Shape File question

[(iCe)]

I'm editing my shape file... just a quick question about something I don't understand.

Take the Dimmer Spread 3 Cell shape for instance... Why is that repeated over 16 dimmer channels? And for some others, it's repeated over 25 channels. What do I gain by repeating the pattern a few times?

I thought it might be for repeating the shape over a fixture with more then 3 cells, but why 16 (since 16 isn't even a multiple of 3)?

[niclights]

The shape definition uses the attribute name to assign a pattern.

A normal (or master) dimmer is always named 'dimmer'. Individual cells in multi-cell fixtures are named dimmer1, dimmer2.... etc. If the attribute name is not included in a shape definition then it won't be applied.

The same is true for RGB. (red, red1, red2.... etc.)

This is particularly useful in providing a solution for spreads within multi-cell fixtures which is currently not possible from the shape gen. The limitation is you need a different shape for every spread and each of these must include all possible attributes.
It is not so important that the spread divides equally across the number of cells, but that it will work on all cells if used on such a fixture. Maybe it won't look very pretty but at least everything will be doing something.
I have expanded all dimmers to 25 (for Jarag) and added a few spreads that are specifically useful for Sunstrips, Jarags and Pixelline.

You could also define a separate shape for each individual cell. This would allow maximum flexibility but I concluded it was probably just too complicated to justify.

[(iCe)]

Ok, got it, thanks! I've added some custom shapes along with yours from the tips & tricks post. Now for some testing...