The Project Section: Messaging Page

Project Section

The Project Section: Messaging Page

Saturday, 29 June 2024

This is intended to give more information about the functionality and features of the Messaging page within the Project Section of Master Patch.

 

The messaging features of LUCA give users convenient means for silent communication between each other.

The Messaging page is made up of three sections.

1. The groups panel
2. The group assignment matrix
3. The messaging event log

The groups panel

The groups panel is where the user can see and edit the names of all the current groups that exist in the project. The user can create as many groups as needed by using the + button in the top right hand corner of the groups panel.

When a user assigns a colour to a band, a group of that colour is automatically created. This is useful for if the production is running with two teams, for example a Red team and a Blue team, then once a an act has been assigned the colours of Blue or Red those groups will appear in the group panel and also in the room assignment matrix.

The Group assignment Matrix

In the centre of the Messaging page is the group assignment matrix.

On the left side of the matrix the user will see the names of all users who have connected to the session in the past.

Users who’s are actively connected to Master Patch are shown in Green, while users who have been connected in the past but do not have a current live connection to Master Patch are shown in Red.

Four buttons can be found at the bottom of the group assignment matrix.

• Refresh
  • While Master Patch will always keep track of which users are connected to it, the Refresh button gives peace of mind to the operator by performing a network interrogation in which Master Patch sends a request to each instance of a remote viewer application asking ‘Are you really still connected?’, if the response is not received then Master Patch will change these users to being offline. This is an automated process that the users o remote viewer applications will be unaware is happening.
• Purge Disconnected
  • In the event that many users have connected and disconnected over time, perhaps in test or as different users come and go over the life of a production, the ‘Purge disconnected’ button allows Master Patch to remote all disconnected users from its directory, this can help cleaning the user interface of the messaging page.
• Revert
  • If changes have been made to the group assignment matrix by mistake, or if a group has been created or its name edited, then the ‘Revert’ button will take the user back to the state at which the last assignments were applied to the network.
• Apply
  • The ‘Apply’ button will show when the user has made changes to the group assignment matrix. Apply will commit the updates to the patch matrix and assign users into the groups allocated in Master Patch.

The messaging event log

The messaging event log gives the Master Patch user a way to monitor the activity of connected users to Master Patch. Messages will be shown when a user connects or disconnects to Master Patch.

Using the messaging service.

By default all users are connected to the group ‘All’ and cannot be removed from it. In order to assign a user to a group, first create a group in the groups panel. This group will then show in the header of the group assignment matrix at which point users can be assigned to the group using the matrix.

Once happy with the updates, the Master Patch user then uses the ‘Apply’ button to commit these changes and assign users to the rooms.

In the messaging window these changes will then instantly be reflected with groups either appearing or being removed from the window for users. All users already assigned to a group will be made aware when a new user has joined or left a room.

The messaging window

Within both Master Patch and a desktop version of Stage Viewer a separate pop out window is available for the messaging service. By clicking on the preview window of the messaging service the full sized window will be presented to the user, from here the user is able to access all groups they have been assigned to and follow conversations.

Macros

The pop out messaging window benefits from a number of Macros at the bottom of the page just above the messaging field. These macros are intended for quick concise conversation, and are well suited to Stage Viewers touch optimised user interface.

Data storage

The messaging service that runs in LUCA is decentralised, that is to say that the messages sent are not tracked or recorded on any device.

If a device is shut down and restarted, upon connected to Mater Patch it will not have any access to any of the  previous messages sent, the same is true of Master Patch, messages are only stored for the lifecycle of the application.

Therefore it is recommended not to store any production critical data inside the messaging service as there is no guarantee It will be available in the future.