Understanding Composites

I suspect that when you first saw a composite that your first reaction was excitement at the usefulness. However many times, when it comes to implementation, that excitement may have turned to confusion. Composites, aliases and reminders are one of HireTrack’s most powerful features, but many times people have difficulty in putting these compelling features into use. Over the next couple of weeks, I will share with you how to make the most of your equipment packaging through aliases, reminders and composites.

Put simply, Composites are virtual pieces of equipment in your inventory that are built using actual pieces of equipment. So, TYPES A, B, C are combined to a system, which is TYPE D. You can’t own a composite, you own the pieces that make the composite. The power in this system is that TYPES A and C could also be used in other composites. Practical uses of composites would be things like amp racks, mixing desks, lighting boards, video projectors, and equipment where the components make the unit whole. A good rule of thumb for composites is that if one type of equipment is missing, then the whole system won't work. For example, a computer is made up of a CPU, a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse. You can use any keyboard, mouse or monitor with the CPU, but if one piece is not available(say the keyboard), then the whole system is unusable (or un-rentable as the case may be!).

Let me give you a simple example:

Source 4 lighting instruments (forgive me, I was an audio guy!) are made up of 2 pieces, the lamp body, and the lens. You can place a number of different types of lenses on the lamp body to make a system. So, in popstock you would see:

(Notice the yellow background, which is your cue that the type is a composite)

Now the 19 degree leko is made up of:

and the 26 degree leko is made up of:

Notice that the lighting instrument is used in both composites. So if I added 50 of the 19 degree lekos to an order, look at the impact on the 26 degree lekos:

Remember, when you are selecting a composite, you are really selecting the types that make up the composite, and those component pieces may be used on several different types of composites. People have a tendency to over-think composites. Keep them simple, and remember that before you build a composite, you must first make sure you have the equipment types created first. I don't typically recommend that a composite consist of more than 8 to 12 components, unless they are needed. Too many components, and your composites will usually be short because you may be missing something small.

Follow this link for a demonstration on how to build a composite.