DMX Mapping
Maps pixels of an output to DMX channels, so LED fixtures and lighting can be driven from rendered content over Art-Net. Each mapping says: start at this pixel in the output, take this many pixels in this direction, and send them from this DMX address onwards.
The window works on an Art-Net output. With none in the project it reports No Artnet outputs; an output that exists but carries no content reports Output not routed.
Opening the window
Either View > DMX Mapping, or select an Art-Net output in Outputs, expand the DMX Mapping section in the Inspector and click Show Mapping Window. The window reopens on the last Art-Net output viewed, saved per user. With no output selected it shows an output selector instead.
The grid
The grid is the output's pixel space — one cell per output pixel, sized to the output's width and height.
|
Element |
Description |
Values / Range |
|---|---|---|
|
Cell colour |
Each mapped pixel is coloured by its assigned Art-Net universe. Unmapped pixels are dark grey. |
Automatic hue per universe |
|
Channel numbers |
At the highest zoom level each cell shows its DMX start channel for the selected universe. |
1–512, full zoom only |
|
Rulers |
Column numbers along the top, row numbers down the left. Show the first and last visible index. |
1-based |
|
Grid lines |
Drawn once cells are 6 px or larger on screen; hidden automatically below that. |
Automatic |
|
Coordinate readout |
Grid position, and for a mapped pixel its universe and channel. |
|
Navigation
|
Control |
Description |
Values / Range |
|---|---|---|
|
Mouse wheel |
Zoom, anchored at the cursor. At maximum zoom, scrolling pans toward the cursor instead. |
Up = in, down = out |
|
Middle-mouse drag |
Pan the grid; the view follows the drag direction. |
Free drag |
|
Fit (nav overlay) |
Top button of the three-button overlay below the minimap. Zooms out to fit the whole grid. |
Click |
|
Zoom (nav overlay) |
Middle button. Drag vertically to zoom about the view centre. |
Drag up = in |
|
Pan (nav overlay) |
Bottom button. Drag to pan. |
Drag |
|
Minimap |
Overview in the top-right; a white rectangle marks the visible portion. Click or drag to reposition, wheel to zoom about the centre. |
Click or drag |
Selection and editing
|
Action |
Description |
Details |
|---|---|---|
|
Left-click |
Selects a single pixel. If it is mapped, its universe becomes the selected universe. |
Syncs with the Inspector's Selected Universe |
|
Left-click + drag |
Selects a horizontal or vertical line of pixels, locking to whichever axis you drag further along. |
Always a single row or column — never a rectangle |
|
Hover |
Shows grid coordinates, plus universe and channel for a mapped pixel. During a drag it shows the pixel count. |
— |
|
Inspector sync |
When the selection covers one mapping entry, that entry is highlighted and scrolled into view in Pixel Mappings. |
Automatic |
Right-click menu
Available items depend on whether the clicked pixel is mapped, and whether a selection exists.
|
Item |
Description |
Condition |
|---|---|---|
|
Add pixel mapping |
Creates an entry for the selected universe from the selection's position, direction and pixel count. The DMX address auto-increments from existing entries. |
Unmapped pixel inside a selection |
|
Delete mapping |
Removes the entry covering the selected pixels. A selection spanning several entries removes all of them. |
Mapped pixel |
|
Locate → |
Lights specific pixels on the physical fixture — Locate selected, Locate row, Locate column, and Dim other pixels during locate. |
Output must be routed; row/column need a single-pixel selection |
|
Skip DMX address |
Marks the selected pixels' DMX start channels as skipped; skipped channels are omitted from the output. |
Selection on mapped pixels |
|
Re-Enable DMX address |
Removes a skip. The submenu lists every skipped address in the selected universe. |
Selected universe has skips |
|
Stop Locating |
Ends the locate and restores normal output. With none running the window reports No active locate. |
During a locate |
Live data
The Live data checkbox, beside the output selector, colours each mapped pixel by the DMX RGB values actually being sent — what is leaving the server rather than what should be. The minimap follows. Values refresh each frame; if the send thread is busy the previous frame is kept, so the view never stalls.
Summary gives an overview of the mapping, and Click to fit view fits the whole output into the window.
Output selector
The dropdown at the top-left switches between Art-Net outputs without leaving the window. Choosing one here also activates the Outputs panel and selects it in the Inspector, so both stay in sync.
Universes
|
Control |
Description |
Values / Range |
|---|---|---|
|
Add Universe |
Adds a universe, copying the IP from the previous highest one, and selects it. |
Universe 1–32768 |
|
Selected Universe |
Chooses which universe to view and edit. Up/Down arrows cycle when focused. |
Dropdown |
|
Edit Universe |
Changes the universe number. If the target is taken it skips to the next free number in the same direction. |
1–32768 |
|
IP |
Destination address for this universe's Art-Net packets. |
IPv4, default |
|
Remove Selected Universe |
Deletes the universe and every pixel mapping in it. |
Button |
Pixel mappings
The Pixel Mappings section lists every entry in the selected universe. Each maps a run of output pixels to consecutive DMX channels.
|
Field |
Description |
Values / Range |
|---|---|---|
|
X / Y |
Start position of the run in the output. |
1 to output width / height |
|
Pixel |
How many pixels the run covers from the start position. |
0+ |
|
Direction |
The way the run travels across the output. |
Up / Down / Left / Right |
|
DMX address |
Channel of the first pixel; the rest follow. Each pixel consumes 3 channels (RGB). |
1–512 |
|
Skip addresses |
Start channels to leave out, for fixtures that do not occupy a continuous block. |
Comma-separated, 1–512 |
|
Add / Remove |
Add pixel to DMX mapping creates an entry from the previous one, auto-incrementing the address; Remove deletes that entry. |
Buttons |
A mapping is a straight run in one direction, so a serpentine LED layout is several mappings — one per row or column, alternating direction — not a single entry.
Import, export and masks
|
Control |
Description |
Values / Range |
|---|---|---|
|
Import CSV / Export CSV |
Moves a mapping in or out as a spreadsheet — the practical route for a large wall, or a layout supplied by the LED integrator. |
Buttons |
|
Save Pixelmask |
Writes out the mask of mapped pixels as an image. |
Button |
Undo
Every universe and pixel-mapping edit is undoable as a single step — add, edit, renumber, remove. Changes made in the grid's context menu and in the Inspector share one undo history.
Related
Set Up ArtNet and sACN Pixel Output — creating the Art-Net output this maps, and the mistakes that bite while doing it
Route Projectors and Displays to Outputs (Video Routing) — routing content to that output
Preview LED Content in the Scene View (LED Simulation) — previewing the result before the wall is built
Play a Video on a Segmented LED Screen — a complete build using this window