New_Midi_User_Interface

• New Midi User Interface
  • Accessing
  • Overview
  • Mapping functions
  • Changing control properties
    • Display value property
    • Toggle Mode
    • Encoder LED modes
    • Encoder Resolution
  • Set a Preset name
  • Update the controller
    • Updating the current preset
    • Updating all presets
  • Creating a SystemExclusive file
  • Sending a SystemExclusive File
  • Importing and exporting settings
  • Documenting your Mapping
  • Syncing with legacy midi Interface
  • Technical Details

New Midi User Interface

Paddy now has an experimental User Interface for the the Behringer controllers that makes working and updating them much more intuitive. You can work with this interface in parallel for some time, but it will at some point become the default way of working in Paddy. If you are interested in how the interface is programmed go to [#Technical_Details]

With the new interface, you map functions, then push a button and update the controller. The interface has both buttons to update the controller as well as a menu bar with more functions.

Paddy ships with several presets already mapped for the BCF controller. A setup for the BCR will come at some point (If you have one, please export the file and post it on the message boards)

Accessing

In the tray Menu, go to Assign-> Midi (experimental)

Overview

In the interface, you can click on controls and map functions as before. However, in addition, you can

1. For Sliders, Buttons, and encoders set whether they should display their value in the Behringer LCD
2. For Buttons, set whether they are in Toggle mode
3. For encoders, set what the LEDs should show and what the resolution per spin should be
4. Set Preset names
5. Update the Behringer Controller with the new settings via push of a button
6. Create a SystemExclusive (syx) file from the settings
7. Send any System Exclusive File
8. Import and Export your Settings
9. Create an HTML file with your settings as reference
10. In the current version, sync with the legacy settings you have developed

Mapping functions

As before, click on a control to map a Lightroom function. Move to a different Preset either with the arrows next to the Preset display or the little buttons that change presets on the picture of the controller. Change encoder groups by pushing on the buttons.

You can copy settings across presets using the "copy" preset button. This is useful (for instance) if you keep the encoder banks the same for all presets and only change the faders (or the lower encoders for the BCR).

If you hit "reset preset", the current preset will be reset (after Paddy asks whether you are sure). All controls are "unmapped" and all other parameters are reset to defaults (not show value, not toggle, resolution set to 60, LED set to one dot)

Changing control properties

You can change the way some controls behave on the Behringer

Display value property

If you want the control to display the value in the LCD screen, check this box

Toggle Mode

If you want a button to be "sticky", e.g. for the Midi toggle functions, check this property. If unchecked, the button acts like a normal key. If checked, the first click will set it "on", the second "off"

Encoder LED modes

For all encoders, you can change how the LEDs should behave. For photo editing, the "1Dot" or "1Dot/Off" are typically best. See the Behringer user manual for details on the modes

Encoder Resolution

One of the best features of encoders is that you can set the resolution per spin. This setting determines how many "clicks" one turn of the encoder represents. Each encoder has a total range from 0 to 127, which Paddy maps to the range of the slider that the encoder moves. Setting the resolution to 64 means that one slow spin spans half the range. If you spin faster, the resolution increases in steps of 50% for four ranges. So if you set this to 30, increasing the speed of the turn increases the resolution to 45, then 60 and then 75.

A value of 60 seems to work best for photo editing as they allow to move a slider in small intervals but you can span a large range by turning the encoder quickly.

Set a Preset name

Overwrite the text in the preset name box to change the name of a preset. This is the name that Paddy displays when you switch to the Preset on the controller (it's actually stored in the Behringer itself). Maximum of 24 characters, no leading or trailing spaces (Paddy removes these automatically)

Update the controller

There are two ways to update the controller: Updating the current preset only or updating all presets. You can access this either with the large buttons or in the "Update Behringer Controller" Menu

Updating the current preset

This just sends the current Preset to the Behringer. It's relatively fast and best used if you changed only one setting. {Future versions might just send the changed settings, not the whole preset, which would speed this up significantly}. You can only update the Preset you are working on, so if you are in the BCR interface, the Menu option for the BCF is disabled (and vice versa)

Updating all presets

This sends all settings to the Controller. Paddy optimizes the function and does not send info for unused controllers (in contrast to software like BCManager), so it's relatively fast. However, this obviously takes much more time than just updating one preset. You can always update either the BCR or BCF.

Creating a SystemExclusive file

If you want to save the current Behringer settings in a .Syx file for later use, go to "File->Create [BCR or BCF] .SYX". Paddy asks for a filename and saves the .Syx. Paddy itself does not need this file, nor is it necessary to crate one to update the Behringer controllers.

Sending a SystemExclusive File

Go to "Update Behringer Controller-->Send a .Syx file" to send a .Syx to the Behringer. Paddy does not need this function to update the Behringer (use [#Update_the_controller] instead)

Importing and exporting settings

In the "File" menu, choose "import" or "export" to export your settings. This creates (or reads) a file with all settings for the BCR, BCF, and the Midi mapping.

Documenting your Mapping

Paddy can automatically create an HTML file with your current mapping and displays it in your browser (the user interface is closing for this). The file should print nicely as page margins and page breaks are defined in the webpage. Some browsers fail at this, however, and you might have to set these manually when printing (or use a software like MS Word). This is best printed in landscape mode with small margins. Below is a screenshot of the output.

Syncing with legacy midi Interface

Currently, the new midi user interface is still under testing and creates a parallel settings file. If you want to "import" your current Midi settings, use this menu entry.

Technical Details

For this interface to work, each key Paddy function (like "move a slider") has been assigned a Midi Channel and a Midi CC number. {Link to mapping table to follow for the geeks}. Therefore, if the user assigns the same function to all sliders, the sliders all send the same information (try it, it's a fun setup). More practically, if the temperature slider is on the first encoder in all presets, this takes up only one Midi Channel/CC command to update.

The downside is that the user has to send the Midi mapping to the Behringer whenever the mapping changes.

Also, this way of operating makes the assignment of functions like "apply preset" tricky, since every user has different presets. Paddy therefore holds the Midi channels 14, 15 and 16 reserved for these functions (Preset, relative Preset, macro, etc). When the user maps one of these, Paddy searches for a free slot in these channels. Consequently, Paddy is limited to mapping 3x127 = 381 Presets, macros, etc.