If you sort by angle when addressing and your racks have fixed angle tubes, there is a possibility of gaps in module number sequences in the racks as shown in Figure 1.  Why would the first rack have modules 01 and 03 instead of 01 and 02?  Fortunately, there's a good reason, and there's a good solution.  You just need to understand what is going on.  Or if you just want to know the solution, Figure 3 sums it up.   Figure 1 – A gap in the module number sequence.  Why does the first rack have module 01 and 03 instead of 01 and 02?   Figure 2 shows the addressing sort order that produces the rack assignments of Figure 1.  Figure 2 looks pretty normal.  There's nothing strange about about sorting by "Position > Angle > Event Time".   So why is Figure 1 so weird? You would need to know a little more information.  The racks in these figures are PyroLamas single shot racks with fixed angle tubes in 15 degree increments between the rows.  The left-most row of tubes has -45 degree angling tubes to the left, the next row over to the right has -30 degree angling tubes, and so on to the right-most row of tubes at 45 degrees to the right.  Thus in the first rack, the shots 0-9 of module 01 are all -45 degree shots, and A-F of module 01 are all -30 degree shots.   Figure 2 – Sorting by "Position > Angle" can yield gaps if your rack tubes have fixed angles.   The addressing procedure The apparent gaps in the module number sequence arise from the addressing procedure, which is: Sort the effects according to the sort criteria in paragraph 2 of the addressing dialog. For the effect that is first in the sorted list, follow step (3) on any unused pins of partially allocated rails (modules) and if none of them work then allocate a new rail and try its first pin. For the pin, try to find a rack and tube such that all the constraints in paragraph 3 of the addressing dialog are satisfied; if successful, assign the pin and tube to the effect being addressed. Repeat. The gap in Figure 1 can now be understood by walking through the addressing procedure: Sorted by angle, the first 10 effects easily fit in the left row of the first rack. The next 6 effects being assigned are also -45 degrees to the left (that's how many pins fill into the left-most rows of tubes in Figure 1).  The problem is, the first rack doesn't have any more tubes angling that direction, so they must go into the second rack.  But the "Rack Cluster" constraint in paragraph 3 of the addressing dialog prevents modules from being shared across racks that are not in the same cluster.  Hence these 6 effects in the second rack get module 02.  At this point, a gap in the module number sequence of the first rack is assured.   Sorting by "Same Rack" or "Rack Number" Following the addressing procedure, you can see that the only way to avoid a gap in the module sequence in the first rack would be to sort the effects such that the effects that fit into the first rack get sorted first, before the effects that spill over into the next rack.  The addressing sort options include a term that does just that -- Same Rack.  Figure 3 shows where to put it.   Figure 3 – Add the term "Same Rack" before "Angle" to fill out a rack before moving onto the next.     The Same Rack term gives priority to effects that can fit into the same rack as the previous assignment.  In this example, after filling the first 10 effects at -45 degrees into the first rack, the remaining -45 degree effects can no longer fit in that rack so they receive a lower sort priority.   The -30 degree effects are the left-most effects that can fit into the empty tubes of the first rack, so they get allocated next.  The result is shown in Figure 4.   Figure 4 – Sorting by "Same Rack" avoids the gaps in module number sequences.   Finale 3D has other special sort terms like Same Rack that can solve similar problems.  The term "Rack Number" would also work fine in this example in place of Same Rack.  Rack Number not only fills one rack before moving onto the next; it fills the racks in order of their Rack Number.  Rack Number enables you to avoid gaps while filling racks according to how you've arranged them visually, as described in detail in Addressing based on layout of racks (Rack Number).  The full set of special sort terms, useful for all kinds of purposes, is given in Special sort terms.

The Hansol Volcano unit (Standard Fixture ID 053) is a vertical, fixed height flame machine that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.   It generates a flame column 2-4 meters high, depending on nozzle used.   Figure 1 – Hansol Volcano   The Volcano fixture has a one-channel DMX personality, plus a separate Pilot Light / Safety Channel address defined to be channel 100 always.   Since the Pilot Light / Safety Channel address is separate from the DMX personality for Hansol Volcano fixtures, you need to create a separate Pilot Light / Safety Channel fixture position with the DMX channel base address equal to the Pilot Light / Safety Channel address (100).   Table 1 – DMX channels DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) ON/OFF (0 = OFF, 255 = ON) See Assorted DMX supplier catalog.     Table 2 – DMX channels for safety position (DMX Fixture Type of "Hansol [054] Pilot Light / Safety Channel") DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Pilot Light / Safety channel (0 = OFF, 255 = ON) Part number HS10006, “HANSOL [054/0000] Safety Channel / Pilot Light”   Instructions To design a show for Hansol Volcano units, please follow these steps:  Set up.  (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions. Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each Volcano its own DMX universe, or give each Volcano a channel in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical unit's "Start Address" to be the channel you allocate for it (a single channel). (C) In Finale 3D configure the "DMX Channel Base" of the fixture position to match the Start Address exactly.  (D) In Finale 3D create one or more Pilot Light / Safety Channel fixture positions, and configure their "DMX Channel Base" to be 100, matching the required Pilot Light / Safety Channel Address exactly. Add the Assorted DMX supplier catalog to your Finale 3D account.  Login to the finale3d.com website.  At the top of the page, go to “My Account > Supplier Catalog Settings” (www.finale3d.com/supplier-catalogs-settings/).  Find the Assorted DMX supplier catalog in the table, and turn the switch to ON.  Then launch the Finale 3D application and synch to network.  The Assorted DMX catalog will appear as one of the available collections in the effects window, which you can choose from the selector at the top of the window. Add flame effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the Hansol Volcano positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.   (B)  Add a "Pilot light / Safety Channel" effect to the Pilot Light / Safety Channel fixture position and adjust its duration to cover the time range of activity.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each Hansol Volcano fixture requires one channel plus the Pilot Light / Safety Channel.  The Pilot Light / Safety Channel can be shared by multiple fixtures.  The Hansol Volcano fixture requires the Pilot Light / Safety Channel address to be 100.  You have no choice. If you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 3 – Example channel ranges for 511 1CH fixtures with a shared Pilot Light / Safety Channel at channel = 100. Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 ... 99 99 99 safety 100 100 100 101 101 ... 511 512 512     Table 4 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation Volcano0811-Black-1-1.pdf Hansol Volcano user manual test-hansol-volcano.fin Example script test-hansol-volcano.csv Example export for Cobra firing system

The MARQ Gesture Spot 100 15W LED Moving Head Spotlight fixtures, Standard Fixture ID 052, are available from Amazon (ASIN B01LXUP323).  The capabilities include gobos in addition to the moving head with a color wheel.   Figure 1 – MARQ Gesture Spot 100 15W LED Moving Head Spotlight   The fixtures have 9 channel and 11 channel options, which you can select from the fixture's DMX panel.  Effects in Finale 3D are compatible only with the 11 channel variation, since the 9 channel variation does not include pin/tilt speed.   Table 1 – DMX personality choices DMX personality ("DMX Channel Mode") Supported in Finale 3D 9CH NO 11CH YES   Instructions To design a show for MARQ Gesture Spot 100 15W LED Moving Head Spotlight fixtures, please follow the steps in DMX basic instructions and Light fixtures basic instructions.  If you don't already have a compatible firing system or controller capable exporting a DMX script, please refer to Supported firing systems and controllers (DMX) for the list of available hardware options.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each fixture requires multiple channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Table 2 shows an example for 11-channel fixtures.  Some DMX firing systems and controllers only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for 11-channel fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-11 2 12 12-22 3 23 23-33 4 34 34-44 5 45 45-55 6 56 56-66 7 67 67-77 8 78 78-88 9 89 89-99 10 100 100-110 ... 46 496 496-506   Technical details The following tables show the technical specifications of the fixtures, as tested by the Finale support team.   Table 3 – DMX channels for 11CH personality DMX Channel Meaning Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Pan Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Pan fine Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Tilt Channel 4 (DMX Channel Base + 3) Tilt fine Channel 5 (DMX Channel Base + 4) Motor speed (0 = max; 255 = min) Channel 6 (DMX Channel Base + 5) Dimmer (0 = OFF; 255 = max) Channel 7 (DMX Channel Base + 6) Shutter/Strobe (see table below) Channel 8 (DMX Channel Base + 7) Color (see table below) Channel 9 (DMX Channel Base + 8) Gobo (see table below) Channel 10 (DMX Channel Base + 9) Set to zero Channel 11 (DMX Channel Base + 10) Set to zero   Moving head effects are implemented by setting the motor speed based on the "from" and "to" trajectory angles and the span of time between the "from" and "to" effects.  The speed channel value is calculated from the inverse of the degrees-per-second-for-speed-channel-value function.  Figure 2 shows the measured degrees per second for various speed channel values between 0 and 255, and the curve chosen to fit those values.   Figure 2 – Motor speeds   Table 4 – Shutter values for strobe DMX Value Shutter/Strobe 0-3 Closed, beam not visible (Finale 3D never uses values in this range; see programmer note below) 4-7 Open, beam visible 8-76 Strobe slow to fast 77-145 Pulse slot to fast 146-215 Random strobe, slow to fast 216-255 Open, beam visible   Table 5 – Color wheel values DMX Value Color 0-6 White 7-13 Red 14-20 Orange 21-27 Green 28-34 Light blue 35-41 Purple 42-48 Yellow 49-55 Blue 56-62 White 63-111 Combinations 112-118 Blue 119-127 White 128-189 Cycle clockwise 190-193 Stop cycle 194-255 Cycle counter-clockwise   Table 6 – Gobo patterns DMX Value Finale 3D Identifier Image 0-7 NoGobo 8-15 Ring 16-23 Dandelion 24-31 BubbleStar 32-39 Shale 40-47 Bubbles 48-55 WaterWheel 56-63 Mica 64-127 Shaking, no gobo 128-255 Other options   Programmer notes The color and gobo mechanisms of these fixtures require careful programming of the DMX Patches.    Programmers who are implementing effect libraries for MARQ Gesture Spot 100 fixtures may benefit from these notes: The fixture's shutter channel requires an initialize/reset fixture effect at the beginning of the show to set the shutter channel to 255, opening the shutter fully.  The "Flash" effects in Finale 3D do not write to the shutter channel; the "With Strobing" effects do. DMX Patches for one-shot "Flash" effects set the color in setup phase because the color wheel needs to move to the correct rotation in advance of the effect to be prepared.  Otherwise the audience sees the color wheel spinning to the correct color at the beginning of the effect.  The setup phase in the MARQ Gesture Spot 100 DMX Patches is a luxurious one second by default, but since it compresses against any previous effect rather than overwriting the previous effect, the luxury has no consequence. Since the fixture requires an initialize fixture effect, its fixtureDef needs to identify it for the error checking and user facing warning messages.   Table 7 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation Gesture Spot 100 - User Guide - v1.3.pdf MARQ Gesture Spot 100 User Manual

The Chauvet SlimPAR 56 Par fixtures are widely available, easy-to-use, mid-level RGB LED par fixtures. Figure 1 – Chauvet SlimPAR 56 Par   The fixtures have a 3-channel and 7-channel DMX personality.  Finale 3D supports the 7-channel variation.   Table 1 – DMX personality choices DMX personality ("DMX Channel Mode") Supported in Finale 3D 3CH NO 7CH YES   Instructions To design a show for Chauvet SlimPAR fixtures, please follow the steps in DMX basic instructions and Light fixtures basic instructions.  If you don't already have a compatible firing system or controller capable exporting a DMX script, please refer to Supported firing systems and controllers (DMX) for the list of available hardware options.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each fixture requires multiple channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Table 2 shows an example for 7-channel fixtures.  Some DMX firing systems and controllers only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for 7-channel fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-7 2 8 8-14 3 15 15-21 4 22 22-28 5 29 29-35 6 36 36-42 7 43 43-49 8 50 50-56 9 57 57-63 10 64 64-70 ... 73 505 505-511   Technical details The following tables show the technical specifications of the fixtures, as tested by the Finale support team.   Table 3 – DMX channels for 7CH personality DMX Channel Meaning Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Red Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Green Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Blue Channel 4 (DMX Channel Base + 3) Set to zero Channel 5 (DMX Channel Base + 4) Strobe (0-15 = no strobe; 16-255 = slow to fast) Channel 6 (DMX Channel Base + 5) Set to zero Channel 7 (DMX Channel Base + 6) Dimmer     Table 4 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation SlimPAR_56_UM_Rev1.pdf Chauvet SlimPAR 56 Par User Manual

The BETOPPER 54X1.5W RGB LED Par Light fixtures are inexpensive and easy to use 54 LED DMX par light fixtures, ASIN number B08S3NC56K from Amazon.  These fixtures are compatible with the EasyDancing fixture described in EasyDancing 36x1W RGB Par Light.   Figure 1 – BETOPPER 54X1.5W RGB LED Par   The fixtures have a 3-channel and 7-channel DMX personality.  Finale 3D implements the 7-channel personality. Table 1 – DMX personality choices DMX personality ("DMX Channel Mode") Supported in Finale 3D 3CH NO 7CH YES   Instructions To design a show for BETOPPER 54X1.5W RGB LED Par fixtures, please follow the steps in DMX basic instructions and Light fixtures basic instructions.  If you don't already have a compatible firing system or controller capable exporting a DMX script, please refer to Supported firing systems and controllers (DMX) for the list of available hardware options.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each fixture requires multiple channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Table 2 shows an example for 7-channel fixtures.  Some DMX firing systems and controllers only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for 7-channel fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-7 2 8 8-14 3 15 15-21 4 22 22-28 5 29 29-35 6 36 36-42 7 43 43-49 8 50 50-56 9 57 57-63 10 64 64-70 ... 73 505 505-511   Technical details The following tables show the technical specifications of the fixtures, as tested by the Finale support team.   Table 3 – DMX channels for 7CH personality DMX Channel Meaning Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Dimmer Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Red Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Green Channel 4 (DMX Channel Base + 3) Blue Channel 5 (DMX Channel Base + 4) Strobe (0-7 = no strobe; 8-255 = slow to fast) Channel 6 (DMX Channel Base + 5) Set to zero Channel 7 (DMX Channel Base + 6) Set to zero     Table 4 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation LPC007-LPC008_LPC08-H_BETOPPER_DJ_PAR_Light_User_Manual.pdf BETOPPER 54X1.5W RGB LED Par User Manual

The ADJ Flat Par QWH12X RGB Par fixtures are high powered 12 LED DMX par light fixtures.   Figure 1 – ADJ Flat Par QWH12X RGB Par   The fixtures have a number of DMX personalities; Finale 3D supports the 8-channel DMX personality.   Table 1 – DMX personality choices DMX personality ("DMX Channel Mode") Supported in Finale 3D 1CH NO 2CH NO 3CH NO 4CH NO 5CH NO 6CH NO 7CH NO 8CH YES   Instructions To design a show for ADJ Flat Par fixtures, please follow the steps in DMX basic instructions and Light fixtures basic instructions.  If you don't already have a compatible firing system or controller capable exporting a DMX script, please refer to Supported firing systems and controllers (DMX) for the list of available hardware options.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each fixture requires multiple channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Table 2 shows an example for 8-channel fixtures.  Some DMX firing systems and controllers only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for 8-channel fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-8 2 9 9-16 3 17 17-24 4 25 25-32 5 33 33-40 6 41 41-48 7 49 49-56 8 57 57-65 9 65 65-72 10 73 72-79 ... 64 505 505-512   Technical details The following tables show the technical specifications of the fixtures, as tested by the Finale support team.   Table 3 – DMX channels for 8CH personality DMX Channel Meaning Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Red Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Green Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Blue Channel 4 (DMX Channel Base + 3) White Channel 5 (DMX Channel Base + 4) Dimmer Channel 6 (DMX Channel Base + 5) Strobe (0-15 = no strobe; 16-255 = slow to fast) Channel 7 (DMX Channel Base + 6) Set to zero Channel 8 (DMX Channel Base + 7) Set to zero     Table 4 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation Adj Flat Par QWH12X.pdf ADJ Flat Par QWH12X RGB Par Light User Manual

To create and export a pyro or DMX script for the Pyrotronix firing system, please follow these steps: Address the show for Pyrotronix ("Addressing > Address show"). Export the script ("File > Export > Export firing system script files(s)..."). Place the script file on a USB flash drive at the path PTX-C4ProjectsImport Step 2 creates the script file, which has the "PTX2" extension.  The file format details are described in this section.     Figure 1 – Pyrotronix firing system master   DMX overview The Pyrotronix system supports DMX fixtures by triggering pre-programmed or user-created presets on the controller.  Please refer to your PTX C4 instructions for creating presets, and then create effect libraries to match your presets in Finale 3D as described below.  The DMX instructions for scripting in Finale 3D ( DMX basic instructions ) do apply but there are two differences for Pyrotronix, since the script exported from Finale 3D will contain only the triggers for pre-programmed presets and not the actual DMX channel data that implement the effects according to the fixture's DMX personality. The two differences are: (1) you need to create your own effect libraries in Finale 3D to match your presets (see below), and (2) you need to configure DMX fixture positions in Finale 3D as "<Any fixture type>" from the DMX Fixture Type selector after right clicking the positions and doing "Configure position as DMX fixture" from the context menu.   Table 1 – File format and encoding File format Extension Text encoding Field delimiter End-of-line Text .PTX2 ASCII Semicolon CRLF   Structure of PTX2 script file The PTX2 script file contains three sections: project, DMX devices, and ignition data, as shown in the example file in Figure 2.   As exported from Finale 3D, the first section of the script, the project section, is the text: [Project] version=1.0 type=IN The last line is either "type=IN" for a script with individual events or "type=SQ" for a script with sequences.  See the Sequences row in Table 2, below, for further details. The second section, the DMX devices section, contains a mapping of "Device Name" to "Device Type" and "DMX Channel Base".  The Device Type is defined by the Category field of the DMX effect in Finale 3D, and must match the Device Type of the pre-programmed presets in the Pyrotronix controller exactly.  The DMX Channel Base is defined by the DMX Channel Base field of the positions in Finale 3D, once they are configured as DMX fixtures.  The Device Name is constructed synthetically from the Device Type and DMX Channel Base trivially by concatenating them together with a space in between. The syntax of the rows is simply <Device Name>=<Device Type>@<DMX Channel Base>.  This DMX devices section is only present if the script contains DMX events. [DMX devices] Explo X2 Wave Flamer 1=Explo X2 Wave Flamer@1 Explo X2 Wave Flamer 7=Explo X2 Wave Flamer@7 Explo X2 Wave Flamer 13=Explo X2 Wave Flamer@13 The third section contains the ignition data and DMX preset triggers, intermixed and sorted by event time. [Ignition data] 1;A;2760;1020;1;1;;Red Chrysanthemum; 2;A;3760;1020;2;1;;Red Chrysanthemum; 3;A;4760;1020;3;1;;Red Chrysanthemum; 4;A;10000;2400;DMX;;;Explo X2 Wave Flamer 1:PRG31; 5;A;11000;2400;DMX;;;Explo X2 Wave Flamer 7:PRG31; 6;A;12000;2400;DMX;;;Explo X2 Wave Flamer 13:PRG31; The ignition data fields are described in Table 3:   Table 2 – Special characteristics Special characteristics Description Sort order of rows Rows sorted ascending by event time. What rows represent Each row represents a unique firing event, for pyro a module/pin/event-time combination, and for DMX a device name / preset identifier combination.  For example, a pyro chain of five shells will be one row, not five.  A pair of shells shot together from the same position will be one row, not two, even if the shells are different effects.  A flight of shells shot together from multiple positions with the same module-pin using scab wire is still one row.  DMX examples are given below. Sequences (Tracks) The user can divide a script into separately triggered sequences by tagging the script rows with <Sequence Group>.<Sequence Number> pairs in the Track field in Finale 3D, beginning with "1.1".   Pyrotronix supports up to four sequence groups, with thirty-two sequence triggers (buttons) per group.  Each sequence can have up to twenty ignitions. Time resolution The Pyrotronix system supports 1/100th second resolution. DMX support The Pyrotronix system supports DMX fixtures by triggering pre-programmed or user-created presets on the controller.  The PTX2 script exported from Finale 3D contains triggers based on the Device Type and Preset Identifiers of the effects in Finale 3D (from the Category and Custom Part Field fields), which must match the presets defined on the controller exactly.  The triggers do not contain any parameters for the presets, so it is not possible to script parameterized effects like effects that depend on the angle or duration that the user can adjust in the Finale 3D user interface. The DMX instructions for scripting in Finale 3D, ( DMX basic instructions ) do apply, except you need to create your own effect libraries in Finale 3D to match your presets (except for the Explo X2 Wave Flamer, for which Finale 3D's effect library matches the pre-defined presets in the Pyrotronix PTX C4 controller), and you need to configure the fixture positions in Finale 3D to "<Any fixture type>" from the DMX Fixture Type selector in the "Configure position as DMX fixture" context menu from right clicking the positions (except for the Explo X2 Wave Flamer, which you should select instead if desired). Bandwidth limitations Finale 3D provides options for automatically guaranteeing a minimum delay between firing events to accommodate communication bandwidth limitations on the controller.  The two options are 60ms ("Cable + Radio") and 30ms ("Cable") minimum delays.  The module type selector in the addressing dialog provides these options.  The minimum delays are the only differences between the "Cable + Radio" and "Cable" options. Electrical limitations Finale 3D also provides options to limit the number of simultaneously firing channels to 20, to accommodate electrical limitations on some Pyrotronix controllers.  The options are available from the module type selector in the addressing dialog. Support for CSV script format for older controllers Finale 3D also supports exporting the CSV file format script for older Pyrotronix controllers.  In the addressing dialog in Finale 3D, select the PTX module type options for the old CSV script file formats, or the new PTX2 module type options for the new script formats for the C4 controller.  Only the PTX2 options have DMX capabilities. DMX safety channel requirement warning disabled Finale 3D 's warning for missing safety channels for DMX effects is disabled for Pyrotronix exports based on the assumption that Pyrotronix users will handle safety channels manually on the controller, not within the script exported from Finale 3D. When you export a firing script for Pyrotronix, Finale 3D presents an "Export Options" dialog with the choices shown in Table 3.   Table 3 – Export options Option name Description Version Choose the PTX2 version or the old-style CSV version. Separation Time Choose the minimum separation time between shots -- 30ms for wire connected modules and 60ms for radio connected modules. Limit Choose the limit of maximum simultaneous firing channels.  Some versions of PTX hardware have a limit of 20; others have no limit.     Each ignition row in the ignition rows section of the script contains a number of fields separated by the semicolon character.  The names of the fields and their descriptions are in following table.   Table 4 – Specifications of ignition row fields Field name Description Cue The cue number beginning with 1 and incrementing at each new event time Ignition type The letter "A" for a non-sequence event, or "S" for an event that is part of a sequence. Event time The ignition time in milliseconds Duration The duration in milliseconds Module number The module number, 1-99. Pin number The pin number, 1-16. Hazard class A hazard classification for purpose of disabling part of the show during a performance, a number 1-24 or blank. Description For pyro, this field contains the name of the effect; for DMX, this field contains the <Device Name>:PRG<Preset Number>, where Preset Number is a two digit number corresponding to a pre-programmed or user-defined preset on the Pyrotronix controller.  The Device Name is constructed from the Device Type in the effects' Category field and the DMX Channel Base from the position, as described above in the Structure of PTX2 script file section.  The Preset Number comes from the Custom Part Field field of the effect.  Finale 3D automatically adds the PRG before the Preset Number in the script.  The PRG letters thus should not be in the effects' Custom Part Field.  All pre-programmed and user-defined Preset Identifiers of presets on the Pyrotronix controller must be of the form PRGXX, where XX is a two digit number. The effects from the predefined X2 Wave Flamer Flame Machine in Finale 3D already contain the numbers that correspond to built in presets on the Pyrotronix PTX C4 controller in the Custom Part Field; versions of Finale 3D prior to Oct 1 2025 also contained the "Explo X2 Wave Flamer" Device Type in the Category field of these effects, which was correct for Pyrotronix exporting.  Versions of Finale 3D after Oct 1 2025 may have different text in the Category field for X2 Wave Flamer Flame Machine effects, which you will need to change to "Explo X2 Wave Flamer" before exporting.  For other fixtures and effects you will need to create your own DMX effect libraries for Pyrotronix, as described below. Sequence The sequence is either blank, or X.Y where X is the sequence group number 1-4 and Y is the sequence button number 1-32.  Either all script events must contain sequence numbers, or none of them.  Use the Track field in Finale 3D to specify the sequences (right click on the events in the script window and do "Set track..."). The example script shown in Figure 2 is also available for download in Table 5. [Project] version=1.0 type=IN [DMX devices] Explo X2 Wave Flamer 1=Explo X2 Wave Flamer@1 Explo X2 Wave Flamer 7=Explo X2 Wave Flamer@7 Explo X2 Wave Flamer 13=Explo X2 Wave Flamer@13 [Ignition data] 1;A;2760;1020;1;1;;Red Chrysanthemum; 2;A;3760;1020;2;1;;Red Chrysanthemum; 3;A;4760;1020;3;1;;Red Chrysanthemum; 4;A;10000;2400;DMX;;;Explo X2 Wave Flamer 1:PRG31; 5;A;11000;2400;DMX;;;Explo X2 Wave Flamer 7:PRG31; 6;A;12000;2400;DMX;;;Explo X2 Wave Flamer 13:PRG31; Figure 2 – Example Pyrotronix script for pyro and DMX   Creating DMX effect libraries to match presets on your Pyrotronix controller Since Pyrotronix scripts control DMX fixtures by triggering pre-programmed or user-defined presets on the controller, the script exported from Finale 3D will contain only the triggers and not the actual DMX channel data.  The DMX Patch field of the effects in Finale 3D is thus unused, as its purpose is to translate the effect definition into the DMX channel data that implement it.  In its place, the Category field and Custom Part Field field of the effects in Finale 3D hold the Pyrotronix Device Type and Preset Number that together identify the preset to be triggered. The Category field must contain the Device Type of the pre-programmed or user-defined preset on the controller exactly, except for optional capitalization.  The Custom Part Field contains an integer identifying a preset for that Device Type.  The number in the Custom Part Field is just an integer.  Finale 3D automatically formats the integer as two digits with a leading zero if necessary and prepends the letters "PRG" to the front, such as for example PRG01, PRG02, and PRG03 for the first three presets.  The preset identifiers on the Pyrotronix controller must match these presets -- including the PRG -- exactly. Since the Device Type of the preset is specified in the effects, the Fixture Type field of the positions in Finale 3D is not required for Pyrotronix script exports.  You can thus set the Fixture Type to "<Any DMX Fixture>" or set it to any of the predefined fixtures in Finale 3D, your choice.   The advantage to setting it to a pre-defined fixture in Finale 3D is that Finale 3D's channel allocation functions will be able to allocate channel ranges back-to-back for your fixtures if the you choose pre-defined fixtures.  If you use "<Any DMX Fixture>" then you will need to set the DMX Channel Base of the fixture positions manually in the positions window or by right clicking the positions and editing the position properties. Since the DMX presets on Pyrotronix and their triggers do not have any parameters, it is not possible for the presets to depend on user-adjustable parameters in the Finale 3D user interface like the angle or duration of an effect.  If you want to shoot a moving head wave flamer effect in a particular direction, you need to define a preset for that specific direction on your Pyrotronix controller and create a corresponding effect in Finale 3D with the matching Device Type and Preset Identifier.   Example files Example files for a mixed pyro and DMX show are available for download in Table 5.  The example show contains three DMX fixture positions and three pyro positions.  The DMX fixture positions each contain a single shot of the Explo X2 Wave Flamer fixture, firing macro #31.  They do not contain safety channel events; and the safety channel requirement warning is disabled for Pyrotronix script exports.   The three pyro positions each contain one shell.  The timeline for the example show is shown in Figure 3.   Figure 3 – Timeline for example mixed pyro and DMX show -- 3 pyro shots, 3 DMX shots.     Table 6 – Downloads Download link Explanation test-pyrotronix-dmx.fin Example show file test-pyrotronix-dmx.ptx2 Example exported file (PTX2)

The function "Effects > Combine as cake effect..." creates a single cake description VDL that encapsulates all of the effects, angles, and timing of the constituent shots.  Using the function is as simple as laying out the constituent effects on the timeline at the desired angles and with the desired delays between them as in Figure 1, selecting them all, and performing the function.   Figure 1 – Layout the individual effects, select them, and do "Effects > Combine as cake effect..."   VDL can represent most real world cakes in a manner that has both an accurate visual appearance and also a physically correct arrangement of tubes in rows, using the standard row tube patterns listed in Firing patterns for cake and slice rows.  The VDL syntax that uses the standard patterns is called "standard syntax" firing descriptions.   Figure 2 – The confirmation dialog gives you the option of using the exact simulation syntax, if you want.   Some cakes can't be represented in the standard syntax.  If the tube angles or delays simply don't correspond to any of the standard patterns, the "Effects > Combine as cake effect..." will fallback to using the "exact simulation syntax", which specifies every tube individually.  If you are interested, the standard syntax is defined in Cake descriptions.  The exact simulation syntax is defined in Exact simulation syntax.  However, because this create cake function is so easy to use, you don't really need to know all the intricacies of the VDL description that it produces.  The create cake function always generates a standard syntax cake description when possible, unless you check the "Use exact simulation syntax" check box on the confirmation dialog shown in Figure 2.  You can see in Figure 3 what a VDL cake description in standard syntax looks like.  This cake has ten rows with opposite angle patterns in even and odd rows.   Figure 3 – The result is a single VDL description that includes all the effects, angles, and timing.   Sometimes the timing of the shots determines only one possible representation in the standard syntax, since delays between tubes in any standard syntax row are required to be uniform and since the patterns of shot angles often can only match one possible row pattern.   Other times, multiple representations are possible.  The create cake function attempts to find a standard syntax VDL that has the most realistic layout of rows, optimizing for the most square-ish overall dimensions.   Limitations Cake VDL has three limitations, All tubes in the cake must be the same size Shot angles can only be side-to-side Cannot include peanut or multi-break effects that use the plus sign (+) in their VDL Aside from these limitations, the create cake function is sure to produce a cake description VDL from your selected effects, either in the standard syntax or exact simulation syntax, one or the other.  The standard syntax representation has an angle error tolerance of 5 degrees and time error tolerance of 10ms, allowing for rounding error and a small degree of slop as you layout your effects.  The exact simulation syntax uses the exact angles and times of your constituent effects, rounded to integral degrees and milliseconds.  

The Cobra 36x1W RGB Par fixtures are inexpensive and easy to use 36 LED DMX par light fixtures, model number LIGHT-DMX-PAR-36 from Cobra and QS-056P from the manufacturer.  These fixtures are compatible with the EasyDancing fixture described in EasyDancing 36x1W RGB Par Light.   Figure 1 – Cobra 36x1W RGB Par   The fixtures have a 7-channel DMX personality.   Table 1 – DMX personality choices DMX personality ("DMX Channel Mode") Supported in Finale 3D 7CH YES   Instructions To design a show for Cobra fixtures, please follow the steps in DMX basic instructions and Light fixtures basic instructions.  If you don't already have a compatible firing system or controller capable exporting a DMX script, please refer to Supported firing systems and controllers (DMX) for the list of available hardware options.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each fixture requires multiple channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Table 2 shows an example for 7-channel fixtures.  Some DMX firing systems and controllers only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for 7-channel fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-7 2 8 8-14 3 15 15-21 4 22 22-28 5 29 29-35 6 36 36-42 7 43 43-49 8 50 50-56 9 57 57-63 10 64 64-70 ... 73 505 505-512   Technical details The following tables show the technical specifications of the fixtures, as tested by the Finale support team.   Table 3 – DMX channels for 7CH personality DMX Channel Meaning Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Dimmer Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Red Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Green Channel 4 (DMX Channel Base + 3) Blue Channel 5 (DMX Channel Base + 4) Strobe (0-7 = no strobe; 8-255 = slow to fast) Channel 6 (DMX Channel Base + 5) Set to zero Channel 7 (DMX Channel Base + 6) Set to zero     Table 4 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation DMX LED Digital Display Par Lighting Instructions.pdf Cobra 36x1W RGB Par User Manual

If you go through the trouble of laying out your racks in Finale 3D, then why not print out labels for the racks to help the crew set them up?  An example sheet of rack labels is shown in Figure 1.  You can tell by the look of them that they aren't effect labels.  The information they contain is a bit different also.   Figure 1 – Example rack labels    Rack labels go hand in hand with rack layout diagrams, as shown in Figure 2.  The rack numbers just above the racks in the diagram match the rack numbers in the upper right corner of the labels.  Thus the rack labels make it possible to conduct a stock take of all the required racks prior to the show, and the rack diagrams provide a map for the crew with the location and wiring of every rack, identified by its label.     Figure 2 – The rack numbers above the racks in the rack diagram match the rack numbers in the upper right of the labels.   The rack numbers are a key part of rack labels, so when you print out the rack diagrams make sure to print out "Rack layout (with rack numbers)" not "Rack layout (without rack numbers)". When editing racks in the rack layout view, you can hide or show the rack numbers by clicking the "Show/hide rack numbers" link in the upper left of the view. Since rack numbers figure so prominently, it is worth it to renumber the racks in a sensible order and to eliminate any gaps in the rack number sequence.  If the show contains N racks then the rack numbers on the labels should be the numbers 1..N.  To renumber the racks within positions, select the racks and right click for the context menu item, "Renumber racks left to right" as described in Renumber racks.  To eliminate the gaps, do the main menu item, "Racks > Renumber all racks consecutively".   What labels can contain Like effect labels, the rack labels are comprised of eight fields of information, as illustrated in red rectangles in Figure 3.  The position is prominently in the upper left and the rack number is prominently in the upper right.  The labels are sorted by position first, then rack number.   Figure 3 – Rack #2 is in the LEFT rack cluster of Pos-01; it has pins 11-18 of module 00 and 1-2 of module 01.   The "LEFT" field in the lower right is the "Rack Cluster Annotation".  You can see the word "LEFT" below the left-most cluster of racks in Figure 2.  The word "LEFT" is the annotation of one of the racks in that cluster, which you can set by right clicking the rack and choosing "Set annotation..." from the context menu.  While each rack could have its own annotation, it is usually enough to set the annotation for just one of the racks in the cluster.  You can drag the annotation to center it below the cluster so it appears to represent the entire cluster even though in truth it is associated with just one of the racks. Importantly, though, all of the rack labels for the racks in the cluster need to include the word "LEFT", not just the label of the one rack that owns the annotation.   The Rack Cluster Annotation used for rack labels takes all this into account.  Technically, the Rack Cluster Annotation is the first non-empty annotation of any of the racks in the rack cluster containing the rack that contains the effect of the script event from which the label is generated.  The shorter explanation is that it just works the way you want. The center four boxes in the label are the firing system addresses served by the rack, the angle of the rack, the size of the rack, and the rack's part number and description.  If your firing system addresses are too wide for the box or if you need to change other aspects of the rack labels, you can edit the blueprint template.  Follow the instructions in Labels basic instructions.