Often I need to open two copies of Lightburn … one the work-in-process and the other the next project being prepared. When I do this I often get odd things to happen inconsistently (a software developers favorite term).
For instance, many times I lose the Rotary on/off setting, and sometimes I even lose my settings such as Steps Per Rotation (going back to a default value). When not using the rotary, I usually have the machine lose it’s position in the bed. I can do a “frame” and it will be accurate, but then when I go to run the job the laser shoots off to some other place (yes, all position settings are correct).
It’s just not practical in our workflow to not open another copy as Lightburn has become an integral part of daily work (even basic design!). Sometimes we also need to open another copy of Lightburn simply to access a vector that we need in the current window (though it would be nice to import those like a vector file simply to get the graphics … hint hing )
This is not new to the latest release, but it’s not address either.
Hello,
Not any problems opening multiple incidents of Lightburn, you just have to not try to open a second incident within the program or from a short-cut. Go the main folder and double click Lightburn.exe as many times as you like or go to your program list of applications and do the same . Hope this is what you needed.
Dave
Not sure I follow this request, but you can ‘Import’ .LBRN files if this is what you are asking. Import file type options are shown below. Note that when importing a LightBurn file the objects will be assigned to their appropriate layer based on color but, the current settings for that layer will be applied to the imported objects.
Thanks Rick - I’ll have to check this out. I usually just try to drag & drop a LBRN file into an existing open file and it doesn’t work (where other files types seem to just drop right in).
This however was only my secondary point of the post … the more important one being the repeated loss of settings when multiple copies of (my beloved) LB are open. Perhaps I have explained it well, but that’s likely because I have not found the pattern. I can do it every day though if I use it enough.
This is interesting, but why? I just use the shortcut on the desktop, how would that be different than using the exe from it’s home directory. If this works, I don’t understand how or why.
Thanks for the knowledge of “Import” option for Lightburn files. While this does not resolve the primary issue reported here, it is helpful. I had been trying to just “drag and drop” like other files but for Lightburn files that method doesn’t work. However, taking the menu actions does. Would be nice to just support the drag and drop method too, but that’s minor.
LightBurn is meant to be “live”, so when you start a 2nd copy of the software, that copy connects to the machine and queries a few things, like page size, rotary enable, and so on.
If you are connected via USB, the first instance of LightBurn will hold the USB port open, so the second will be unable to talk to the machine to ask for the rotary settings, etc. This might be the source of your issue.
If you only ever try to use the machine with the first copy of LightBurn, everything should work as expected. If you try to use it from the second instance, things might not work at all, or could be erratic.
It’s erratic for sure when I do this, and I understand I’m the cause. I use an Ethernet connection though, not USB any longer (it was too unreliable in my setup).
If you create a 2nd laser profile and give it the wrong IP address, or just set it to USB, you should be able to run LightBurn and select the 2nd laser to avoid interfering with the first instance.
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