Getting Started
Q: How do I install this tool?
A: Through Cargo, Greyscalegorilla's app. Open Cargo, go to the Tool page, click
Install, then restart Cinema 4D. See Installation in the user guide for the
one-time Connector setup.
Q: I do not have Cargo. Where do I get it?
A: Download it atgreyscalegorilla.com/cargo and sign in with your
Greyscalegorilla account. See Installation.
Q: How do I open the panel?
A: Run Redshift Light Manager from the Extensions menu, or
press Shift+C and search for it. See Quick Start.
Usage
Q: How do I change several lights at once?
A: Select the rows you want (click one, then Shift-click or Cmd/Ctrl-click to add
more), then make your edit. It applies to all of them as a single undo step. The
selection stays in sync with the Object Manager. With a single row selected, an
edit affects only that light.
Q: Will my changes work on every type of light?
A: Yes. Edits take effect reliably on every Redshift light type, including Dome
and Sun lights, so you do not have to second-guess whether a change stuck.
Q: What does Solo do?
A: It switches off every light except the ones you solo, so you can judge them on
their own. Clear Solo and your lights go right back to how they were, even if you
refreshed or renamed something in between.
Q: Can I type an exact number instead of using a slider?
A: Yes. Click into any slider cell and type the value you want.
Q: What do the plus and minus buttons do?
A: They step a value without typing. Exposure moves a quarter stop per click, or
a half stop with Shift. Spread moves 0.05 per click on area lights, and a spot
light's cone moves 1 degree, with Shift taking a bigger step. If the light you
click is part of a multi-row selection, the whole selection moves together.
Q: What does the LT button on each row do?
A: It points the active viewport down that light's axis so you can aim it. Click
the active one again to get your original camera back. Domes do not offer it,
since there is nothing to look through.
Q: Why is a cell empty or greyed out?
A: That setting does not apply to that type of light. Rather than write a value
that means nothing, the panel leaves it alone.
Q: Can I add, delete, or reset lights here?
A: Do that in Cinema 4D's Object Manager as usual. The panel keeps up
automatically and focuses on editing the lights in your scene.
Q: Can I animate values from the panel?
A: No. Use it to set and balance your lights, and animate in Cinema 4D's timeline
as you normally would.
Layout
Q: Can I hide columns I never use?
A: Yes. Use the Columns menu in the toolbar, or right-click any row and hide the
column you clicked in. Columns that no light in your scene needs hide themselves
automatically.
Q: Right-clicking a column header does not do anything. Why?
A: Cinema 4D uses a right-click on a header for dragging columns, so a plugin
never receives it. The menu lives on the rows instead: right-click any row to hide
a column, reset the column order, or open Display Settings.
Q: Will my layout stick?
A: Yes. Column order, hidden columns, row spacing, and the rest save into the
scene file, so reopening the scene brings the panel back the way you left it.
Q: Can I dock the panel into my Cinema 4D layout?
A: Yes. Drag it in like any other manager and save your layout, and it comes back
in place next time you launch Cinema 4D.
Q: My docked panel came back empty and said "Plugin not found".
A: That is a layout saved with an older build, which points at the panel in a way
newer builds no longer use. Close the empty panel once, drag a fresh copy of the
tool into place, and save the layout again. It sticks from then on.
Q: Do I have to hit Refresh after opening a scene?
A: No. A docked panel picks up the scene's lights on its own when you open a
file. Refresh is there for the rare case where something in the scene changed
without Cinema telling us.
Q: A column is in a strange spot, or a new one is off at the far right.
A: Your layout saves with the scene, so an older scene restores the layout you
left it with, and a column added in a newer version lands at the end. Right-click
any row and choose Reset Column Order.
Q: Why are numbers on sliders instead of plain fields?
A: The light list is built on Cinema 4D's own list control, the same one the
Object Manager uses. That is what keeps the column headers pinned and always
lined up with the values underneath. It has no bar-less number cell, so sliders
are the trade for columns that never drift. You can still type an exact value into
any of them.
Compatibility
Q: Does this work in my version of Cinema 4D?
A: It supports Cinema 4D 2023 through 2026 on Mac and Windows. See Requirements / Compatibility.
Q: Do I need Redshift?
A: Yes. The tool manages Redshift lights, so you need Redshift installed. It does
not affect standard Cinema 4D lights or other render engines.
Troubleshooting
Q: I installed it in Cargo but I do not see it in Cinema 4D.
A: Give Cinema 4D a full restart. Newly installed tools only appear on a fresh
launch. If it still does not show, see Troubleshooting in the user guide.
Q: A light is not showing up in the list.
A: Click Refresh, and confirm it is a Redshift light. Standard Cinema 4D lights
are not shown.
Q: How do I tell which version I have?
A: The version number is in the panel's title bar, right after the name.
Licensing
Q: What do I need to use this tool?
A: An active Greyscalegorilla or Everything Bundle subscription. Tools install and
stay licensed through Cargo.
Source: regenerated 2026-07-16 from the finished TreeView build and SPEC.md; refreshed 2026-07-31 for 0.3.0 plus the docking and scene-loading fixes that follow it.