Chameleon : Mac Lighting Software

We know many people choose Chameleon because they like its intuitive interface. We were also aware that the framework we have been using to develop the interface is looking a little tired these days. This left us with a challenge: how to upgrade the framework, and hence refresh the look of the interface, whilst still ensuring that Chameleon is as intuitive and easy to use as it has always been.

This is the challenge we have been working on this summer, and today we're pleased to announce the release of a new beta that includes the framework upgrade and an updated look and feel. You - our customers - will be the ultimate judges, but we think it's pretty cool.

Apart from the new look, the principal differences are in the way windows are handled. The three buttons top left allow you to slide between window layouts, giving you the additional control you need when you need it or tucking it out of view when you don't. Channels, scenes, chases and cues are now arrayed vertically in a single column. 

We have made the output view more powerful by making it customisable. One window shows all channels in use, as before, but the other three show channels of your choosing: drag them from the channel view and drop them into an output view window in just the place you want them. Very useful for mapping the layout of lights in a room.

Similarly, the button view gives you four different sets of buttons: simply drag channels, scenes, chases or cues into the view to add them.

We've also simplified some things. For example, you can now patch channels directly from the channel window, rather than using a separate patch window.

All of the functionality of the production version of Chameleon is still there. In fact, we haven't touched the back-end code at all. 

As with any of our beta releases, we don't recommend that you use it for running a show just yet. But we are keen for you to try it and hear your feedback. With your input, we will be turning this into a production release soon. It will be available to all our customers as a free upgrade.

Files saved from this version can be read by the older versions of Chameleon; however, none of the user buttons will be loaded, so we recommned saving a new copy for this version if you intend to use the old version as well.

So: please download and let us know what you think.

We recommend you rename the current version of Chameleon before installing the beta. That way you can still run the current version if required.

Thanks

The Chameleon team