Introduction
Designing a Control4 system in Composer Pro is similar to designing a house. You start with the plan; then you build the foundation; you build the framework; and then you add the electrical, plumbing, walls, carpets, paint, etc. to finish the home.
To give you a 'bird's eye view' about how to design and implement a Control4 system:
- Create a plan. This includes the devices to be used, where they will reside in the home, and how the network will be set up. For example, to plan a Centralized Lighting project, you’ll need to obtain the blueprint plan and where all of the lighting devices and panels will be located in the home, ensure that all of the lighting legs are clearly identified, determine what types of loads will be controlled by the centralized system, and where the panels will be located (see Control4 University on control4.com for more information).
- Physically install and connect the Control4 and third-party devices that need to communicate to the network. Note: Many Control4 or third-party devices may be installed already.
- Physically connect these devices to each other and to the controller(s) used in the project so they all communicate with the controller and the home network.
- In the Composer Pro software, build the project tree using the System Design view. This includes adding objects to the project tree that represent the physical buildings, rooms, and devices. Note: You can connect a physical device, and then add it to Composer one at a time if you prefer.
- In Composer Pro, identify and virtually connect all of the devices. In addition to the hardware connections, you have to connect your devices the same way in the Composer software also.
- Customize the behavior of the devices in Composer and on the Navigators. To customize the devices for specific functions, you program events and actions, Lighting Scenes, agents, and so on for your customers' needs. Many custom functions can be performed on the touch screens and on-screen Navigators. See the Control4 System User Guide and Control4 Quick Start Guide for more information.
Designing a fully functioning Control4 system includes these major steps:
- Use Existing or Custom Device Drivers. Every device in the Control4 system needs a corresponding device driver so that controlling the device is possible. When designing and implementing a Control4 system, each time you add a device to a room, a corresponding device driver must be added to the Composer project in the project tree. Device drivers for Control4 products come pre-installed in Composer. In addition, device drivers for hundreds of third-party devices are available through an online database, and easily can be added to the project when the driver is available. If a driver for the model you need does not exist, you can use the Driver Creation Wizard (available through a menu option) or DriverWorks (a free add-on utility) to create a custom driver. See the Composer Pro User Guide for details.
Tip: If you can't find the device driver you need, you can start with an existing device driver, and modify it for your device using the Driver Creation Wizard or Driver Editor.
- Make the connections. In the Composer project, you identify all physical device connections to the Control4 system, including control, AV (audio, video), network, and other connections (there are several types of connections). Identifying a device to the system means the controller acknowledges that the device exists on the home network and can communicate with it and the other devices in the network. Use the Connections view in Composer for this.
- Register the system at customer.control4.com. Control4 strongly recommends that you register each system you install at my.control4.com to maintain the system software easily through online downloads. Only registered systems can use all of the media services available. In addition, system registration is one of the essential steps in enabling remote access to the system.
- Set up the media. You identify existing media on the system using the Media view in Composer. The Media view helps you search or scan for movies, videos or music in stored media and auto-generate a list of local broadcast channels, stations, playlists, etc. After you have searched for or scanned in the existing media, you can test Media access through the navigation devices (also known as Navigators).
- Configure the properties. You will want to set individual device properties according to your customers' wishes, because most devices have some settings that can be configured (for example, dimmers that ramp up and down).
- Program events and actions. You define interactions between system events and the actions of other devices. For example, when a projector turns on, it can trigger other devices (lights, etc.) in the Home Theater to dim down or turn off.
- Create the variables and agents for use in programming. Advanced programming setup options are available to you, including string, Boolean, device properties, variables, delays, and agents. Using these options, you can configure, for example, a 3-way switch, turn equipment on and off with proper delay times, create Lighting Scenes, and perform other desired programming between devices. Advanced programming is discussed in the Composer Pro User Guide.
- Customize the Navigators. You complete the registration process and enable Remote Access. You can work with your customers also to set up screen savers and other custom functions on their Navigators.
