ESA2

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 Table of contents

I Before We Start 1
1. What's New to Easy Stand Alone 2 1
2. The Easy Stand Alone 2 Package 3
3. Fixture Profiles 4

II Getting Started 7
1. Installation 6
2. Setup 7
3. Editor 9
4. User 11
5. Stand Alone 12

III Scene Builder 15

1. Arranging Fixtures 14
2. Controlling Fixtures 16
3. Effects 19

IV Other Features 23
1. Scene Settings 22
2. Hardware Configuration - Tools 24
3. Easy Remote 24
ESA2 I Before We Start

I Before We Start

Welcome to Easy Stand Alone 2- a powerful and easy to use DMX lighting control app for PC and Mac.
This manual will guide you through using the software. For a quick overview of the software jump
straight to the Getting Started topics.

1. What's New to Easy Stand Alone 2

Easy Stand Alone 2 has been re-built from the ground up. Here we will give an overview of the most
important new features.
We have been asked to develop a Mac version of the software for many years. Easy Stand Alone 2 is
now PC and Mac compatible.

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ESA2 I Before We Start

New Design

The software features a new design, which

includes new icons, faders, colors and preset components allowing for a quicker
and more pleasant workflow. Quickly jump to a color or position with the new
popup preset components and change the scene color on the User screen.

The Scene Builder

The Scene Builder allows you to do everything you used to do with the original Effects Generator and
more. Arrange lighting fixtures, draw effects directly onto fixtures and set your effects in real time. The
‘Linear Fan’ effect allows you to create color gradients and position fans.

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SSL2 Fixture Profile Format

SSL2 fixture profiles allow more information to be stored about the personality of a lighting fixture. This
allows for quicker and easier programming. For example, if you have an LED bar with several
segments, you can control each segment individually whilst still having global control of master dimmer
and macro channels.

2. The Easy Stand Alone 2 Package

What's in the box

Your package should include the following:

-CD with the software
-USB-DMX interface
-USB cable

The latest software versions and user manuals are available from our website.

Compatibility
-Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
-Mac OS X 10.6 (snow leopard), 10.7 (lion), 10.8 (mountain lion), 10.9 (Mavericks), 10.10 (Yosemite)

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ESA2 I Before We Start

-Atleast 1GB ram, 1GB free hard disk space and a 1024x768 display

Software

The following software is included:

-Easy Stand Alone 2 - DMX lighting programming app (PC and Mac)
-Scan Library – Used to build your own fixture profiles (PC only)
-EasyView – A real-time 3D visualizer (PC only)
-Hardware Configuration Tools – A USB-DMX interface management app (PC only)
-Easy Remote – Remote control of Easy Stand Alone 2(iPad/Android Tablet)

3. Fixture Profiles

All of the attributes of a DMX device are saved in a special file called the “Fixture Profile” or .SSL2 file.
The more accurate the fixture profile, the easier it will be to program your lighting with Easy Stand
Alone 2. If you have an incomplete fixture profile, Easy Stand Alone 2 will not understand the lights you
want to control and therefore it will be more difficult for you to program your lighting fixtures.

There is a profile for almost every fixture on the market. Fixture profiles can be created and edited with
the "Scan Library" editor software. For more details on how to make Scan Library profiles, see the Scan
Library topic.

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ESA2 II Getting Started

II Getting Started

1. Installation

Insert the software installation CD into the CD drive of your computer, or download the software from
our website. Double click the setup icon to install the software. Follow the installer instructions.

The USB interface drivers will be installed during the software installation. When installing on Windows,
you may receive a warning message saying that the drivers have not been digitally signed. Press
‘Continue Anyway’.

Once the installation is complete, connect the USB interface. Windows systems will run a second
device driver installation. Once you see a message bubble on the taskbar to say that the driver has
been installed successfully, you are ready to start the Easy Stand Alone 2 software.

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2. Setup

To begin with, the software needs to be told which lighting fixtures are being used. Select your lighting
fixture from the list of manufacturers on the left. If you are looking to add an RGB, RGBD, RGBW,
RGBY or Single channel fixture, select the _GENERIC folder at the top. If you do not see your lighting
fixture in the list, you will need to make it yourself using the Scan Library editor (PC only), or contact us
and we will build the profile for you.

To add your lighting fixture, drag and drop it onto the DMX patch table, or select the number of fixtures
and starting channel in the bottom left and select patch. Fixtures can be moved within the DMX patch
by dragging and dropping.

If you are looking to add a matrix of lighting fixtures such as an RGB wall or dancefloor, patch the total
number of lighting fixtures here and refer to the 'Arranging Fixtures' topic for more information.

Addressing your Lighting Fixture

Each lighting fixture must be given a unique number or “Address”. The address is normally set via an
LED display or Dip Switches on the actual lighting fixture. Hover over a fixture to know the address and
click the fixture to see the dip switches required to set this address. For example, this lighting fixture is
set to address 22. For more information on setting the address on a lighting fixture, refer to the fixture
manufacturers manual.

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List View

To change individual fixture properties, select ‘List View’.

The following options are available:

Shortcut- To control the selected channel with the mouse, select a keyboard shortcut here
Fade- Enables and disables fading of the channel. For example, you may wish to ignore all fade
commands on a gobo channel
Dimmer- Defines a dimmer channel (when the dimmer % value of a step is changed, this channel will
be changed)
Invert X- Inverts the X channel, so when the fader is at 0, the software will output 255
Invert Y- Inverts the Y channel, so when the fader is at 0, the software will output 255
X/Y- Swaps the X and Y channels

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3. Editor

Controlling Channels

The editor is where all lighting programming is made. Drag a fader with the mouse to change the value.
To change the value of the same channel type on every fixture, hold shift. For example, to change the
color of every fixture, hold shift and move the color fader. Notice that the DMX output value is displayed
at the top of the fader.

Easy Stand Alone 2 features a range of preset components to help you to quickly adjust a channel. To
access the component, click at the top of the channel where the preset/color is displayed. For example,
clicking at the top of a color channel shows a color wheel.

Clicking on the cursor will allow you to drag it around the color wheel. Notice that the RGB values are
shown. Clicking on the color wheel and dragging up with the mouse will move the cursor clockwise,
dragging down will move the cursor anti clockwise.

With the XY grid, clicking on the center point will allow you to quickly set an XY position. Clicking on a
blank space in the grid will allow you to slowly move the position.

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Scenes and Steps

All programming is made with scenes and steps. A step is a static ‘Look’ which contains one value for
each channel. Several steps make up a scene. Scenes can be created by clicking the top left icon in
the scene area.

Once values have been set, steps can be created here(1). When a new step is created, all faders are
set to 0. To copy the current steps values, click here(2). Double click the Fade time, Wait time or
dimmer value to modify. To modify several steps at the same time, hold control(pc)/command(mac) to
select multiple steps. To select a range of steps, select the first step of the range, hold shift and then
select the final step of the range.

You can preview your scene by clicking the play button.

Scene Settings

Double click a property to edit. For example, to change the name of a scene:
1. Double click the name
2. Type the new name
3. Press the Return key

The following properties can be changed:

#- If this is selected, the scene will be included in the show
Loops- Set the number of times a scene should repeat
Next- Set where you want to scene to go when it reaches the end (make sure a number of loops has
been set first!)
Enable/Disable Fade- When this is selected, the scene will fade in using the fade time of the first step
Trigger- Add a keyboard shortcut key to trigger the scene

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For information on Stand Alone settings, refer to the ‘Advanced Settings’ topic.

4. User

The User screen is where you run your show. Click a scene to activate it. If you want your scene to
listen to the Loop and Next properties, make sure that the Play button is selected here.

It is possible to change the color of a scene by right clicking the scene.

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Live Edits

It is possible to override scenes by moving the faders. There are two options:
LTP- Latest Takes Priority: The fader will always override the scene
HTP- Highest Takes Priority: If the fader value is higher than the value within the activated scene, it will
override the scene

To set up LTP or HTP, make sure that it is enabled within the ‘User Options’ menu and then click the
AUTO button at the bottom of the channel you want to override.

5. Stand Alone

You must have an interface with stand-alone memory connected to gain access to the stand-alone tab.
This is where your show is read and written to your DMX interface. To write your show, simply click
‘Write Memory’. Some interfaces have limited memory so make sure that the ‘Last DMX Channel’ value
is set correctly. If you want to exclude some scenes from the stand-alone memory, make sure that they
are unchecked within the editor tab.

Click ‘Test Memory’ to put your interface into stand-alone mode and test your show as if the interface
was not connected to the computer.

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ESA2 III Scene Builder

III Scene Builder

1. Arranging Fixtures

The scene builder allows you to quickly and easily build advanced scenes and create effects without
the need to set each fader and step manually. It replaces the effects generator and color manager in
the previous software version. Create a new scene and click here to open the scene builder.

Selection Mode

When the scene builder is opened, you will see your lighting fixtures on the left. Each square represents
a lighting fixture. Click and drag the squares to position the lighting fixtures. Hold
control(PC)/command(Mac) to select multiple fixtures.

There are 3 tools to help with fixture selection:

Rectangle- draw a rectangle around the fixtures to select (like selecting files inside explorer/finder)
Lasso- Draw a perimeter around a set of fixtures to select the fixtures within the chosen perimeter
Drag Over- Any fixtures within a drawn shape will be selected

Notice that as fixtures are selected, a number appears. This is the order in which any curve or linear fan
effect will be created.

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Groups

Groups can be created to help quick recall of fixture selections. To create a group, select the fixtures to
be included inside the group and then select the + button.

Matrixes

Click here to create a matrix. Easy Stand Alone 2 will automatically position your lighting fixtures into a
matrix. Select the arrow to define a custom width and height of the matrix.

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ESA2 III Scene Builder

2. Controlling Fixtures

Once you have selected the lighting fixtures you wish to control, all common presets will be shown
here. To view only the presets of a particular fixture type, select the appropriate tab.

If you have no fixtures selected, you can draw a preset onto a fixture:
1. Select the Pen tool
2. Select the presets you want to change
3. Click on the fixtures you want to update

Color Wheel

The color wheel offers several ways to change the color

-Click the cursor and drag around the color wheel to choose a color
-Click on the color wheel to jump to one of the 6 preset colors
-Click on the color wheel and drag up and down to move slowly around the color wheel
-Select the center sections to modify the brightness and saturation
-Click in the center of the color wheel to choose a color with a standard color picker or insert RGB
values

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XY Grid

-The XY grid allows you to modify the pan/tilt channels of a fixture (uPan and uTilt are automatically
calculated)
-Click the center point and drag to move the position
-Click a blank space in the grid and drag to slowly move the position, use the scroll wheel of your
mouse to adjust the precision
-Select the horizontal and vertical bars to adjust only the pan or tilt

Beam On

Clicking the beam on button will enable the default preset of each selected fixture. For example, on a
moving head this may be ‘Shutter Open’, ‘Iris Open’ and ‘Dimmer 100%’.

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Linear Fan

The linear fan function allows you to define a range by selecting a start and end point. The preset range
will then be applied across the selected lighting fixtures. This is a great way to create color gradients
and position fans.

1. Click here to enable/disable the Linear Fan function

2. Click the down arrow to select the fan type
3. Click on the component to select the start and end range
4. Select the range and drag up and down to move the range

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3. Effects

Color Effect

Easy Stand Alone 2 features a powerful RGB

color effects generator. To add an effect, select the effects tab and click the
FX icon. Select ‘Color Effect’. A rectangle will appear in the upper left
corner playing a rainbow effect. Drag and drop this over your lighting
fixtures. The effect can be resized by dragging the corners.

To modify a color effect, select the effect

type and change the properties. It is possible to add many effects at the same
time.

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ESA2 III Scene Builder

Position Effect

Position effects allow you to easily create movement patterns for scanners and moving head lighting
fixtures. Select the fixtures you want to control, select ‘Position Effect’ from the FX menu and then
select a starting shape. The shape can be altered by clicking on a point and dragging. Phasing will add
a delay on each fixture.

Curve Effect

The curve effect tool allows you to apply a dimming curve to any channel. Select ‘Curve Effect’ from the
FX menu and select the fixtures you wish to control.

The following properties are available:

Rate- Changes the speed of the effect. More wave cycles will be added
Size- Changes the height of the wave
Phase- Moves the wave forward and backward, consequently changing the starting point
Offset- Moves the wave up and down
Phasing- Adds a delay to each fixture

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The curve effects can be stacked to create many interesting patterns.

Generate an Effect

You can remove an individual effect by clicking on the trashcan icon. The whole effect can be cleared
by selecting the cancel icon (to the left of the tick icon).

Select the tick icon to generate the effect. If you are generating an effect for stand-alone use, select the
small arrow to compress the effect and save memory.

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ESA2 IV Other Features

IV Other Features

1. Scene Settings

The ‘Trigger Settings’ dialog can be accessed by selecting a scene and clicking on the cog icon (4th
icon along in the scenes area).

The following properties are available:

Key- Allows you to add a shortcut key to trigger the scene
Jump- If this is checked, the scene can be recalled in stand-alone mode when pressing the previous
and next buttons on the USB interface
Port- A scene can be triggered in stand-alone using the dry contact ports on the rear of the interface.
Select the port number from 1-8, or if the ports are combined in binary, select the address.

Time

Some interfaces include a clock and calendar allowing a scene to be automatically recalled at a certain
time of day or a certain day or date.

Appointed time- set a time of the day when a scene is triggered

Repeating time slot- Re-trigger a scene several times between a start and end time (if you have a
scene set to Always Loop, this function is not very useful!)
Sunrise/Sunset- Triggers a scene at sunrise and sunset. Check that the location settings are correct
within the Hardware Configuration Tools application.

By default, the time set will be triggered every day. This can be changed to just 1 day each year (for
example, maybe you would like to have your lights green on St Patricks day) or every day between 2
dates. You can also select a scene to trigger on a certain day of the week, or a certain day of the week
between 2 dates. The days of the week can be found at the bottom of the date selection box.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Scenes cannot be

switched OFF. There must always be one scene running, therefore it is
not possible to set a time to turn a scene off. The scene will be
activated until another is triggered.

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2. Hardware Configuration - Tools

The Hardware Configuration-Tools application can be found in the software directory. It allows you to
manage your DMX interface. Here you can upgrade the firmware, set the internal clock and manage
other hardware related parameters. Refer to the hardware manual for your specific USB-DMX interface
for more information.

3. Easy Remote

Easy Remote is an iPhone, iPad and Android smartphone/tablet app which allows you to control a
variety of DMX devices and software over a WiFi network. The free app can be found at the App Store
and Google Play.

Getting Started

Before opening the app, make sure your smartphone/tablet is connected to the
same network as the computer or DMX interface you wish to control.

When you open

Easy Remote you will be asked to choose a controller. Make sure you're
running a copy of the software on your computer or you have a DMX interface connected to the same
local network. Easy Remote will show
you a list of available controllers. Simply tap the one you wish to
control.

Should you want to change controllers you can return

to the controller list by tapping the arrow on the toolbar in the
Interface Builder on iPhone/iPad, or the 'Back' button on Android.

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Building your interface

Now you’re ready to build your interface. Tap the padlock icon on
the toolbar to unlock the workspace. You will be presented with the
component palette from which you can select the buttons and faders etc
to build your interface. Scroll up or down on the Component Palette to
reach other components.

Note: with some software packages, you need to make your design on the
computer. The layout is then sent from the computer to the
tablet/smartphone. In this case, the component palette will not appear.

Arrange the components on the workspace

to suit your needs. To add a component to the workspace, simply tap its
icon on the scrolling component palette. Components can be moved around
the workspace by dragging them with your finger. To remove an item from
the workspace, drag it onto the toolbar at the top of the screen and
release.

Below is a list of available components. Depending on the connected controller, some components may
not be assignable:
-On/Off button: normally used for switching scenes on and off
-Push button: use this to create a 'Flash', or with controllers where it is not possible to switch a scene
OFF
-Vertical Fader: normally used for dimming or changing the speed of effects
-Horizontal Fader: a horizontal version of the vertical slider
-Dial: A rotary version of the slider
-90 Degree Dial: Works the same as a dial but rotated 90 degrees
-XY grid: for controlling the pan and tilt of moving heads and scanners
-Color Wheel: To control an RGB or CMY color mixing light
-Text Label: For adding your own text
-Add Page/Remove page: To add or remove a page (see below)

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ESA2 IV Other Features

The component palette can be hidden by tapping the paintbrush on the

toolbar. Tap it again to bring it back.

The workspace can be

extended by tapping the page icon at the bottom of the component
palette. This gives you additional pages on which to place components if
you find yourself needing more space. The workspace may comprise of up
to ten pages.

When extra pages are added, dots appear to show you

how many pages make up your workspace. You can get to other pages by
swiping to the left or right. Your current page is indicated by the
brightest dot. Be careful when swiping with the workspace unlocked.
Swipe with your finger starting in free space as swiping with your
finger starting on a component will move the component instead.

When you are finished designing your interface, lock the workspace by tapping the padlock.

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Saving your interface

Once you have built your interface you can save it by tapping the
floppy disc on the toolbar. Enter a name and tap the disc icon.

Once
your interface is saved lock the workspace by tapping the padlock. This
hides the component palette and prevents further changes being made. If
you want to change something at a later date just tap the padlock to
unlock.

Getting your interface to control fixtures

Now that you have built your interface, you need to assign commands to your components.

If you are using a Stand Alone DMX controller

-Press the pen icon (see image)

-Select a command, for example 'Scene On', 'A1'
-Give your component a name
-Choose an on/off/text color by moving the slider. You can also choose from one of the 5 presets. To
store the selected color in a new preset, hold the preset for 1 second. (the last preset cannot be
modified)
-If you're using a slider, select the minimum and maximum value of the slider

If you are using lighting control software

-If the interface design has been made on the computer, your commands are also assigned here,
therefore there is nothing to do on the tablet/smartphone other than refresh the screen
-If the interface design has been made on the tablet, you need to tell the software which parameters
you want your components to control by right clicking and choosing Learn Easy Remote Command…’

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ESA2 IV Other Features

Fader components in Easy Remote can be associated with faders in the

software. To do this, right click on the fader in the software, choose
‘Learn Easy Remote Command…’ from the menu and on Easy Remote move the
fader you want to use to control it

Other controls are learnt in the

same way, so to associate two color wheel components, open the Scene
Builder. Select the fixture you want to control then on its color wheel
in the Scene Builder Presets tab, right click and select ‘Learn Easy
Remote Command…’ Now move the Color Wheel on Easy Remote and the two
will be linked. Please note, Easy Remote can be used to control color
wheels of one or more of the same fixture type. The color wheel on the
‘All’ tab cannot be controlled from Easy Remote.

The XY component
is linked in the same way through the Presets tab in the Scene Builder.
Buttons are linked to Scenes in the User window in a similar manner.

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Creating a Computer to Computer Network

If you don't have a network, you can create a direct connection between your computer and your
smartphone or tablet.

Windows XP
1.Open the Start menu
2.Click on Control Panel
3.Under Pick a category, click Network and Internet Connections
4.Under Pick a Control Panel icon, click Network Connections
5.Right-click your wireless network connection, and then click Properties
6.In the Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog box, click the Wireless Networks tab
7.On the Wireless Networks tab, under Preferred networks, click Add.
8.In the Wireless network properties dialog box, on the Association tab, type the name of your ad hoc
wireless network in Network name (SSID) box. For example, you could name your wireless network
"LightingControlNetwork".
9.Clear the The key is provided for me automatically check box.
10.Select the This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network check box.
11.Create a password and type it in both the Network key and Confirm network key boxes. For the best
security, include letters, numbers, and punctuation. Then click OK.
12.Click OK again to save your changes.

Windows Vista
1.Open the Start menu.
2.Click Connect to
3.Click Set up a connection or network
4.Select Set up a wireless ad hoc network and click Next
5. Enter the new network name such as "LightingControlNetwork"
6.Enter a Security key
7.Check Save this network

Windows 7
1.Open the Start Menu
2.Click Control Panel
3.Click Network and Internet
4.Click Network and Sharing Center
5.Under Change your networking settings, click Set up a new connection or network
6.Select Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network
7.Click on Next twice
8.Enter the Network name such as "LightingControlNetwork"
9.Select the Security WAP (or WEP)
10.Enter the Security key or password
11.Check Save this network check box
12.Click Turn on Internet connection sharing

Mac OSx
1.Choose Create Network from the AirPort status icon in the menu bar. (If the icon isn’t in the menu bar,
choose Apple > System Preferences, and then click Network. Click AirPort and select the "Show AirPort
status in menu bar" checkbox.)
System Preferences, and then click Network. Click AirPort and select the "Show AirPort status in menu
bar" checkbox.)

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2.Give the network a name and select a channel from the pop-up menu. The default channel is 11, but
you can choose channel 1 or channel 2.
3.Select the Require Password checkbox to protect your network with a password. Type the password
users will need to enter in order to join your network. Do the following:
-Type a password of exactly 5 ASCII characters or 10 hexadecimal digits if you chose "40-bit WEP
(more compatible)" from the Security pop-up menu.
-Type a password of exactly 13 ASCII characters or 26 hexadecimal digits if you chose "128-bit WEP"
from the Security pop-up menu.

Connect your tablet or smartphone in the same way as you would normally connect to a wireless
network.

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