Locating Drivers by Search

Lamp driver localization is the process of locating a lamp driver and assigning it to a channel in an area. If using a floor plan, the localized driver can also be assigned to a fixture icon.

Locating each lamp driver by flashing, walking around the floor to find the flashing lamp, and then assigning the driver to a channel in an area and/or fixture icon, can be a time-consuming process. The Localize by Search procedure helps you quickly locate any lamp driver and assign it to a channel in the area and/or fixture icon on the floor plan.

Localize by search can be performed with or without a floor plan.

  • When localizing lamps in an area, the system selects lamps that are not currently assigned to any area.

  • When localizing lamps on the floor plan, the system selects lamps that are not currently assigned to any fixture icon.

With localize by search, you can physically stand near a lamp, click a button to answer if the lamp is on or off and within a few clicks, the lamp driver is localized. You can then move on to the next lamp, minimizing the amount of walking required.

Remote Control

The localize by search procedure can be controlled with a mouse, keyboard, or third-party input device such as a Bluetooth presentation pointer or phone app that uses media player keys as control inputs. If WiFi is not available at your site, you can configure your phone as a local WiFi hotspot.

PowerPoint slideshow control buttons map to the procedure as follows:

  • Full screen - Start/Pause/Resume

  • Start - Start/Pause/Resume (mouse middle click)

  • End - Restart

  • Next - Yes (mouse left click)

  • Previous - No (mouse right click)

You can customize lamp localization behavior in Tools > Settings > Localize by search.

sb settings localise by search
Localize lamps in an area (no floor plan):

  1. In Areas view, right-click an area and select sb icon localize by search Localize by search… to open the dialog window.

  2. To start localizing, click the Start button, middle mouse button, or press Enter. The system turns on half the lights on the floor plan, distribution board, controller, or DALI line/universe.

    • If the selected lamp is ON, click the Lights 100% button, left mouse button, or press Y.

    • If the selected lamp is OFF, click the Lights 0% button, right mouse button, or press N.

    SB plays a tone to confirm your choice.

    If you make a mistake, click sb icon task stop Cancel Localizing Current Light. To redo a completed area, expand the area tree to show the drivers/circuits in the area, right-click each driver/circuit and select sb icon unassign circuit Unassign, then restart the procedure.

    sb localize window pause
    sb localize window left right click

  3. The system continues flashing lights until you have narrowed it down to one lamp, which is then assigned to a channel in the area. SB plays a tone to confirm the assignment.

  4. Repeat this process for the remaining unlocalized lamps in the area.

  5. When localizing the area is complete, right-click the area and select sb icon save to device Save Modified Devices in Area

You can exclude specific load types from the search by selecting one of the three options under Load Types. You can also exclude any load controller from the search by right-clicking the controller in the Unassigned Devices editor and selecting sb icon device disabled Exclude in Localize by Search.
Localize lamps on a floor plan:

  1. In Building view, right-click a sb icon floor Plan, sb icon distribution board Distribution board, sb icon controller dali 2 DALI load controller, or sb icon dali line DALI line/universe and select sb icon localize by search Localize by Search… to open the dialog window.

  2. Select a placeholder/fixture icon on the floor plan.

    You can manage the localization process using either the onscreen buttons or mouse clicks anywhere on the window.

    sb localize window click to start
    sb localize window start
    You can exclude specific load types from the search by selecting one of the three options under Load Types. You can also exclude any load controller from the search by right-clicking the controller in the Unassigned Devices editor and selecting sb icon localize exclude Exclude in Localize by Search.

  3. To enter path drawing mode, select a white fixture from the floor plan or click sb icon draw line fixture group Draw Localize Path on Plan button.

    To draw a path, left-click on each fixture icon to join them with a dashed line. As you draw a line, each fixture is highlighted with a dashed circle. Draw the line in the direction that you want to walk when localizing. Double-click on an icon to end the current line and begin another line. Right-click to end the current line and exit line drawing mode. You can draw multiple lines on the same plan.

    sb localize plan select fixture
    sb localize plan draw path
    Only one path may join a fixture group and a path may only join to one icon in a fixture group. Note: DALI addressable drivers do not need to be part of a fixture group as they can be grouped logically into channels in the Areas tree.

    When the line is finished, the starting fixture on the line is marked with a number 1. The localization will follow the path, starting from 1.

    sb localize plan click to start
    sb localize plan starting fixture
    To remove a line, right-click it and select sb icon delete Remove Line. When the Localize dialog is closed, all path lines are removed from the plan. Path lines are not saved when the job is saved.

  4. To start localizing, click the Start button, middle mouse button, or press Enter. The system turns on half the lights on the floor plan, distribution board, controller, or DALI line/universe.

    • If the selected lamp is ON, click the left mouse button, Lights 100% button, or press Y.

    • If the selected lamp is OFF, click the right mouse button, Lights 0% button, or press N.

    SB plays a tone to confirm your choice.

    If you make a mistake, click sb icon task stop Cancel Localizing Current Light. To redo a completed area, select the lamps and right-click to sb icon remove load control Remove load control, then restart the procedure.

  5. The system continues toggling lights on and off until it has narrowed the group down to one lamp. When that happens, the lamp is assigned to the icon selected on the floor plan. The fixture fill is updated to the current light level and SB plays a tone to confirm the assignment.

  6. If you have drawn a path, the next fixture on the line is automatically selected, or click on the next fixture that you want to localize.

  7. Repeat this process for all unlocalized lamps.

  8. When you have finished localizing a plan, DALI load controller, or DALI line/universe, sb icon save to device save the modified configurations to each load controller (F12).

    sb localization plan complete
    sb localization plan complete floor
    You can select any fixture icon on the floor plan to begin localizing with or without a path.