Connections

A connection is the link that connects two of ports together. It usually represents a physical cable that connects two devices together. In GearConnect this is shown as a line between two ports.

Properties

Each connection has several properties that define how it works:

• Source Port: The port where the connection starts. This determines which layer the connection is on (you can change it the layer after) and is the port where you first start drawing the connection from.
• Target Port: The port where the connection ends.
• Direction: The direction of the connection (input, output, or bidirectional). This is determined by both the port direction and the signal flow properties of the ports. The signal flow is used first, if it’s not set, the port direction is used. Depending on the direction, you will see different icons on the connection line (see example above):
  • Circle: This end of the connection is bidirectional. Depending on what you are working on, most connections will have a circle on either end to signify that both ends are connected to bidirectional ports.
  • Arrow: This end of the connection is an input. The signal flows from the other end of the connection to this end.
    

    Note

    The source and target ports mentioned above are independent of the direction of the connection. For example, you may have a connection that the app determines is an input, so it will show an arrow, but that is where you started drawing the connection from, so it is the source port.

    For the most part, you usually don’t need to think about this, and just focus on the direction, but it can be useful to know for things such as layers as mentioned above.

  • No Icon: This end of the connection is an output. The signal flows from this end of the connection to the other end.
    

    Tip

    These icons are determined automatically for you, and validated based on the validation logic below!
    

    This means you may have some situations where you have a circle on one end and an arrow on the other, because one port supports a bidirectional connection and the other supports an input, which is valid.

• Adapter Required: Based on the connector validation, the app will determine if an adapter is needed. For example, connecting an XLR3 to XLR5 is possible, but you will need an adapter to do so. In this situation, you will see a dotted line instead of a solid line to signify that an adapter is needed.
• Signal Warning: Similar to the adapter required, the app will determine if there is a signal mismatch. For example, sending HDMI to an SDI port will cause a signal mismatch. In this situation, you will see the same dotted line as the adapter required to alert you that there is a signal mismatch.
• VLANs Matching: If both ports have VLANs, the app will check if they match. If they don’t, you will see get a notification that the VLANs don’t match but you will not see a dotted line.
• Colours: The connection will have a primary and secondary colour. The primary colour is the colour of the line itself, where the secondary colour is the colour of any label borders added to the connection. You can customize the colours in the following ways:
  • Use Port Colour: This is the default and will use the colour of the source port.
  • Use Layer Colour: This will use the colour of the layer the connection is on.
  • Use Custom Colour: You can ignore both the port and layer colours and set your own custom colours.

Note

The primary colour determines the label colour, for example a bright colour will set the label to black so it is readable, and a dark colour will set the label to white.

Validation

When you make a connection between two pieces of gear, the app makes sure the connection is valid. This happens in real-time so you can instant feedback, instead of validating at a later point or not getting any feedback at all. This helps ensure that your setup works as expected and catches mistakes early on in the process.

You can also disable this validation if you wish by using ports with the Generic Connector, which most of the gear in the generic category uses, or using Full Edit Mode (Pro feature), you can change any port to a Generic Connector.

When validation happens, it goes through the following checks:

• Loopback: The app prevents connections that try to connect back to itself.
• Duplicate: Neither port can already have an existing connection on it.
• Connector: Checks if the Connectors (the connector) on the two ports are compatible. If they’re not directly compatible, it checks if an adapter can be used to make them work together. If an adapter is needed, the app shows a dotted line instead of a solid line. If the connection is still not possible, the app will not allow you to make the connection.
  • Fiber Type: For fiber optic connections (as determined by setting the Connector to Fiber), the app ensures that the fiber types on both ports are the same. This is not checked if the Connector is not set to Fiber.
• VLAN: If both ports use Virtual LANs (VLANs), the app checks that they are the same. This will not prevent the connection from being made, but it will issue a warning if they don’t match.
• Directions: Checks that the is a valid direction between the two ports by checking for any of the following:
  • Input to Output: One port must be an input and the other an output.
  • Output to Input: One port must be an output and the other an input.
  • Bidirectional to Anything: A bidirectional port can connect to any direction.
  • Anything to Bidirectional: Any direction can connect to a bidirectional port.
• Signal Type: Checks if the signal types are compatible if they are present (not all ports have signal types). If there’s a potential mismatch that might cause problems, it issues a warning with a dotted line.
• Signal Flow: The app ensures that the signal flow (the direction the signal travels) is correct. This logic is the same as the Connector logic, it will accept the connection so long as any one of the following is true:
  • Input to Output: One port must be an input and the other an output.
  • Output to Input: One port must be an output and the other an input.
  • Bidirectional to Anything: A bidirectional port can connect to any signal flow.
  • Anything to Bidirectional: Any signal flow can connect to a bidirectional port.

If these all pass, the connection is allowed to be made. Some of these may issue a warning, and some may prevent the connection from being made. Generic Connectors will skip most of these checks, but these checks are always performed:

• Loopback
• Duplicate
• VLAN

Smart Routing

One of the unique features of GearConnect is the Smart Routing feature. In most drawing applications, you need to manually adjust connections and lines to avoid gear and obstacles. With Smart Routing, connections will automatically route around gear items and other obstacles.

There are times when smart routing can not find a path, such as when gear items are too close together. In these times, the connection will fall back to a simple straight line. You can toggle Smart Routing on and off by clicking the Disable Smart Connection Routing or Enable Smart Connection Routing button in the Draw Toolbar.

Manual Routing

In either case, you can manually route the connection by clicking on a part of the connection line and a node will appear. You can then drag this node to where you want the connection to go. When Smart Routing is enabled, the app will take into account the nodes you have placed and try to route the connection with them in mind.

You can remove a node by double clicking it. The nodes appear when you hover over a connection.

Moving Connections

When you hover over a connection, you will see a all the nodes on the connection. This includes the source and target ports. You can click and drag the connection to move it to a new connection. When you move a connection, the validation will be re-run to ensure that the connection is still valid. If not, the connection will be removed.

Connection Colours

You can change the colours of the connection by right clicking on the connection and selecting Edit Colours. You have the options defined above for the primary and secondary colours, with the default being Use Port Colour.

When using the Use Custom Colour option, you also have the same Base on Primary Colour option as with layers. This will set the secondary colour to be 15% lighter than the primary colour.

Connection Labels

You can add a label to the connection by right clicking on the connection and selecting Add Label. This will open a dialog for you to enter the label text. You can also edit the label by right clicking on the connection and selecting Edit Label.

Once a label has been added, you can click and drag it along the line to position it where you want.

Deleting Connections

You can delete a connection by hovering over it and clicking the X that appears on the link. Alternatively, you can right click on the connection and select Remove.