New Command to IMMEDIATELY color links on an animesh.

Example:|  Colors the left side veil,silk, and dress red

ElapsedOrDuration,Elapsed
1,ColorCanonLinks,Silk%Dress%Veil | 1
2,ColorLinksNow,jklm,<1,0,0> | 2

It used to be that we would configured animesh and poseballs manually.  And, know that you still can.  But as we go from a maximum of 9 dancers to a maximum of 18 we felt it was time to provide an alternative to manually configuring each animesh/poseball dancer by hand.   Expect there to be future
product enhancements as well as to unwelcomed performance issues and occasional bug fixes to accompany the ongoing need to add and remove animations, make across-the-board changes to notecards as well as ease the process of initial installation.

Introducing the SmartDancer File Copier and the SmartDancer Replicator.

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The first thing to do with your new animesh, we sometimes just call ‘ani‘, is to RENAME it to ArtistePalette_01_? where ? is a letter between A and R in the alphabet.

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In order for the SmartDancer FileCopier to copy animations, scripts, and notecards into animesh/poseballs, each animesh/poseball you needs to load  FIRST with the
*filemanager nc and
*smartdancer nc and THEN copy in the
*AA_FileManager  and
*AA_ScriptLoader and
*AA_Refresher
scripts.

You can use the INITIALIZE button to automatically copy these 5 files, as a convenience.  Advised that the description field be A-A or J-J so that you configure one good animesh for making duplicates to rename.

Also added for  ArtistePalette_01_A is a special script called
*AA_ArtistePoseBallSit

So you could have 5 or 6 files in total as a result of Initialization.

For your safety, honoring best practices as an added precaution, INITIALIZE will ONLY initialize animesh/poseballs named A and/or J.  This is to allow you to use one for animesh (A?) and one for poseballs (J?).

Your goal is to end up with an animesh that looks like the following.

You may have also have extra script(s) or animations that came with the animesh when you bought it.  These should have been deleted, those in the root prim, when you added the PinMe script

Sample output from running Initialize from the SmartDancer File Copier, assuming TRACE,off in the *filecopier nc, is listed below:

[01:51:40] SmartDancer File Copier 4.3: [FILE COPIER] Initialization Started…Please Wait…
[01:52:03] SmartDancer File Copier 4.3: [INITsc] Initialization Completed for ArtistePalette_01_A !!!
[01:52:09] SmartDancer File Copier 4.3: [INITsc] Initialization Completed for ArtistePalette_01_J !!!

Should you accidentally run Initialization more than once,   the File Copier system is smart enough to remove the existing files and just recopy them again.

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Now with those 5 or 6  files loaded, it is easier to transfer animations, scripts, and notecards.  This is the bootstrap.

Next, the INSTALL button/feature is handy for first time preparations because first it DELETES any EXISTING animations and scripts and THEN copies  the 6 needed animesh scripts,  and 1 animation called ‘standing’, bypassing the files and ncs initialized using INITIALIZE.

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SmartDancer Replicator

Touch the replicator to bring up its menu.

This handy tool can save you some work, once you have an ideal animesh or poseball.  Simply put the range of replications you want in the description field.  Example:  J-R.  This will replicate 9 copies of the single animesh/poseball that you put inside of it.  Of course the animesh/poseball must be copyable.  Then press the REPLICATE button.

ArtistePalette_01_J thru
ArtistePalette_01_R

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CopyAnims

The main process you will likely use most often is CopyAnims.  Each animesh and poseball must have the animations they plan to use, inside of them.  SmartDancer FileCopier makes it easier to load ONLY COPYABLE animations into each of animesh/poseball.

Place all of the animations you plan to use in your routine inside the SmartDancer FileCopier.  Then make sure you limit the animesh/poseballs to be updated by specifying in the description field of the SmartDancer FileCopier, which animesh/poseballs are to be updated.

As a convenience, animations will not duplicate existing animations, just in case you forgot that you already installed an animation.

Examples:
To update ALL, specify A-R
To update a single animesh/poseball, specify  J-J;
To update a subset, specify A-I or J-R as examples in case you are using A-I for something else like normal Artiste setups.

After you install new notecards and scripts into your animesh/poseballs then its time to configure the notecards.  Please see the following link: ==>SmartDancer SETUP

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CopyScripts

The only difference between animesh and poseballs is that poseballs have one EXTRA script called:  ArtistePoseBallSit (v5.8 – 11-08-20).

Other than copying the ArtistePoseBallSit into poseballs that avatars use, the only other time you would likely  use CopyScripts is if when we might send out an update to an existing script or create a new script for SmartDancer.  So these should be rare occasions.

This button/feature, CopyScripts, is useful when you want to selectively control an update by, maybe, copying particular scripts.  The system is smart enough to match existing scripts in the animesh/poseball and then delete them before it copies new scripts of similar name so that there are not duplicate scripts with slightly different names.

When copying scripts, you are allowed an extra method of specifying which animesh/poseballs will receive updates.  Instead of being limited to indicating a range in the description field of the SmartDancer Controller (i.e.  J-R, A-I, A-R, etc) you can indicate specific animesh/poseballs.  For example:  AGM, assuming those were maybe dance-leaders of 3 divisions that needed the poseball script… Don’t be misled by a confirmation message saying it installed into animesh A thru M.  It really just means A,G, and M.

You will of course need to reset your SmartDancer Controller after ANY script copy/update.  Be sure that the *smartdancer notecard is already in the animesh/poseball before copying any scripts to avoid needless but harmless error messages.

*smartdancer
*filemanager
*filecopier

I suggest configuring the *smartdancer nc prior to copying it so you only do it once, prior to making copies of your animesh/poseballs.

Also configure the *filemanager nc so that its channels match those of the *filecopier nc.  Be sure to make your channels unique to avoid collisions with other users even though the system has safeguards as to owner.  This will allow you to work on more than one SD configuration at the same time as a safe-guard even though its likely you will separate by animesh/poseball name (i.e. A-R).

*filemanager
TRACE,on
FileCopierToMeshChannel,-1325
PingBackFromMeshToFileCopierChannel,-8945
END

*filecopier
TRACE,off
FileCopierToMeshChannel,-1325
PingBackFromMeshToFileCopierChannel,-8945
END

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INSTALL

First, INSTALL will delete all scripts and animations in the targeted animesh/poseballs that were not installed with Initialize.  This is meant to help clean up any animations and scripts that the animesh came with.

The INSTALL button/feature will install (copy) all scripts that don’t begin with *AA_ from SmartDancer File Copier into animesh/poseballs whose letters are within the range of the letters in the description field of the SmartDancer File Copier

INSTALL currently installs one default animation called ‘standing‘ and 6 scripts.  The number of scripts may change in the future but at this writing, it is 6.

You are tasked with copying the poseball script, ArtistePoseBallSit,  into those poseball objects upon which avatars will be occupying., assuming you did not use its automatic pre-install into ArtistePalette_01_A.  You can do that by indicating in the description, which objects are to receive the special script called…ArtistePoseBallSit

Artiste SmartDancer has recently (Mid November 2020)  gone thru a major modification to allow up to 18 dancers, (up from 9)…in a combination of animesh and avatars.

Important:  This new feature has caused the Controller to be renamed from PE18j-r to PE18a-r

You can now create Animesh and/or Poseballs named ArtistePalette_01_A  thru ArtistePalette_01_I.

Targeting now allows for inclusion of letters A thru I

all is a new shortcut that equals: abcdefghijklmnopqr

Now that we have added A thru I there will be more short-cuts coming.

The FORM command has changed.  There are now 3 FORM commands and the old FORM command has been retired.

FORMJR – Formation change applies only to ArtistePalette_01_J thru ArtistePalette_01_R.

FORMAI– A formation change will only apply to ArtistePalette_01_A thru ArtistePalette_01_I.

FORMALL – A formation change will apply to ALL animesh/poseballs from to ArtistePalette_01_A thru ArtistePalette_01_R.  

There is a new field on the *channels nc inside the Controller. Example:
DefaultForms,LINEBLK,SINGLEFILE

NOTE: In example above, JR formation is LINEBLK and AI formation is SINGLEFILE

You always need at least the 1st formation name (in the example above this would be LINEBLK) other wise the 1st formation loaded will always be the last formation.  This 1st formation is used to initialize the formation upon reset for animesh/poseballs J thru R.

The second formation name will be used to initialize the formation of animesh/poseballs A thru I, upon reset, IF you are using A thru I.

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Some SmartDancer features, especially those in the Controller, will still only work on J thru R so sometimes it is beneficial to rename animesh/poseballs, temporarily.

Two new commands perform a series of commands to accomplish this:
ActivateAI and
ActivateJR

There are buttons for these on the new Expansion Menu.

IMPORTANT:  Copy the animesh/poseball name into the description field for each animesh/poseball.  NOTE: This is now done for you when you follow the AUTOMATIC procedure for creating animesh and poseballs.

is renames the Controller using the name in the description field

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A new state called AutoJune allows you to specify whether or not you want Junes to automatically complete by re-issuing the current formation.  AutoJune on is the default but there is a command, AutoJune,(on/off) where you can change this function on the fly.  This allows for even more creativity by Juning out of one formation and into another.

But its main purpose is to allow for better synchronization of Juning more than 9 dancers by delaying the 1st formation June and issuing both formation commands at or near the same time after the Controller has been rotated.

This is a simple HUD that allows you to pull up the main menu of a

particular SmartDancer Controller based upon  ActivationId.  The default ID is 4. They must match.  All you have to do is click on it in a non-button area and your normal SmartDancer Controller Menu will pop up, assuming matching Activation IDs in the SmartDancer RELAY and SmartDancer Controller.

The PINK Arrow will PLAY the current (last-read-in sequence)

The BLUE&WHITE BOOK-READER will ReRead the current sequence AND PLAY IT.  Good after making nc changes.

The RED SQUARE will STOP the current SEQUENCE, if running, AND attempt to reposition the dancers to their default formations and orientations, also removing any effects.

The GREEN Arrow will PLAY the current (last-read-in PREPFORM)

The Girl in Blue reading  the book will  prompt you to SELECT one of 11 PREPFORMS to read in AND then PLAY it afterwards

The YELLOW & BLACK U-TURN button just  Stops the current Sequence

The button with the girl reading on top of a stack of books will Read And Play current PREP

The button in the middle that looks like DNA sequencing brings up a sub-menu where you can select a particular sequence.

Clicking anywhere BUT on the buttons will bring up the MAIN MENU

You place a matching ActivationId in the Description field of your Relay HUD that matches the ActivationId in the *channels notecard of your SmartDancer Controller.  The default is 4.( It is best to leave this value as using other values is considered advanced.)

This way you can have multiple relays able to control multiple SmartDancer Controllers.

FadeIn and FadeOut are instant action procedures that you can accomplish via the Controller Menu Buttons or via a Sequencer command.  FadeIn and FadeOut fade the full total linkset. Avi and its links.  Non-Animesh are NOT faded.  FadeIn and FadeOut are Target dependent and is part of the command.

Currently, FadeIn and FadeOut time is FIXED at about 2 seconds!

Examples:

ElapsedOrDuration,elapsed 
1,FadeOut,j-r | 0
2,FadeIn,j-r | 6  —  allow time for fadeout to complete 
or
1,FadeOut,lmno | 0
2,FadeIn,lmno | 6  —  allow time for fadeout to complete 
or
1,FadeIn,j-r | 0
2,FadeOut,j-r | 6  —  allow time for fadein to complete 
or
1,FadeIn,lmno | 0
2,FadeOut,lmno | 6  —  allow time for fadein to complete

Glow is an instant action procedure that you can accomplish via the Controller Menu Buttons or via a Sequencer command.

Example:
ElapsedOrDuration,elapsed
1,Glow,j-r,0.5 | 1.0

This example causes ALL animesh and avatars (if SkipAviOnEffect,off) to glow at half intensity in a *sequence nc at elapsed time of 1.0 seconds.

To turn it off, follow it somewhere down the line in your *sequencer nc with something like the following:
14,Glow,j-r,0.0 | 233

Another Example:
ElapsedOrDuration,elapsed
3,Glow,alt1,0.2 | 5.0

Causes dancers (jlnq) to glow at 0.2 intensity when 5 seconds have elapsed.

For the SD Controller you will need to specify the GlowAmount
[Options]==>[Effects]==>GlowAmount
Then press Glow button.

If nothing happens then it means you need to select a Target so use the Target button and specify a Target.

ClearTarget will set Target to j-r.

Your SmartDancer will come with 11  22 formations, BUT you can create your OWN custom formations using the Capture feature.
Align your dancers into the formation you want to create then press the CAPTURE button on the SD Controller via the [OPTIONS] submenu.  Output will look something like the following.
[01:47:39] PE18a-r – Artiste SmartDancer – Controller – v11.2 Blk – RC6: <-5.330,-0.163,1.1474>,<-4.084,-0.137,1.1054>,<-2.856,-0.116,1.1237>,<-1.556,-0.139,1.1115>,<1.2501,-0.132,1.1533>,<2.4784,-0.125,1.1606>,<3.7536,-0.150,1.1174>,<5.0753,-0.142,1.1372>,<-0.111,-0.145,0.6384>

Copy and paste this entry into the *formations notecard, prefixed by a name you wish to appear on a menu button.  This name should be from 10 to not more than 12 characters.  In the example below, I named this line formation LineBlk.  It must always be capitalized anywhere else you refer to it but I allow for mixed case here soits easier to read.

The *formations notecard is used exclusively for formations usable by dancers 01_J thru 01_R.

DDMoveTau,9
dancers,9
LineBlk,<-5.330,-0.163,1.1474>,<-4.084,-0.137,1.1054>,<-2.856,-0.116,1.1237>,<-1.556,-0.139,1.1115>,<1.2501,-0.132,1.1533>,<2.4784,-0.125,1.1606>,<3.7536,-0.150,1.1174>,<5.0753,-0.142,1.1372>,<-0.111,-0.145,0.6384>

or

LINEBLK,<-5.330,-0.163,1.1474>,<-4.084,-0.137,1.1054>,<-2.856,-0.116,1.1237>,<-1.556,-0.139,1.1115>,<1.2501,-0.132,1.1533>,<2.4784,-0.125,1.1606>,<3.7536,-0.150,1.1174>,<5.0753,-0.142,1.1372>,<-0.111,-0.145,0.6384>

The dancers entry is the number of dancers in your formation.

The DDMoveTau is the number of seconds it will take to complete a formation transition (from one formation to another formation).  This value can be overridden via the [Groupings] submenu using the MoveSpeed button.  Anytime you add or change a formation you must reset your SD Controller.

You execute a formation transition via the [Formations] button on the main-menu.  Simply pressing the button-name associated with the formation you want will cause the current formation to change into the newly selected formation.  All button names will be automatically be CAPITALIZED.

The sequencer command to cause a formation transition during show/run time is:  (Also, you MUST capitalize your formation name otherwise it will always use the LAST formation)

Example:

1,Form,LINEBLK| 0.1

A common mistake is not allowing enough time, in the example above, 9 seconds, for your formation to complete fully before doing the next thing.

A June is the term we use to describe a formation of dancers rotating around the location of the SD Controller around the Z-Axis.

The term is derived from June Taylor, and American choreographer and her June Taylor dancers who made group rotations famous back in the 50’s.

Junes can rotate:
left
right
45 degrees left
45 degrees right
semi-right (180 degrees clockwise)
semi-left (180 degrees counter-clockwise)
home

The best way to learn Juning is to simply try it.  Press the June buttons and see how the dancers perform. Try it using different formations because formations can change the look and currently Junes are always based upon the current formation.

Example Command:

1,June,Left | 17

Junes also have their OWN Targeting, which is different than Canon, Autos, and Effects targeting.  This means that you can select which dancers (J-R) that you want to participate in the June.  This can lead to some interesting looks depending on the formation and the targets.

Targeting specifies which dancers (A thru R) will be affected by subsequent Canons and Canon AutoEffects , and regular Effects  (Junes have their OWN targets separate). NOTE: A June Target if not reset back using ClearJune, WILL act as a target for subsequent Turns and Formations.

Remember that a Target command does not cause any immediate action!  It is a passive PREP (preparatory) command

But it needs to be known that Targeting also affects raw Turns (non-Canon turns).

Be sure and set Targets prior to running your routine.

SOME commands include a Target parameter that specifies the target commencing with that command.  That will change the target for all subsequent commands, so be aware.

Clearing a Target essentially creates a A-R (abcdefghijklmnopqr) Target.

Also, Turns can be restricted by Group (X,Y,Z)  so just be aware if you are Grouping and Targeting, they can work in concert or in conflict when performing raw turns