A programmable LED sign works best when the animation is easy to read. In this LEDEdit Pro tutorial, we build LEDEDIT as a physical pixel layout, light each letter in one bright amber colour, then use Auto Animate to move that single light from left to right and back. The letters are mapped LEDs, not text drawn over a video preview.
Watch the complete project, from a blank workspace to the finished sign. The final sequence shows only the animated LEDs so you can judge the result clearly.
What we are making
The banner uses 109 individually mapped LEDs arranged as seven readable 5 × 7 letter shapes. There is a two-cell gap between letters. One continuous output carries the whole word, while seven named layer masks let us control L, E₁, D₁, E₂, D₂, I and T separately. That separation is what makes a left-to-right reveal possible without adding seven controllers.
The project has four scenes: a hand-timed Letter Reveal, an Auto Cascade generated with Auto Animate’s PingPong style, a restrained Full Sign glow, and a Finale for the clean preview. Download the LEDEDIT sign project and LED layout to inspect the mapping and try your own timing.
1. Map the word as actual LEDs
Start a new project and open Layout → Open LED Layout Creator…. Each lit point in the 5 × 7 glyph pattern becomes a real LED in the layout. Leave a consistent gap after each letter so the two E’s and two D’s remain easy to read. Wire through the seven groups in word order on port p1; the sample layout stays well below the 2,048 LED limit shown for the selected T-1000/T-2000 profile.
This is the same principle used for custom shop lettering or a logo with an irregular outline. The canvas may be wide, but only the positions containing physical LEDs are driven. See LED pixel mapping with the Layout Creator for a closer look at wiring and layout checks.
2. Give every letter its own layer
In the editor, create a mask for each letter. Name repeated letters distinctly—E 1 / E 2 and D 1 / D 2—so it is obvious which physical group a clip controls. There is also a full-sign layer for the final glow, but it stays off during the single-letter cascade. Select one letter layer to paint or inspect its mask; the white LED positions stay visible on the canvas while the selected group is highlighted.
3. Build the per-letter reveal
In the Letter Reveal scene, place the same solid amber effect on each letter mask, starting with L and continuing across E → D → E → D → I → T. Start each letter 0.8 seconds after the previous one, but leave earlier letters on. The word builds cleanly until all seven letters are visible together. No background wash or competing colours obscure the pattern.
4. Use Auto Animate for a cascade
Open the Auto Cascade scene and choose Create → Auto Animate…. Check all seven letter layers in word order, select PingPong, set a 1-second step and 0.9-second clip duration, and use two repeats. Each layer starts from the same solid amber effect. Auto Animate generates the clips so only one letter is lit at a time: L → E → D → E → D → I → T, then back across the word to L. The small gap between clips makes the movement especially clear in the real-time preview.
The first complete out-and-back pass is shown at a deliberate pace in the video. Auto Animate also offers Cascade, alternating letters and wave styles, but PingPong is the clearest choice for this sign. For more on scenes and generated patterns, read the LEDEdit timeline and Auto Animate guide.
5. Add a full-sign glow
The reveal establishes the word. The Full Sign scene then lights the complete mapped layout in warm white and adds a slow, shallow brightness pulse. The Finale keeps that same coherent colour. This gives the video a polished finish without turning the letters into a noisy rainbow. For a shop window, use a slower pulse; for a stage sign, make it slightly stronger while keeping the word legible.
Final result and next steps
The finished sign spells LEDEDIT in real pixels, builds the word one letter at a time, runs an automatic out-and-back single-letter cascade, then settles into a clean full-sign glow. The same method works for LED shop signs, programmable advertising banners, stage names, illuminated logos and decorative installations: map the physical shape first, give meaningful regions their own masks, then combine local and whole-layout effects.
The sample project uses the T-1000/T-2000 RGB export profile with WS2811/WS2812 selected. Check your own controller model, chip, color order, wiring and capacity before writing an SD card. The T-1000S controller guide covers that part of the workflow. If you are just getting started, follow the LEDEdit Pro video tutorial first.
