Setup Wizard
The Setup Wizard generates a complete, ready-to-use multi-projector scene from a handful of inputs. Instead of placing projectors one by one, the wizard calculates the correct number of projectors, their positions, and the required throw ratio in seconds.
Opening the wizard
- Open the ☰ menu (top right) and choose 🪄 Setup Wizard, or
- Type
wizardanywhere in the 3D view.
The wizard opens as a compact docked panel on the left — it doesn't block the 3D view, so you can orbit and inspect the scene while you configure. Every parameter lives in that one panel (no steps); long explanations are tucked into (?) help icons so you can see it all at a glance. The planned layout is shown as a translucent ghost preview directly in the 3D scene that updates with every change, so you always see the real outcome (no separate 2D sketch needed). A Live Plan widget floats next to the panel with the projector count, throw ratio, distance, light-on-screen share, and a feasibility check. When you're happy, click ✨ Recreate scene at the bottom to build (or rebuild) the layout. Lengths are in metres.
Locking parameters
Like dedicated projector-calculation tools, the wizard treats surface size, throw ratio and distance as a triangle (throw ratio = distance ÷ image width). Each lockable parameter has a 🔒 toggle:
| Lock | Effect |
|---|---|
| Size | Holds the surface dimensions while you sweep the throw ratio or distance. |
| Throw ratio | Holds the throw ratio and solves the distance from it. Lock it to enter a throw ratio directly; the distance becomes a derived read-out. |
| Distance | Holds the exact throw distance. Unlocked, the wizard optimises the distance up to the value you enter for the fewest projectors; lock it to pin a real mounting distance. (Throw ratio and Distance are opposite anchors of the same triangle — locking one releases the other.) |
| Model | Keeps your chosen real projector when you recreate, instead of reverting to a generic model. |
Sliders next to the size and distance fields make sweeping values quick.
A live triangle under the throw section shows the relationship at a glance: the locked parameter is the highlighted anchor, the computed one is marked solved, and the equation TR = D ÷ W updates with your numbers. Below it, a class band places the current throw ratio on the UST · ST · Standard · Long scale (ultra-short < 0.4, short 0.4–1.0, standard 1.0–2.0, long ≥ 2.0) so you can see at a glance what kind of lens you're asking for. Fixing the projector is just another way to fix the throw ratio — the lens's ratio range becomes the anchor.
Parameters
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Surface type | Flat, Curved, Room, Floor, or Dome — pick from the compact icon row |
| Dimensions | Width/height (flat), radius/arc/height (curved), room W×D×H (room), or floor W×D (grid) |
| Throw ratio min/max (room) | The lens band for immersive rooms. Projectors mount as close to their wall as the band allows: distance = min ratio × image width. 0.19 (ultra-short throw) is the physical limit — never closer. |
| Distance from screen | A single throw distance. Unlocked, the wizard optimises up to this value for the fewest projectors; lock it to hold the exact distance. |
| Edge-blend overlap (optional) | Off by default (uses 10%). Flip the toggle to set the horizontal overlap between adjacent projectors; it also drives the automatic projector count. |
| Target brightness (optional) | Off by default. Flip the toggle to set an average illuminance on the surface (dark ≈ 150, mixed ≈ 300, bright ≈ 500 lx); the wizard then shows the lumens each projector needs and ranks real models by whether they reach it. |
| Project the floor (room) | CAVE mode: ceiling-mounted projectors tile the floor straight down, with their own surface and group. |
Under Advanced options:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Projector orientation | Landscape or portrait, applied to all generated projectors |
| Allow short throw | Extends the allowed throw ratio range from 0.79–4.0 down to 0.19 — ultra-short throw, so UST lenses like 0.23 in the library can be matched |
| Rear projection | Flat screens only: projectors mount behind the screen and the surface switches to back-projection |
| Mount on a truss | Shows a rig truss connecting the projector row (flat/curved) |
| Run coverage analysis | Verifies the generated layout with the projection-quality analysis right away |
| Create planning camera | Automatically places an observation camera framing the setup |
| Camera distance | Optional; leave empty for an automatic position |
Recommended projector
The panel shows a Recommended projector card: the best real model whose lens covers the required throw ratio, ranked by how well it meets the brightness target. Set a Favorite vendor to bias the recommendation toward a brand. Click Use & lock this model to adopt it (this also turns on the Model lock, so it survives recreates).
Click ☰ Browse full catalog… to open the full searchable list in a modal — filter by vendor or search text, and toggle Matching only to show just the models with a lens for the current throw ratio. Pick any model to use it; pick it again to clear back to a generic projector. The candidate pool is every real projector spec the app knows: your custom projectors, the library models you've used in scenes, and the platform catalog when available.
On recreate — choose what happens to your current scene:
- Replace scene — removes all existing objects first (you'll be asked to confirm if the scene isn't empty)
- Add to current scene — keeps existing objects and adds the new layout at the origin
The Live Plan summary also reports pixel density (px/m), light-on-screen share, brightness need for the lux target, and audience shadowing (how close to the screen standing viewers would enter the beam — front projection gets an Audience Eyepoint in the scene), plus feasibility warnings.
The wizard chooses the fewest projectors whose required throw ratio fits a realistic lens range (0.79–4.0, or 0.19+ with short throw enabled), and sizes each image so the requested blend overlap is fully delivered.
How each surface type is planned
Flat screen — projectors are evenly spaced along the screen, each covering its own section plus the requested edge-blend overlap (the review shows requested vs. delivered overlap). They top-mount level above the screen and use lens shift instead of tilting.
Curved screen — projectors sit on an inner arc at screen mid-height, aiming radially outward (horizontal) at each section centre — a clean perpendicular hit with no keystone or lens shift, so the images tile the arc evenly. Image sizing uses the exact concave geometry: the surface curves toward the projector at section edges, so the wizard sizes each image to reach the full screen height at the edge depth — no uncovered corner wedges. With orientation on Auto, tall curved bands automatically switch to portrait when that fills the surface better.
Immersive room — placement is key: each wall is planned independently and projectors mount as close to their wall as the chosen lens band allows (default 0.38 ultra-short throw — never closer), straight in front of their section, with symmetric counts per wall pair; beams stay in thin shells along each wall so nothing throws across the room. Walls are covered edge to edge with the end images stopping flush at the corners — no corner overlap between adjacent walls. The optional floor (CAVE) is tiled by units mounted just under the ceiling, above the wall row, aiming straight down. Tall rooms automatically switch to portrait so projectors keep hugging the walls.
Grid / floor — overhead projectors aim straight down and tile the floor with edge blending, sized from the mounting height you give as max distance (always landscape, so the footprints line up).
Dome — projectors sit on the springline (the lower rim, right below the screen) and cross-fire: each unit aims across the dome interior, over the zenith, toward the opposite rim, covering a tall petal that edge-blends with its neighbours around the azimuth — the classic fulldome rig (≈5 units at a ~1.0 lens for a hemisphere, no central fisheye).
Tall flat walls — when one row cannot reach a feasible lens (or wastes most of its light), the wizard stacks two rows: the top row mounts above the screen shifting down, the bottom row below it shifting up, blending vertically. (With orientation on Auto, portrait columns are chosen instead when they're cheaper.)
Click ✨ Recreate scene to build the layout. Projectors are created, aimed, and grouped automatically; for rooms each wall gets its own projector group and planning camera. Because the panel stays open, you can tweak a value and hit Recreate scene again to iterate.
Tips:
- Recreate is undoable (Ctrl+Z restores the previous scene); Ctrl+Enter recreates immediately.
- The completion toast offers a one-click equipment-list export.
- Your wizard settings and locks are remembered between sessions.
- The panel is non-blocking — orbit and inspect the scene (and the live ghost) while you configure.
- Everything the wizard creates can be adjusted afterwards with the normal transform tools.