My friends and I are currently developing an open-source lighting control software and we want to add complete GDTF support. Because of this, I am currently working on deeply understanding the GDTF specification so we can implement all its features correctly.

I have already created some GDTF files that work flawlessly on grandMA3, utilizing almost every feature I've discovered in the GDTF Builder. However, I still don't fully grasp the exact purpose of Logical Channels and why I would need to use multiple Logical Channels on a single DMX-Channel, instead of just using multiple Channel Functions within Mode Master Containers.

I've created some test GDTFs trying to use two Logical Channels on one DMX-Channel, but I can never get them to work—they always show up as red (invalid) in the Builder. I searched the GDTF Share for examples of fixtures that actually do this in practice, but I couldn't find a single one.

Does anyone know of a specific fixture on the Share that successfully uses multiple Logical Channels? I would love to look at a working example so I can finally understand their exact use case.

Thanks!

Attached is a view from the back in Vectorworks with the GDTF that Chauvet made so you can see what I mean.

its my first time creating a file for a fixture and I am struggling to get everything working as it should. I have a Beamz FUZE 1910 and you should be able to control the pixels in 3 sets (the centre, middle ring and outer ring) does anyone have any advice on how to get this working.

Many thanks,

Liam

The fixtures Are the following. 

V-SHOW.

S710 profile

BL200studio Blinder

T918

R740L

Anybody know any working example fixtures?

is there a reason why the basement renders in the wrong orientation? (Found this with a LEDBeam 350 and T1)

When placing a hanging fixture In VW, if you want the cables US and tilt the fixture "up" towards the audience, you need to rotate the fixture 180° around the Z-axis. The pigtail shows US. – In MA3, the same fixture shows the pigtail on the DS side?

I have found that the GDTF Share API (https://gdtf-share.com/apis/public/getList.php) returns one fixture without a UUID (well, with a null UUID):

{
  "rid": 58754,
  "fixture": "StarColor72",
  "manufacturer": "BeamZ",
  "revision": "StarColor72_1",
  "creationDate": 1709560019,
  "lastModified": 1769963351,
  "uploader": "User",
  "rating": "N/A",
  "version": "1.2",
  "creator": "RickD",
  "uuid": null,
  "modes": [
    {
      "name": "8 Channels",
      "dmxfootprint": 8
    },
    {
      "name": "10 Channel",
      "dmxfootprint": 10
    },
    {
      "name": "4 Channels",
      "dmxfootprint": 4
    }
  ],
  "filesize": 980578
}

The GDTF file for the given revision seems to have GUID: https://fixturebuilder.gdtf-share.com/load/?rid=58754

Is the UUID field option in the response and I need to handle this case or is this simply a bug?
I have also trouble finding the official GDTF Share API spec. Is this the reference? https://www.gdtf.eu/gdtf/share_api/share-api/
It would be good to define which of those properties are optional and which aren't.

Thanks

AML_Lighting@AL-Q5IP_AuraZoom_FX_IP65@V1.0.gdtf

would it be possible to set the login time a little bit longer (1 hour at least) ?

best regards,

nicolas

I just noticed that the GDTF share API (https://gdtf-share.com/apis/public/getList.php) returns an empty list since today.

{"result":true,"list":[]}

I get the same result with two different accounts and if I use the API programmatically through URLSession or just open the URL in Safari.

Would be great if someone could have a look into what has been changed and rollback or fix it.

SAN@FG-78000@9999).GDTF

SAN@FG-780@QWRV1.2.gdtf

I'm trying to make custom profiles for a variety of devices in the special effects world because, while some effects manufacturer provide fixture profiles, I also want to be able to use GrandMa's 3D Viewer for at-home programming/practicing. I have my 3d models (after learning that you want to keep your number of vertices fairly limited). I am able to create what I believe are functional DMX profiles (I need real-world testing, but the values on my DMX sheet seem like they're doing the correct things). What I'm currently struggling with is getting the 3D Viewer to function along with the DMX Sheet.

I'm currently trying to build an Atlas Fog Machine. I have LEDs which change color and a plume of fog which has its own intensity value. By creating a custom attribute, "Fog" (in Feature Group Dimmer.DImmer), I can see on my DMX sheet that my Fog attribute changes the values in the correct DMX channel, and my standard Dimmer attribute changes the intensity of all my LED DMX channels. In my geometries, I have beams for all my LEDs, and a beam for my fog head. What I would like is my Fog attribute to be tied to the visualization of my fog head beam. Currently, I have linked the fog head geometry to the Fog channel and the Fog attribute, yet in the visualizer it insists on being shown only with the LEDs.

My current best guess is that my custom Fog attribute isn't recognized as having any data that the 3D Visualizer needs to output, and so my otherwise unaccounted-for fog beam is being lumped in to the standard Dimmer attribute with my LEDs. How can I separate my beams, so that the Visualizer is aware that I have two dimmers controlling different beams?

I have a set with build in LED (White only), that backlights a lot of mat plasticcover that is 20cm wide and has different lenght (from app. 5 to 7m long).

The set is made in Vectorworks and I would like to do the GDTF in there - Is there anybody here who has experience with this type of source, buliding it and get it to work in 3D on gMA3?

Best Sylvest

Is this function still available?

Does someone have this problem ? And how to solve ?

Thanks.

I’m running into an issue where, for some reason, I can’t get MA3D to render a beam in Gobo (and upwards) render mode in the MA3 v1.4 for some of the GDTF-Fixtures I built.

However, you can still see the "lens" light up and change colour and in line and simple render modes a beam is still produced.
Weirdly, the same GDTF-Profiles have worked in previous MA-Software versions.
Only the fixtures with Gobos/Animations Wheels seem to be affected. Simple wash-fixtures still work fine.

The Robe fixtures also seem to work fine (I’ve tried the Mega Pointe, and Pointe in this instance). Which makes me think is probably an error on my part.

As a test, I tried to open an old fixture of mine (ClayPaky Axcor 900 in this case) in the GDTF-Builder and rebuilding the Gobo Channels, the Gobo-wheel and also removing all the “new” errors in the new builder and re-exporting it - without success.

I have compared it to the Mega Pointe in both the Builder as well as in the MA3 software, but I can’t see any differences.

I could imagine that it is an issue with the png’s. However, I cannot find any information on how the png needs to be, apart from max size. When I initially built the fixture, I tried to replicate the way the gobo.png’s are built in the mega point: 1024x1024, black and white with an alpha channel around the edges, and as I said, this worked fine previously.

I’m probably missing something obvious to make it work.

Thank you, best regards

Extracting resource files directly from GDTF

Sometimes it may be useful to extract some data like gobo images, 3D models, or other files directly from the GDTF file. This is possible, because every GDTF file is a zip archive with .gdtf extension. To access the content of GDTF, rename the file from .gdtf to .zip and then open as any other zip archive.

When you unpack the .gdtf file, this is what you can typically see:

The description.xml file contains the description of the device type. There is a lot of information in this file and it requires deeper understanding of the GDTF Specification to utilize it:

The thumbnail.png provides an image of the product:

The thumbnail.svg is providing a 2D symbol for planning tools:

As these are normal .png and .svg files, they can be copied and used directly in any supportive application as needed.

The wheels folder contains all the images for gobos, animation wheels and so on:

The naming of the files is up to the GDTF creator, while the details of the image are as far as format, resolution, color conventions and so on.

The models folder contains subfolders for 3D and 2D models, for a better structural overview:

    ./models/3ds
    ./models/gltf
    ./models/svg

The existence of these folders is optional and depends on presence of files specific to these folders. If the GDTF file does not contain any .3ds files, then the folder ./models/3ds will typically not exist. If the GDTF files contains 3D models in gltf format, then they will be in folder  ./models/gltf, the content of the folder then may look like this:

These .glb files can be used in applications utilizing 3D files. The positioning and offsets of these 3D files has been previously explained in several other RKS articles and is also defined in the GDTF Specification, together with more information on the possibility to define also 2D models, 3D models in higher or lower level of details and so on.

For the most time, extracting 3D models and gobo images in what is needed. For the examples above, we used the the Robe Robin LedPOINTE, which is available in the GDTF Share here.

Hope this helps, Petr

while working with new Robin Painte Fresnel file I've noticed that HOME levels for offsets are not part of gdtf file.

I calculate them to be ok with my software... but it could be very convenient if they could be part of the file.

I know that there's ever a Default properties for <ChannelFunction> but that's the snap level.

So, would it be possible to add a Default property at <DMXChannel> record? where the offset is declared

(like this for example : <DMXChannel DMXBreak="1" Geometry="Head" Highlight="None" InitialFunction="Head_ScrimIndex.ScrimIndex.ScrimIndex" Offset="21" Default="128/1">)

best regards,

nicolas

As far as I know you can download some GDTF-Files manually from gdtf-share. I think GDTF is something the industry really needs. So to push the format all manufacturers of software would immensly benefit if they could just access gdtf-share from inside their application so the user does not need to download files manually.

Is there an API for such a workflow and if not, is there one planned?

If nothing is planned, would you be interested if I help developing such an API?

GDTF lacks a field to complete the lowlight functionality available in MA3 software