Seamless Mapping with Aliases - xLights' New Game Changing Feature

Welcome to a new episode of xTreme Sequences Monday Minutes! In this episode, we're diving into the game-changing world of xLights Aliases, the powerful enhancement that's about to revolutionize your lighting display mapping.
xLights Aliases allows you to add custom names to existing groups and models, making auto-mapping seamless and incredibly easy. No more struggling to remember which model or group corresponds to which element in your display. With Aliases, you can bring order and efficiency to your xLights projects like never before.
But that's not all! We'll also show you how xLights Aliases makes opening old sequences with different models and group names a breeze. Whether updating an old project or collaborating with others who use different naming conventions, Aliases will be your secret weapon for smooth transitions and effortless mapping.
Join us in this episode as we walk you through the ins and outs of using Aliases in xLights. Discover how to set them up, organize your elements, and harness the true potential of this incredible feature. With Aliases, you'll save time and unlock new creative possibilities for your lighting displays.
Don't miss out on this essential xLights tutorial! Hit that subscribe button, give us a thumbs up, and let's get started on your journey to mastering Aliases in xLights. Your lighting display has never been this organized and impressive!
#xLights #LightShow #Mapping #Aliases #xTremeSequences #MondayMinutes #LightingDisplay
www.xTremeSequences.com

[@toddwright11]

man with this... you could load the names from SEVERAL vendors into this... and auto load no matter who made the sequences ... DAMN GREAT UPDATE ! ! !

[@xTremeSequences]

Exactly!

[@grygub]

Hopefully by the time I upgrade to 22 the community will have made a standardized list of aliases for each group type

[@xTremeSequences]

Good luck with that.

[@earlymeadeepiclights]

Well this is going to be a time saver once it's all set up.

[@gibsonfamilylightshow]

Oh man what a feature! Thanks for the tips Ron and thanks team xLights!

[@netgodsrdn]

Freaking awesome! I've hoped for this sort of thing for some time.

[@xTremeSequences]

Me too! Actually, five years now. I guess great ideas take time to nurture? Even longer to execute.

[@jorgebolivar]

I'm with you, this is the improvement xLights devs need to concentrate on. Thanks for sharing, Pal!

[@davidbergmann987]

This is fantastic!

[@xTremeSequences]

Right??? I really think this will help so many.

[@davidbergmann987]

I have been thinking about renaming and have been hesitant, now I can do that and not worry about messing up sequences I have already completed!

[@nathanlooman472]

Thanks for the info! This is great!! As a 2nd year this will speed things up with adding new sequences. I keep renaming things and most are for your groupings now. This is going to save a lot of time.

[@adamskiuk]

I was thinking only last week that this would be a great feature! Must have been reading my mind

[@xTremeSequences]

I've only been asking for it since 2019. Better late than never, right?

[@krafterHD]

Game changer!!

[@fireengineer477]

I agree, hands down this will have a significant impact on many people should they learn to harness his new super power. I can see a few scenarios where you would possibly not want to set an alias from the old name for group. For instance, if all you had was triple arches and they were in a group named “arches grp” and you were adding some to the other side of the yard it maybe a different style and wanted to make these “triple arches grp” and then create another group called “arches grp” that included them all. While there are several other ways of doing this to avoid this issue, I can see the flexibility being useful. I do have one question: can you edit or delete existing aliases?

[@xTremeSequences]

You can delete an alias but not edit it.

[@best49erfan]

I need to do this....next year.

[@xTremeSequences]

I think everyone needs to do this. And yes, next year sounds good to me. LOL

[@WiseFerryLights]

This is awesome stuff. Can’t wait to try it. Will it then put everything in to one group folder in the sequencer tab?

[@dans108]

Looks awesome.

[@PiXeLParadiseUSA]

This really is huge. Thanks Ron for sharing (and thank you Keith!) I'm now debating on updating to .22 tomorrow just to finish mapping 10 or so additional sequences from last year that have a dozen or so renamed props/groups. Any known issues or bugs yet before I pull the trigger?

[@andrewm1967]

well this cleared up on how to use other people sequences with what I have . I still need to go back and figure out how to like do my grp like whan i set up my windows do I do easl line by it self and then make then in to a grp or use the multi line to make it and tehn set up sub grp form that / still a lot of leraning here

[@jjarboe01]

I LOVE your videos, but is it bad that the end of my second year I learn that there is an auto-map feature? I mean, I feel dumb now in the presence of greatness again!

[@xTremeSequences]

It's a learning experience for us all. Never feel bad. This hobby is complicated.

[@davidlontchar7108]

Ron, any chance you would share your prop naming strategy with us? Like for a GE singing bulb you name them…… or trees, big/little, 180/360. That way when I get one of you great sequences it will be easy. Thanks

[@xTremeSequences]

That may be easier than you think since xLights allows us to export tables with a lot of information. Even better would be a way to use a table to complete this and submit to xLights so we don't have to do this one at a time. I'll look into this.

[@shaugen33]

@@xTremeSequenceslol I was thinking a week or so ago of writing a script that would help… it’s mostly xml in the backend isn’t it? How hard could it be…

[@xTremeSequences]

I have no clue. I don't code but sounds reasonably easy if I were to randomly guess.@@shaugen33

[@Chucka1463]

This is great! It would have saved me a lot of time over the years. It would, however, been much better had Keith had allow the alias to be created while in the import process.

[@xTremeSequences]

I agree with the first part but not the second. The aliases belong at the model and group level. The Import process is separate and needs to simply offer the choices based on the aliases.

[@Chucka1463]

@@xTremeSequences But I won't know the aliases for a purchased sequence until I do the import. That's the time I should add them. Or are you thinking that we should return to the old way and unzip the purchased sequence and open it up in a second window in a temporary show folder. That'd be taking two steps backward.

[@xTremeSequences]

No, I think I misunderstood your intention. I 100% agree that adding these at the mapping level would be great. But, can xlights do this? @@Chucka1463

[@Chucka1463]

@@xTremeSequences I think it's been proven time and time again that the developers can do just about anything.

[@xTremeSequences]

​@@Chucka1463If properly motivated.

[@ronjones5651]

I mean, DANG!

[@xTremeSequences]

Right?

[@ronjones5651]

@@xTremeSequences That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

[@SteveZaske]

I agree they should just save the name as an Alias...and NOT give uses the ability to say NO

[@christopherheuerman7108]

Ron, if there is a way, can you do a video show how to import from a zip with a password straight into xlights. I play around with the google drive which has some really decent sequences but you have to unzip and rezip without password to have xlights direct import the file… or do you??? Is there a way??

[@xTremeSequences]

I can't help you with that. I don't have passwords on my sequences.

[@danyf3116]

Is this your new 20mm camera cause your head doesn't look any different!!!!! Great video again.

[@xTremeSequences]

My legal team says not to answer this question.

[@danyf3116]

@@xTremeSequences You crack me up!!! ☺

[@jimswinder]

Ummm...whats wrong with a Winder 1???? lol

[@tjjohnsen9740]

I guess maybe I don’t get it. So you have vendor number one and they have a layout you know what you want to assign everything to so you either create a mapping file and save it and use that every time you import from that vendor or you create an alias for all your props, and that happens every time you import from that vendor. If the vendor changes something now you gotta go change your aliases again just like you would change your mapping file. When Everything is said and done instead of hitting load and choosing the file for the map you hit auto so you’re saving yourself one button click? I mean I guess it’s a great feature but it’s not really a game changer. You’re doing the same thing you’re always doing.

[@xTremeSequences]

I guess if you mapped as much as some you would get it. A saved mapping file only gets you part of the way too because as new models and submodel are introduced the saved mapping file will have no idea what to do until you train it. When the Aliases rule is in adding more than one alias so that various vendor's model or submodels can be used for non-matching models or submodels that will be faster than using a mapping file. This is the first version of Aliases so I imagine it will improve. If mapping files are working for you then stay the course. For the rest of the thousands this will prove to be very helpful. Cheers!

[@tjjohnsen9740]

@@xTremeSequences but to my point though like you just said, if something changes it has no idea until you train it. You’re either training it in a mapping file or you training it by adding it as an alias you’re doing the same work. I’m not saying anything works for me. I have a hell of a time mapping anything to my show because my show is not as big as most commercial vendors, but I’m just trying to understand how this is better when you’re having to do the same thing you’re either adding it in one area or you’re adding it in the other it’s just a different type of adding

[@xTremeSequences]

Well, if you have a small show then it's a moot point and should be fairly easy. The size of the show shouldn't really matter anyway. All models are matrices in the eyes of xLights. Learning how to manipulate render styles will serve better in the long run. I suppose because I have been working with xLights over eight years I have some pretty good insight as to what is considered game changing. That doesn't mean you have to agree with it. It's my opinion and message. A developer put the time in to add something of value knowing the inherent challenges of mapping as well as opening older files in new shows. You are only seeing one aspect of this but that's okay. Stay the course with mapping and enjoy the the journey. Nothing is every the only way to achieve results in this hobby. Having an open mind to the value a process brings to others is a good thing to have. @@tjjohnsen9740

[@tjjohnsen9740]

@@xTremeSequences I’m sorry it seems I may have upset you and that was not the intent of my comment. The size of the show like you say is irrelevant. All I’m trying to say is that if I write click on a model and I add an alias or when I’m in the mapping I drag over and save the mapping. How is one faster than the other? I guess eventually if you import enough sequences from all of the different vendors, you would have all the mapping files or you would have all the aliases. I’m just trying to understand how it saves time when I feel you’re doing the same thing on both sides. Again, this is not to be an argument. It’s to truly understand where the difference actually comes from. And believe me, I worked with Keith quite extensively when the falcon V4 came out because there were so many firmware issues with it, and me, and him work together to build quite a few versions.

[@tjjohnsen9740]

This is the type of thing I’d love to have an actual conversation with someone about instead of just kind of going back-and-forth, but this would be something to have a conversation about to understand it better. And understand it from different user perspectives.

[@alanrobinson5075]

Game changer

[@daniellangdon5514]

Game changer!!!