iSoftBox User Guide
Getting Started
Open iSoftBox and tap anywhere to dismiss the gesture guide. The selected color fills the display without permanent controls or status indicators, leaving a clean light surface.
iSoftBox keeps the display awake while the light is active and temporarily manages system brightness as part of the light output. Your previous system brightness is restored when the Application leaves the foreground.
Adjusting The Light
The default gestures on the light surface are:
- Brightness: Swipe vertically with one finger.
- Saturation: Swipe horizontally with one finger.
- Hue: Swipe vertically with two fingers.
- Light Controls: Double-tap anywhere on the surface.
A temporary readout shows the value while you adjust an axis and disappears when the gesture ends.
Customizing Gestures
Open Light Controls and select Customize Gestures. The screen shows the active color mode and lets you configure each of its axes independently.
For each axis, select a one- or two-finger vertical or horizontal gesture, or select None to leave it without a gesture. Each gesture can control only one axis. If you choose a gesture that is already assigned, iSoftBox identifies the axis that will become unbound and asks you to confirm the replacement.
After assigning a gesture, choose the direction that increases its value. Vertical gestures can increase Up or Down. Horizontal gestures can increase Forward or Backward, which follow the interface language’s reading direction, or Right or Left, which stay fixed on the screen.
Select Restore Default Gestures to restore the defaults for the current color mode. Other color modes are not changed. To see the current bindings at any time, open Light Controls and select Show Gesture Guide.
Using Light Controls
Double-tap the light surface to open Light Controls. The sheet contains precise controls for hue, saturation, and brightness. Each slider previews its available range using the current color settings.
The sheet also contains gesture customization and the gesture guide, brightness response settings, feedback actions, version information, and open-source acknowledgments. Swipe upward on the sheet when you need to reveal more content.
Locking The Light
Long-press the bottom-right corner of the display, then release inside that corner to lock the light. The closed lock confirms that gestures are disabled. Repeat the same action to unlock it.
Lock the light after setting its color and brightness when a subject, film carrier, hand, or piece of equipment may touch the screen. A locked light also prevents Light Controls from opening so that the sheet cannot change the display brightness during a shot.
Choosing A Brightness Response
Open Light Controls and find Brightness Response. Three options are available:
- Automatic: Uses the display’s reported capabilities to select a response. This is the recommended starting point.
- Color Only: Produces brightness through the displayed color while keeping the system backlight at maximum. This is intended for emissive displays such as OLED.
- Color And Backlight: Divides brightness between the displayed color and the system backlight. This helps backlit displays such as LCD reach lower output levels.
If the result looks unexpectedly bright or dim, compare Color Only and Color And Backlight using neutral white at low brightness, where the difference is easiest to see.
Product And Macro Lighting
Place one or more devices around a small subject using mini tripods or studio arms. A neutral screen can act as a key or fill light, while a saturated color can provide an accent or rim light. Adjust distance and angle to control intensity, reflections, and shadow softness.
Secure every device before positioning a subject, and lock each light after the setup is ready.
Film Digitizing
Set the screen to neutral white and place the device face up beneath a film carrier. The carrier should hold the film flat, parallel to the display, and slightly separated from the screen surface. Mount a camera above the film with the sensor plane parallel to the carrier.
Work in a dark environment, exclude stray light, use manual exposure and focus, and lock iSoftBox before placing or adjusting the carrier. Check the captured image for visible display pixels, reflections, uneven illumination, or clipping before digitizing the full strip.
Astrophotography Flat Frames
Keep the camera attached to the telescope in the same optical configuration used for the light frames. Point the telescope toward the zenith, set iSoftBox to neutral white, and place the device securely over the upward-facing aperture with its screen facing down toward the camera.
Adjust brightness and exposure until the flat frame falls within the target range recommended by your capture and calibration workflow. Confirm that the entire aperture is evenly covered without gaps or stray light, and do not change focus, camera orientation, filters, or other relevant optical components before capturing the flats.
Light Painting
Set the camera on a stable tripod in a dark environment and choose a long exposure. Select a color in iSoftBox, lock the light, and move the illuminated screen through the composition while the shutter is open. Vary the path, speed, angle, and distance to create different shapes and intensities.
Keep the working area clear, know your route before the exposure begins, and watch for terrain, equipment, and other trip hazards.
Accessibility
Every adjustment available through a gesture is also available through Light Controls. These standard controls support VoiceOver and Switch Control. The gesture guide provides a visual reminder of the current bindings.
Troubleshooting
Light Controls will not open: The light may be locked. Long-press the bottom-right corner and release inside it to unlock the surface, then double-tap again.
The output is too bright or does not become dim enough: Open Light Controls and compare the brightness response options using neutral white at low brightness.
The gesture guide is no longer visible: Double-tap to open Light Controls, then select Show Gesture Guide.
The previous system brightness was not restored: Bring iSoftBox to the foreground, then leave it normally so it can perform the restoration. Relaunching the Application also allows it to recover a brightness value left by an interrupted session.
A gesture adjusts the wrong property or moves in the wrong direction: Open Light Controls and select Customize Gestures to inspect the current assignment and increase direction, or show the gesture guide for a reminder.