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combobox [2020/11/09 03:12] – [Basic concepts and terms] shanecombobox [2024/03/09 19:33] (current) – [User interface basics] shane
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   * The three boxes labeled "Audio File Player 1", "Guru Sampler 2", and "mda Vocoder 1" each represent plug-in instances.   * The three boxes labeled "Audio File Player 1", "Guru Sampler 2", and "mda Vocoder 1" each represent plug-in instances.
   * The two boxes labeled "MIDI Input" and "Audio Output" do not represent plug-ins, but rather the inputs and outputs of //ComboBox// itself.   * The two boxes labeled "MIDI Input" and "Audio Output" do not represent plug-ins, but rather the inputs and outputs of //ComboBox// itself.
-  * The colored lines represent //connections//, red for MIDI, green for audio. The arrows indicate the direction in which the MIDI or audio flows.+  * The colored lines represent **connections**, red for MIDI, green for audio. The arrows indicate the direction in which the MIDI or audio flows.
   * The boxes (of any kind) are called **nodes**, and the entire structure of nodes and connections is called a **graph** (a mathematical term; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_acyclic_graph).   * The boxes (of any kind) are called **nodes**, and the entire structure of nodes and connections is called a **graph** (a mathematical term; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_acyclic_graph).
   * The keyhole-shaped bumps where connections begin and end are called **pins** (by analogy to connector pins in electronics).   * The keyhole-shaped bumps where connections begin and end are called **pins** (by analogy to connector pins in electronics).
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 ===== User interface basics ===== ===== User interface basics =====
 +When you first load an instance of //ComboBox//, it will look like this:
  
 +{{::combobox-1.png?600|}}
  
 +  * Right-click in background area to add new plug-in instance nodes
 +    * A "quick select" dialog will appear, allowing you to select any type of plug-in from the Known Plug-Ins list.
 +    * Hold down ALT (Option on Mac) if you prefer the older cascading-menus method.
 +    * Unify assigns node-names automatically by adding "1", "2", "3", etc. to the plug-in name
 +  * Double-click in any plug-in node to open that plug-in's GUI in a separate window
 +  * Right-click in any node for a menu of operations
 +    * Including removing the node (and all its connections) from the graph
 +    * You can safely remove any input/output nodes you don't need (you can add them back later)
 +  * Plug-ins which have more than one stereo output-bus (Left and Right) will be drawn using a different pin color for each bus.
 +  * Create connections by left-clicking any output pin and dragging to any input pin of the same type (MIDI/audio)
 +    * You can also drag in the other direction (from an input to an output)
 +    * You can connect one output to several inputs; this is called a **split**. The output data are simply copied to all inputs, without change.
 +    * You can also connect several outputs to one input; this is called a **merge**. Merging MIDI streams yields one combined MIDI stream. Merging two or more audio streams is basically the same as //mixing// them; the audio samples are simply summed.
  
 +===== Using ComboBox vs. Layers =====
 +Unify's layer system provides another way to combine and connect multiple plug-ins, so what does //ComboBox// offer that Layers do not (or vice versa)?
 +  * The main **advantage** of //ComboBox// is that it allows you to connect groups of plug-ins in arbitrary ways, as opposed to the strict stereo-only "daisy chaining" allowed by Layers.
 +  * The main **drawback** of //ComboBox// is that, because //ComboBox// is itself a single plug-in, all plug-in instances inside a //ComboBox// are executed by only one CPU core at a time. Parallel Layers, in contrast, can run simultaneously using multiple CPU cores.
  
 +===== ComboBox and Linked Parameters =====
 +//ComboBox// exposes all parameters of all embedded plug-in instances for linking to Unify's [[realtime-params|Macro Knobs]]. The link paths are constructed in a simple way, best illustrated with an example. Using the mono vocoder graph shown in the first image above, you could select, say, the //Hi Thru// parameter of the //mda Vocoder 1// plug-in like this:
  
-When you first load an instance of //ComboBox//, the user interface will look like this:+{{::combobox-2.png|}}
  
-{{::combobox-1.png?600|}}+The resulting parameter path would look like this:
  
-The four boxes labeled **MIDI Input**, **Audio Input**, **MIDI Output**, and **Audio Output** represent not plug-ins, but //the inputs and outputs of ComboBox itself//The keyhole-shaped red and green protrusions are called "pins"; these represen +{{::combobox-3.png|}}
-===== Headline =====+
  
-===== Headline =====+**Note:** If you delete plug-in nodes from a //ComboBox// graph, any parameter links to that node will become invalid (they will display in red instead of green).
  
combobox.1604891549.txt.gz · Last modified: 2023/05/08 18:59 (external edit)