Great Software if not for these issues & bugs
Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 1:41 pm
Just for some background I used 'myDMX2 &3' for a while and even recommended it to some clients a few years back. However I stopped recommending it due to some small, but quite frustrating 'bugs' that are really more of unfinished QA problems. However I have always felt like the software has found the perfect balance between easy-to-use and powerful. It's simply that the 'bugs' mostly negated the easy-to-use part.
Daslight 5 seems like a great product similar to myDMX3 but improved and more polished. However in my testing I am starting to see some of the old issues arise again. So instead of sitting back and seeing what happens I would offer my insight for what it is worth, in the hope of having this great software get to the level of being something I can recommend to clients in confidence!
Install Location (Windows)
Why isn't the program installed in the proper location by default? Why are files not stored where they should be by default. Windows has specific places for programs and their resources, certain ways it handles permissions and such. Why is does the Daslight installer default to the root of C: drive like some old Windows 95 installer?!?
Proper Permissions (Profiles can't be added unless run as Admin)
If you manually choose the correct location (Programs Folder) the permissions are not correctly handled and the resources aren't properly stored so it must be run as an Administrator to function. Things like this frustrate non-techy users who may end up overlooking this otherwise great software.
Maybe this is simply due to it being a Beta, however much of the software I have seen from this company works the same way. Are their plans to correct this in the final version? I think it would go a long way to it truly being a 'polished' product, ready for more widespread use.
Perhaps a more critical bug, without setting the software to run as an administrator. None of the program settings persist!?! There is no error or warning about this either! The settings simply revert to their defaults. To a user who doesn't know why this is happening there is no indication that there is a problem, it simply appears that the program is broken/buggy.
SUT, DMXSoft.com, & Licensing
I find the licensing extremely confusing. It's very handy that my previous licenses apply to new purchases. However this whole area needs some work. There are multiple diagrams, charts, etc... However none of it gives me confidence to understand what I have and what I need. Additionally it would be really nice to have an option to purchase a simple USB key or something as we typically use all ArtNet devices yet the software requires some sort of interface/dongle.
One small change that might help is changing the color coding of the icons on DMXSoft.com. Some are blue some are grey, the grey icons seem to imply those are not included features. Furthermore some items are simply not listed. If I look under 'Installed applications' it doesn't show my ArtNet license. I have to remember that it's there. I have 'myDMX3' listed, though it say's expired. When I go to Buy Applications with my interface selected there are options to buy things my interface can't even use.
These things could be improved a number of ways, however one suggestion I have that would add some clarification on the buy screen. List the items I already own, but replace the price and cart buttons with something like 'Installed' and a checkmark. This makes it easy to see what licensees the current interface has without switching tabs.
No good indication that firmware is the reason SUT is not syncing.
My device needed a firmware update to let it Sync with SUT however I only realized this after hovering over the little 'i' icon and reading the 4th line of info that pops up in size 8 font. Some sort of prompt is needed. Alternatively when you connect a new interface to the software maybe automatically bring up the hardware manager?
Hardware Manager isn't really mentioned on the page's for interfaces
Once I realized I needed to update it, I was looking under the manual & downloads section for the DMX buddy for firmware. It didn't cross my mind to look in the Daslight5 manual for info on updating the DMX buddy. Add some info to the website pages for the interfaces or a simple 'Getting started' pdf explaining how to update the firmware. Even better include 'Hardware Manger' as a separate download on those pages. I understand its redundant, it's just that the software manual isn't the first place people normally look for info on hardware devices.
Windows Scaling
It's nice that you can override the window scaling. However this is a feature Windows already has. It is more confusing IMO that Daslight doesn't respect normal window scaling behavior. Meaning it's quite hard to see & use on a modern high resolution display.
Updating
The update notifications are great, however when updating I can't choose the folder Daslight5 is currently installed to. Meaning I have to install it in a new location ever time I update....
3D Visualizer - only cm
This is a small issue, something that will likely be fixed in further update, however I just wanted to mention it. It would be nice if it supported feet/inches.
----
I used to think it was simply because I haven't changed software in a while and it wasn't fresh in my head. However I had another person reach out recently with issues installing and they were encountering many of the same issues I had, they just didn't know how to solve it and were going to look at other software options. It ended up taking me about 30min to get them straightened out (Due to another bug I don't quite understand). However they loved the software once it was up and working.
Anyway, thats my list of things. Perhaps many of this changes are already planned for the final version. If so thats great! If not maybe this list is helpful. If others have experienced these issues maybe they have better ideas then me on the fixes. If I'm missing something feel free to explain it to me.
I genuinely feel like you guys make the best lighting software on the market right now. You guys could blow things like 'Lightkey' out of the water.
Daslight 5 seems like a great product similar to myDMX3 but improved and more polished. However in my testing I am starting to see some of the old issues arise again. So instead of sitting back and seeing what happens I would offer my insight for what it is worth, in the hope of having this great software get to the level of being something I can recommend to clients in confidence!
Install Location (Windows)
Why isn't the program installed in the proper location by default? Why are files not stored where they should be by default. Windows has specific places for programs and their resources, certain ways it handles permissions and such. Why is does the Daslight installer default to the root of C: drive like some old Windows 95 installer?!?
Proper Permissions (Profiles can't be added unless run as Admin)
If you manually choose the correct location (Programs Folder) the permissions are not correctly handled and the resources aren't properly stored so it must be run as an Administrator to function. Things like this frustrate non-techy users who may end up overlooking this otherwise great software.
Maybe this is simply due to it being a Beta, however much of the software I have seen from this company works the same way. Are their plans to correct this in the final version? I think it would go a long way to it truly being a 'polished' product, ready for more widespread use.
Perhaps a more critical bug, without setting the software to run as an administrator. None of the program settings persist!?! There is no error or warning about this either! The settings simply revert to their defaults. To a user who doesn't know why this is happening there is no indication that there is a problem, it simply appears that the program is broken/buggy.
SUT, DMXSoft.com, & Licensing
I find the licensing extremely confusing. It's very handy that my previous licenses apply to new purchases. However this whole area needs some work. There are multiple diagrams, charts, etc... However none of it gives me confidence to understand what I have and what I need. Additionally it would be really nice to have an option to purchase a simple USB key or something as we typically use all ArtNet devices yet the software requires some sort of interface/dongle.
One small change that might help is changing the color coding of the icons on DMXSoft.com. Some are blue some are grey, the grey icons seem to imply those are not included features. Furthermore some items are simply not listed. If I look under 'Installed applications' it doesn't show my ArtNet license. I have to remember that it's there. I have 'myDMX3' listed, though it say's expired. When I go to Buy Applications with my interface selected there are options to buy things my interface can't even use.
These things could be improved a number of ways, however one suggestion I have that would add some clarification on the buy screen. List the items I already own, but replace the price and cart buttons with something like 'Installed' and a checkmark. This makes it easy to see what licensees the current interface has without switching tabs.
No good indication that firmware is the reason SUT is not syncing.
My device needed a firmware update to let it Sync with SUT however I only realized this after hovering over the little 'i' icon and reading the 4th line of info that pops up in size 8 font. Some sort of prompt is needed. Alternatively when you connect a new interface to the software maybe automatically bring up the hardware manager?
Hardware Manager isn't really mentioned on the page's for interfaces
Once I realized I needed to update it, I was looking under the manual & downloads section for the DMX buddy for firmware. It didn't cross my mind to look in the Daslight5 manual for info on updating the DMX buddy. Add some info to the website pages for the interfaces or a simple 'Getting started' pdf explaining how to update the firmware. Even better include 'Hardware Manger' as a separate download on those pages. I understand its redundant, it's just that the software manual isn't the first place people normally look for info on hardware devices.
Windows Scaling
It's nice that you can override the window scaling. However this is a feature Windows already has. It is more confusing IMO that Daslight doesn't respect normal window scaling behavior. Meaning it's quite hard to see & use on a modern high resolution display.
Updating
The update notifications are great, however when updating I can't choose the folder Daslight5 is currently installed to. Meaning I have to install it in a new location ever time I update....
3D Visualizer - only cm
This is a small issue, something that will likely be fixed in further update, however I just wanted to mention it. It would be nice if it supported feet/inches.
----
I used to think it was simply because I haven't changed software in a while and it wasn't fresh in my head. However I had another person reach out recently with issues installing and they were encountering many of the same issues I had, they just didn't know how to solve it and were going to look at other software options. It ended up taking me about 30min to get them straightened out (Due to another bug I don't quite understand). However they loved the software once it was up and working.
Anyway, thats my list of things. Perhaps many of this changes are already planned for the final version. If so thats great! If not maybe this list is helpful. If others have experienced these issues maybe they have better ideas then me on the fixes. If I'm missing something feel free to explain it to me.
I genuinely feel like you guys make the best lighting software on the market right now. You guys could blow things like 'Lightkey' out of the water.