Appearance
Panel controls
What you can put on an operator panel, and how to set each control.
The Panel Designer's left column has two kinds of control:
- PROPERTIES: the template's values. Each becomes a control that edits that value: a text field for a text, a switch for a yes/no, a colour picker for a colour, a button for a trigger.
- WIDGETS: controls that are not tied to one value.
Click one to add it, or drag it onto the canvas.
Widgets
| Widget | For |
|---|---|
| Label | A heading on the panel. |
| Description | A line of help for the operator. |
| Timer | A clock that counts down or up, such as a match clock. Its value can drive the graphic through logic. |
| Clock | The time or date now. |
| Database | Reads rows from a spreadsheet or database, one row (or a few) at a time, and can step through them by itself. |
| Menu (custom) | A drop-down list of choices you type, or read from data. |
| List | A list the operator picks from, often read from data. |
Settings for every control
Select a control to set it on the right.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Bound property, Type | The template value the control edits, and its kind. Shown, not changed here. |
| Label | The name the operator sees. |
| Description | A line of help under the control. |
| Default Value | The value a new item starts with. |
| Font Size | Size of the control's text. |
| Lock layer | Stops the control being moved by accident. |
| Hide from the operator | Takes the control off the panel the operator sees. A hidden Database, Timer or Clock keeps running and feeding the logic. Logic can show a hidden control again with Set Visibility. |
| W, H | Width and height. |
| Control type | For values that can be edited more than one way: a text as a field or a drop-down, a number as a field or a slider. |
Settings by control
| Control | Settings |
|---|---|
| Button | Button Color. |
| Slider, number | Min, Max, Step. |
| Text | Max Length, Show Char Count. A text area adds Max Lines. |
| Timer | Direction (Count down or Count up), Start (sec), Target (sec), Format (mm:ss, hh:mm:ss, ss), Show buttons. |
| Clock | Format: HH:mm, HH:mm:ss, a date, or date and time. |
| Menu, radio group | Edit Options...: type the choices one by one. Or take them from data (below). |
A timer counting down stops at its Target; one counting up needs a Target above its Start. In logic, a timer gives ▷ Reached when it gets there: see Panel logic.
Choices from data
A Menu, radio group or List can take its choices from a spreadsheet, a database file or a database server. Under ITEMS, turn on From data source:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Choose Source... | The source and its table. |
| Show (label) | The column the operator reads. |
| Send (value) | The column sent to the graphic, and to other lists' filters. |
| Sort by | (source order), ascending (A-Z, 0-9) or descending (Z-A, 9-0). |
| Filter by | A column to narrow the rows by. The value comes from a wire in the logic: usually another list's Value. |
| Max items | How many rows at most (500 unless you change it). |
| Expose all columns | Gives the logic one value per column of the chosen row, so one list can fill a whole graphic. |
| Hide duplicates | Shows each value once, such as each city once from a table of results. |
Show the data under DATA PREVIEW reads the source now. With a filter, Test tries it with a value you type.
Database
A Database widget reads rows and hands them to the logic, one row at a time or several at once.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Choose Source... | The source and its table. Columns lists what it found. |
| Look up by | The column to find a row by. Wire a value into Match value and fire Look Up to jump to that row. |
| Rows At Once | How many rows it gives at a time (1 to 50), for a graphic that shows several. |
| Live Refresh (s, 0 = off) | Reads the source again every so many seconds. |
| Auto-Advance Interval (s) | Steps to the next row every so many seconds. |
| Auto-Start Carousel | Starts stepping as soon as the panel opens. |
On the panel it shows the source, Row and its number, Force Reload and Auto-Advance (Carousel).
If a source cannot be read, a red banner says the database is unreachable and that the lists show the last values read. Check before taking to air, then select Retry.
Reuse a layout: Patterns
Patterns in the toolbar keeps a set of controls to use again, on this panel or another:
- Save this tab as a pattern... keeps the whole tab. With controls selected, it reads Save and the number selected as a pattern....
- Insert a pattern... adds a saved pattern to the tab you are on, and lets you delete patterns you no longer need.