====== Art-Net/DMX512 Control ======

Blocks has built in support for controlling lighting fixtures based on the  Art-Net/DMX512 Control protocol. Controlling single channels and common basic functions is straightforward, and is built into Blocks as standard. For more details, see under "Art-Net/DMX-512 Lighting" in the Blocks manual. 

==== Art-Net Configuration Settings ====

In some cases, you may need to adjust settings in Blocks' configuration file for proper Art-Net operation. This applies in particular if your Blocks server has more than one network interface. Read more about these settings under //artnet// in [[blocks:server_configuration_file#top_level_items|this document]].

===== Lighting Fixture Definitions =====

Controlling more advanced fixtures, with numerous controllable channels and operating modes, can be more challenging. To help keeping things manageable, fixtures can be described by a //fixture description file//, specifying its function-to-channel mapping.

A fixture definition describes a lighting instrument, such as a multi-color light or a moving-head light, controllable over Artnet/DMX-512. Using such a definition makes it easier to use by assigning meaningful names to its functions, rather than working with raw DMX channel numbers. A set of lighting fixture definitions usable with PIXILAB Blocks can be found here:

https://github.com/pixilab/blocks-fixtures

To use any of these definitions, do as follows:

  - Download the entire github repo as a ZIP and unpack (or clone the repo if yu're familiar with git).
  - Copy the desired brand name folder(s) into the //fixtures// directory located inside your PIXILAB-Blocks-root directory.

The fixture definitions now appear grouped by brand and model under //Manage, Artnet// in Blocks. 

A few basic and common fixture types can be found under the //Generic// brand. Due to the simple file format, it's quite easy to add a definition for other fixtures you want to use with Blocks, based on the information found below.

**NOTE:** These definitions were partially derived from the excellent //Open Fixture Library// found at https://open-fixture-library.org

==== Folder/File Structure ====

The //fixtures// directory holds a simple folder/file structure:

  * It contains one subdirectory per supported brand, plus one named //Generic//, containing a few common definitions that aren't brand specific.
  * Inside each subdirectory, there's a description file for each fixture, with the fixture's model name. These files have a //.json// extension, and are formatted according to the JSON standard.

==== Ceating a Fixture Definition ====

As mentioned above, it's quite straightforward to write a definition file for a fixture. Please refer to the documentation found on our [[https://github.com/pixilab/blocks-fixtures|github]] page for details. If you make a definition file that you know work with a particular fixture, we'd be happy to add it to the github repo. Drop us an email at info@pixilab.se with a zipped copy of the definition, along with the make and model it describes.