Properties
The Properties window is the shared parameters panel: it shows everything that can be configured for whatever object is currently selected. Select a fixture — you see its address and universe; select a converter — its network settings; select an effect — its parameters; open a composition — its duration. Light Stream does not have a separate settings window for each type of object: they are all gathered in one place, and the window's contents change to follow the selection.
Don't confuse the Properties window with the program's settings: the menu item Settings → Properties (Ctrl+P) opens Light Stream's general settings, described in the article Settings.
Where the Window Is Located
In the default workspace, the Properties window is located on the left side of the screen, below the Compositions and Fixtures windows. The border between them can be dragged with the mouse: if there are too many parameters to fit, increase the window's height or scroll the list.
The window cannot be closed, but it can be hidden and brought back — menu Window → Properties. Like any other window in the program, Properties can be dragged by its title bar to another location, combined into tabs with a neighboring window, or undocked as a separate floating window. The layout is saved in the workspace, see Workspace.
While nothing is selected, the window is empty — this is normal and not a sign of an error.
What Appears in the Window
| What Is Selected | Where It Is Selected | What the Properties Window Shows |
|---|---|---|
| A single fixture or spline | Mapping window or the fixture list in the Fixtures window | Name, visibility, addressing, fixture type; for a spline — also the distribution of fixtures along it |
| Converter | Fixtures window | Network settings and universe settings |
| Converter port | Fixtures window | Port name |
| Light Stream Player | Fixtures window | Network address, login credentials, and the settings exchange button |
| Effect | Timeline or Mapping window | Blend mode, opacity, and all effect parameters |
| Composition | Double-click on a composition in the Compositions window | Name, duration, loop mode, comment, and color filtering |
| Layout | Mapping or Timeline window | Layout position and size |
| 3D object, camera, projection | 3D View or 3D Objects window | Dimensions, position, rotation, and the object's own settings |
Selection in the program is unified: selecting a fixture in the Fixtures window also selects it in the Mapping window, and vice versa — in both cases, the same fixture ends up in the Properties window.
General Rules
- The value is applied immediately; the window has no OK or Apply buttons.
- Numeric values are entered from the keyboard or changed with the arrows to the right of the field.
- Properties are divided into sections — General, Universe Settings, Authorization, Color Filtering. The set of sections depends on what is selected.
- If several objects are selected, the window shows the properties of one of them, but a change is applied to all selected objects at once. The exception is Name: only the object whose properties are open receives it.
- The set of properties also depends on the object's own settings. For example, a converter with the sACN protocol shows Multicast instead of Broadcast, and a spline with Fixed Pixels distribution no longer uses the Fixture Count field.
Fixture Properties
A single fixture is one pixel or one luminaire on the mapping. It shows the General section.
| Parameter | What It Sets |
|---|---|
| Name | The fixture's name. The fixture is shown under this name in the Fixtures window and in the port's fixture list |
| Visibility | The fixture stops being displayed in the Mapping and 3D View windows, and its channels are zeroed out — nothing is sent to the real luminaire. The fixture is not removed from the port and keeps its addresses |
| Address | The fixture's starting DMX address within the universe |
| Universe | The number of the universe the fixture is in |
| Fixture Type | A button showing the current type's name. Clicking it opens the fixture library, where you can choose another type — for example, assign RGBW instead of RGB |
| Go to 3D Fixture | A button that jumps to the linked fixture in 3D. It only works if a 3D link exists; if there are several linked fixtures, the program offers a list to choose from |
The address and universe usually don't need to be set manually: with automatic patching enabled, the program recalculates them itself as soon as fixtures are moved into ports. Manual editing is needed when addressing must match already-installed equipment.
Spline Properties
A spline — a line carrying many fixtures at once — has the same General section, but with more parameters. Name, Visibility, Address, Universe, Fixture Type, and Go to 3D Fixture work the same way as for a single fixture: the address and universe refer to the spline's first fixture, and the rest are counted from it. Additionally available:
| Parameter | What It Sets |
|---|---|
| Smooth | The spline becomes a smooth curve instead of a polyline. Fixtures rearrange to the new shape immediately |
| Snap to Pixels | The spline's fixtures snap exactly to the mapping's pixel grid. If turned off, they are placed freely along the line, without snapping to cells |
| Distribution Type | Even — a set number of fixtures is distributed evenly along the whole length of the spline. Fixed Pixels — fixtures are placed by grid cells, and their count is determined by the spline's length |
| Fixture Count | How many fixtures are on the spline. Only applies with Even distribution; with Fixed Pixels the count is calculated from the line's length, and the field has no effect |
| Address Offset | An extra gap in channels between neighboring fixtures on the spline. At 0, fixtures follow one another channel to channel. Useful when the equipment expects fixtures spaced further apart than their channel count |
| Reverse | Flips the addressing direction: the first fixture becomes the last. This fixes a line that turned out to be connected "from the other end" and plays the animation backwards |
All of these parameters, except the name, apply to all selected splines at once. This is the fastest way to change the fixture count or fixture type for a whole group of lines: box-select them on the mapping and set the value once.
Converter Properties
A converter is selected in the Fixtures window. Its properties are the settings for how Light Stream sends data to the device; configuring the physical device itself is done separately, see Light Stream Converter Setup.
Section General:
| Parameter | What It Sets |
|---|---|
| Name | The converter's name in the project. Names must be unique: identical names interfere with exporting settings to the Player |
| Visibility | A disabled converter receives no data — all its ports output zeros. The fixtures remain in their places and keep their addresses |
| Protocol | Art-Net or sACN |
| Controller Type | DMX or SPI. This determines how fixture addresses are counted in the ports |
| Broadcast | Data is sent as a broadcast, to all devices on the network at once. Shown with the Art-Net protocol |
| Multicast | Group transmission. Shown with the sACN protocol |
| IP Address | The address of the device data is sent to. Set when broadcast is turned off |
| Port | The network port used for sending. Should only be changed in special cases |
| Use Custom Network Interface | Allows sending data through a network adapter chosen for this converter instead of the project's shared one |
| Network Adapter | Selects the network adapter for this converter. Available when the custom network interface is enabled |
Section Universe Settings:
| Parameter | What It Sets |
|---|---|
| Starting Universe | The universe number of the first port. The universes of the remaining ports are counted from it in order |
| Port Count | How many ports the converter has in the project. Cannot be set higher than the real model has |
| Universes per Port | How many universes one port occupies. Affects how many fixtures fit into a port |
| Send Empty Ports | Data is also sent on ports that have no fixtures at all |
Two settings should be changed carefully:
- Starting Universe shifts the universes of all the converter's fixtures by the same amount. This is convenient when you need to move an entire device within the overall addressing scheme, but after the shift the fixtures will be in different universes.
- Decreasing Port Count removes the extra ports along with their patching: fixtures from the removed ports return to the general list unpatched. The fixtures themselves and their position on the mapping are not lost.
Port Properties
For a port, only Name is configured in the Properties window. A clear name like "Facade, left side" helps avoid mixing up ports during patching and installation.
Everything else comes to the port "from above" and is configured elsewhere:
- the port's universe number is counted from the converter's Starting Universe and the Universes per Port setting;
- the port's visibility is toggled with the checkbox next to the port itself in the Fixtures window — a hidden port outputs zeros;
- the set of fixtures is defined by dragging fixtures into the port, see Patching Fixtures.
Light Stream Player Properties
Light Stream Player is always present in the project; its properties open when you click it in the Fixtures window.
| Section | Parameter | What It Sets |
|---|---|---|
| General | Name | The device's name in the project |
| General | IP Address | The player's network address. Default is 192.168.0.205 |
| Authorization | Username and Password | Login credentials for the player. There is a button next to the password that hides and shows the entered characters |
| Authorization | Import / Export Settings | The button opens the settings exchange window: universes and devices are sent from the project to the player, and settings from an already configured player can be pulled back |
| Internal Converter | Use Internal Converter | Enables the player's own built-in universes. While this parameter is off, the built-in universes don't take up license capacity and aren't checked for number conflicts with other converters |
The full list of player parameters and the setup procedure are described in the article Light Stream Player Settings.
Effect Properties
Select an effect on the Timeline or on the mapping — the Properties window is given over to it entirely. At the top is the effect's general header:
- Effect name — on the left, in bold.
- Blend mode — a drop-down list: how the effect is layered onto what's underneath it. Right-clicking the list resets it to Normal. Details are in the article Blend Modes.
- Gear icon — opens the effect settings window: size, mirroring, rotation, scale, and offset, including time offset. See Настройки эффектов.
- Opacity — a slider for the effect's overall transparency.
Below are the effect's own parameters — different for each one: speed, color, element count, direction, and so on. Next to the parameters are a stopwatch icon (enables keyframes) and an L button (functions and external control via OSC, MIDI, DMX). How to use these is described in the article Keyframes and Effect Parameters.
If an effect has many parameters and the window is narrow, resize it: all elements scale proportionally to the window's size.
Composition Properties
A composition appears in the Properties window by itself as soon as you open it with a double-click in the Compositions window. Two sections are shown:
- General — Name, Duration (a button with a value in hours:minutes:seconds:frames format), Infinite, Loop, and Comments.
- Color Filtering — four sliders, Red, Green, Blue, and White, that dim the corresponding fixture channels.
All of these are covered in detail in the article Composition Settings.
If the Properties window is currently showing effect or fixture parameters, you can bring back the composition settings by double-clicking the composition in its window again.
If Something Goes Wrong
The window is empty. Nothing is selected, or the selection was cleared by clicking an empty area. Click the object you need again.
The window shows the wrong properties. The window shows the last selection, which is shared across the whole program: clicking an effect on the timeline replaces the fixture's properties in the window, and opening a composition replaces the effect's properties. Reselect the object you need.
A change applied to the wrong fixture. If several fixtures are selected, all of them receive the value. Clear the extra selection by clicking an empty area and select only the fixture you need.
The fixture doesn't light up on the object, even though the animation is running in the program. Check Visibility along the chain: for the fixture itself, for the port (the checkbox in the Fixtures window), and for the converter. Any one of them turned off zeroes out the output data.
Not all parameters fit. Drag the border between the Properties window and the neighboring window, or undock Properties as a separate floating window — this leaves more room for effect parameters.