Specifications

Crestron SIMPL Windows Software
Button Feedback
User-interfaces that support 2-way communication (any interface except for 1-way
wireless transmitters) also support button feedback. This term is used to describe the
button's active appearance. For button panels, feedback is usually indicated with a
LED located inside the button housing. For touchpanels, feedback can vary, and
often includes changing the frame and text color, along with a simulated 3D
appearance.
Visual Button Feedback
Feedback is vitally important to a good user interface design. For one thing, feedback
lets the user know that a button press has registered with the system. This is
especially important for touchpanels, where the user cannot tell from feel alone
whether they pressed in the right spot. Another purpose feedback serves is to provide
information to the user about the current state of the system (that the VCR is
currently in PLAY mode, for example). In this case, care should be taken to make
the feedback be as accurate as possible, as inaccurate or vague feedback will only
serve to confuse the user.
Whether a button is pressed or not is determined by the user (or the user's finger to
be exact!) but it is a signal that decides whether a button is shown in its feedback
state or not. Therefore, the signal is the driving force for the button feedback. Where
the signal comes from depends upon what type of feedback is needed. The most
basic type of feedback is called momentary feedback. Momentary feedback causes
the button to display in its feedback state only when the button itself is pressed. This
type of feedback makes sense for functions that occur only while the button is
pressed. For example, volume up and volume down buttons typically receive
momentary feedback because the volume level only changes (goes up or down)
while the corresponding button is pressed.
Momentary feedback can be achieved simply by connecting the button press signal
name to the feedback signal for the same button, as shown in the diagram below.
Volume Momentary Feedback
Primer – DOC. 6253 Crestron SIMPL Windows • 21