How do I make a button to automatically select arbitrary buttons from separate radio groups

Question

I’m brand new to MIDIDesigner and am just getting my feet wet. I’ve created a few radio button groups and now want to add a set of master buttons that will select arbitrary buttons from each of the radio groups.

I tried creating a button supecontrol and then adding the appropriate radio group buttons as subcontrols, but the behavior wasn’t as I’d expected. Whatever button was previous selected in the radio group was left selected (in addition to the button I’d intended to select) and the master control for the radio group was not updated with the value of the button I wanted to select from the radio group.

If someone could explain the right way to do what I’m trying to achieve, I’d be much appreciative.

Thanks

Comments

Can you add an example (e.g., Button 1, Button 2, Button 3) to make clearer what you're trying to do? Presets for Groups (http://mididesigner.com/presets16/) will probably do what you need, where you've got a preset super controlling the knob super of each of your button groups.

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I just watched the video and it looks like Presets thing would work, but I was hoping for a single button to tap instead of using a knob. Would I have to make a Presets knob and then add button sub controls in a radio button arrangement to get that to work?

I've got the layout I'm experimenting with that I could share to illustrate what I'm trying to do, but I'm not sure how to attach it to this reply.

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Everything works by adding another layer. To get your preset for groups supercontrol to move around using buttons, add button supercontrols to it. Their ON value will move the knob the right position. Then add another super to that to make them a button group, and use supercontrol options to make that button group "send on only."

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Thanks. That’s exactly what I needed.

To help me understand MIDI Designer better, is their a simple explaination why things didn’t work when I tried to make a button a super control for the button in my radio groups?

Also, does the Preset knob always set all of its sub controls? Is it possible to have a preset only change a subset of the sub controls? E.g. if the preset knob has sub controls: A B and C, could I create a preset that would only change A and B, leaving C unchanged?

Thanks!

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Button Super controls can only do what button Super controls do. When they’re controlling a button, they merely flip it on and off, and when they’re changing a knob, unless they are momentary, they just change it from a low value to a high value.

 It is not possible to have a preset for groups exclude certain control from changing. They are all recorded if they are subs of the preset for groups, and they all must change when the preset for groups changes. Obviously, more flexibility would be great, but the you ask for explaining that flexibility to the users, and making it work, makes it a really hard thing to do. We think we’ve hit the sweet spot, but if not, you’re super powered alternative might be lemur. However, that’s a whole new world of debugging that you might not want to get into.  Many of our users who have left MIDI Designer to try to work with lemur have ultimately come back. Yes, you give up flexibility, but the thing works.

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I’m new to all this. I think MIDI Designer has all the capabilities I could ever want. I’m just trying to understand how it works so I can use it effectively.

If I’m understanding you, the reason it didn’t do what I was expecting is because a super control changing a button state is not the same thing as tapping on the button. When you tap on it, it will check for radio button conditions and stuff like that, but a super control changing the button operates at a lower level where those checks don’t apply. Is that correct?

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Yes, 100%, buttons don't change their supers when they are moved via supercontrol... In general, subcontrols only change their supercontrols if they are the only subcontrol of that super. Button groups are a bit different... the language holds together pretty well, but in the future we might need to provide a totally different way to create button groups without using supercontrols at all.

Anyway, yeah, good point about the rant about Lemur being irrelevant. Welcome aboard!
Dan

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I have one more follow-up question. I’m now trying to apply the Preset knob configuration to Sliders instead of Knobs (which worked great, thanks). The Preset controls three sliders. When I use it, the third slider get set correctly, but the first two are set to zero, instead of the intended value. Are there any caveats to controlling Sliders vs controlling Knobs? Do you know of a common error I might have made that would lead to this behavior?

I don’t know if it is relevant, but the sliders do have radio button super controls.

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Never mind. I found my problem. I think Make Similar or something got away from me when I was creating a bunch of radio buttons. Some buttons ended up being in multiple radio groups on different pages. Once I sorted that out, the Preset Control started working as expected.

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Yeah, "make similar" is a bit of a mess since it assumes you want same superrcontrols and subs... we'll need to either add a dialog in there or something soon.