Keyboard shortcuts

Press ← or → to navigate between chapters

Press S or / to search in the book

Press ? to show this help

Press Esc to hide this help

Remote Access & Show File Portability

PRISM assumes your lighting console is connected to a network. Clients on that network connect to it automatically; for completely offline consoles, PRISM supports full show file export and import.

Network Access

Today, clients must be on a network that can reach the server:

  • Same machine — the app on the server’s own machine connects automatically, with no pairing.
  • Same LAN — enter the server’s address in the Connectivity window and complete pairing (a short code, approved on the primary console).

To reach a console across networks, use your own VPN or tunnel to put both sides on one network.

Not Yet Available

  • mDNS/Bonjour auto-discovery on the same LAN.
  • Cloud discovery — the console registering itself so remote clients can find it without configuration.
  • Relay fallback — automatic traffic routing for NAT/firewall situations.

Show File Export and Import

For situations where the lighting console must be completely isolated from any network, the Show Files window exports and imports complete show files:

  1. Export: name the export in the Show Files window. The entire show — fixtures, sequences, cues, groups, playbacks, and settings — is written to a single file. Export progress is shown while it runs.
  2. Transfer: move the file to your isolated console (USB drive or local file transfer).
  3. Import: import the file on the offline console. Importing completely replaces the current show; before the replacement, a snapshot of the previous show is saved automatically — import that snapshot to restore the old state.

New Show

To start over on a console whose current show is stale or broken, the Show Files window has a New Show button (top bar). It:

  1. Asks for confirmation and offers a name (“Save current show as”) — the operation replaces the entire current show with an empty one.
  2. Saves a snapshot of the current show first — under the given name (e.g. My Wedding.prism), or pre-newshow-…prism when left blank — in the export list. If that snapshot cannot be written, the show is left untouched and the operation fails.
  3. Replaces the live show with an empty one. No restart needed.

To restore the previous state, import the snapshot from the list — the same import flow as any show file. Typical workflow: import an old, completed show, then New Show with the old show’s name — the finished work is saved as a named .prism and the console starts clean.

Load a Show File from Disk

The Show Files window has a Load button (top bar, folder icon) for show files that live anywhere on the console machine — not just in the server’s export list:

  1. Pick a .prism file with the system file picker (any location).
  2. Confirm — the operation replaces the current show, exactly like an import. A pre-wipe autosave snapshot is taken first.
  3. The file is uploaded and kept in the Show Files list under its file name, so it can be re-imported later without re-uploading (uploading the same name again updates that entry). The show is loaded with the same protections as an import: if the file is incompatible or anything fails, your current show is left untouched (the uploaded file remains in the list and can be deleted from there).

This is the intended “bring a show file over on a USB stick” path: copy the file to the machine and Load it.

Limitations

  • Cross-network access requires your own VPN/tunnel until cloud discovery and relay support land.
  • Importing a show file completely overwrites the current show (the automatic snapshot is the restore path).
  • Loaded files are kept in the Show Files list — delete them from there if you don’t want to keep them.