03).
💡 Tip: the typical workflow is Patch → Prog → Live: first you tell the program about the fixtures, then you build scenes, then you play the show. If something “isn’t lighting up” — work back through the chain: Live → is something extra running; Prog → are the values right; Patch → are the addresses right; DMX → is there a connection.
