Working with Command Scripts

Command Script – User Guide

The Command Script is Depence's text-based control language. With it you can select fixtures, set values, run effects, start/stop scenes and sequences, work with variables and chain scripts together – all in a simple, line-oriented syntax.

A script can be executed from three places:

Entry point	Purpose	Effect
Command Window	Type single commands interactively	Writes directly into the Programmer (live operation).
Script Editor	Create / test scripts	Writes directly into the Programmer.
Sequence – Script Block (TBlock_Script)	Execute a script automatically inside a show	Writes into the Sequence chase (does not touch the Programmer).
AI / MCP	Run a script via an AI tool call	Writes directly into the Programmer.

The language is case-insensitive. SELECT and select are identical.

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1. General Syntax

• One command per line. Empty lines are ignored.

• Multiple selections / IDs are separated by comma: SELECT FIXTURE 1,3,5.

• Ranges use THRU: SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 10.

• Names containing spaces must be enclosed in double quotes: STARTSCENE "Intro Look".

• Values are introduced with @: SET VALUE @50%. = and TO are accepted as synonyms.

• Decimal separator is culture-independent – both 0.5 and 0,5 work.

• Variables are referenced with $name (after being defined via VAR / PVAR) and are substituted automatically by the parser.

Typical order inside a block

SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 8        ' WHAT do we control?
SET FADETIME @2                ' HOW long does the change take?
SET VALUE @75%                 ' Which target value?

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2. Value Formats

Value formats are used wherever you see @<value>.

Format	Example	Meaning
Percent	@50%	50 % of the feature's value range.
Full	@FULL	Highlight value (max., see FULLOPEN).
BPM	@120BPM	Speed as beats per minute (for effect speed).
Degrees	@90°	Pan/Tilt angle or FX phase.
Hertz	@5Hz	Strobe frequency.
Feature name	@RED, @OPEN, @PRISM1	Predefined feature / wheel slot.
Variable	@$myvalue	Value resolved from VAR / PVAR.

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3. Selection – SELECT

Select fixtures

SELECT FIXTURE 1
SELECT FIXTURE 1,3,5
SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 10
SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 10 ODD          ' odd IDs only
SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 10 EVEN         ' even IDs only
SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 20 STEP 3       ' every 3rd ID
SELECT FIXTURE 1,3 THRU 5,9           ' combined

Select selection groups

SELECT GROUP "Pump 1"
SELECT GROUP "WP1\Lines\Even"        ' folder path

Aggregate fixtures (e.g. fountain modules) are automatically expanded into their child fixtures.

Select individual features (channels)

SELECT DIMMER FROM FIXTURE 1 THRU 4
SELECT PAN,TILT FROM FIXTURE 5
SELECT RED,GREEN,BLUE FROM 1 THRU 8  ' "FROM" without FIXTURE: uses the current selection

Clear the selection

CLEAR

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4. Setting Values – SET

Sets a value on the most recently selected channels.

Intensity / channel value

SET VALUE @50%
SET VALUE @FULL
SET @FULL                ' shortcut for "all highlight values"

Specific feature

SET DIMMER @75%
SET PAN    @90°
SET TILT   @-15°
SET RED    @100%
SET GOBO   @GOBO3        ' by feature name
SET PRISM  @OPEN

Indexed sub-groups / masters

SET MASTER Dimmer @50%   ' master of an aggregate / group master
SET INDEX  @2            ' nth element inside an aggregate

Fade & Delay

Fade and delay times apply to the next SET and are reset to zero afterwards.

SET FADETIME  @3         ' 3 seconds fade
SET DELAYTIME @1         ' 1 second pre-delay
SET DIMMER    @100%      ' now fades to full over 3 s

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5. Programmer Lifecycle

Command	Effect
FULLOPEN	Drives the selected fixtures to their highlight values (dimmer/shutter/…). Identical to the "Full Open" button in the Programmer.
RELEASE	Removes the selected channels from the Programmer (drops their values).
RELEASE ALL	Empties the entire Programmer (releases all values on all fixtures).
CLEAR	Resets the selection (channel values stay untouched).

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6. Effects (FX) – SET EFFECT + Parameters

Effects are applied as an FX layer on top of the selected channels.

SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 8
SET EFFECT Sinus              ' FX type (Sinus, Cosinus, Pulse, Ramp, ...)
SET SPEED     @60BPM
SET CENTER    @50%
SET AMPLITUDE @50%
SET PHASE     @45°
SET OFFSET    @0%
SET REPEATS   @0              ' 0 = endless, otherwise number of cycles
SET MIN       @0%
SET MAX       @100%
SET CUTLEFT   @0%
SET CUTRIGHT  @0%
SET WIDTH     @50%

Distribution across the selection

SET WINGS  @2                 ' mirror across n wings
SET BLOCKS @4                 ' block size inside the wings
SET PANORAMA @/               ' spread: |  /  \  >  <

Panorama value	Meaning
|	no spread
/	left → right
\	right → left
>	outside → centre
<	centre → outside

Effects are removed again via RELEASE (on the selected channels).

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7. Scenes – start & stop

Scenes (stored looks) are addressed by name.

STARTSCENE "Intro Look"
STARTSCENE "Intro Look" FADE 3
STARTSCENE "Intro Look" FADE 3 DELAY 1

STOPSCENE  "Intro Look"
STOPSCENE  "Intro Look" FADE 2

• FADE <seconds> – fade in/out time.

• DELAY <seconds> – wait time before the fade starts.

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8. Sequences (Shows) – start & stop

Start a show in the Sequencer chase

STARTSEQUENCE "Main Show"

• Rewinds the show to position 0 and starts it in the normal Sequencer chase (multiple shows can run in parallel).

Start a show in the Programmer chase

PLAY "Main Show"

• Starts the show inside the Programmer chase (useful for previewing).

Stop shows

STOP "Main Show"          ' stop a specific show
STOP                      ' stop ALL running shows

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9. Batched Execution – BEGINSCENE / ENDSCENE

Mostly used in AI context (several tool calls in one session) to batch many commands and apply them only once the block is closed.

BEGINSCENE
SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 8
SET VALUE @100%
SET RED   @100%
ENDSCENE

In the classic script path both commands are harmless markers (no-op) and can stay in place without side effects.

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10. Variables – VAR / PVAR

Local script variable (VAR)

Lives only inside the current script.

VAR myDim = 75
SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 4
SET VALUE @$myDim%

Public variable (PVAR)

Writes into the global Panel & Logic variable pool and can be read by panels / logic items.

PVAR HouseLight = 25

Syntax for both commands:

VAR  <name> = <value>
PVAR <name> = <value>

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11. Chaining Scripts – CALL

Calls another script stored in the project, by name.

CALL "Reset Programmer"
CALL "House Lights On"

Handy to keep recurring building blocks (e.g. "all pumps off") in one place.

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12. Scheduler – TIMEPLANER

Controls the scheduler of the current show player device.

TIMEPLANER START      ' synonyms: RUN, PLAY
TIMEPLANER STOP       ' synonym:  END

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13. Full Command Reference

Command	Short description
SELECT FIXTURE …	Select fixtures by ID (lists, THRU, ODD, EVEN, STEP).
SELECT GROUP "…"	Select a selection group (folder path supported).
SELECT <feature> FROM …	Select individual features of the (pre-)selected fixtures.
CLEAR	Reset selection.
SET VALUE @…	Set channel value / intensity.
SET @FULL / FULLOPEN	Drive to highlight values.
SET <feature> @…	Set a feature directly (Dimmer, Pan, RGB, Gobo, …).
SET MASTER … @…	Set an aggregate master.
SET INDEX @n	Pick the nth element of an aggregate.
SET FADETIME @s, SET DELAYTIME @s	Timing for the next SET.
SET EFFECT <FX>	Assign an FX type (Sinus, Pulse, Ramp …).
SET SPEED/CENTER/AMPLITUDE/PHASE/OFFSET/MIN/MAX/REPEATS/WIDTH/CUTLEFT/CUTRIGHT	FX parameters.
SET WINGS/BLOCKS/PANORAMA	FX distribution across the selection.
RELEASE / RELEASE ALL	Release Programmer values.
STARTSCENE "…" [FADE s] [DELAY s]	Start a scene.
STOPSCENE "…" [FADE s] [DELAY s]	Stop a scene.
STARTSEQUENCE "…"	Start a sequence in the Sequencer chase.
PLAY "…"	Start a sequence in the Programmer chase.
STOP ["…"]	Stop a specific sequence, or all of them.
BEGINSCENE / ENDSCENE	Batched execution markers.
VAR <name> = <value>	Local variable.
PVAR <name> = <value>	Public variable.
CALL "…"	Run another script.
TIMEPLANER START/STOP	Enable/disable the scheduler.

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14. Examples

Example A – Classic "Lights On" look

SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 16
SET FADETIME @2
SET VALUE    @100%
SET RED      @100%
SET GREEN    @60%
SET BLUE     @0%

Example B – Fountain with a sine effect

SELECT GROUP "Pumps Front"
SET EFFECT    Sinus
SET SPEED     @90BPM
SET MIN       @20%
SET MAX       @100%
SET PHASE     @30°
SET PANORAMA  @/

Example C – Start a show automatically

STARTSCENE    "House Down" FADE 3
STARTSEQUENCE "Main Show"

Example D – Reusable building blocks

Script Reset:

RELEASE ALL
CLEAR

Another script:

CALL "Reset"
STARTSCENE "Intro"

Example E – Variables for repeated values

VAR Bright = 80
SELECT FIXTURE 1 THRU 4
SET VALUE @$Bright%

SELECT FIXTURE 5 THRU 8
SET VALUE @$Bright%

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15. Best Practices & Pitfalls

• Mind the order: SELECT first, then SET. Without a selection SET does nothing.

• Fade/Delay are "one-shot": SET FADETIME / SET DELAYTIME only apply to the next value command and are reset to 0 afterwards – set them again before each block if needed.

• Quote names: scene / sequence / script / group names containing spaces or special characters must be wrapped in "…".

• Decimal separator: both 0.5 and 0,5 are accepted – scripts stay portable across locales.

• RELEASE vs. CLEAR: CLEAR only drops the selection; RELEASE actually removes values from the Programmer.

• PLAY vs. STARTSEQUENCE: PLAY starts a show in the Programmer chase (preview), STARTSEQUENCE starts it in the regular Sequencer chase.

• Script running inside a sequence: when a script is executed by a sequence's Script Block (TBlock_Script) it writes into the Sequence chase, not the Programmer – so RELEASE ALL does not affect the Programmer in that case.

• Unknown commands are silently ignored; typos (e.g. SELLECT) will therefore not raise an error – but they will also have no effect.