Spotlight preferences: Lightwright pane

The lighting instruments and parameters specified in the Vectorworks Spotlight product can be automatically sent to Lightwright versions 5 and later to perform paperwork processing. Any changes to the data in Lightwright automatically update the light plot. Once configured (and once the Vectorworks file has been saved), these updates occur seamlessly in both applications.

For versions of Lightwright earlier than 5, see the documentation for that version of Lightwright.

To specify automatic data transfer between the Vectorworks Spotlight product and Lightwright:

Parameter	Description
Use automatic Lightwright data exchange	Enables the automatic exchange of data between the Vectorworks Spotlight product and Lightwright; deselect to suspend or stop the data exchange
Perform a complete export on exit	Exports the Spotlight data, replacing all the data in Lightwright the next time Lightwright is used. This should occur whenever field export changes have occurred; therefore, when changes have been made, the field is grayed and cannot be deselected.
Include inventory	Select to include inventory data in the data transfer. An updated instrument types inventory list, which is controlled by the Lighting Inventory Setup command, is sent to Lightwright when the Lightwright data exchange performs a complete export and when lighting inventory is updated (see Lighting inventory setup and Generating paperwork ). Only instruments types with a count of one or more are sent to Lightwright. Inventory updates from Lightwright are processed with the other instrument data. Instrument summaries are updated automatically if Show Counts and Compare to Inventory are selected in the Instrument Summary Settings dialog box for the placed objects.
File path	Specifies the location of the exchange file. The file is in .xml format, and it is named according to the Vectorworks file.
Same location as the file	When the Vectorworks file is saved, saves the exchange file with the Vectorworks file
Custom location	Saves the exchange file in a specific location; click Choose to set the location. If a change to the file and folder structure makes the selected location invalid, the exchange file is saved to the same location as the file.
Available fields	Lists field names from the Vectorworks file that are available to export to Lightwright, but have not been selected for export
Add >	Moves the selected Vectorworks file field to the Export fields list for export to Lightwright
< Remove	Removes field names from the Export fields list, returning them to the Available fields list, where they are not included for export
Export fields	Lists field names that will be exported to Lightwright
Reset defaults	Restores the Lightwright fields to the lists specified as the default when Save as default was last clicked
Save as default	Saves the current settings for all panes in the dialog box as the default settings for this and future documents

3. Click Use automatic Lightwright data exchange to enable automatic data transfer between the Vectorworks Spotlight product and Lightwright, and indicate the location for saving the transfer file.

4. Move fields to be exported from the Available fields list to the Export fields list. All parameters in the Export fields list are exported to Lightwright.

As instruments are added, deleted, and changed in the Vectorworks Spotlight product, the edits appear in Lightwright. Similarly, edits made in Lightwright apply automatically to the Vectorworks file. Instruments added in Lightwright are inserted in the Vectorworks file based on the Enable auto positioning when created setting on the Spotlight preferences: Loads and rigging pane. Instrument data are updated when the file focus switches from the Vectorworks file to Lightwright, or Lightwright to the Vectorworks file.

In the Vectorworks file, an import worksheet is automatically created, listing instruments that have been added from Lightwright as well as instruments that did not have a Lightwright equivalent and should possibly be deleted from the Vectorworks file.

Right-click on a database row of the import worksheet, and choose Select Item to select and display the associated instrument.

Command	Path
Spotlight Preferences	File > Document Settings