Projection Settings

A projection is a virtual projector in the 3D scene: it shines the image of its effects onto the fixtures that fall within its beam. How to create a projector and aim it is described in Создание проекции; how to put an effect into it — in Добавление эффектов на проекцию. This article covers the parameters of an already created projection: what each one sets, what the default values are, and how it shows up on the fixtures.

Where to Find the Parameters

Open the 3D View window (Window menu → 3D View).
Select the projection — by clicking its lines in the scene, or by its row in the 3D Objects window. The second way is more reliable: the projector's thin lines are hard to catch with the mouse, and with Lock turned on they can't be selected at all.
The Properties window shows the parameters. They're organized into three sections: General, Projection, and Texture Size.

Some of the projector's settings don't live in Properties:

position, rotation and scale — the X, Y, Z fields on the toolbar of the 3D View window (see 3D Toolbar);
name — the 3D Object column in the 3D Objects window;
turning the whole projection on or off — the checkbox on its row in the Timeline window (see Создание проекции).

All Parameters at Once

Section	Parameter	Default	What It Sets
General	Width	1000	The width of the frame — the "spot" the projector casts onto the object
	Height	1000	The height of the frame
	Visibility	on	Whether to draw this projection's lines in the scene
	Lock	off	Prevents the projection from being selected with the mouse in the scene
Projection	To	2000	The far boundary of the beam's active zone
Projection	From	−1	The near boundary of the beam's active zone
Texture Size	Width	1024	The width, in pixels, of the image in which this projection's effects are rendered
Texture Size	Height	1024	The height of the same image, in pixels

The frame dimensions and zone boundaries are given in the same units as the scene objects' coordinates, and the texture size is given in pixels.

Width and Height: Frame Size

The projection's beam isn't a diverging cone but a straight box: the lines running out from the frame are parallel. Hence the main rule: only Width and Height set the size of the image on the object. Moving the projector closer to a facade or farther from it won't make the image smaller or larger — distance only matters within the From–To range.

How to set it up:

Select the projection — a semi-transparent image of what it's currently projecting appears within its frame. It shows both the frame boundaries and the image itself.
Adjust Width and Height until the frame fully covers the part of the object this projector is meant to light. Fixtures outside the frame get nothing from it.
Watch the proportions: it's best to keep the frame's Width-to-Height ratio the same as the Texture Size. A square texture on an elongated frame will stretch the image — a circle turns into an oval.

The frame also gets stretched by the Scale tool (R): the object's scale multiplies the given numbers, and the scale along the beam also multiplies From and To. Because of this, identical Width values on two projections can produce spots of different sizes. To avoid confusion, keep the projector's scale at 100% and change the frame size using the numbers in Properties instead.

From and To: Depth of the Active Zone

Both values are measured from the frame's plane along the direction of the beam: From is where the active zone begins, To is where it ends. A fixture that ends up closer than From or farther than To isn't lit by this projection, even if it falls within the frame.

The default value of From is negative (−1). This means the zone starts a bit behind the frame itself, so a fixture standing right up against the projector's plane is lit too: while aiming the projector, you don't need to make sure the object is placed strictly in front of it. The default value of To is 2000, meaning the zone covers almost the whole scene, so right after creation the projection lights up everything standing underneath it.

When these parameters are actually needed:

other fixtures stand behind the lit object — reduce To so the beam doesn't reach them;
there are fixtures in front of the object that shouldn't be included — increase From;
you need only one layer of a volumetric structure — for example, the front face of an arch or the nearest ring of columns: set From and To as a narrow "slice" around it.

Both boundaries are visible right in the scene: To sets the length of the beam's box, From sets the cross-section rectangle inside it. Set From smaller than To: with the reverse ratio, the active zone stops making sense, and there's no way to predict what ends up lit.

Texture Size

All the effects of one projection are drawn onto a shared image, and the Texture Size section sets its resolution in pixels — 1024 × 1024 by default. This image is stretched over the whole frame, no matter what size the frame is in the scene.

Two practical consequences follow from this:

Detail: The texture size determines how fine a detail the projector can reproduce. Thin stripes, text, or small graphics on a large facade need a bigger texture. But if the beam covers several dozen fixtures and the image is large-scale, there's no point raising the resolution — each fixture still samples just one point from the image anyway.

Load: Every effect in the projection is computed at this resolution. A 4096 × 4096 texture has sixteen times more pixels than 1024 × 1024, and takes proportionally longer to compute. If the preview starts lagging after you raise the texture size, set it back.

The resolution can be changed at any time — the projection's effects are recalculated for the new size right away. The values belong to the open composition — set them in the composition you're currently working with.

It makes sense to keep the texture's proportions close to the frame's proportions — see the Width and Height section above.

Visibility and Lock

Visibility: Removes the lines and frame of one specific projection from the scene, without affecting the others. This doesn't change how the projector works — it keeps lighting the fixtures. The F4 key does the same thing for all projections and cameras at once (View menu → 3D View → Auxiliary 3D Objects).

Lock: Prevents the projection from being selected by clicking in the scene. A configured projector with lock on won't shift by accident while you're placing fixtures or drawing splines nearby. It can still be selected via its row in the 3D Objects window, where the lock can also be turned off in Properties.

Position, Rotation and Scale

These three values for a projection aren't edited in Properties, but in the X, Y, Z fields on the toolbar of the 3D View window. What the fields actually show depends on the selected manipulator mode:

Button	Key	What It Sets for the Projection
Move	Q	The projector's position in the scene
Rotate	E	Where it's aimed: the rotation angles in degrees
Scale	R	A multiplier for the frame size and for the From and To boundaries

A freshly created projection sits at the center of the scene as a horizontal frame, shining downward like a ceiling light. To aim it at a wall, rotate the projector; round angles — 90°, 45° — are easy to hit with Rotation Snap enabled on the same toolbar.

The easiest way to check the aim is by the semi-transparent image in the selected projector's frame: whatever the projector "sees" is exactly what lands on the fixtures.

Name

A projection's name is edited in the 3D Object column of the 3D Objects window. By default, projections are numbered in order — Projection001, Projection002, and so on.

Clear names like Facade, Columns, or Roof pay off as soon as a project has more than one projection: the same label appears on the projection's row in the Timeline window, and it's how you find the right row when adding an effect.

If the Result Isn't What You Expected

Only some of the fixtures light up. The rest fell outside the frame or the active zone: increase Width and Height, or loosen From and To. Select the projection — the frame and beam box immediately show who's inside and who's outside.
The image is stretched, circles have turned into ovals. The Texture Size proportions don't match the frame's proportions. Bring them to the same aspect ratio.
The image is too coarse, thin lines blur together. Not enough resolution — raise the Texture Size.
Everything started lagging after you changed the texture size. The resolution was set higher than needed — set it back; for most objects 1024 × 1024 is enough.
I moved the projector closer, but the image didn't change. That's expected: the beam is parallel, and only the frame's Width and Height set the size of the image.
Extra fixtures behind the object are getting lit. Reduce To — the far boundary will cut the beam off before it reaches them.
The projection disappeared from the scene, but the fixtures are still lit. This projection's Visibility is off, or the display of auxiliary objects is turned off via the F4 key.
The projection can't be selected by clicking. Lock is on. Select it via its row in the 3D Objects window and turn the lock off there.
The texture size values don't match what you set. They belong to the open composition — check that you're looking at the same composition.