Merge Wizard, Einstellungen & Inspektor

The Merge Wizard is a modal dialog for complex merge operations — combining multiple cues, building stacks from existing cues, and more.

Opening the Merge Wizard

1. Click the Merge button in the toolbar
2. Click Merge Wizard in the sub-toolbar that appears

The Wizard Layout

The wizard has two main sections:

Step 1: Choose Sources

Select what to merge from (check one or more):

• Programmer State — Your current programmed values (auto-checked if the programmer has data; disabled if empty)
• Individual Cues — Check any combination of existing cues. Each shows its name and fixture count.

You must select at least one source.

Step 2: Choose Target

Select where to merge into (pick one):

Stack Actions (when targeting a cue stack)

Merge Priority Order

When multiple sources have values for the same fixture and channel:

1. Sources are merged in the order they appear (top to bottom)
2. Later sources override earlier ones for the same channel
3. Programmer state is always applied last — giving it the highest priority

Walkthrough: Building a Stack from Existing Cues

You have 6 cues and want to combine them into a "Song 1" stack:

1. Click Merge → Merge Wizard
2. Check Cues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in order
3. Set target to New Cue Stack, name it "Song 1"
4. Click Merge
5. A new stack appears with 6 steps, one per cue
6. Double-click the stack label to open the editor and fine-tune timing

Walkthrough: Combining Two Cues Into One

You have "Front Wash" (Cue 1) and "Back Light" (Cue 2) and want to combine them into a single "Full Stage" cue:

1. Click Merge → Merge Wizard
2. Check both Cue 1 and Cue 2
3. Set target to New Cue, name it "Full Stage"
4. Click Merge
5. The new cue contains fixtures from both cues

Click the Settings button (gear icon) in the toolbar to access programmer-specific settings.

Attribute Group LTP

What is LTP? LTP stands for Latest Takes Priority — the standard rule in DMX lighting that says "the most recent command wins." When two cues try to control the same channel, the one activated last takes priority.

DMXDesktop gives you a choice of how LTP applies:

The attribute groups are:

When to Use Which

• Per-Channel LTP — Good for layering partial looks. You can have one cue control red and another control blue, and they'll blend. More flexible but can create unexpected mixes.
• Per-Attribute Group LTP — Good for clean scene changes. Each cue fully owns its attribute groups, preventing leftover values from previous cues. More predictable.

The Inspector is a diagnostic tool that shows you exactly what's happening in the programmer, inside your cues, and on the live DMX output.

Opening the Inspector

Click the Inspector button (table icon) in the toolbar.

Inspector Tabs

Programmer Tab

Shows the current state of every channel in the programmer:

• Fixture count and selected count at the top
• A grid showing each fixture's values, organized by attribute type
• Record as Cue button for quick recording
• Clear All button to reset the programmer

Cue Contents Tab

Inspect what's stored inside any cue:

1. Select a cue from the dropdown
2. View all stored channel values in the grid
3. For cue stacks, click individual step buttons to view each step's data
4. Click Restore to Programmer to load the cue for editing

Live Output Tab

Real-time monitoring of the actual DMX output being sent to your fixtures:

• Updates continuously as channels change
• Shows what's really going out the wire
• Useful for verifying that your cues, stacks, and effects are producing the expected output

Column Filters

Toggle which attribute types to display:

Display Modes