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Chapter 5 The Environment 245
Fader Operation
Normally, you’ll grab the surface of a fader, and drag it vertically or horizontally,
depending on it’s style.
Knobs can be dragged either vertically or horizontally.
When the fader features a numerical display, you can grab this number and use the
mouse as a slider. The advantage is that if you drag slowly, the fader output will move
in increments of 1 value unit, regardless of the size of the Object. When using the fader
itself as a slider, values may jump in larger increments, depending on the size of the
fader and dragging speed. You can also change values in single steps by dragging on
the slider or knob while holding down Control.
Buttons only send two values, the lowest and highest of their range set in the
Parameter box. You change a button’s state by clicking on it.
Working with Object Groups
When building a virtual mixing desk or synthesizer control panel in the Environment,
you often need to deal with large groups of Fader Objects which have the same size,
regular spacing and/or a similar definition. To save time on the definition and
alignment of these groups, you can define (one or more) Objects as prototypes
(templates) by copying them into the Clipboard (Edit > Copy or Command-C). You may
then apply certain characteristics of the template to selected Objects.
Size and Alignment
The Options > Apply Buffer Template to > Size function allows you to transfer the size of
the prototypes to the selected Objects.
To align a group of Objects, choose two Objects in a row, or two Objects in a column,
or four Objects in two rows and two columns, as required. The horizontal and vertical
alignment of these Objects can be copied into the Clipboard. You can then transfer this
alignment template by selecting the Options > Apply Buffer Template to > Position
function. The selected target Objects will be positioned at the top left corner of the
Environment layer, in accordance with the layout of the template.
Options > Apply Buffer Template to > Position and Size combines both of the above
functions.
Definition
The Options > Apply Buffer Template to > Definition function transfers the parameters of
a copied template to all selected Objects. If several templates of the same type are
available, the one that is closest in size is used.
… > Definition, channel increment increases the channel number from Object to Object,
beginning with the top left Object. It is not necessary for the selected Objects to have
the same In or Out definition as the template.