The Properties Palette

The Properties palette displays the parameters of fixtures and objects that are selected from the Scene Graph palette, and allows for their modification.

Select Window > Properties, or press the Ctrl+Shift+Y (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Y (Mac) shortcut key.

The parameters of the item or items currently selected from the Scene Graph palette display in the Properties palette, in the order in which the items were selected. Use the scroll bar on the Properties palette to access all parameters, or scroll with the Page Up/Page Down and arrow keys. Depending upon the parameter, a field may be edited, a value toggled, or a dialog box opened. Available parameters depend on the selection.

Global Parameters

When no objects are currently selected, the global scene parameters display in the Properties palette. To edit these parameters, select ROOT from the Scene Graph palette.

Global Parameter	Description
Ambient	Sets the amount of brightness across the entire scene, affecting all viewports. No shadows are created by ambient lighting. To increase the ambient light level by 1 with keyboard shortcuts, press Ctrl+Shift+L (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+L (Mac); to decrease the ambient light level by 1, press Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+K (Mac). To simulate the use of house lights, press Ctrl+Shift+J (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+J (Mac) to toggle them on and off. If the ambient setting in the global properties is less than 50, the toggle increases the ambient setting by 50. If the ambient setting is 50 or more, the toggle decreases the ambient setting by 50.
Volumetric Quality	Sets the rendering quality of the light beams, but does not control the intensity of the beams
Volumetric Amount	Sets the amount of volumetric lighting, controlling the overall haze transparency; increasing the amount and/or quality may increase rendering time. To decrease rendering time, disable light beams by setting the volumetric amount to 0%.
Exposure	Sets the scene exposure value by adjusting the brightness of each pixel; values above 1.00 increase the exposure and values below 1.00 decrease it
Contrast	Distinguishes the relative difference between lighter and darker areas. Increasing the contrast makes the difference between lighter and darker areas more pronounced, while decreasing it can add a washed-out effect
Brightness	Controls the absolute value of the lightness/darkness tone by adjusting the comparative luminance of each pixel
Gamma	Adjusts the contrast and brightness of midtone colors, without changing black or white
Bloom Strength	A bloom effect produces a glowing halo around the brightest areas of the image, creating the illusion of a bright light overwhelming the camera or the eye
Bloom Threshold	Controls the lighting level where the bloom effect occurs
Bloom Light Strength	Controls how much light a fixture’s lens emits; larger values indicate that the lens is more likely to bloom. The lens is not drawn unless this value is greater than 0 (zero).
Haze Texture	Selects a haze texture image; click the button to select the image. The haze image is applied to the scene where a light bream projects.
Haze Amount	Sets the smoky/hazy quality of the light beams by controlling the application of the haze texture; a value of 100% renders black areas of the haze as black, making empty areas appear invisible. A value of 0% renders black areas of the haze with a consistent (not variable) haze quality.
Haze Horizontal/Vertical	Controls the speed of the haze image as it moves in horizontal and vertical directions across the screen
Haze Horizontal/Vertical Offset	Sets an offset for the haze image to control its location in the horizontal and vertical directions. The offset percentage corresponds to screen percentage; for example, an offset of 10% shifts the haze image by 10% of the screen or viewport.
Haze Contrast	Controls the contrast of the haze texture
CameraFOV	Sets the scene window Field of View; increase the value to move the camera (view) away from the center of the scene, and decrease the value to move closer
RenderGrid	Toggles the display of the grid in all viewports
RenderLookedAt	Toggles the display of the Looked At point in all viewports
RenderSelection	Shows the bounding box of the object selected in the Scene Graph palette
Render Light Geometry	Toggles the display of the fixtures in the scene
Render Hotspots	Toggles the display of lighting hotspots
Double Sided	Reserved for future use
PushLookedAtDistance	Adjusts the distance of the Looked At Point from the camera. Larger values are best when viewing entire scenes, while smaller values optimize close-up views.
FarClipPlane	Sets the distance to the far vertical planar boundary of the Scene window, beyond which objects are not visible

Object and Fixture Parameters

Common Parameters

Objects and fixtures have location and rotation parameters, with X, Y, and Z coordinates/angles in 3D space. Edit the coordinate or the rotation angle of the selected fixture or object.

Fixtures display their parameters such as name, manufacturer, universe, channel, and so on; click in the field to change the value. Some parameters, such as manufacturer, cannot be edited.

Parameter	Description
Texture	Displays the image file, video file, or capture input assigned to the object. Click the button next to the texture property to select a file. For more information on adding video to textures, see Specifying Textures.
Brightness (Textures only)	Controls the absolute value of the lightness/darkness tone by adjusting the comparative luminance of each pixel in the texture
Emissive	Toggles the emissive property on and off. Because emissives do not emit specific beams or create shadows, emissive fixtures can reduce rendering time.
XForm	Moves selected fixtures and objects in the scene, or all fixtures and objects in the selected scene file. Select one or more fixtures or objects, and set an XForm Universe and Channel to control the location of the base and delta positions. If moving multiple selections, use the same XForm Universe and Channel for all selections. Alternatively, move multiple selections at once by grouping them in a merged scene file. See Merging Files for more information. Edit the XForm Delta values (in inches) to specify the direction and magnitude of movement. Delta X controls lateral movement, Delta Y controls upward/downward movement, and Delta Z controls forward/backward movement.
Gobo Wheel	Selects a gobo image for the fixture to project. Click the button next to the slot number to select the .jpg graphic file for the slot.
Color Wheel	Selects a color for each slot in the fixture’s color wheel. To select a color, click the button next to the color definition. The Color dialog box opens. Color libraries from common manufacturers are listed on the left. Expand the list for a manufacturer by clicking the disclosure arrow. Select a standard color from a manufacturer, or choose a color from the color picker. The Preview displays the selected color. The Hue, Saturation, and Luminance values, as well as the Red, Green, and Blue values, display. Click OK to use the selected color for the color slot.
Continuous Wheel	Selects a continuous wheel image for fixtures with internal fixed color wheels or external color scrollers. Click the button next to the slot number to select the .jpg graphic file for the color wheel or scroller slot. Continuous Wheel fixtures are also known as Animation Wheels.
Attachments	Selects accessories for the fixture. To add accessories, click Click to manage, and then click Manage Attachments. A dialog box opens; from the list of available items on the left, select the attachments to add to the fixture and click Add to move them to the list on the right. Click OK. The properties of the accessories can be set from the Properties palette.
DMX	Assigns a unique address and other information to DMX-controlled fixtures and objects