Control Grouping

Control Grouping provides yet another way to manipulate multiple controls that share identical control settings.  The big difference between Control Grouping, and other types of grouped controls, is that Control Grouping allows you to NAME a specific set of controls, and identify and gesture all controls that are a part of that named group.  Control Grouping also allows you to accomplish control linking and external control, whether that control is via BoB and CAB control voltages, PASHA or RATC.

Control Grouping should not be confused with Edit Mode grouping, in which View File objects are grouped for graphical manipulation in the user interface.  Control Grouping should also not be confused with Control Mode grouping, in which controls are linked for simultaneous control from the user interface.  Though they may seem similar, Control Mode grouping is a function of the user interface only and cannot accomplish the real-time and external control features that Control Grouping can (an example of this would be a stereo send, where you need a graphic display, versus a named control group that can be triggered by an external control).  Control Mode grouping is graphical in nature, where Control Grouping is logical, and hence good for external control.

Control Grouping provides for the following:

• Each control in the View File can, through its Control Object Properties dialog box, be assigned to a Control Group which has a text-based name.

• A control can be assigned to only one Control Group at a time.

• The controls in a Control Group track each other in value and in graphical representation.

• Controls of differing types (e.g. frequency and gain) that are linked track each other in positional value.

• Control Groups can be dynamically edited while a View File is compiled.

• External control services (PASHA and RATC) use the Control Group names to access controls.  Control Groups operate at a lower level than the user interface, and thus work with RATC and PASHA commands, which do not pass through the user interface.  Control Grouping allows PASHA and RATC to control a set of controls with a single command.  (This was not true of previous releases, before Control Grouping.)  Backwards compatibility with the PASHA protocol is maintained by having the user name the Control Groups with legal PASHA user IDs (a 3-digit hexadecimal number).  The PASHA.INI file scheme goes away - the named/exported control information is embedded in the View File.  There is a method to 'import' an old PASHA.INI file and apply the data to a View File, resulting in controls being associated with Control Groups named with PASHA user IDs.

• If any control in a Control Group is read-only (such as a gate's LED, or a BoB control voltage input), then all members of the Control Group become read-only, and thus disabled from user control.  In effect, the read-only control becomes the master of the others.  It is an error for more than one member of the Control Group to be originally read-only.  (A message in the Terminal Window will indicate the error.)  If a read-only control is a member of a Control Group, and the algorithm containing that control usually polls only "when visible", that algorithm is made to "poll always".  As an example, if a BoB Digital Out is grouped with a Gate gate-on LED, this feature ensures that the Gate algorithm will always poll for signal changes whether or not it is being displayed on the user interface.  It also ensures that if such a control is the solo member of a Control Group created to export that control for PASHA or RATC, it will correctly update by constantly polling.

• BoB and CAB CV inputs can now control any internal control, and that BoB and CAB DO outs can track any internal control.  (This was not true of previous releases, before Control Grouping.)

• All controls that are members of a Control Group are indicated with a special symbol.

• While in edit mode, clicking on a control that is a member of a Control Group will display the group name in the status bar, next to the id.

• The members of a particular Control Group can be graphically located with Edit | Find command.

• There is an option to 'Export Control Group List', which generates a file for documenting the View File Control Groups.  This can be a valuable aid to the programmer of an external control system (such as AMX or Crestron).

How To Use Control Grouping

To group a set of controls via Control Grouping (or linking), you must be in Edit mode.  Once in Edit mode, you select the desired device out of the schematic by left clicking on it, then open it's control panel by double left clicking on the device.  You then select the desired control by left clicking on the control you wish to associate with a control link group.  The desired control will now be outlined with a thin red line.  To affiliate this control with a control group, right click, and select "Properties".  This will open the dialog box for that control.  Left click on the "Group" tab.



Now, left click on the small white check box to the left of the word "Enable".  The box will now display a check mark, and the Group Name box will turn from gray to white.  Now type in the control group name you wish to use (provided that the control group name has not been used already with another control).  If you have already used the control group name with another control, you can easily select the control group name by left clicking on the down arrow.  You will then be presented with a pull down list that you can scroll until you find the desired control group name.  Once selected from the list by left clicking on the control group name, or by typing the name in the "Group Name" box, the name of the control group will be displayed in the dialog box.  You can now left click on the "OK" selection, and that control is now grouped by the desired control group name.  Now, repeat this procedure for all other controls you wish to make part of this control-linked group.

Now, whenever this control, or any other controls linked to the same control group is manipulated in Control Mode, all other controls that share the same control group name as this control will be affected equally, and will share the same value.

The Comment field is for any text describing the actual control you are Control Grouping, not the overall Group name.  This is primarily of value when you use the "Export Control Group List..." option in the "Tools | Import/Export" menu item.  This feature exports a text file with a complete list of all Control Group names and the controls and values associated with them.  This is of great help when you need to check that all appropriate controls are in your Control Groups (usually, when your file is "finished", and you want to eliminate mistakes).

Control Group Indication

When you open the control panel for the device, you will note that the selected control now displays a small white box with a black arrow in the lower left corner of the control (provided that this display option is turned on - to do so see below).



This indicates that this control is associated with a control group.  This is the default selection in a view file, as seeing that a control is part of a control group is extremely handy while designing the system.  Once the design is done however, it can obstruct a clear view of smaller controls and indicators (such as LED's), and it may be desirable to turn off this display while using the system in Control Mode.

This indication can be turned on and off on a global basis.  To turn the Control linking display on and off, go to "Tools | Option...," which will bring up the Options dialog box.  Select the "User Interface" tab by left clicking on it, and in the "Miscellaneous" section, you will find a check box labeled "Indicate Linked Controls"

This box should be checked.  Un-checking the box (by left-clicking on it) will turn off the indication on all controls that are affiliated with a control group throughout the view file.