We’ve introduced new RDM tools in Designer 2.13 to help make patching, status monitoring and management a breeze.
On this page
Perform RDM discovery
With your controller connected to your network, you can use Designer 2 to discover RDM devices on the controller’s local DMX ports or on an Art-Net universe.
- Open the RDM Discovery window by clicking the RDM Discovery button at the top of Patch
- Select the required controller, protocol and universe and click Discover to find RDM-capable devices attached to the selected output
- The RDM discovery table will display all discovered RDM capable devices connected to the selected output.
💡 Tip: It’s also possible to start RDM discovery on a particular universe by clicking Discover on port… above a compatible universe in the patch.
Note: RDM discovery is not supported on VLC family controllers.
Manage device settings using RDM in Designer 2
While in the RDM Discovery window, you can identify and make changes to the settings of discovered devices using RDM.
Identify device
To put a device into its RDM identify mode, toggle the Identify button.
Change start address
- Choose a device to be readdressed by selecting the corresponding row in the RDM Discovery window.
- Click in the Start Address cell to enable text entry and enter a new value in the Start Address column.
- Hit return to confirm your change. This will send an RDM command to readdress the device.
Change device personality
- Choose a device by selecting the corresponding row in the RDM Discovery window.
- Click in the Personality cell to reveal available personalities.
- Select the desired personality. This will send an RDM command to the device.
Change fixture type
- Double-click the Type cell to reveal Designer’s fixture library.
- Select a fixture type from the fixture library and click OK.
Note: the device’s type will be shown in red if it does not match the device’s footprint.
Add discovered fixtures to your project
You can use RDM discovery to find devices and add them directly to your project.
To add all discovered RDM devices to your project:
Click Add All Discovered Devices from the RDM Discovery window.
This will also add the discovered RDM devices to the patch at their respective start addresses. New fixtures will be created in the browser.
To add a selection of RDM devices to your project:
Click and drag the desired fixture(s) from the RDM Discovery window.
You can drop fixtures:
- Onto an empty part of a layout (creates a new fixture)
- Onto an existing fixture (associates the RDM device with the existing fixture)
- Into the patch (will send an RDM command to readdress the device)
- Into the browser
When multiple devices have been selected, they will be added in the order they were selected.
Monitor device status in the controller’s web interface
Once your project has been uploaded, the controller’s web interface contains information relating to connected RDM devices.
Use a web browser to navigate to the IP address of your controller and open the Fixtures tab.
This page presents an overview of the project’s fixtures. Clicking Refresh performs RDM discovery and updates the page.
At the top of the page, the summary section shows:
- Time and date of the last refresh
- Number of RDM devices discovered at the last refresh
- Number of unpatched devices discovered at the last refresh
The fixtures table shows the RDM status of each fixture in the project. This can be:
All RDM UIDs associated with the device have been discovered at the last refresh
No RDM UIDs associated with the device were discovered at the last refresh
Some, but not all, RDM UIDs associated with the device were discovered at the last refresh
There are no RDM UIDs associated with the device, or a refresh has not been performed since the controller was last rebooted
A refresh is in progress
From the Fixtures page, click Unpatched Devices to see devices discovered at the last refresh which are not associated with a fixture in the project. From here, it’s possible to identify each unpatched device.
Manage device settings using RDM in the controller’s web interface
From the Fixtures page, click the three dots next to a fixture to open a fixture’s detail page. This page shows a table with rows for the fixture’s associated RDM device(s) and the status of each device. Clicking Refresh Fixture will refresh just the devices on this page.
From here, it’s possible to edit each device’s mode, start address and curve. It’s also possible to identify each device.
Note: Changes made here will be sent to RDM devices but will not modify the controller’s project file.
