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R-Flow app

Pixel Map

Drop a venue pixel map, get a finished Resolume Advanced Output preset in seconds.

R-Flow — Pixel Map
Pixel Map inside R-Flow

What it does

Pixel Map reads the pixel-map image a venue or LED vendor hands you — colour-coded output maps or test-card maps with X-marked fixtures — and uses computer vision to find every fixture on it. It rebuilds the whole rig as editable panels on a canvas, pairs each fixture's output position with its spot in your composition (using a colour-coded comp map or even a monochrome CAD stage plan), and exports a ready-to-import Resolume Advanced Output preset with one slice per fixture — or per rectangular panel of a shaped fixture — correct input mapping, rotation, and human-readable slice names like "Red Diamond T" or "Cyan Bar BL". What used to be an hour of manually drawing slices becomes a scan, a quick visual check, and one export.

Key features

Why it earns its place in your booth

1

Computer-vision map scanning

Scan Output Map(s) detects every fixture zone in a vendor pixel map by its colour — built for real-world maps with checkerboard shading, label boxes, and grid lines drawn over everything. Non-rectangular fixtures (diamonds, pyramids, stairs, L-shapes) are recognised and can be split into the real rectangular panels that make them up. Test-card maps that mark fixtures with corner-to-corner X marks are detected from the X marks themselves for pixel-exact corners.

2

Automatic input mapping

Load a second image showing where each fixture sits in your composition and the app pairs it with the scanned fixtures automatically — matching by fixture colour, printed label numbers, size, shape, and stage symmetry, in multiple passes. It even catches left/right swaps by re-reading the printed fixture numbers on mirrored pairs. Monochrome CAD stage plans get their own geometry-based matcher that even sets 90-degree rotation on fixtures drawn sideways. A status line tells you exactly how many fixtures were matched and how.

3

Multi-screen support

Big rigs that span two or three physical outputs are first-class: each scanned image becomes its own screen with its own resolution and panels, and the export writes one Resolume screen per output — all sharing a single composition input space.

4

Hands-on visual editor

Every detected fixture is a draggable, resizable panel over the original map image. Scroll to zoom, Alt+drag to pan, snap-to-grid placement, corner handles with Shift for aspect lock and Alt for resize-from-centre, double-click to type exact dimensions, right-click to edit or delete. An Output/Input view toggle lets you edit the screen-space and composition-space mapping separately, and 50 steps of undo/redo (Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y) are there when you need them.

5

One-click symmetry

Stage layouts are usually mirror-symmetric, but detection always lands a few pixels off. The Symmetrize button snaps mirrored fixture pairs to exact left/right symmetry and centres near-centre fixtures — so the export looks as clean as a hand-built map.

6

Readable slice names

Exported slices are named the way a VJ would name them — colour plus shape plus stage position, like "Gold Bar BL" or "Blue Diamond C-3" for the parts of a shaped fixture — so the Advanced Output editor and your layer routing stay legible.

7

Export straight into Resolume

Export Resolume XML writes a complete Advanced Output preset — screens, slices, input and output rectangles, rotation — and the save dialog opens directly in your Resolume Arena Advanced Output presets folder (when Resolume is installed), so the preset appears in Resolume's import list immediately.

Documentation

How to use Pixel Map

  1. Open the Pixel Map app

    The left sidebar holds the configuration and the big buttons; the right side is the LED Wall Preview canvas. The hint at the bottom reminds you of the controls: scroll to zoom, Alt+drag to pan, drop a PNG to load it.

  2. Scan your output map(s)

    Click the green "Scan Output Map(s)" button and select the vendor's pixel-map image — or several at once, one per physical output. Each image becomes its own screen (a single image replaces the current screen by default — untick "Replace current screen's panels" to add it as a new screen instead).

    Pixel Map — Scan your output map(s)

  3. Tell it the real output resolution

    In the Scan Output Map dialog, enter the output resolution the image represents (vendor maps are often rendered smaller than the output they describe — enter the real resolution, e.g. 3840 x 2160, not the image's pixel size). Optionally set "Panel size (px)" to your physical module size (0 = auto) so every detected rectangle locks to the panel grid, and leave "Split shaped zones into their real rectangles" ticked so diamonds and pyramids become their actual panel strips. Click "Scan".

  4. Check the detection

    The status bar reports how many zones were found, and each fixture appears as a coloured panel over the dimmed map image. Zoom with the scroll wheel, pan with Alt+drag (or middle mouse), drag panels to reposition, pull the red corner handles to resize (Shift = keep aspect ratio, Alt = resize from centre), double-click a panel to type exact dimensions, or right-click to edit or delete it. "Reset View" brings the zoom back to normal. If you run multiple screens, switch between them with the Screens dropdown.

    Pixel Map — Check the detection

  5. Load the input map (optional but the magic step)

    If you have an image showing where each fixture sits in the composition — a colour-coded comp map or a CAD stage plan — click the purple "Load Input Map (comp)" button. The composition size becomes the image's native size, and every fixture's input rectangle is matched automatically. The status line summarises the result, e.g. "32 fixtures — 24 by colour, 4 by label, 2 by shape+symmetry, 2 mirrored". Anything reported as "guessed (check!)" deserves a manual look.

    Pixel Map — Load the input map (optional but the magic step)

  6. Verify in Input view

    The app jumps to the Input view automatically, showing every input rectangle drawn over your input image — matched panels get a green outline. Dragging and resizing here edits the input mapping directly. Click "Symmetrize" to snap mirrored pairs to perfect left/right symmetry. Toggle back to "Output" when done.

    Pixel Map — Verify in Input view

  7. Export the preset

    Click "Export Resolume XML". The save dialog opens in your Resolume Advanced Output presets folder — keep it there and the preset shows up in Resolume automatically. A summary confirms screens, slices, composition size, and how many slices carry matched input rectangles.

    Pixel Map — Export the preset

  8. Import in Resolume

    In Resolume, go to Output > Advanced > Import..., pick the exported file, and your entire venue mapping — slices, input routing, rotation, names — is live.

  9. No map image? Build it by hand

    Open "Advanced Options" for manual tools: set a panel size and click "Add Panel", or use "Bulk Add" to enter coordinates for many panels at once (with grid and same-size quick-fill helpers). Everything exports the same way.

    Pixel Map — No map image? Build it by hand
Reference

Settings

ScreensDropdown plus + / − buttons to manage one screen per physical output; each screen keeps its own resolution, background image, and panels.
Width / Height (px)The active screen's declared output resolution — hit "Update" after changing it.
Comp (px)The composition size used for input mapping and export; set automatically to the input image's native size when you load an input map.
Output / Input viewToggle between editing panels at their physical output positions and editing their composition-space input rectangles.
SymmetrizeSnaps matched input rectangles to exact left/right stage symmetry and centres near-centre fixtures.
Load Background OnlyLoads an image behind the canvas as a visual reference without running detection or changing the declared resolution.
Panel size (scan dialog)Physical module size in pixels (e.g. 108); locks detected panel sizes to the module grid so detection jitter can never produce an off-size panel. 0 = automatic.
Snap coords to (scan dialog)Rounds detected coordinates to the nearest multiple; ignored when a panel size is set.
Split shaped zones into their real rectanglesTurns diamonds, pyramids, stairs, and L-shapes into one panel per real rectangular strip instead of one oversized bounding box.
Replace current screen's panelsWhen scanning a single image, overwrite the active screen instead of adding a new one.
Advanced Options: Panel ManagementManual panel size, "Add Panel", "Bulk Add" (coordinates for many panels, with Grid Layout and Same Size quick-fills), and "Clear All".
Advanced Options: SnappingEnable/disable snap and set the grid size used when dragging and resizing panels.
Advanced Options: Pixel Pitch & MappingOptional pixel pitch (mm), start corner, and wiring direction (horizontal, vertical, snake-h, snake-v) — used by the per-LED-pixel "Generate Pixel Map" workflow for LED panel data, not needed for the scan-and-export workflow.

Pro tips

💡 Set "Panel size" in the scan dialog to your real module size (e.g. 108 for 108x108 modules) — every detected width and height becomes an exact multiple of the module, so a row of 7 modules can never come out one pixel short (positions stay where the map draws them, so deliberately offset fixtures survive).
💡 For rigs spanning multiple outputs, select all the output map images in one go — each becomes its own screen, named after its file, and the export writes them all into a single preset.
💡 Use the input image at whatever size you have it: the composition adopts the image's native size, and since Resolume only cares about proportions, everything lands 1:1 with zero scaling error.
💡 After loading an input map, hit "Symmetrize" — mirrored fixture pairs snap to mathematically exact left/right symmetry, which reads noticeably cleaner on a symmetric stage.
💡 Green outlines mean a panel has a matched input rectangle; anything still pink is falling back to its output position — a quick colour scan of the canvas shows you exactly what still needs attention.
💡 Remember the modifier keys: Shift while resizing locks aspect ratio, Alt while resizing grows from the centre, Alt+drag (or middle mouse) pans, and scroll zooms around the cursor.
💡 Keep the export in the suggested Advanced Output folder — Resolume's import dialog opens right there, making the round trip a two-click affair.
💡 The Advanced Options window doesn't block the canvas — leave it open while you dial in snap settings or add panels and test the result live.

Good to know

⚠️ Zone detection keys off colour: it shines on maps where each fixture has its own hue (or X-marked test cards, or CAD plans). A plain greyscale sketch with no colour coding won't scan well — build those with Add Panel / Bulk Add instead.
⚠️ Always enter the output resolution the map represents in the scan dialog. Vendor maps are frequently rendered smaller than the output they describe; scanning at the image's pixel size would produce an undersized mapping.
⚠️ Input matching requires scanning the output map(s) first — the "Load Input Map (comp)" button will remind you if you skip that step, because matching uses the detected zone colours and shapes.
⚠️ Fixtures reported as "guessed (check!)" in the input-map status line were placed by inference, not a confident match — verify them in the Input view before the show.
⚠️ Dropping an image onto the canvas loads it as a background reference only; it does not run detection. Use "Scan Output Map(s)" to actually detect fixtures.
⚠️ The exported preset is a file — Resolume doesn't pick it up live. You finish the job inside Resolume with Output > Advanced > Import.
⚠️ "Generate Pixel Map" builds per-LED-pixel data for small LED-panel layouts and deliberately refuses layouts over ~2 million pixels; scanned venue maps skip it entirely and go straight to "Export Resolume XML".
⚠️ Panels cannot overlap while dragging in the editor — collisions are blocked, which keeps mappings clean but means you must resize before butting panels into a tight spot.
⚠️ Undo history is cleared when you switch screens or toggle between Output and Input view, so undo can never land changes on the wrong screen — commit to your edits per view.
⚠️ The background image is always stretched to the screen's declared resolution for display; if proportions look off, the declared Width/Height is wrong, not the image.
⚠️ If an input rectangle extends past the declared Comp size, the export automatically grows the composition to contain it — glance at the export summary's composition size if it looks bigger than expected.

In action

Pixel Map in action
Pixel Map in action

Requirements

Windows PC running the R-Flow desktop appResolume Arena 7 (the export is written in the Arena 7 Advanced Output preset format)A venue pixel-map image (PNG/JPG/BMP) — colour-coded output map, X-marked test-card map, or CAD stage planNo hardware, network, or Resolume connection needed — the import into Resolume is a file import

Plays well with

Resolume Arena Advanced Output — exports a complete XML preset imported via Output > Advanced > ImportSaves directly into your Documents > Resolume Arena > Presets > Advanced Output folder (Avenue and OneDrive-redirected Documents are detected too) so presets appear in Resolume's import dialogReads standard PNG, JPG, and BMP images — no special file format needed from the venueFully offline: no network connection, ports, or Resolume webserver required