Installation

E&S Lighting is free lighting control software, inspired by grandMA in the way it is used. It drives your fixtures over Art-Net and sACN from a computer, with a mouse, a keyboard or your finger on a touchscreen. No hardware is required.

The software is in Alpha: it is usable, but features are still changing and bugs are possible. The Report a bug / an improvement button, at the top of the window, lets you write to us in two clicks.

Recommended configuration

	Minimum	Recommended
System	Windows 10 64-bit	Windows 11 64-bit
Processor	2 cores	4 cores or more
Memory	4 GB	8 GB
Screen	1024 × 600	1920 × 1080, touch
Network	an Ethernet card for the DMX output	a card dedicated to the lighting network

Linux and macOS versions are in preparation: you can request them from the download page of your account (Request button); the most requested come first.

The lighting calculation runs on every processor core except two: the more cores, the bigger the shows the software can handle (thousands of fixtures and universes).

Getting the software

Create an account on the license website: this is your license request. Say in a few words how you will use it (theatre, concerts, events…).
Wait for approval: it is done by hand, you will see it on the My account page.
Once the license is active, the My account page offers the installer (Setup) for your system. Download it.

Installing on Windows

Run ESLighting-Setup…exe. Windows may show a "Windows protected your PC" warning: the software is not signed (a signature costs several hundred euros a year). Click More info, then Run anyway.
Follow the installer. An E&S Lighting shortcut is created in the Start menu and on the desktop.
On first start, Windows may ask to allow the software on the network (firewall): allow it for private networks, otherwise no DMX frame will go out.

Where your files are

What	Where
Your shows (`.esl`)	`Documents\E&S Lighting\Shows`
Exported profiles (`.elsf`)	`Documents\E&S Lighting\Profils`
Computer settings, fixture library, crash reports	`%AppData%\ESLighting`

A show is a single file: to back it up or move it to another computer, copy its .esl.

Updating

When a new version comes out, the software tells you at startup (New version popup). Download the new Setup from My account and install it over the old one: your shows and settings are kept.

If a version becomes too old to be used, the software says so and the DMX output is cut as for a deactivated license: install the latest version.

Uninstalling

Control Panel → Programs → E&S Lighting → Uninstall. Your shows in Documents are not deleted.

Next: activate the license.