Composer HE 3.2.3 User Guide Contents Contents 2 Introduction 8 Scope 8 Related documents and resources 8 Composer HE overview 8 Setting up the Control4 system—overview 9 Composer HE system requirements 10 Computer software and hardware 10 Home computer network 10 Control4 home automation network 11 Installing the hardware and software 12 Installing and connecting the hardware 12 Installing Composer HE software 13 Exploring Composer HE features 15 First page 15 Composer HE startup options 15 Start Composer HE 15 Exit Composer HE 17 Composer HE views 17 Available views 17 Monitoring view 19 Monitoring pane 20 Project tree search and filter 22 Device Control window 23 Properties pane 23 Room Properties 30 Device Properties 32 List View pane 32 Information tab 33 Media view 35 Possible buttons 36 Right-click options 37 Agents view 38 Programming view 39 Composer HE menu options 41 File menu 41 Media menu 43 Tools menu 44 System Diagnostics 45 Account Services 48 Help menu 49 Basic Composer HE tasks 49 Accessing the List view from the project tree 49 Removing items from the project tree 50 Clearing a project 50 Exiting Composer HE 50 Getting project configuration information from a controller 51 Loading a project’s configuration from a computer to a controller 51 Backing up a Composer HE project 52 Backing up and loading from a virtual to a local or remote Director 53 Backing up a project's configuration and media 53 Composer HE Version Independence 54 Connecting Composer HE to a Virtual, Local, or Remote System 56 Virtual System 56 Local System 56 Remote System 56 Composer HE makes new decisions when connecting 57 Connecting to a Virtual System with versioned APIs 57 Connecting to a Local or Remote System with versioned APIs 57 Connecting to a Director 60 Connecting Composer Pro to a Virtual, Local, or Remote System 61 Virtual System 61 Local System 61 Remote System 61 Connecting to a Director on a local network 62 Setting up Remote Access 62 Connecting to a Director using Remote Access 63 Requirements 63 Connecting using Remote Access 64 Ensuring that Director and Composer are compatible 65 System Compatibility Check 66 Registering the Control4 system 67 Register the system at customer.control4.com 67 Register the controller from Composer HE 67 Setting up a 4Sight subscription 70 Where to go from here 72 Other resources 72 Basics 73 Monitoring the system 74 Check the Device Status in List View 74 Change Project Properties 75 Configuring device properties 77 Help for device properties 78 Examples 79 Example: Use the Access agent 80 Example: Use the Advanced Lighting agent 84 Setting up media 90 Media types 91 Overview of media management 93 Media Manager 93 New scans 93 Scans where content is in the media database 93 Other Media Manager considerations 93 Media storage 94 Media lookup service 94 Setting up media auto-scan 95 Disc changer 96 Scanning media in a disc changer 97 Automatically scan media 98 Searching media in a disc changer 98 Edit CD or DVD information 99 Adding a DVD or CD 100 Setting up videos for a media player 103 Setting up media for radio stations 104 Setting up media for television stations 106 Setting up Internet radio stations 108 Importing a DVD list from a file 110 Using external storage devices 111 Attach and scan external storage devices 111 Access and scan network storage devices 111 Creating a playlist 114 Testing the media connection 116 Editing media information 117 Editing CD information 117 Editing DVD information 119 Using and Programming with Agents 121 Agent types 121 Using the Announcements agent 122 Using the Communication agent 125 Add new Intercom group 127 Local Devices tab 127 External Devices tab 128 Using the Custom Buttons agent 128 Guidelines 129 Using the Email Notification agent 132 Using the Light Properties agent 134 Using the Macros agent 134 Using the Media Scenes agent 136 Guidelines 136 Using the Media Sessions agent 139 Configuring the Master Volume Slider 140 Using the Scheduler agent 140 Using the Screen Saver agent 142 Using the Timer agent 143 Using the UI Configuration agent 147 Using the Variables agent 150 Using the Wake/Sleep agent 150 Programming 154 Programming basics 155 Event-driven programming 155 Programming elements 160 Programming with commands 162 Programming with conditionals 164 Programming with Delay, Stop, Break, Or, And, and Else commands 166 Delay command 166 Stop command 167 Break command 169 Else command 170 And command 171 Or command 173 Programming with a While statement 174 Programming using digital audio and rooms 177 Program a button to play media or a playlist 177 Program a button to turn up the volume 178 Program a button to add a room to another room’s music session 179 Set the default for a room’s music volume 179 Examples: programming with variables 181 Example: Using room variables 181 Variable handling 184 Example: Using custom Boolean variables in an agent 185 Example: Using a custom number variable in an agent 191 Example: Using a custom string variable in an agent 194 Other programming tasks 202 Using Programming Comments 203 Using Find and Replace 203 Using Copy and Paste 205 Customizing Navigators 208 Overview 209 Setting up screen savers 209 Setting up the photo screen saver 209 Setting up a custom screen saver 211 Programming the screen saver sleep mode 212 Changing the time on a Navigator screen saver 212 Hiding device availability 213 Viewing device availability in navigators 214 Troubleshooting 215 Guidelines for troubleshooting 216 Troubleshooting controllers 219 Rebooting the Control4 system 219 Resetting the Control4 system 220 Troubleshooting a Director connection 221 Troubleshooting media 222 Troubleshooting device control 223 Troubleshooting dimmers, switches, and keypads 224 Diagnosing trouble spots 224 System Diagnostics tool 224 System Diagnostics uses 224 Viewing controller performance information 225 Using the controller networking information 226 Using system information 228 Logging diagnostics information 228 Glossary 231 Index 236 Composer HE User Guide Introduction This document gives you comprehensive information, tips, best practices, and examples about how to use Composer Home Edition (HE) for Control4 Operating System (OS) Release 3.2.3 (OS 3.2.3). Use Composer Home Edition (Composer HE) Monitoring, Media, Agents, and Programming views to modify your system. The purpose of this document is to give you instructions and examples about how to use the Composer HE application to monitor your system, set up your media, program the system, use agents, and other useful Composer HE tasks. Scope This Control4 Composer HE User Guide, which was formerly separated into two parts, is now compiled into a single manual. The User Guide covers these topics: l What's new in this release l Configuring properties l Customizing the Navigators l Setting up the media l Programming the system For information about what’s new in this release, see What's new in this release. Related documents and resources Document Title Location Control4 System User Guide Web: ctrl4.co/userguide Control4 Composer Home Edition User Web: ctrl4.co/he-ug Guide Control4 System Remote Control SR- PDF:ctrl4.co/sr260-ug 260 User Guide Composer HE overview This document is for homeowners who want to learn how to use Composer HE in the Control4 Smart Home OS 3.2.3 (OS 3.2.3) or later. The Control4 system is a combination of Control4 and third-party controllable devices, for example, HDTVs, DVDs, CD players, speakers, home theaters, lights (and so on) that communicate with one another via TCP/IP, infrared (IR), serial, contact, or relay connections. Composer Home Edition (ComposerHE) is the software application for homeowners to modify, properties, programming and media in their Control4 system. The software runs on either a Windows 7, 8, 10, or Windows Vista computer, and provides a powerful graphical interface for object-based programming. When connected to a Control4 controller, the project's information is then communicated to Director on the controller. Director, in turn, uses the configuration information and device drivers to communicate to the devices in the home automation system. 8 Composer HE User Guide Note: Composer HE 3.2.3 is not compatible with Windows XP Setting up the Control4 system—overview Setting up a fully functional Control4 system includes the following major procedures. For best results, Control4 recommends that you follow the procedures in this order: 1. Install and connect the hardware—When deploying a Control4 system, install and connect the essential devices: l A Control4 controller (for example, an EA-3) l A Windows-based computer to set up and configure the home automation system using Composer HE l The device to be controlled (for example, touch screen, DVD player, speakers, lights, Dock for iPod, etc.) l A controller and PC connection to the home network 2. Purchase the required licenses—To use Composer HE for your company or your employees, you’ll need to purchase and assign licenses. See the document Managing Dealer Accounts on My.Control4.Com for details. 3. Install the Composer HE software—Use the Composer HE installation software to install Composer on a PC and activate it using your my.control4.com dealer user account. 4. Connect to a Director— Each time you start Composer on your PC, you either connect to Director running on a local or remote controller (live connection) or a virtual Director running on your PC (virtual connection). Director is the software on a controller that stores the Control4 system configuration and manages the control of each subsystem and device in the Control4 system. l Live connection: To make changes to a Control4 system in real time, connect to the Director through either Local System (over the home network) or Remote System (over the Internet).