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toggle content with the press of a button within one scene

Suggestions for new features for Magic.
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blackdot
Posts: 528
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2014 10:18 pm

toggle content with the press of a button within one scene

Post by blackdot »

what I'm missing is a way to toggle content on the press of a button (like when you toggle your scenes with midi buttons) bit within one scene. why? because otherwise the amount of possible content pieces i'm able to play is limited by the amount of buttons on my midi controller vs. having all my buttons per scene.

what i did so far is an ugly workaround with the input selector, where i pressed buttons to control offset modifiers which resulted in chosing some input. the downside of this is that the buttons need to stay activated (otherwise theyre sending 0 again) and upon switching i need to simultaniously turn one button off and another on. and if this doesnt happen at the same time, a third input is shown for an instant. and if i smooth the behaviour there's lag.

soo, maybe there another way to modify the input selector but I wasnt able to figure it out :).
Magic
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Re: toggle content with the press of a button within one sce

Post by Magic »

I think you might want to use the Trigger modifier? If used with a MIDI button, it will increase by 1 every time you press the button. Then you can use a Wrap modifier afterwards to loop around to 0.

Or, if you just want to toggle a parameter on/off somewhere (like a Power or Bypass), you can try this: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=986
blackdot
Posts: 528
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2014 10:18 pm

Re: toggle content with the press of a button within one sce

Post by blackdot »

hmm no, i'll try again :D.

assuming you have 10 different scenes each containing a small movie. you can link 10 different buttons on your midi controller to each scene to be able to switch to each scene as you please. the way you do it is by pressing (and releasing) a button on your controller. this is the freedom i'd wish for an inpuz selector.

this isnt possible with bypass/etc as one module (thus one button) has to stay active as long as you want to see it and upon switching, you actually need to press 2 buttoms (one to deactivate the old and one to activate the new module), which results in the problem i described in the op.

using a trigger modifier on the input selector just lets me jump one input ahead in a fixed manner, instead of my desired input (which is maybe 2 or more jumps away in both directions.

if the input selector would actually stay on the input even though it gets a 0 value as input, it would work. example: i press midi button 1 which fills an offset modifier with the value 1, module value is 1, first input is selected. midi button is released, offset modifier goes to 0, but module value stays 1 until a new bitton is pressed. eg one that fills another offset modifier with the value 5, so the fifth input os chosen. and so on :D


nvm my typing, i wrote this on my phone :)
Magic
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Re: toggle content with the press of a button within one sce

Post by Magic »

Ok, I think I understand :). What you're looking for could be achieved by using the Note Number or Ctrl. Number features. As long as you can map your MIDI device so that the buttons have sequential numbers starting at 0, you can use them with a Scale of 127 (to undo Magic's default 0-1 scaling) to select your desired Input Selector input.

Here's an example. Notice how I'm pressing Note #2 on my virtual piano, so Input #2 is selected:
NoteNumber.jpg
NoteNumber.jpg (194.39 KiB) Viewed 6957 times
Sadler
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Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 7:10 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: toggle content with the press of a button within one sce

Post by Sadler »

I've been wracking my brains for days trying to think of a way. Nice one!

This works for one column at a time for the APC40 because the buttons are on different channels for each column. But I can show six different scenes with one column and one input selector. I guess with eight input selectors I could have access to 48 scenes - will have to try it just for the hell of it :twisted:
blackdot
Posts: 528
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2014 10:18 pm

Re: toggle content with the press of a button within one sce

Post by blackdot »

oh my god eric, this works perfectly. thanks a ton. never used the notes before, just the control change type, that always sends a 0 back when it's not pressed anymore.
Magic
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Re: toggle content with the press of a button within one sce

Post by Magic »

No problem :). The thing to keep in mind is the difference between the value of a particular control change or note, and the number of a particular control change or note.

In the MIDI specification, there are 128 control changes, and 128 notes, and each of them has a value. The value also has 128 possibilities. So, as a random example, you could have control change number 23 with a value of 84, or note number 46 with a value (velocity) of 112. Etc., etc.

In Magic, the Note Number and Ctrl. Number features report the last number that was used, ignoring the value, whereas the Note Velocity and Ctrl. Change features report the last value that was used for a particular number. So when you press a button on your MIDI controller, and then release the button, the value might change, but the number won't -- unless you press another button. Know what I mean?

For all MIDI devices and programs, notes and control changes actually behave exactly the same. Only the naming is different. It's just convention that dictates how they are used for buttons/faders/pianos/etc.

p.s. When I say 128 possibilities, I mean 0-127 inclusive. MIDI numbering always starts at 0, which is one of the reasons that Magic's numbering starts at 0.
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