Importing rigs
Rigs arrive as files: a Lightwright export, a console patch dump, or an MVR from the designer's software. Drop any of them onto an open plot (or use Import) and crewbox reads what it can. The honest headline: CSV gets you the list; MVR gets you the rig.
CSV
Crewbox matches CSV headers by meaning, not by exact name — circuit / ckt / cct, universe / uni, address / addr / patch / dmx, channel / chan / ch, footprint / chancount, mode / dmxmode, and friends — so Lightwright, Eos, grandMA and Hog exports all come through without editing the file. Positions named in the file are created automatically. The import summary names any columns it didn't recognise, so nothing is silently dropped.
MVR (with GDTF inside)
An MVR carries the rig's geometry and identity, not just its list. The import reads:
- Real 3D positions — layers become positions, and where fixtures actually line up, they're drawn along a fitted bar in true order. Group layers that aren't physical bars ("Spots") become groupings without a drawn bar rather than fake trusses.
- GDTF profiles — the manufacturer's own description of each fixture: authoritative footprints, channel maps, watts, weight, physical size, beam angles.
Large MVRs take a moment; the UI says "Reading…" rather than freezing silently.
What each route unlocks
| Capability | CSV | MVR + GDTF |
|---|---|---|
| Fixture list, addressing, clash warnings | yes | yes |
| Positions created | named only | with real geometry and order |
| Accurate footprints per mode | if the file has them | from the profile |
| Watts / weight placeholders | if the file has them | from the profile |
| Truss-length estimates | widths assumed | widths from profiles |
| Live verdict "by dimmer" | no — falls back to footprint activity | yes |
| Channel-by-channel readout | no | yes |
| Colour haloes and 3D beams | no | yes |
This table is the answer to "why does that plot show more than mine": the difference is never a setting, it's whether the fixtures carry profiles.
You can have both: import the MVR for geometry and profiles, then paste or type the day-to-day changes. Re-importing a file always makes new fixtures — it doesn't merge.
Out again
Export downloads the plot as CSV — the list, addressing, positions and notes — readable by the same tools the rig came from.