TDY:IQ — Tidy Your Layout

TDY:IQ is a layout hygiene tool. You give it your xLights xlights_rgbeffects.xml — the file that holds your models, groups, and submodels — and it reads the whole layout, spots the clutter, and writes you a plan: rename these models to one consistent style, build the groups you keep meaning to build, and fill in the spinner shapes xLights left blank. You review every change, turn any of them off, then download a tidied copy.

The one rule that shapes everything: TDY:IQ never touches your sequences. It only edits the layout file, and every rename is alias-safe — the old name stays on the model as an alias, so nothing you’ve already sequenced breaks. Think of it as the opposite of MAP:IQ: that tool moves effects between layouts; this one just tidies the layout itself.

What it cleans up

TDY:IQ works on three kinds of layout debt:

• Naming — models and groups drift into a mix of styles over the years (arch1, Left-Arch, ARCH_R). It proposes one consistent pattern for model names and another for group names.
• Grouping — the groups you half-built or never got around to. It can create obvious groups, fix a group’s members, refresh a “minus” group that’s drifted, or drop an empty one.
• Spinner submodels — spinners that still carry xLights’ stock submodels. It generates the arm and ring shapes so your spinner is ready for real effects.

The flow

1. 1

   Drop in your rgbeffects file

   On the TDY:IQ landing screen, drag your xlights_rgbeffects.xml onto “Drop your rgbeffects file here,” or click “or click to browse.” Back up your show folder first — it’s good habit, and TDY:IQ hands you a differently-named copy anyway.
2. 2

   Let it read your layout

   You’ll see “TDY:IQ is reading your layout…” for a moment. It parses the whole file in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
3. 3

   Read the report

   The report opens with an auto-detected profile — Newcomer, Drifted, or Advanced — and a Net effect panel showing what your layout looks like now versus after every suggestion.
4. 4

   Tune the three sections

   Work down Naming, Grouping, and Spinner Optimization. Every change is pre-selected; untick anything you want to keep as-is.
5. 5

   Apply the plan

   The sticky plan bar tallies your changes. Hit Apply the plan, confirm, and TDY:IQ builds a verified tidied copy and downloads it. Open it in xLights to test before you replace your real file.

The profile and net effect

TDY:IQ senses how tidy your layout already is and picks a profile that sets where it focuses. A Newcomer layout leans on naming; a Drifted one has grown inconsistent over seasons; an Advanced layout is mostly clean and just needs a polish. The section it cares about most wears a Main focus pill; the rest read Looks good.

Section 01 · Naming

Two editors sit side by side — Model names and Group names — because they follow different patterns. Each one shows the style it sensed in your file, a row of preset chips, and an editable Pattern field built from tokens like {Thing}, {Type}, {Size}, and {N}. As you change the pattern, a live old → new example updates so you can see exactly what your models will be called.

Model presets include Your style, Dashed, Colon, and Abbrev; group presets cover formats like All - X - GRP and GRP - All X. Each editor ends with an alias-safe pill and a count of how many models it renames.

Section 02 · Grouping

The grouping list shows each proposed change with a badge for what it does: Auto-create a group, Edit members, Refresh set (recompute a group that’s drifted), Remove an empty one, or Rename. The header reads something like “8 of 11 changes on” with Select all and Clear all links, and every row has its own checkbox.

TDY:IQ understands the “minus” and “umbrella” groups people build — an All − No Spinners, an All Pixels — and recomputes their membership when your models change. It also keeps your organizational folders as-is instead of flattening them; when it spots folders it notes that it left them alone. If nothing needs doing, you’ll see “Your grouping already looks tidy — nothing to change here.”

Section 03 · Spinner Optimization

xLights spinners often ship with empty stock submodels. TDY:IQ generates the real shapes — arms and rings — and pre-selects every new one, with a line like “We pre-selected every new shape below.” Each spinner shows a small node-disc preview with its shape candidates; tap any shape to opt out of it. No spinners in your layout? The section reads “No spinner discs detected — nothing to optimize here.”

Applying the plan

A sticky plan bar follows you down the report with a live tally — renames · new groups · submodels · file repair — and one button, Apply the plan (greyed out until you have at least one change on).

Applying opens a confirm dialog titled “Apply your tidy-up.” It spells out that TDY:IQ builds a tidied copy, verifies every reference, and downloads it as <name>.tidied.xml — a different filename. You tick a box that reads “I understand this downloads a tidied copy — I’ll test it before replacing my real file,” then hit Build tidied file.

TDY:IQ re-parses and reference-checks the tidied file before it hands it over. On success you’ll see “Layout tidied ✓” with a Download backup copy option. If verification finds a problem, it stops — “We stopped before writing” — and downloads nothing, so you never get a broken file.

FAQ