Preparing to Run

After you have connected your controls to the DH_ControlOverlay, completed your layout, and connected the DH_ControlOverlay's outputs to whatever display controls you have decided to use, there are a few important steps to take to make sure that everything will work properly when you switch to Run mode, and especially, when you save as VST.

Setting the Z-order

Z-order refers to whether objects on the computer display are in front of or behind other items. You need to position the DH_ControlOverlay so that it is behind all of the input controls that need to respond to the mouse, and in front of everything else.

When you right-click on an object in SynthEdit, you have the options "To Front" and "To Back". The following procedure will position the DH_ControlOverlay correctly:

Note: This operation may be easier to do on your structure view or on your panel, depending on how you have things laid out.

Testing Run Mode in SynthEdit

Switch the DH_ControlOverlay's Mode to Run. Make sure that audio is running. No rectangles should be showing. If they are, a click on the panel (with the panel unlocked) will remove them. Now, lock the panel view, and move the mouse over your GUI, making sure that everything is responding properly, and displaying the way you want it to.

If any of your input controls won't respond to the mouse, go to the structure view, unlock it, right click on the control's module, and select "To Front".

Do a final check to make sure your text strings fit into the display windows you have provided, and make any necessary changes to font sizes, and/or control window sizes. Remember that if the font you specified is not on the user's machine, a more generic font will be substituted, so it's a good idea to test with something like Arial for a sans-serif font or Times New Roman for a serif font to make sure your displays will degrade gracefully under those conditions. If necessary, shorten items in your list files, or go back into Layout mode and edit the text strings you have entered in the Enter Control Information dialog for some of the controls so that everything fits.
 

Saving as VST

Finally, everything is tested and ready to go. (I'm assuming that your audio processing was already flawless before you even started messing with the GUI, right? ;-) )

Before you save as VST, make sure that your VST's layout file (or files if you used DH_ControlOverlay on multiple panels), and all of your list files are in your SynthEdit directory.

On the SynthEdit Save as VST dialog, go to the Embedded Files tab, and add all of your layout and list files to the list before you click the Save button.

And that's it! 

Cheers!

Dave

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