The Programmer & Floorplan

The Programmer is your central workspace in DMXDesktop. Think of it as an artist's canvas — this is where you select fixtures, dial in colors, set positions, add effects, and then save everything as reusable cues that you can play back during a live show.

What You Can Do Here

• Build lighting looks by adjusting intensity, color, position, and beam properties on any combination of fixtures
• Record cues that capture those looks so you can recall them instantly
• Build cue stacks that step through multiple looks automatically (chases, theater sequences, song sections)
• Create execute functions for one-touch triggering of any look
• Control everything live using on-screen faders, keyboard shortcuts, or MIDI hardware
• Run effects — automated color cycling, movement patterns, and more — synced to the beat of your music

The Programmer Layout

The Programmer window has three main areas:

1. Top Toolbar — Split into three columns:
   • Left: Navigation buttons (Cue Faders, Clear, Timeline, Settings)
   • Center: The LAYOUT button to return to the floorplan
   • Right: Action buttons that change based on what you're doing (Record, Delete, Merge, etc.)
2. Attribute Tabs — Four tabs for the four types of fixture control. Tabs are automatically enabled or disabled based on your selected fixtures' capabilities.
3. Main Content Area — Shows either the floorplan (default), an attribute control panel, or the fader playback interface.

Navigation Quick Reference

The floorplan is a bird's-eye view of your stage. Every patched fixture appears as a dot that updates in real time to show its current color and intensity — so you always know what your lights are doing at a glance.

What You See

Each fixture dot displays:

• A colored circle matching the fixture's current RGB output
• An intensity percentage showing the dimmer level
• Pixel segments around the edge (for multi-pixel fixtures) showing individual pixel colors

Moving Fixtures Around

By default, the layout is locked to prevent accidental moves. Here's how to rearrange it:

1. Click the Lock button (padlock icon) — the padlock opens, indicating the layout is now editable
2. Drag any fixture dot to its new position
3. Click Save (disk icon) to store the new layout
4. Click Lock again to re-lock

Aligning Fixtures

When you select two or more fixtures, an alignment toolbar appears with four options:

Example: You have 8 LED pars scattered randomly on the floorplan. Select all 8, click Align Horizontally, then click Distribute Horizontally — they line up in a neat, evenly spaced row.

Multiple Floorplans

You can organize fixtures across multiple floorplan tabs — useful for multi-room setups or separating truss fixtures from floor fixtures. Drag a fixture dot over a different floorplan tab to move it there.

Ghost Fixtures

If a fixture has been configured with channel group mappings (splitting a multi-head fixture like a GigBar into separately controllable sections), additional "ghost" fixture dots appear on the floorplan. These look slightly different from regular fixtures and can be positioned independently.

Before you can program anything, you need to tell DMXDesktop which fixtures you want to work with.

How to Select

Groups

Fixture group buttons appear above the floorplan. Groups are defined in the Stages tab when you set up your show. Clicking a group button is the fastest way to select a set of related fixtures — for example, all front wash fixtures, all moving heads, or all floor uplighters.

Identifying a Fixture

Can't tell which fixture dot corresponds to which physical light in the room? Click the Identify button (lightbulb icon) in the toolbar. DMXDesktop will run a sequential flash across your selected fixtures from left to right, making it easy to identify each one's position.

Selection Persistence

Your selection is saved between sessions. When you close and reopen the Programmer, your previous selection is restored automatically.