Composer HE - Getting Started Guide for Control4 OS 2.10

Dan Hart

Co
ntrol4 OS 2.
1
0 Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

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2
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information

Control4 Corporation

11734 S. Election Road

Salt Lake City, UT
84020 USA

www.control4.com

Part number: 200
-00169
-S
Composer Home
Edition Getting Started (OS 2.
10.0 , 9-5-201
7 DH
) Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Contents


3
Contents
Legal notices
...............................................................................................2

Contents
.......................................................................................................
3

Introduction
................................................................................................
5

What you can do in Composer HE
........................................................................................
5

For more information
.................................................................................................................6

What’s new?
...................................................................................................................................6

Hardware and software support
......................................................................................................................
6

Getting started
...........................................................................................
7

Important basics
...........................................................................................................................
7

Overview
.........................................................................................................................................9

Installing Composer HE
.............................................................................................................9

System requirements
............................................................................................................................................
9

Install the software
..............................................................................................................................................
10

Starting Composer HE
..............................................................................................................
11

Before s
tarting Composer HE
..........................................................................................................................
11

Start Composer HE
...............................................................................................................................................
11

Startup options
......................................................................................................................................................
12

Connect to a Director
.........................................................................................................................................
13

Exiting Composer HE
...............................................................................................................
17

Exploring the interface
..........................................................................
17

View
s ...............................................................................................................................................
18

Monitor and control lights, thermostat, etc. (Monitoring view)
.......................................................
18

Manage digital music and DVD collections (Media view)
...................................................................
21

Use
intelligent agents (Agents view)
..........................................................................................................
23

Program the Control4 system (Programming view)
...........................................................................
25

Menu options
.........................................................................................................................................................
29

File
.............................................................................................................................................................................
29

Media
.........................................................................................................................................................................
30

To
ols
..........................................................................................................................................................................
30

Help
...........................................................................................................................................................................
33
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Contents


4
Where to go from here
.........................................................................
33

Glossary
......................................................................................................
34

Index
............................................................................................................
37
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Introduction


5
Introduction

Control4
®
Composer Home Edition (HE) is powerful software that lets you
customize
your Control4 system. This Windows
-based program that has an intuitive drag
-and
-
drop interface that lets you
view and configure your devices, manage your media, and
create simple home automation programs.

Your
Control4 Dealer
has installed and configured your Control4 system using the
professional version of Composer. Composer HE was created just for you.
This document provides you with a brief overview of how to run the software. For
more detailed information, see the
Composer HE User Guide
.

In this document, you’ll learn how to
:
•

Install
Composer HE

•

Start
and close Composer HE

•

Connect to a Director

•

Begin to use the Composer HE interface

•

Review the views
and menu options

What you can do in Composer HE

Using Composer HE, you can program your Control4 system to behave as you want it
to by tying together
your system’s devices into a single, controllable environment.
Customize
your
system
Customize your system from a Windows PC on your home's local network or, if you
have a Control4 4Sight subscription, from any Internet
-connected Windows
PC.

Monitor
and control

From your Windows PC, monitor:

•

Dimmers, switches, and keypads

•

Wireless
thermostat
and security system

•

Many
other
devices

Configure
Control4 devices
•

Set
LED colors on lights and keypad
s
•

Set
the
dimming speeds and default
brightness
of wireless dimmers

•

Set your Control4 Wireless Thermostat schedule

•

Program
the buttons on your Control4 System Remote Control.

Manage your
digital music
and DVD collections

Scan your media lib
raries for new additions so they
become
available to your
Control4 audio devices.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Introduction


6
Configure your
system using intelligent agents
•

Tie together the audio source selection, volume control, and on/off state of
multiple rooms so that they work as one.

•

Configure
the system to notify you when system
events
happen
.
•

Create an a
nnouncement that display
s on
system Navigators.

•

Create and modify custom lighting scenes.

•

Program events based on date, time of day, and sunrise/sunset.
You can also
create your own Wakeup scenes.

•

Create
custom
programming script
s.
•

Do much
more.
For more information, s
ee “Agents” later in this guide.

Limitations

Although Composer HE lets you customize your Control4 system, some advanced
tasks and configurations must be done by your Control4 D
ealer. Your dealer can also
help you if you have difficulty using Composer HE.

If your system has been configured to connect
to Control4's 4Sight
service, your
dealer can perform many of these services over the phone and on the web without
having to schedule a service call at your home.

Contact your Control4 D
ealer
if you ever need to:

•

Create a new Control4 system
or add/remove devices

•

Create or edit drivers for third
-party products

•

Install updates to system software

•

Perform other tasks (such as complex programming) that are beyond
the
capabilities of you or the software

For more information

You can find the following related help
at
ctrl4.co/cdocs
.
•

Composer Home Edition User Guide
(
ctrl4.co/he-
ug
)
•

Control4 System User
Guide
(
ctrl4.co/
userguide
)
•

Control4 System Remote Control SR
-260 User Guide
(
ctrl4.co/
sr260
-ug
)
•

Composer Media Edition User Guide
(
ctrl4.co/
me-ug
)
•

Instructional videos

What
’s new
?
Hardware and software support

New

•

Support for new hardware products including Triad Audio Matrix Switches, Triad
Power Amplifiers, Triad One Streaming Amplifier, Control4 DS2 Mini, ZigBee IO,
and ZigBee Contact.

•

New
Identity agent for System Manager Web and When >> Then logins
•

New
Navigati
on
agent for programming an automatic change to a Camera view
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


7
End-
of-life products

•

Blocked from being in an OS 2.10 project: HC-
200, HC
-300, HC
-500, and HC
-1000

•

Drivers and agents that must be updated before updating to OS 2.10: In
-Wall 7”
TS V2, Portable 7” TS V2, InfinityEdge 7” TS, InfinityEdge 5” TS, and Control4
Door Station drivers using the Intercom agent. These drivers must be updated to
the versions compatible with the Communication agent.

•

Products that can be in an OS 2.10 project, but will not receive an update: 7" In
-
Wall v2, 7" Portable v2, Exterior Door Station, Interior Door Station, IO Extender,
5" In
-Wall (FKA: Infinity Edge), 7" In
-Wall (FKA: Infinity Edge), 7" In
-Wall RevB
(FKA: Infinity Edge). These items may not be compatible with every feature in OS
2.10, including Intercom.

Getting s
tarted

Important basics

Your Control4 D
ealer or i
nstaller has installed and configured your Control4 system to
your specifications based on your purchase agreement. While individual Control4
Dealer policies may vary, most dealers will charge you for additional service calls
unless you have a service cont
ract.

One of the benefits of using Composer HE is that you can customize parts of the
Control4 system yourself
, which can save you money. Should you require your
dealer's
help
, however, you must be prepared to pay for that help
. Check with your
dealer for details.

Caution!
When using Composer HE, you are configuring your own Control4 system.
While this gives you a great deal of capability, it also carries some risk for which you
must be prepared to take responsibility. If you disable your system, your dealer may
need to fix it for you, and this could cost you extra.
This section describes some of the basic principles of
using Composer HE on your
Control4 system. It
’s important to understand these principles and accept the risk and
responsibilities that come with customizing your system yourself.

1

Your system may become inoperable due to certain types of changes you can
make using Composer HE
. It
’s possible that you could make your system
inoperable
using Composer HE. In most cases, you can recover your system using
a backup project file. However, if you can't recover your system using a backup
project file, contact your dealer for help
. Your dealer can often
restore your
system back to an operational condition.

2

There is no ‘Undo’ capability
, so back up your project frequently.
If you make a
change you don't like, there is no way to easily "undo
" that change. You can try to
change the settings back to the way they were (if all ch
anges were carefully
documented), but the easiest way to restore your system is to load a backup
copy of the project that you previously saved. Whenever you make changes to
your project, we strongly recommend making a backup copy. To save your
project file
, use the
Back Up
option under the
File
menu. To save a backup copy,
use
Back Up As
and specify an alternate filename (it’s good practice to include
the date in the backup filename)
. When you load a backup file, however,
remember that you’ll lose any custo
mization that’s happened since the backup file
was created.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


8
3

Changes you make in Composer HE

are immediately applied to your system
.
When you connect to Director
and customize your system, the changes are
effective immediately. Whether
you're changing LED colors or dimmer ramp
rates, performing complex programming or using
agents
, Director
immediately
modifies your system configuration.

4

Programming can be associated with multiple events
. You can
program your
system to perform similar tasks in a variety of ways. For example, you can set the
LED color as a device property
, and you can change that property in
programming
, too.

Note:
Pay close attention to your programming changes so that y
ou don't
inadvertently change the behavior of your system in an undesirable way.
5

Project files can be backed up with and without
the
media

database
. When
you back up your project file, you can create the backup with or without the
media
database informati
on
. If you load a project file that doesn't have any media
associated with it, you will lose the media
database information
that
was

associated with your current system. It's always a good practice to b
ack up your
project with your
media
when you exit Composer
so
if you ever need to restore
your system, your media database
will
still
be
intact.
You can also export the
media database
information and playlists separately for each media source on
your Control4 system. If you import your
media
database
and playlists
, the

current media list for that media source and the current playlists will be cleared
and replaced with
the media database
in the file you are importing.

Tip
:
If you forget to back up your media, you can always go back to a previous
backup
with the media loaded. This may, however,
change your system
configuration
to the old configuration in that backed up p
roject.

6

Backups with media and exported media lists only include the media
database information
. Backups and exported media lists contain
only
the media
database information used by the Control4 system
, not the actual media files. To
back up the media file
s, you should separately back up the media source files to a
mass file storage location (
USB drive, network file storage, or cloud storage)
after

exit
ing
Composer HE.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


9
Overview

The following illustration shows how a small home network
might be set up. The
laptop shows the Control4

Composer
HE
software installed on it. Your installer may
have set up a network similar to this one.


The
router

is the heart of your home computer
network. It uses a
modem
to
communicate with the Internet.
The router provides wifi that wireless devices (such as
laptops and smart phones) can use to connect to the network and the Internet. The
switch
provides
additional wired connections to the home network.

The Control4
controller
is the heart of the Control
4 home automation network. Your
Control4 network is attache
d to your home computer network. To change how
your
Control4 network
works
, you need to:

•

Install the Composer HE software onto a computer that’s connected to your home
network.

•

Run Composer HE and connect to the
Director

software on the Control4
controller.
After you’ve connected to the Control4 D
irector,
you can see the
Control4 devices, settings, and programming that automates your home.

Installing Composer HE

System
requirements

Computer software and hardware

•

Microsoft.NET 4 (the Composer
HE
installation
is launched automatically from the
Control4 website).

•

Microsoft Windows 10,
8, 7, or Vista
operating system
. Mac support wh
en used
with a Windows virtual machine such as Parallels or VMWare Fusion for Mac.

•

500
MHz or higher processor

•

256 MB RAM
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


10
•

90 MB available hard disk space

•

Video card and monitor supporting a resolution of 1024x768 or higher

•

Keyboard

•

Mouse

Home computer network

•

Wireless access point (WAP) or wireless router that supports 802.11b/g/n
(optional)

•

TCP/IP-
based (Ethernet) home network
. This usually includes a network
gatew
ay,
router,
or switch.

•

A broadband Internet connection
. During initial setup, a broadband Internet
connection is required to update the Control4 system and retrieve the media's
cover art. Also, a broadband Internet connection is required to support remote
access to the system.

Control4 home automation network

•

A Control4 controller

•

Control4 Composer Home
Edition (Composer HE
) software, version 2.
10.0
•

A valid electronic license to
run Composer HE
.
Install the software

Tip
:
We
recommend that you install Composer HE on a PC laptop
or tablet
.
Laptops
and tablets
are very handy to move about the home or business as you
set up your project and test your devices.
To
Install Composer HE:

1

Download and run the installation program from the URL provided to you by your
Control4 Dealer
or
installer
. The Installation link contains the Composer HE
software and this
Composer HE Getting Started
as online help (a PDF of this
gui
de is available on the
Control4 website
). The
Composer HE User Guide

(the
companion to this document) is available on the Control4 website in web help or
PDF formats.

2

Click
Install Composer
.
3

Follow
the
on
-screen
instructions to continue installing
.
4

When pr
ompted by the i
nstall
ation
program,
click
continue

anyway
to install the
Remote Access Network Tunnel Adapter on your computer
.
5

When the installation
completes, click
Finish
. A
Composer HE
icon displays on
your PC desktop if you selected to have it installed there.

Tip
:
The
Start
menu

(Programs > Control4 > Composer 2.
10.0 > Composer
Directories
) has folders for the
Drivers, Logs, and Projects in
your system.
For
quick reference, you may want to refer to these folders from time to time.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting st
arted


11
Starting Composer HE
Before
starting Composer HE

Prerequisites

Before you start
Control4

Composer HE, you or
your installer need to:

•

Create
your Control4 account at
customer.control4.com
.
•

Register
your controller
to your project so it works with the system
.
•

Set
up
Remote Access so your dealer can fix any problems remotely
.
•

Set up 4Sight for remote access to the system
.
•

Log in
to
your account at customer.control4
.com
and make note of your
Composer
HE subscription code.

Note:
This setup may have already been done for you by your Control4 D
ealer. If you
don’t know whether this setup is complete
, check with your dealer to
either
verify it’s
been done or get
your account information (account name, email address, password,
and reg
istration code
.)
The first time you start Composer HE, the system prompts you for your Control4
account information and a Composer HE subscription code. 4Sight is a Control4
service
that lets you receive email notifications or control the system
remotely u
sing
your smartphone, tablet, or PC.

To use a 4Sight
Internet connection, email agent, and Anywhere
Access services for
one year, you may use the
one
-year 4Sight subscription included with each copy of
Composer HE. Thereafter, you can
purcha
se an annual 4Sight subscription from your
Control4 Dealer
so you can continue to enjoy its benefits.
Start Composer HE

To start Composer HE:

1

From the
Start
menu, click
All Programs
,
Control4
,
ComposerHE
. Composer
HE
starts
and opens a
window for connect
ing
to a Director
.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


12
The first time you start Composer HE, however,
an activation window opens
first
.

a
Enter
the subscription code
provided with your Composer HE software.
You
can also log in to your account at
customer.control4.com
and click
My
Software
to see your subscription codes.

Your Composer HE subscription code will be four 4
-character
sets separated
by dashes
, such as
xxxx
-
xxxx
-
xxxx
-
xxxx
.
b
Enter the email address and password
associated with your Control4
account

at
customer.control4
.com
.
c
Click
Activate
. The startup screen appears.

Each time you start Composer HE, you will connect to your Control4 system

either locally (click
Local
System
) or remotely (click
Remote
System
). See
“Startup Options” and “Connect to a Director” for more details.

2

On the Control4 system, the
primary controller

is the controller (
and Director
)
that you conne
ct to from your PC.

Note:
To connect to a Remote System
, first you must set up remote a
ccess
. See
“
Error! Reference source not found.
”.
Startup screen:


Startup
options
Ensure that you've registered
and
activated
your account before you start
Composer
HE
for the first time. See “Before starting Composer HE
” on page 11.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


13
When you start Composer HE, t
he
startup screen presents these connection options.
See “Connect to a Director” for details.

•

Local
System
—Select
this
option when working while connected to the home
network (inside the firewall). You can modify the project, make connections, add
media, and program the system.

•

Remote
System
—Select this option when working remotely, but connected to a
home network from the Internet (outside the
firewall). You can change your

Control4 system as if you were
connected
to the l
ocal
network (second option).
This requires Remote Access. See “
Error! Reference source not found.
” on page
Error! Bookmark not defined.
.
Connect to a D
irector

Control4
controller
s have embedded
Director
software within the controller. Director
controls the communication of devices and allows the automation of your Control4
system. When you connect to a Director, you can define and customize your project
for your system.

Composer HE lets you access
and change your project configuration. When you want
to change your project to reflect how you want your Control4 system to behave, you
connect to a Director
using either a local connection
or a remote
connection
.
This section describes how to:

•

Connect to a l
ocal Director

•

Connect to a r
emote Director

•

Grant access
to a dealer for R
emote
Access

Prerequisites

•

Ensure that you set up your account at
customer.control4.com
.
•

Ensure
that
you have the correct setup, depending on how you want to connect.
You can connect to Director two
ways:

•

Local
System
. Your PC must be on the same IP
-based local
-area network as
your Control4 system.
•

Remote
System
. Your Control4 system must be configured to use 4Sight
Remote Access.

Note:

A “Renew
Composer
Registration”
message may appear before you can
connect to Director. If it does, type your email address, password, and then click
Renew
. Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


14
Connect to a l
ocal Director

To connect to a l
ocal Director:

Connecting to a Director
on the local network lets you configure settings, download a
new project, or back up an existing project to a file on the computer
. Every Director
has an associated network address.

When you start Composer and connect to a l
ocal Director, you are making “live”
changes to the hard drive on the controller
, and every time you connect to that
Dir
ector, you
will
see your project’s configuration.

1

Start

Composer
.

2

Click
Local
System
. The Directors dialog appears.

Options available on this page:

•

Connect
—Connects to the selected controller
on
the local network. Th
e main
window
shows the controller’s name and network
address.

•

Cancel
—
Cancels and closes the
Directors
dialog box.

•

Add
—
Opens a dialog box that lets you add the network
address of the
controller to which you are trying to connect. Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


15
•

Remove
—
Removes the
selected
controller from the
Directors
list. Select the
controller to remove. Click
Add
to add it to the list again.

•

Refresh
—
Updates
the
Directors
list to display recently
added Directors
and
scans the local network for any controllers running Director
.
3

From the
Directors
list, select the IP address of the Director
to access, and click
Connect
. The main page
appears with the
Monitoring
and
List

View
panes.

The following screen displays when you first start Composer HE
:
Composer HE main screen


Grant a
ccess to a Control4 Dealer

To grant access to a Control4 Dealer
:
1

To
grant
your
Control4 Dealer
access to your Control4 system, give the dealer
access on your user list at
customer.control4.com
.
Note:
Granting a dealer re
mote access rights
to your account does not require
that either you or the dealer reveals any confidential passwords.

2

On
the
Internet, go to
customer.control4.com
, enter your email a
ddress and
password, and then click
Submit
.
3

When you access your account
screen for the first time, follow the on
-screen
prompts to enter your 4Sight Subscription Code, and then click
Activate
.
Note:
The 4Sight Subscription Code is a series of digits. Fin
d this code on the card
you received when you purchased your Control4 4Sight Subscription.
4

When successfully activated, you will see an
Account Subscription
confirmation
screen. The screen shows the information you used to activate your remote
account. Wh
en you finish reviewing the confirmation screen, click
OK
.
5

If you are connected
to Anywhere Access, click
Cancel
or
Close
.
6

In the
My Account
view with
Account Administration
selected (left pane), click
the
Profile
link, and verify the
Dealer of Record
information.

7

With
Account Administration
still selected, click the
Users
link.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Getting started


16
8

At the bottom of the page, check this option:
Allow your dealer
[your dealer’s
name
]

to remotely access your system
.
9

To continue and connect remotely, follow
the next set of instructions below
.
Connect to a r
emote Director

To connect to a remote Director:

When you connect to a r
emote Director, you are making live changes to a controller
remotely. Changes will be made over an Internet connection instead of a local
network conne
ction.

Note:
This type of connection is not available until the initial configuration and
controller registration
is complete. Contact your dealer or see “Register your
controller” in
the

Composer HE User Guide
.

Note:
You may revoke access rights to Control4 Technical Support or your Control4
Dealer
using
customer.control4.com
at any time
. This is not recommended, however,
as it will interfere with needed regular updates.

1

Start
Composer
.
2

Click
Remote
System
.

3

When your system is configured
and registered to your Control4
account
,
connect to it using Composer HE from any Internet connection by entering your
Account Name
,
Email Address
, and
Password
.
4

When the
A
ccount
Name
dialog
box
appears,
enter your email address and
password
, then
click
Connect
. The account
name
will appear
in the list
.
a
If the account name does not appear, c
lick
Add
to add the account name
,
then
click
OK
on the dialog
box
that appears. This is the a
ccount
name you
created
during registration at customer.control4.com.

b
When the
Select Remote Account
dialog
box displays again, highlight your

account,
then
click
Connect
.
A screen appears indicati
ng that your account, email address, and password
are being
verified, which may take several minutes to complete. When authenticated and
connected through the Remote Access s
ervice, the list of Directors available for
connection displays.

5

Select the Direct
or you want
to connect to, then
click
Connect
.
6

When the remote connection is established, Composer HE opens in the
Monitoring
view. Composer HE functions normally as if you were connected to a
local Director, allowing you to configure, program, and trouble
shoot your system.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


17
Exiting Composer HE

To exit the Composer HE
application
, click
File
>
Exit
. The software asks you if you
want to save a backup of the project file. Click
Back

U
p
or
Back

U
p As
to save the
project.
We
recommend that
you back up any changes you make to your project.

Exploring the i
nterface
The Control4 Composer HE interface and wizards are designed to help you
:
•

Monitor your Control4
system
.
•

Maintain your media
.
•

Add or modify custom programs
.
To take advantage of the C
omposer HE features, learn about the following options in
Composer:

•

View
s
•

Menu o
ptions

The Control4 Composer HE interface
is divided into several panes.

Composer HE main screen
:

The menu bar (
File
,
Tools
and
Help
) appears at
the top of the window.

The upper left portion of the screen displays a project tree and all views available in
your system with the floors, rooms, and devices you will define depending on what
you want to do. In the project tree, you can click to collapse
or expand the floor,
room, or device levels.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


18
The lower left portion of the screen shows the view buttons (
Monitoring
,
Media
,
Agents
, and
Programming
). This is where you create automated tasks for your
system.

Views

Composer HE has four
main views. If you click on a view button, the appearance and
functionality of the interface changes to reflect the configuration options available for
that view.
•

Monitoring
—
Click to view
the
devices on your system, to access speci
fic device
controls, and to configure the properties of devices.

•

Media
—
Click to manage your digital music, movies, and other collections from a
disc player, DVD or CD player, etc. Add and scan stored or broadcast
media.

•

Agents
—
Click to configure an intelligent agent
. Use agents in the system and in
programming. Agents include
Wakeup
,
Scheduler
,
and more
.
•

Programming
—Click to create and modify custom programming for your system.
Program devices and agents on the system
.
Tip
:
Collapse the views by clicking and pulling down the dotted bar above the view
buttons, giving you more room to view the project tree above.

Note:
The project tree was created for you by your Control4 Dealer
or installer and
reflect
s the floors, rooms, and devices in your home or business. If the project tree
doesn't display, check with your Control4 Dealer.

Monitor and c
ontrol
lights
, thermostat, etc. (Monitoring view)

The
Monitoring
view
lets you view all of the devices and their current state.

This view
:
•

displays a list all of the devices in a room,

•

displays the current state of contact inputs or other devices, and

•

lets you monitor and c
ontrol the devices contained in the selected lo
cation of the
project tree.

When selecting a site, building, floor, or
room, you can see all devices associated with
each other in that area. If you select a device in the project tree, this view shows all
devices that are in the same room.

To use the Mon
itoring view:

1

Click the
Monitoring
view
in the Composer HE main window. Two
pages in this
view show the
List View
screen
, which gives you status information
for all system
devices at a glance:
List View
and
Properties
. If the Control4 system is
controlling/monitoring device power, the device is shown as r
ed when off, and
green when powered on. The light level, temperature, security system status, and
other details are also
shown on thi
s screen. Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


19
Monitoring view:


2

Double
-click any device
in
List View
to display the controls associated with that
device.

3

Click the
Properties
tab to access the
Properties
pane
for all system devices.
Select the devi
ce you want to change from the project’s tree view
. For example:

•

Configure
the LED colors on your keypads.

•

Configure the LED colors, ramp rates, and preset level for your dimmers.

•

Configure/program the programmable
buttons on your System Remote
Control
for each AV device.
•

Configure/program
the thermostat and its schedule.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


20

Project tree (l
eft pane)
The
Monitoring
view displays the project tree, a hierarchical display of locations and
devices. The project tree is where all of the device
drivers for your devices reside in
your project. Double-
click on a device to access its device controls.
Hover over a
device for detailed device information.

Monitoring
pane
:
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


21
Device c
ontrol w
indow

Access a d
evice
control
window for supported devices by double
-clicking the device
in the project tree (
Monitoring
view). For example, if you select
Left Dimmer
in the
project tree under
Living Room
, the following d
evice
control screen displays.

Device
c
ontrol
:

The
device
control screen:

•

Lets you test and control a device (after the device has been configured by your
dealer) from Composer
HE
.
•

Provides you with a simple user interface for device control. For example, the
device control for a dimmer lets you click a button on
the screen to turn the
dimmer on and off or change the light level. This is helpful for test
ing
.
•

Lets you temporarily
change the configuration and control a device from
Composer HE. Later, you can
set the configuration
permanently in the
Properties

pane or
Programming
view. For example, you can adjust the ramp rate of a
dimmer to determine the desired ramp rate to set during programming

Manage
digital
music and DVD c
ollections
(Media view)

The
Media
view lets you
:
•

Add and scan your medi
a selections to the system, including stored music and
movie
collections or broadcast channels and stations. In
Media
view, the left
-side
selections change the right
-side views.

•

View and select stored or broadcast media from the Navigat
ors (including on-
screen Navigator, System Remote Control, or touch screens that come in a variety
of sizes).
•

Set up playlists
(playlists can be created at the Navigators). When you create or
edit a playlist, you can pick albums or
tracks to play. Control4 playlists have a
limit of 500 songs.

•

Search for
cover art
(when not loaded automatically) to enhance displays.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the int
erface


22

To manage your multimedia sources:

1

Click the
Media
view
. The
media
source devices display.

Media view:



This list provides the media types for the
Stored
and
Broadcast Media
categories:

•

Stored Media

•

CDs—
Store CD cover art, albums, artist ratings, and genres (for example,
Rock or Country).

•

DVD player
or disc changer—
Store DVD and CD (when DVD player
supports CD) selections by viewing cover art, titles, info, results, media,
and disc list.

•

USB Driver or USB drive—
Store a variety of media and access it from one
of these USB
-connected devices.

•

MP3,
WMA,
AAC, or FLAC on d
igital
audio
player
—Store MP3
/HDD music
cover art, albums, artist ratings, and genres
.
•

Broadcast Media

•

DIRECTV—
View DIRECTV channel options, including station IDs, genres,
ratings
, and music channels.

•

Dish Network
—View Dish Network channel options, including station IDs,
genres, ratings, and music channels.

•

Cable TV
—View
cable TV channel options, including station IDs, genres,
ratings,
and
music channels.

•

UHF/VHF—
View UHF channel options, including station IDs, genr
es,
ratings, and HDTV.

•

AM/FM/XM and Internet r
adio
—Scan AM, FM, Internet radio, and XM
stations.

2

Select any source device to modify the media list for that device.

•

Scan for new music
on your network devices
(configured USB
-attached
storage device
or configured network file storage
).
•

Scan for a new DVD in a configured Sony disc changer
.
•

Search
for media information using the media lookup service.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


23

•

Manually customize your MP3, WMA,
MP4, FLAC
, or AAC-
formatted albums
and songs.

•

Manually add, edit, or delete DVD information
.
•

Search for the channel lineup on cabl
e, satellite, or off
-air programming
service. Manually edit channel lineup.
•

Create playlist
s. (Playlists have a limit of 500 songs.)

•

Export media list
s for backup purposes or import media lists.
•

Export playlists
for backup purposes or import playlists.

•

Set up Internet radio (your
dealer
can do this for you).

3

To add new MP3
/WMA/MP4 files
to your collection, copy the files to a configured
storage location on your U
SB
-attached storage device or a configured network
storage device.

4

To add a new storage device, have your Control4 Dealer
add it to the Composer
project and configure it for your use.

•

The network address of the controller used f
or your MP3
/WMA/MP4 files is
\
\

\
media
\
audio
where

is your controller's TCP/IP
address (for example, 192.168.0.100). To copy MP3
/WMA/MP4 files
from your
PC to the controller, open that folder
in Windows Explorer
and copy the files
to a folder
in that location.

•

After you copy the files, use the
Media
view to select the storage device, and
then
click
Scan
to add them to your m
edia list.

•

Customize, if necessary, the metadata for the newly
added media.

Use
intelligent
agents (Agents view
)
Agents
are modules that let you program
complex tasks by
using
simple,
pre-
built
functions.
For example, the Scheduler agent
lets you program an action using dates
and times.

Agents view
:

Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


24

To use th
e Agents view:

1

Click the
Agents
view.
Configurable agents:

•

4Store
—Set up and manage 4Store logins, apps, themes, and storage.

•

Access
—Show or hide icons on your Navigators using a pass code.

•

Advanced Lighting
Scenes
—Control lighting throughout your
residence or
business
from any device—
on
-screen Navigators, touch screens, and tablets.

•

Announcements
—Create an announcement to display on the touch screens,
Control4
apps, or on
-screen
Navigators
.
•

Communication
—Sets up the Intercom system and configures Intercom
groups. Required in place of Intercom agent if using any TS3 Touch S
creens.
Supports other Intercom
-enabled devices as well.
•

Custom Buttons
—Shown on the Navigator
s. You can create up to four

screens with six
buttons each to show on the
Navigators in specific rooms or
in all rooms in the system. Use programming to link the Custom Button events
to the actions you'd like to perform.

•

E
-
mail Notification
—Send email to any Internet mail address.

Use
programm
ing (requires a 4Sight
subscription and remote access
enabled on
the
controller
) to send out the notification.

Notes:

Remote Access is required to use the E
-mail Notification agent. Check with
your dealer for details about using Remote Access.
Avoid setti
ng up email notifications for events that occur frequently (
for
example
, when a m
otion
sensor detects motion). If the email notification
trigger event occurs too often, it will cause the system to become sluggish.
•

Intercom
—Sets up the I
ntercom system for 5" or 7" In
-Wall Touch Screens,
the 7” In
-Wall Touch Screen with
Camera, 7” Portable Touch Screen with
Camera, or the Door Stations.

Note
: If using any T3 Touch Screens, the Communication agent must be used
in place of the Intercom agent.
•

Light Properties
—Used for Panelized
Lighting. Check with your dealer for
details.

•

Media Scenes
—Create and configure
media
scenes which are used to link
rooms in your system for audio functionality. Activate and deactivate m
edia
scenes using the
Agents
or
Programming
views.

•

Notification
—
Send push notifications to mobile devices. Use programming
(requires
a 4Sight subscription and remote access enabled on the controller)
to send out the notification.

•

Scheduler
—Schedule events to which you can attach programming.
Scheduled event
s can be based on specific time of day, day of week, a
nd
sunrise/sunset times.

•

Screen Saver
—Create a new
screen saver to use on your touch screens and
on
-screen Navigators.

•

SNMP Configuration
—Manage Control4 home network
s remotely.
Check with
your dealer for details.

•

Timer
—Create a timer to enable or disable devices at set times.

•

Variables
—Create variables to use
in programming. You can create number
variables (numeric), true/false variables (Boolean), and text variables (string).
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


25

•

Wa
keup
—Incorporate your music selection, light level and ramp rate, and
temperature control to wake you up.
See “Agent Types” in the
Composer H
E User Gui
de

for a definition of each agent
with examples.

•

Options
available on some agents:

•

Add
—Lets you add agents
to your system.

•

Remove
—Lets you remove agents
from your system.
•

New
—Lets you create a new instance to customize the highlighted agent
in the Agent
s pane (left pane). For each specific instance of an agent, you
provide a unique name and customize it for the specific need.

•

Copy
—(Lighting Scene only.) Lets you copy an existing instance of the
highlighted Lighting Scene
agent
.
•

Delete
—Lets you remove an existing instance
of the highlighted agent.

•

Agent Navigation pane
—Provides
each agent a unique interface to set
up agent information in a majority of cases for future programming in the
Programming view.

See the
Composer H
E User Guide

for more details.

Program the Control4
system (Programming view
)
For the Control4 system to control its devices, you need to configure the behavior o
f
those devices to occur automatically in the Control4 system. The Programming view

lets you write a programming script using Composer’s drag
-and
-drop or double
-click
functions.

Programming view
:
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


26

All programming is based on even
ts and actions in a Control4 system. For example, if
a door with a sensor opens, it is logged as an
event
. When an event occurs in the
system, it can trigger programmed
actions

to take place. For example, when the
bathroom door opens (event), you can progr
am the bathroom light to turn on
(action).

The Programming view consists of several panes:

•

Device Events
and

Project Tree
(top left pane)
—Displays all devices that have
associated events.
•

Events
(bottom left pane below the Events project tree)
—Displays
the available
Events for the currently
selected device in the Events project tree. If there are no
events for that device, none are displayed.

•

Script
(center pane)
—Displays the s
cript that is associated with the currently

selected event from the Events pane. Drag
and drop items to rearrange the order
and nest items in the Script pane.

•

Device Actions
(top right pane)
—Displays all available device options (in tree
form) that have associated actions you can use to write your s
cript.

•

Actions
(bottom right pane)
—Displays
the
selection of the
Command
,
Conditionals
, and
Loops
tabs you can select to move to the Script pane. To add
an action to the script, select the action, and then
double
-click or drag
-and
-drop
the
green arrow
or
b
lue question mark
to the Script pane.

See the
Composer H
E User Guide

for more details about how to create a script.

To use the Programming view:

1

Click the
Programming
view.
Programming actions occur based on specific
events in the system to make it easy to use and powerful.
Basics concepts for programming:

•

Devices
—Each device in the system is seen from two perspectives: (1)
functions that occ
ur on the device (
event
) and (2) functions that can be done
to/using the device (
action
). The
Device Events
pane
on the left side of the
Programming view shows the events for each selected device. The
Device
Actions
pane
on the right side shows the actions for each selected device.
Devices include not only the physical devices on the system, but also the
logical devices, for example, rooms and agents.

•

Events
—When anyt
hing occurs on the system, it is an
event
. Most system
events can have programming attached to them. Notice the specific events
that occur on each device as you select devices. For example, the Control4
Wireless D
immer has several events associated with it
: Top Button Pushed,
Top Button Released, Bottom Button Pushed, Bottom Button Released, and
so on. The event is the fundamental trigger used in Control4 system
programming.

•

Actions
—An action is a specific task that the syst
em can perform. Actions are
also device specific. For example, you can set the Control4 Wireless
Dimmer
to turn on/off, toggle, go to a specific
dim level and ramping rate, use
custom
LED colors, or force the button press/release events to happen
.
•

Commands
—A command is a specific action inserted into the programming
script (to the
Script
pane).

•

Conditionals
—Most devices can be evaluated on a conditional basis. For
example, the condition
als that you can use on the Control4 Wireless
Dimmer
are: is the light on, is the light off, or
is the light level greater than
/equal
to/less than
/not equal to a specific level? The power of conditionals lies
with
your ability to use them
to create program
ming
that
starts with and evaluates
current conditions, and then proceeds accordingly. Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


27

•

Script
—The script is the ordered set of conditionals and commands which you
associate with a specific event. Scripts appear in the
Script
pane as you add
them. When an event occurs, the Control4 system executes the script
associated with the event.

•

Variables
—You
can
define variables when you add the
Variables agent in the
Agents view. There are three
types
of variables you can use in programming:

•

Numeric
—For
counting up, counting down, or setting values based on a
number.

•

Boolean
—For
set
ting
and track
ing
true/false values. For example, when
the Scheduler sunset event happens
, you can set a user-
defined Boolean
variable called Night_Time to
true
. When the Scheduler sunrise event
happens,
you can set Night_Time to
false
.
•

String
—For
set
ting
and evaluat
ing
text
stri
ng
s in programming. For
example, you can set a user
-defined string variable called
Selected_Playlist equal to "Exercise Music."

•

Room Variables
—In addition to the user
-defined variables you can create,
the system also
has system variables attached to each room
, which you
can use when you program your system. Room variables are most
commonly
accessed
as commands and conditionals from the r
oom
devices
. However, a full set of
room
variables is also available for each
room
on the system.

•

Programming Control
—Use the Programming
Control commands to delay or
stop script execution.

Example
: Below is an example
that demonstrates some of these concepts. When you start
playing a DVD in the l
iving room, if it's evening, you want to ramp up
the lights in the room
gradually to 15%. When the DVD stops or pauses, the lights automatically ramp up to 50%.
When the DVD pl
ays again
, the dimmer level returns to 15%.

The following steps demonstrate how you'd create the programming for the previous
example.

•

There are three
Events: DVD Play, DVD Stop, and DVD Pause.

•

The only Conditional to check is
night time
.
•

Actions are adde
d to the Script pane by either double
-clicking or dragging and
dropping the Action’s arrowhead or question mark into the Script pane.

•

The Commands are dimmer ramp commands.

•

You can drag
and drop a Command arrow on top of a Conditional question mark
to “ne
st” (or indent) the Command.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


28

The following examples show Stop and Play commands (notice the subtle differences
in the dimmer
levels). Detailed information about how to program the system is in the
Composer H
E User Guide
.


Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


29

Menu
options

Use the Composer HE menu bar to perform basic file tasks, view the network tools,
and view the online help.

Menu options
:

The menu bar provides the following menus:

•

File
—Perform typical file management tasks, load a project, connect to or
disconnect from the l
ocal
Director, refresh the Navigators, back up the project, or
exit Composer HE.

•

Tools
—View network status
and account information.
Note:
Updates are not supported in Composer
HE.

•

Help
—View the
Composer
HE Getting Started
online help and Composer HE
version information. Links to the
Composer H
E User Guide

are provided in the
online help.

File

The File menu lets you perform project file management tasks, load a backed up
Composer HE project, connect to Director, refresh the Navigator
s (including the
touch screen
s and on
-screen Navigators), create a backup, or exit Composer HE. The
file management options relate to the Composer HE project files you back up on your
PC (they have a .c4p extension).

When you set up a Control4 system, you create live project configura
tion information
on the c
ontroller
that is backed up to a project file on your PC. This lists specific
information about each system, including devices, connections, configuration,
programming information, and media.
•

Load Project
—Load
s a selected project into Composer HE. Composer HE
prompts you for a backup before it clears the
project configuration information,
and replaces it with the selected project to load from your local drive.

•

Connect to Director
—Connects you to the selected Director if there is more than
one Director in the network
. Composer HE prompts you to back up your project
before connecting another Director. When you connect, project configuration
information from the controller appears on
the Composer HE screen.

•

Cloud Management
—
Manage online backups saved your system.

•

Backup to Cloud
—
Creates a backup of your Control4 project and saves it to
Control4 online services. Requires a valid 4Sight subscription.

•

Disconnect from Director
—Disconnects you from Director. Composer HE
prompts you to back up your project before disconnecting
you from the currently

connected Director.

•

Back

U
p
—Backs up the current project to your connected PC. The first time you
back up, the software prompts you for a file name and to back up any media
information (recommended). When you select this option, the current project
becomes an option in the File > Load Project list.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


30

•

B
ack

U
p As
—
Backs up the current project, and prompts you to enter the name of
the file. Composer HE prompts you to back up any media information
(recommended). When you select this option, the current project becomes an
option in the File > Load Project list.

•

Refresh
—
Refreshes the Composer HE screen with the current project
configuration from Director.

•

Refresh Navigators
—Refreshes the Navigator screens with the current project
configuration from Director.
•

Exit
—Exits Composer HE and prompts you to back up the project before the
software exits and returns you to the desktop
.
Media

Note:
The Media menu appears
only when you select the Media view.
The following options are available:

•

Clear Media List
—Clears the media list
associated with the highlighted device
from the media database.

•

Export Media List
—Exports
a media list for the selected device
from your
controller to your PC.

•

Import Media List
—Imports a media list from your PC to your controller.
•

Export Playlists
—Exports a playlist from your controller
to y
our PC.

•

Import Playlists
—Imports a playlist from your PC
to your controller.

•

Import DVD List from File
—Imports an Excel
list of DVDs for disc changers.

•

New Playlist
—Creates a playlist of MP3
, WMA,
MP4
, AAC
, or FLAC
files. The
playlist is available from any touch screen or on
-screen Navigator. Add albums,
remove songs, re-
order songs, and more
. (Playlists have a limit of 500 songs.)

Note:
If you remove songs from a pl
aylist, it does not remove them from the
media database.

•

Delete Playlist
—Removes
a playlist.
•

Rename Playlist
—Renames a playlist.

To o l s

The Tools menu lets you access some tools for checking device connection
status:

•

System Diagnostics
—Helps
you gather system information and help
s determine if
any issues encountered are configuration problems
, performance issues, or
potential defects. See "System Diagnostics" below.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exploring the interface


31
System diagnostics

Controller Performance tab
—View controller performance information including CPU
and memory usage.


History button
—Opens
the
Director Message History
.
Displays a list of current
Director
Messages,
collected from the time the
System Diagnostics

window was
opened.

Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Exp
loring the interface


32

Controller Networking tab
—View controller networking information, including the
network type, connection sta
tus, MAC address, IP address, Subnet mask, Gateway,
DHCP status, and DNS server information.


Test Internet Connection button
—Click to test the current Internet connection.

Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Where to go from here

33

System Info tab
—View System information. Click
Save To File
to save the displayed
text to a file.


Help

Use the Help menu to access the online version of this
Composer HE Getting Started

document with Index, Glossary, and search options. Also, you can check the version of
your Composer HE software and Director.

From the Help menu, you have the following options:

•

Contents
. Displays
the Content tab of the Help system.
•

Index
. Displays the I
ndex tab of the
Help system.

•

About Composer
. Displays the Composer HE and Director versions
.
Where to
go from h
ere

Refer to the
Composer H
E User Guide

on the Control4 websi
te (available as HTML
or
PDF
). The user guide provides in
-depth information about how to monitor and
program your Control4 system. If you are using online help in Composer HE, links to
the
Composer H
E User Guide
are provided from the help topics.
Control4 strives to support Control4 Dealer
s so they can support you. If you have
questions or need help
beyond what is provided in th
ese guides, please contact your
Control4 Dealer
. Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Glossary


34

Glossary

4Sight:
An Internet service that provides a connection
to the home automation system any time and from any
place worldwide.

4Store:
The Control4 app store where you can
get
applications for your system. The applications appear in
the touch screens or on-
screen Na
vigators under More >
Settings.

AAC:
Advanced Audio Coding
—A successor to the MP3
format. A standard, lossy compression and encoding
scheme for digital audio. Touts better sound quality.

agent:
In Control4 programming, agents provide the
ability to perform
complex programming by using
functional modules. There are various types of agents;
for example, Announcements, E
-mail Notifications,
Scheduler,
Advanced
Lighting, and Wakeup.

Anywhere Access:
In OS 2.4 and later, a feature of
4Sight that lets users access and manage their Control4
systems remotely from the web, smartphone, PC, MAC,
or tablet.

action:
An activity that occurs when an event prompts it
to do so.

AV:
Audio Video.

client:
A software
or hardware device that
communicates to a server for feedback from the server
via an application for the user.

Command:
A ‘do’ statement; actions the Director
communicates to a device.

Composer

HE
:
The Control4 software you can
use to
configure and progra
m a Control4 home automation
system.

Composer Pro:
Composer Pro is used to set up and
configure Control4 devices to communicate with each
other in a home automation system. The dealer uses this
software to create and configure the project for the
customer.

conditional:
An ‘if’ statement that asks true/false
questions, which are acted upon in Composer
programming.

connection:
Devices that are bound or linked together in
Composer so they can communicate with each other.

contact:
Contacts are generally used to
monitor the
status of something (door, window, water sensor, etc.)
and can be connected through a security panel or
directly using a Control4 controller or Contact/Relay
Extender. Contacts connected to a Control4 controller
or Contact/Relay Extender can b
e configured either as
NC (normally closed) or NO (normally open).

Control4 app:
An app that lets you
manage
your
Control4 system from an
iOS
, Android,
PC,
or
Macdevice.

Control4 system:
A home automation system designed
and developed by Control4.

controller:
The main device that makes home
automation possible. There may be multiple controllers
within a Control4 system. The controller that runs
Director is referred to as the primary controller. The
other controllers in the system are secondary
contr
ollers.

device:
A component that requires a device driver; code
that is used to allow the Control4 system to work with
that device. Device drivers are added to the project tree
in Composer by the dealer.

device driver:
Every device in the Control4 system
needs a corresponding device driver to control that
device.

DHCP
(Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
: A
protocol used between a network client and a DHCP
server (usually a router or access point) that dynamically
assigns IP addresses from a pre
-defined li
st to clients on
a network.

Director:
Each Control4 controller ships with pre
-
installed Director software (Linux based) embedded in
the device. The Director manages the entire Control4
system, including other controllers not running Director,
other
Control
4 products and third
-party products to
enable home automation and interaction between

devices. Composer Pro is the software used to connect
to
the Director software on the controller and program
the
Control4 system
.
DriverWorks:
The DriverWorks SDK is used
to create
two
-way drivers for audio video (AV) and non
-AV
devices.

end point:
The end point is the final point (device) on
the defined path over which audio and/or video content
is routed to a room. An example of this would be a TV or
receiver.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Glossary


35

Ethernet:
Uses Ethernet category 5 (CAT5 or CAT5e)
wiring to transfer data. Ethernet uses a star network
topology that allows multiple points to communicate to
a single point. The Speaker Point
®
uses Ethernet to
communicate to the Control4 controller.

event:
A programmed instance or physical input
used to
trigger Composer programming.

file format:
A format used by applications to store/read
files.

FLAC:
Supported by Control4 since software release 1.8;
this is a free, open source, lossless audio codec format
that supports tagging, cover art and fast seeking. Audio
is compressed with no loss in quality.

gateway
(router)
: Provides a means of communicating
between two separate networks.

home network:
A network installed in the customer’s
home that provides an Ether
net or wireless connection
so that Control4 devices can communicate with each
other.

home automation system:
The Control4 system
—a line
of home automation products that communicate with
each other over Ethernet, WiFi, or ZigBee for a total
home automation experience.

identify:
Your
Control4 Dealer
or installer will identify a
device to the Control4 system after they add the device
driver
to the project tree. This ensures that the device
can communicate with the Control4 controller and
Director.

i
ntercom:
A two
-way audio and/or video
communication among supported Control4 devices.

IR
(infrared light
): Some network devices can be
controlled by a wireless remote control that uses pulses
of infrared light to send commands to the device.

LCD
(Liquid Crystal Display)
: A display used with some
Control4 interfaces.

LCD Navigator:
An LCD device used to control lighting,
music, videos, etc., on an LCD screen.

LED:
(Light Emitting Diode). Primarily used in dimmers,
switches, and keypads, but LEDs are also used on other
Control4 devices for status purposes.

Linux:
An operating system used by several Control4
devices.

List Navigator:
Menu options that are visible on a
System Remote Control.

live connection:
A term used in Composer Pro to
indicate an actual connection to the network.

loop:
A type of conditional in programming; a ‘while’
statement; for example, “while the sprinklers are on...”

media database:
Media information is stored in the
media database, which will permit users to view the
media from the Navigators.

MP3:
A music format that makes streaming audio
available.

MP4:
An audio and video format. Can also store images
and subtitles.

Navigator:
A Control4 Navigator used with the Control4
system to control lights, music, videos, etc. Navigator is
software that the customer interacts with using a
Control4 System Remote Control, on
-screen Navigator
(TV screen), or touch screen.

on
-
screen:
Allows yo
u to select the in the room that
controls the source for the on
-screen display.

playlist:
A list of songs compiled in a list. The list can be
compiled by songwriter, album, song type, or any
combination of the above.
Control4 playlists have a limit
of 500
songs.

Power Over Ethernet (POE):
Network cabling that
provides Ethernet connectivity and device power over a
single cable. Commonly used for Control4 devices.

primary controller:
The main device that makes home
automation possible. There may be multiple controllers
within a Control4 system. The controller that runs
Director is referred to as the primary controller.

programming:
A machine
-readable artificial language
used to expres
s computations that can be performed by
a device.

project tree:
A tree view in Composer where the project
is layered by the larger branches (Home, Office, etc.)
and then the lower branches (floor, rooms, etc.), and
finally to the leaf level (drivers).

ramp

rate:
The rate that a dimmer ramps up its voltage.

relay:
An electrical switch that opens and closes. A relay
is controlled by another electrical circuit.

remote access:
The ability to access a device from a
remote location.

Remote
System
:
Connects you to
the home network
while working in Composer from a remote location.

retrofit:
The ability to set up a home automation system
in an existing structure or home. Compare this with new
building construction.

RJ
-
45 jack:
An eight
-pin jack used to connect CAT5e
network cables to Ethernet devices.
Composer HE 2.9.0
Getting Started Guide

Glossary


36

router:
See gateway. Functions similar to an AP but with
additional functionality for controlling the network; for
example, coordinating traffic between different
networks.

secondary controller:
Other controllers in the
system
that do not run Director or are used as the primary
controller.

serial
-
controlled device:
Serial
-controlled devices with
an RS
-232 interface and control protocol often have a
higher level of controllability than IR
-controlled devices.
Examples of se
rial
-controlled devices are projectors,
multi
-disc DVD changers, etc.

switch:
An extension of a router that adds more
Ethernet ports to support additional devices or clients
on the local network.

system event:
An action that causes another action; for
exam
ple, if a projector turns on, it enables the other
devices in the system that work with the projector.

System Remote Control:
A Control4 System Remote
Control is a universal solution that replaces remote
controls from other manufacturers, and includes
prog
rammable buttons. This System Remote Control
can access on-
screen Navigators.

touch screen:
A touch screen is a home automation
system Navigator that controls the home’s lighting,
music, videos, and other devices on the home
automation system.

UI (user int
erface):
The preferred term is Navigator. The
Control4 interface used with Control4 devices to control
home automation, for example, touch screens, or on-
screen Navigators, and devices that use Control4
.
universal remote:
Universal remote control. A third
-
party remote control that can be programmed to
replace other remotes in the home so that only one
remote is needed, replacing all others. A Control4
System Remote Control is a type of universal remote
control.

USB
(Universal Serial Bus)
: A connector format
used
with USB drives that connect to a USB port on Control4
devices.

Virtual Connection:
A term used in Composer Pro to
indicate a connection outside the network.

WiFi:
Uses bi
-directional wireless technology to transfer
data. WiFi (wireless fidelity) dev
ices “connect” to each
other by transmitting and receiving signals on a specific
frequency of the radio band using a wireless access
point. This technology uses the star network topology.
WiFi uses high-
bandwidth 802.11.

wired network:
Uses Ethernet Catego
ry 5 or 6 (CAT5 or
CAT6) wiring to send and receive data between devices
connected to a network.

wireless access point:
A router extension with an
antenna that communicates with WiFi devices and
clients in the home. A wireless hub that connects to a
wired
network and distributes a wireless signal
throughout the structure.

wireless dimmer:
A Control4 dimmer that uses the
ZigBee. UL listed.

wireless switch:
A Control4 switch that uses ZigBee. UL
listed. Has an air gap to cut power.

WLAN:
Wireless Local Area Network.

WMA:
(Windows Media Audio)
—Audio data
compression technology developed at Microsoft; an
audio file format that competes with MP3.

ZigBee:
A wireless network that uses bi
-directional
wireless mesh network technology to transfer
messages
from one device to another. Unlike a star network
topology where devices can only send messages to each
other by sending them first to a single central device
(which then delivers the message to the recipient
device), a mesh network topology allows the devices to
forward messages from one device to another, thereby
extending the effective range of the network. Uses low
bandwidth 802.15.4. Up to 250 devices are allowed per
controller, but Control4 recommends a maximum of 125.

ZigBee Pro:
The 1.1 ve
rsion of ZigBee that provides
improvements in standardization by: allowing more
interoperability with other Control4 devices, support for
home automation profiles, and improves the scalability
of multiple ZigBee access points.

Composer
HE
2.9.0
Getting Started
Guide

Index

37


Index

4Sight, 6, 10, 11

Add storage device, 22

Agents

4Store, 23

Access, 23

Advanced Lighting Scenes, 23

Announcements, 23

Communication, 23

Custom Buttons, 23

E-mail
Notification, 23

Intercom, 23

Media Scenes, 23

Notification, 23

Scheduler, 23

Screen Saver, 23

Timer, 23

Variables, 23

Wakeup, 24

Agents view, 17, 22

Backup, 28
with Media, 8

Backup As, 29

Backup to Cloud, 28

Broadcast Media, 21

Clear Media List, 29

Cloud
Management, 28

Composer

exit, 16

Composer HE changes, 7

Composer HE interface, 5, 17

Configure devices, 5

Connect to a Director, 5

Connect to Control4 system, 11

Connect to Director, 12, 28

Contact information, 2

Control4 dealer, 6

Controller Networking
tab, 31

Controller Performance History
button, 30
Controller Performance tab, 30

Copy MP3 files, 22

Copyright, 2

Customize, 5

Delete Playlist, 29

Device Actions pane, 25

Device Control window, 20

Device Events pane, 25

Digital music, 5

Director, 7

connect
locally, 13

Director on Local Network
, 13

Disclaimer, 2

Disconnect from Director, 28

DVD information, 22

Exit, 29

Exit Composer, 8

Export Media List, 22, 29

Export Playlists, 22, 29

File menu, 28

FLAC, 22

Getting started, 7
Glossary, 33

GNU, 2

Gracenote, 2

Grant dealer rights, 15

Hard disk space, 9

Help menu, 28

home network, 8

Home network requirements, 9

Import DVD List from File, 29

Import Media List, 29

Import Playlists, 29

Inoperable system, 7

Install Composer HE, 5

Internet connection, 9

Legal notice,
2
List View, 18

screen, 18

Load Project, 28

Local connection, 12

media database, 8

Media view, 17, 20, 21

Menu options, 28

Monitor, 5

Monitoring view, 17, 18

MP3 files, add new, 22

MPEG, 2

Network device, 21

Network file store, 21

Network requirements, 9

New Playlist, 29

Playlists, 8, 22

Programming

example, 26

Programming view, 17, 24

Actions, 25

Boolean, 26

Commands, 25

Conditionals, 25

Devices, 25

Events, 25

Numeric, 26

Programming Control, 26

Room Variables, 26

Script, 26

String, 26

Variables, 26

Project Tree, 19

Properties, 18

Properties page, 18

Refresh, 29

Refresh Navigators, 29

Register controller, 10

Remote connection, 12

Remote Director connection, 16

Rename Playlist, 29

Requirements, hardware and
software, 9

Restrictions, 6

Scan, 22

Scan for
new music, 21

Scan media, 20

Search, 21

Search for Cover Art, 20

Select Remote Account
, 16

Set up playlists, 20

Sony disc changer, 21

Start Composer HE, 5

Stored Media, 21

Subscription code, 11

System Diagnostics, 29

System Info tab, 32

TCP/IP, 9

Test
Internet Connection button,
31
Tools menu, 28

Undo a change, 7

USB
-attached storage device, 21

Video resolution, 9

Wakeup scene, 6

What’s new, 6