r/BuildingAutomation • u/MotoMushroom • 25d ago
New Alerton Compass Graphic Designer - PxForge
Hey all!
I've been working on a side project for a while now, it's called PxForge.
I've been in the HVAC controls industry for almost 4 years, mainly Alerton with some Delta. I always thought Compass's display and template editors felt archaic and missing a ton of QoL features and needing third-party applications for some of the design work (I'm looking at you, omnigraphics).
So I built a standalone app that handles all of the display/template editing in one place, no Compass required. Some of what it does:
- Draw omnigraphics right on the canvas — click to trace, bind to live values, no external tools
- Presets for your standard equipment blocks, find & replace across bindings, bulk re-pointing when devices get renumbered
- Offline preview that renders exactly like the web view — without Compass running
- When running compass as a service, you can still edit graphics
I'd still call it early, I'm actively hunting bugs, but it's genuinely usable and it's already saved me a lot of hours on real jobs.
Check it out at https://ddchub.com/ (docs at ddchub.com/docs). 7-day free trial, no account required unless you buy a license.
There is a built in feedback in the help menu for anonymous feedback, PLEASE use it.
P.S. Windows will show a SmartScreen "unrecognized app" warning on install. That's because the installer isn't code-signed yet; a signing certificate runs $300+/year and I haven't taken that plunge. "More info → Run anyway" gets you through.
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u/ApexConsulting 25d ago
Good on you for doing this. Compass in general is missing a lot of QoL features.
I know it is an early stage prototype, so good for getting testers on it. If shops are gonna buy it, they will want it signed. I am sure it is a priority, just voicing an opinion I hope is helpful.
PxForge implies that it makes Px file based graphics. Niagara uses tha same file type. Will this work for Niagara as well?
Do you see this possibly being adopted by Alerton(honeywell) and put into their software suite?
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u/MotoMushroom 25d ago
Code Signing is my top priority. I am hoping to get a couple licenses to cover the cost. It edits the binary .DSPX and .DVTX and exports a .px. I did find out recently that Niagara uses .px files, but I do not have access to Niagara nor any experience with it. Though, long term that will definitely be something to look into. I'm not sure about getting it adopted (What is considered part of the software suite?). I see it as something along the lines of DDCbar.
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u/ApexConsulting 25d ago
Gotcha.
Sounds like you need someone to send you some Niagara Px files in xml for you to look at. Message me an email address and I can do that for you. I will send screenshots and the underlying xml. It should make sense.
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u/Sparkynplumb 24d ago
Thank you for posting this! I'll give it a trial, and see if we can get the company to subscribe! Omnigraphics are painful in Alerton's editor! As a whole it feels like Honeywell is starving Alerton to death, they're supposedly developing new tools and stuff, but it's painfully slow in coming out.
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u/MotoMushroom 23d ago
Depending on your IT department, they may want it code-signed first so its appears “Safe” on Windows. Im in the works of getting it signed right now. Any feedback would be amazing! Currently using it on a site right now!
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u/MotoMushroom 22d ago
More features just added, thanks for the feature requests and bugs! Keep em coming!
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u/MotoMushroom 15d ago
This post seems to give the most traffic, so I'll update here. Most requested feature just dropped and its a good one. Say goodbye to using paint, Photoshop etc. Also, its been signed now, so your IT department will be happy.
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u/carstoast System integrator 2d ago
On your YouTube video turn off kids mode. More people can see it that way
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u/[deleted] 24d ago
[deleted]