Using individually designed buttons

This function requires the Pro License or up or the Show Control Module. See Licenses and functions.

If you want to use individually designed buttons for your control panel fields, you need to get hold of the corresponding buttons. The Wings Vioso RX DVD contains buttons and background graphics which are saved to folder Control Panel. Open the folder by clicking Extras in the main menu followed by Open folder Media Samples and double-clicking folder Control Panel. If you want to use different buttons they need to meet certain criteria. See Creating and editing button graphics.  

Once the required buttons are available, you can import them to the Media Pool and place them in the Control Panel. This is how you proceed:

1. In the Media Pool click category Bitmaps, followed by right-clicking a free area there to select Add bitmaps for control panel.. In the dialog appearing select the bitmaps and click Open.

Bitmaps for buttons or even folders containing different media can be dragged from the Explorer into the Media Pool. The different media are automatically sorted in accordance with the Media Pool categories.

2. After highlighting a bitmap on tab Preview you can see whether there is a double symbol and whether they are arranged horizontally or vertically. This is also shown in columns Horiz. parts or Vertical parts.

For the display of bitmaps in the Media Pool switch over between list and light box view by clicking button Lightbox view in the top right corner of the Media Pool.

3. Now click tab Control Panel to display one page with control panel fields. Unless devices, triggers, etc. are already available as control panel fields, you should add them now. See Adding control panel fields.

4. Drag one bitmap or button from the Media Pool onto a control panel field. If you are testing this function for the first time, you should try and drag a bitmap with two symbols onto a device control field (e.g. switch or DMX) to find out how this works.

5. After clicking the button it displays a switching state, provided control panel field and button are suitable for this purpose. For a bitmap with one symbol only or a control panel field configuration with one switching state only, the button graphics won't change.

6. Now you can define whether the graphic button is to refer to the Action or the Override button of the control panel field. To do so click on the button and select Properties.

7. Under Bitmap you can select the corresponding button function next to Mouse-click triggers. If you have chosen an Action button, you can specify the corresponding function under Function of action button, i.e. you can choose On or Off or None instead of Toggle. Close the dialog by clicking OK.

8. You can also select a background color for the Control Panel pages. Right-click a free area in the Control Panel and select Control Panel - Options.

9. Below Background click on Color. Finally, select the corresponding background color by clicking into the color field. More on color selection.

   For color specification color spaces RGB and HSB are available for selection.  Grab one of the small squares in the corners with the mouse and drag it to choose the corresponding color. Field Old / New color allows you to compare the new color to the old one. Clicking on old color causes it to be displayed in the corresponding object, if live update is supported by the object. This way, a before/after comparison can be made. Selection of colors is particularly easy via the pipette. Click the pipette and the mouse pointer takes the form of a pipette. Use it to click the corresponding color on the screen or somewhere in the program window. If you want to use your own standard colors for a project or want to use a particular color several times, you can define a Custom color. This is how you proceed: Select a color so that it becomes visible in field Old / New color on the right. Hold the Ctrl key pressed and click one of the squares in field Custom to save the corresponding color. All colors saved under Custom can be directly selected by clicking them. This selection of colors will also be available when the dialog is opened again.

10. After closing the Options Dialog, the buttons or control panel fields are displayed with the corresponding background color.

• Disable bitmap display (button graphics) by right-clicking some free area in the Control Panel and selecting Display bitmaps. The same way bitmap display can be reenabled.

• Bitmaps to be used in the Control Panel can be displayed in the Media Pool. Right-click the button in the Control Panel and select Display bitmap in pool.

• The size of control panel fields (field raster in the Control Panel) is freely selectable. See Options – Project Options – Control Panel.

• Empty control panel fields can be provided with any type of individually designed bitmaps. This allows you to create eye-catching labelling or multi-color backgrounds. The bitmaps should have the same size as the control panel fields. Otherwise they are cropped or do not fill the entire field. See also Options – Project Options – Control Panel.

• If button symbols do not change over when clicking the button, there is usually no information available as to the number of parts in a button. Enter the corresponding information under Bitmaps in columns Horiz. parts or Vert. parts. You can also enter the corresponding information in the button file name. See File names for buttons.

See also

Selecting a Control Panel page

Adding control panel fields

Operating devices via control panel fields

Serial driver commands as control panel fields

Starting trigger actions via control panel fields