Room Modes & Exclusive Sources

Room Modes in Space CE define operational states for a room (e.g. “Presentation”, “Video Conference”, “Lecture”). From Space CE v2.17.0, each room mode can restrict which AV sources are available, simplifying the touch panel interface and preventing users from selecting irrelevant sources for a given activity.

There is no separate “Exclusive Sources” switch to turn on. A mode restricts its sources simply by having a non-empty list of Available AV Sources. That list becomes the whitelist for the mode. If a mode has no such list (or the list is empty), all sources are available in that mode. In Room Manager the “Exclusive Sources” feature is presented as populating this per-mode list of allowed sources.

Key concepts

How source restriction works

When a mode has an Available AV Sources whitelist, only the sources on that list appear on the touch panel while the mode is active. When a mode has no whitelist (or an empty one), every AV source defined in the template is available in that mode.

Example:

• Presentation mode: Shows only the HDMI input, wireless presenter, and document camera
• Video Conference mode: Shows only the far-end camera feed, content share, and laptop HDMI
• Lecture mode: Shows only the lecture capture source and wireless presenter

This reduces clutter and prevents users from selecting sources that are irrelevant or could cause confusion in a particular mode.

Availability rules

Source availability is decided per mode, not globally:

• A source is available in a mode if that mode has no whitelist or an empty whitelist.
• Otherwise, a source is available in a mode only if it appears in that mode’s Available AV Sources list.

There is no global “belongs to no mode” rule. Whether a source shows in a given mode depends entirely on that mode’s own whitelist.

Field reference

Room modes live under the top-level Room Modes object. Its Available Room Modes array holds one entry per mode.

Room mode entry

Each entry in Available Room Modes defines one mode:

Available AV Sources entry

Each entry in a mode’s Available AV Sources array names one permitted source and, optionally, the destinations that source may route to while the mode is active:

Available Destinations entry

Available Destinations restricts, per mode, where a source may route. If a source has available destinatiosn defined in both the AV Sources and Room Modes sections the configuration specified within the active Room Mode will override those defined in the AV Sources section. Each entry names one destination:

Configuration

1. Open the Space CE template in Room Manager.
2. Navigate to the Room Modes configuration section.
3. Select a room mode (or create a new one).
4. Populate the mode’s list of available AV sources with the sources that should appear when this mode is active. Leaving the list empty makes all sources available in that mode.
5. Optionally set a Room Mode Icon, and optionally override the destinations for a source within the mode.
6. Repeat for each mode as needed.
7. Save the template and deploy to the room.

Worked example

Two modes: Presentation restricts to two sources and overrides one source’s destinations, while Video Conference lists a different set. A mode with an empty or absent Available AV Sources list would leave all sources available.

{
  "Room Modes": {
    "Available Room Modes": [
      {
        "Room Mode": "Presentation",
        "Room Mode Icon": "presentation",
        "Available AV Sources": [
          {
            "AV Source ID": "source.pc",
            "Available Destinations": [
              { "Destination": "Main Display" }
            ]
          },
          { "AV Source ID": "source.doccam" }
        ]
      },
      {
        "Room Mode": "Video Conference",
        "Available AV Sources": [
          { "AV Source ID": "source.laptop" },
          { "AV Source ID": "source.camera" }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Which fields to use and when

• Populate Available AV Sources on a mode only when you want that mode restricted. Leave it empty or absent to keep every source available in that mode.
• Set Available Destinations on a source within a mode only when that mode needs different destinations from the source’s own configuration. When present, it overrides the source-level destinations for that mode.
• Set Room Mode Icon only if you want a mode-specific icon on the user interface.

Touch panel behaviour

When a user selects a room mode on the touch panel:

• The source selection area updates to show only the sources permitted for that mode.
• A source that is already routed is not un-routed by the mode change. Selecting a mode filters the sources shown to the user; it does not deselect or tear down an active route. The routed source may simply no longer appear.

Related Articles

• AV Sources
• AV Destinations
• Creating a Space CE Template
• Space CE v2.17.0 Release Notes