VDMX Sliders
From VidvoxWiki
Perhaps the most common interface element you'll run across in VDMX in the slider. Like their real-world equivalent, sliders are used to adjust the level of a parameter or control within a given range. The value of a slider in VDMX can be changed manually using the mouse, or synchronized to a Data Source such as a MIDI controller or an LFO plugin in VDMX.
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Using Sliders
Changing the slider value using the mouse or keyboard
To change the level of a slider, simply click anywhere between it's min and max range handles. The slider value will follow the mouse as you drag left and right. If you click on the indicator head, you can initiate a drag without first causing the level to suddenly jump to a new position.
For more precise control, you can directly type in the desired value by selecting a slider (click on it's indicator head to select without changing the current value), and then use the text field below where it says "Current Value" in the Slider/Button Inspector window.
Adjusting the min and max range handles
To set the min envelope of a slider, click and drag on the min envelope handle, or hold down "option" and click anywhere within the slider. Similarly, the max envelope can be adjusted by clicking and dragging on the max envelope handle, or holding down the "command" key and clicking anywhere within the slider. To move both the min and max envelopes at the same time, hold down both "command" and "option", then click and drag within the slider.
Automating Sliders with Data Sources (aka synch mode)
One of the most convenient features of sliders is their ability to be synchronized to a variety of different Data Sources such as LFOs, audio inputs, or the current time of a movie that is playing back within VDMX. The default data source for every slider is the horizontal mouse position (h.mouse). When synchronized the value of the slider (and the parameter that it controls) will change along with the data source that the slider is receiving from.
There are two basic ways to synchronize a slider to a data source:
- Click on a slider to select it. Look at the slider/button inspector window: there should be a selected item in the list on the left-hand side- this is the source the slider will be synchronized to. Press the button labelled "Use Above Value" (it should be directly beneath the list of data sources). As soon as you press it, the slider should turn green, and it should start using the value of it's chosen data source.
- Right-click on the slider. A contextual menu should appear- in the menu, under the "Use This Data Source:" heading, the slider's current data source should be selected. It is important to note that all sliders have a default data source, and it will always be checked in the menu- even if the slider is not synched to anything. At this point, you could choose "Synch To Data Source" (at the top of the menu) if you're satisfied with the chosen source, or you could choose another data source from the list- in either case, the slider will turn green and start using the value from the chosen source.
Using MIDI and OSC to control sliders
Strictly speaking, MIDI controllers and incoming OSC messages are treated as regular data sources. That being said, the diverse nature of MIDI hardware means that the procedure of synchronizing a slider to a MIDI device is slightly different from synching it to other data sources- as with other data sources, there are three different methods:
- Click on a slider to select it. Look at the slider/button inspector window: there is a button in the bottom-left corner of the window labelled "Midi Detect". Press this button, and then wiggle the midi control you want the slider to be synchronized to; the slider should turn green and it's value should match the controller you just moved.
- Right-click on the slider. A contextual menu should appear- choose "Start MIDI Detect" from the menu, and then wiggle the midi control you want the slider to be synchronzied to. The slider should turn green and it's value should match the controller you just moved.
- Hardware Learn Mode. In the title bar of the Slider / Button inspector window is a toggle button for activating Hardware Learn Mode (HW Learn). When active, any incoming keyboard, MIDI, or OSC messages are automatically assigned to the currently selected interface item (for example, sliders, buttons, and media bins). Interface controls that are compatible receive a blue highlight when HW Learn is turned on.
Behavior Chains
Before it is mapped to the appropriate range for it's parameter, the value of data source that is controlling a slider is just a number between 0 and 1. With Behaviors Chains, you can apply additional layers of mapping and other processing to the values being used to set the position of a slider.
VDMX comes with a few pre-made behavior chains that cover a lot of the basic operations you'll want to do, like scaling a data source to the min/max range (instead of the regular clipping at the min/max handles), inverting (flipping) a data source (for example, with h.mouse the left side of the screen would be 1 instead of 0), and smoothing. However, with behavior chains you can create all kinds of complex relationships between your data sources and the parameters you want them to control.
The best way to learn what a particular Behavior Chain does is to synchronize a slider to the horizontal mouse position (h.mouse), right+clicking to apply a Behavior Chain to the slider and move the mouse from left to right while observing what's happening with the slider. You can create new chains, or edit / rename / delete existing chains using the Behaviors Chains palette window.
Interesting Points (snap points)
Any slider in VDMX can have any number of arbitrary 'interesting points' which the slider will snap to when you are adjusting the value or range handles with the mouse. Each interesting point is represented by a black vertical line.
Interesting points can be added or removed by using the Slider / Button Inspector.
To add an interesting point, set the slider to the desired value and click the 'add mark' button.
To remove a point, click on the interesting point in the slider, then click the 'remove mark' button in the inspector.
Interesting points for sliders are stored along with presets, same as any other property like the min / max values and the sync source.