Effect Editor

• 1: Effect Defaults
• 2: Full Curve Editor
• 3: Inline Curve Editor
• 4: Inline Gradient Editor

1 - Effect Defaults

Overview

Every effect (Pulse, Wave, Fireworks, Text, and so on) normally starts with Vixen’s built-in look — for example, Pulse starts with a plain white gradient and a ramp-up curve. If you like to reuse a particular color gradient, curve shape, or other setting every time you place a certain effect, you don’t have to reconfigure it by hand each time. Effect Defaults let you save your own starting point for each effect type.

In the effect editor header, next to the existing help (?) button, there are two buttons for this feature:

• Save as Default (floppy disk icon) — captures every setting currently shown for the effect you’re editing and saves it as the default for that effect type.
• Reset to Built-in (circular arrow icon) — deletes the saved default for that effect type, after asking you to confirm. Future new effects of that type go back to Vixen’s original built-in look.

Once you’ve saved a default for an effect type, every new instance of that effect type starts pre-filled with your saved settings instead of the built-in ones — no matter how you create it: drawing it on the timeline, using “Add Multiple Effects,” adding it at marks, dragging it from the toolbox, a hotkey, replacing another effect with it, or dropping a compatible media file onto the timeline.

Clicking Reset to Built-in never changes the effect you currently have open — it only affects effects you create afterward.

A quick example

1. Add a Pulse effect to the timeline and open it in the effect editor. It starts out with the built-in ramp curve and white gradient.
2. Change the curve shape and pick a different color gradient.
3. Click Save as Default. The Reset to Built-in button becomes enabled, confirming the save worked.
4. Add a brand-new Pulse effect anywhere on the timeline — it already shows your custom curve and gradient.
5. Click Reset to Built-in on any Pulse effect, confirm the prompt, and the next new Pulse effect you add goes back to the original built-in look.

Where defaults are stored

Saved defaults belong to your current Vixen profile — the same profile that holds your controllers, sequences, and preferences. If you use more than one profile, each one has its own independent set of saved effect defaults.

What is and isn’t carried into a saved default

Saving a default captures every setting shown in the effect’s property grid — colors, curves, gradients, numeric settings, and so on.

A few things are deliberately not carried over, because they only make sense within the specific sequence you were working in when you saved the default:

• Mark Collection selections. If an effect (such as Alternating or LipSync) is set to follow a specific Mark Collection, that particular selection is not saved as part of the default, since a Mark Collection from one sequence has no meaning in another sequence. New effects created from the default simply start with no Mark Collection selected for that setting.
• Placement information, such as which elements the effect targets, its position and duration on the timeline, and any attached media file — these always come from wherever you actually place the new effect.

If the curve or color gradient you had selected when you saved the default came from the Curve or Color Gradient library, the saved default keeps that library link live. That means if you later edit the shared library curve or gradient, every new effect created from that saved default picks up your edit automatically — the same way any other effect linked to that library entry would. If you ever delete or rename that library entry instead, effects created from the default keep working using the gradient’s or curve’s last-known values rather than breaking.

Sharing defaults between profiles

Under Tools → Effect Defaults in the Timed Sequence Editor’s menu, you’ll find:

• Export… — opens a checklist of your currently saved effect defaults so you can pick which ones to save to a file. Use this to back them up or share a “look” with another Vixen installation or profile.
• Import… — reads a file previously created with Export and adds its saved defaults to your current profile. If a default for a given effect type already exists, the imported one replaces it; saved defaults for effect types not mentioned in the imported file are left alone.
• Dump (Readable XML)… — writes out everything currently saved as a plain, readable XML file. This isn’t meant for day-to-day use; it’s there so you (or someone helping you troubleshoot) can inspect exactly what’s stored if something isn’t behaving as expected.

2 - Full Curve Editor

Overview

The Full Curve Editor is a dedicated dialog for building and fine-tuning a curve with more precision than the Inline Curve Editor allows. It opens when you double click a curve control in the Effect Editor.

Editing Curves

• To add a point, hold the Control Key and click on the grid where you want the new point.
• To delete a point, hold the Alt Key and click the point you wish to delete. A curve must always keep at least two points, so the last two can’t be removed.
• To move a point, simply click and drag it to a new position.
• To move the entire curve up or down while keeping its shape, click and drag anywhere on the grid that isn’t on a point.

Shortcuts

• To flatten the curve into a horizontal line, hold the Shift key and click-drag anywhere on the grid. The flat line will follow your mouse up and down.
• To reverse the curve direction (flip left to right), use Alt+Shift while clicking the curve, or click the Reverse Curve button.
• To invert the curve (flip top to bottom), use Control+Shift while clicking the curve, or click the Invert Curve button.

Precise Point Entry

Clicking or dragging a point selects it and shows its coordinates in the X: and Y: boxes below the grid. You can type exact values into these boxes and click Update to move the selected point to that precise location, which is useful when you need an exact number instead of an approximate mouse position.

Draw and Generate

• Draw Curve lets you free-hand a brand new curve. Click the button, then click and drag the left mouse button from the left side of the grid to the right side to sketch the shape. The Draw Interval setting controls the minimum horizontal distance between the points that get recorded while you draw; a larger interval creates a smoother curve with fewer points.
• f(x) Curve opens a function generator where you can type a mathematical expression to generate the curve. The expression is evaluated for x from 0 to 100 (at the Draw Interval step size) and the result becomes the curve’s Y value at that point. Pi is available as a constant. For example, Sin(2 * Pi * (x / 100)) * 50 + 50 produces one full sine wave across the curve.

Library

The Library section lets you save, load, and manage curves independently of any one effect:

• Save Curve saves the curve currently shown in the editor to the library under a name you choose.
• Load Curve opens the curve library so you can pick an existing curve and link the editor’s curve to it.
• When a curve is linked to a library curve, it’s shown in gray and can’t be edited directly in this dialog.
• Edit Library Curve opens the linked library curve itself for editing; changes apply everywhere that curve is used.
• Unlink Curve breaks the link to the library curve, leaving you with an independent copy you can edit freely.

3 - Inline Curve Editor

Overview

The Inline Curve Editor is a powerful tool that allows many features of the larger Full Curve Editor editor dialog to be done inline in the effect editor. This improves efficency for the user since they do not have to keep opening and closing a bulky dialog box.

Editing Curves

• To add a node, hold the Control Key and Click the line where you want to add the node.
• To delete a node, hold the Alt Key and Click the node you wish to delete. A curve must always keep at least two nodes, so the last two can’t be deleted.
• To move a node, simply Click and Drag any node to the position you want. (The Full Curve Editor provides more precision if needed)

Shortcuts

• To flatten the curve into a horizontal line, hold the shift key and click anywhere in the curve control. Holding shift while dragging will allow you to position that horizontal flat line up and down. This function is intended to replace the functionality of the old simple sliders that have now been replaced with curves.
• To reverse the curve direction, (flip left to right) use Alt+Shift while clicking the curve.
• To invert the curve (flip top to bottom), use Control+Shift while clicking the curve.

Drag and Drop

• Using the curve library, you can drag curves and drop them onto the curve in the effect editor. This works from the full library panel, or the toolbar. The opposite also works. You can drag the curve from the effect editor pane to the preset library or toolbar to add them to the library.
• You can drag a curve from the effect editor onto any other effect or selected effects on the timeline. If the effect has more than one curve, you will be prompted to choose which curve to replace.
• To invoke the full curve editor, simply double click on the black area of the curve control.
• When a curve is linked to a library curve, the line will be gray and a link icon will appear over the control.

Full Curve Editor

• To invoke the full curve editor, simply double click on the curve in the effect editor.

A linked Curve denoted by the chain link in the upper left corner.

You will not be able to edit the linked curve in the effect editor pane. Double clicking the curve control will allow you to link or unlink library curve. Once it is unlinked, you can edit it in the inline editor or the larger Curve dialog.

See Full Curve Editor for details on the dialog’s drawing, function generator, and library tools.

4 - Inline Gradient Editor

Overview

The Inline Gradient Editor is a powerful tool that allows many features of the full Color Gradient editor dialog to be done inline in the effect editor. This improves efficency for the user since they do not have to keep opening and closing a bulky dialog box.

Editing Colors

• To add a color node, simply click in the empty space just below the gradient image.
• To delete a node, hold the Alt Key and Click on the node you want to delete.
• To change the color of a node, Double Click on the node.
• Nodes can be dragged to change the positon of the blend.
• Fine editing of the blend or the points between colors is still done with the full editor.

Drag Drop

Using the gradient library, you can drag colors or gradients from the preset library or toolbar and drop them onto the gradient in the effect editor. The opposite also works to add a gradient to the library. You can also drag the gradient from the effect editor to another effect on the timeline. If the effect on the timeline has multiple gradients, you will be prompted for which gradient to replace.

Shortcuts

Sometimes you may want the reverse of an existing gradient that is being used. You can use Alt+Shift and Click on the gradient in the effect editor and it will reverse the color order.

Full Gradient Editor

• To invoke the full gradient editor, simply double click on the gradient in the effect editor.

Library Gradients

• When a gradient is linked to a library gradient, a link icon will appear over the gradient control and no nodes will be shown.

A linked Color Gradient denoted by the chain link in the upper left corner.

You will not be able to edit the linked gradient in the effect editor pane. Double clicking the gradient control will allow you to link or unlink the library gradient. Once it is unlinked, you can edit it in the inline editor or the Full Gradient Editor.