Selector Preset

You use a Selector preset in situations where multiple, mutually-exclusive presets are needed (typically for the same physical space). In other words, only one of the Selector presets that are grouped together can be active at a given time. Selector presets can be turned on (activated) and turned off (deactivated). To deactivate a Selector preset, you simply select another Selector preset in the list (which, of course, activates that preset). To allow deactivation of all the Selector presets in the list, you must include the No Selection option.

This Selector preset example helps illustrate these concepts. For more details on Selector presets, see About Presets.

Example Scenario

You are designing an audio system for a very large church. During the course of any week, the church sanctuary is used in many different ways and, therefore, has many differing audio needs. These different needs include audio for Sunday morning services (organ, choir, speech, full audience), Sunday evening services geared for younger people (rock band, speech, 3/4 audience, balcony closed), Wednesday evening lecture series (speech only, 1/2 audience, balcony closed), Weddings (organ, speech, 1/4 audience typically, balcony closed, sometimes acoustic instruments as well).

Creating the Preset

Choosing the Appropriate Preset Control

Although you could use Command or Toggle presets for this scenario, why would you? You have a list of audio needs, but only one of them can be active at a time. The Selector preset is designed specifically for this type of situation and makes the process virtually foolproof for the end user (who simply selects the option needed, which automatically deactivates the previous selection). There is no need to worry about which presets have been asserted or activated or what will happen when a selection is made.

For this scenario, you'll need one Preset Selector group that includes four presets: Sunday Morning, Sunday Evening, Lecture Series, and Wedding. You've decided to use a DR2 for end user control of the presets.

Halogen Configuration — Hardware Workspace

In this procedure, we configure the DR2.

Add one DR2 to the Hardware Map.
Double-click the DR2 to open its properties, and then configure its Control Mode as a Single Selector (which is the default mode).
Optionally, name the DR2 (for example, you could name it Main Sanctuary Presets) and/or manipulate its Backlight Settings. Note that the name configured here is not the display name that appears on the actual device.

Halogen Configuration — Processing Workspace

In this procedure, we create the initial Selector Group to hold our presets, create the initial four empty presets, configure the relevant blocks for each scenario and add them to the relevant preset (one preset at a time), and finally link our DR2 to the presets.

note: We assume the Processing Map has already been created and contains the appropriate processing blocks for this scenario. We also assume that the Baseline preset has been configured.

1. Create the initial empty Selector group.

In the Processing Workspace toolbar, click Presets. The All Presets dialog box displays.
Click the Selector tab.
Add a new Selector group by clicking the Selector button near the bottom of the dialog box. The new Selector group appears.
Customize the name of the Selector group (not required but highly recommended) by clicking on its name and typing in the text edit box that appears. Let's name this Selector group Main Sanctuary Presets. This name is for internal use only and is not displayed to the end user.

2. Create the initial empty presets.

Add four new presets by clicking the Preset button near the bottom of the dialog box four times. The new presets appear.
Customize the names of the presets by clicking the associated text symbol for each one. These are the names that will appear on the DR2 LCD screen. We'll name them as follows:
- Sunday Morning
- Sunday Evening
- Lecture Series
- Wedding

3. Configure the relevant blocks for each scenario and add them to the appropriate preset.

There are several approaches for creating the four presets. You could work on one block at a time, changing its configuration and saving it to the appropriate preset, then changing it and saving it to another preset. Or you could work on one preset at a time, which is what we'll do here.

Pick one of your preset scenarios and configure the system appropriately. For example, let's say you start with the Sunday Morning preset.
Select the blocks to be included in the Sunday Morning preset and then drag them to the drop target for the Sunday Morning preset (in the All Presets dialog box). To drag the group of blocks into the preset, click and drag one of the block's blue preset bar across the bottom.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the remaining three presets.
If you want to provide a way to deactivate all the presets in the list and return the system to the Baseline preset, select the Include 'No Selection' option (in the Selection group). Selecting this option causes No Selection to appear as a choice in the list of presets. When the end user selects it, the system returns to the next preset in the preset priority list—which will typically be the Baseline.

4. Configure end user control for these presets.

Find the DR2 intended for end user control of these presets.
Click and drag the DR2's control link (not its preset bar!) to the All Presets dialog box. Drop it on the control link associated with the Main Sanctuary Presets Selector group.

Testing the Preset

Open the properties dialog boxes for the blocks that are affected by the presets.
Open the DR2 Selector control (by clicking its Selector hyperlink in the Control palette).
In the DR2 Selector properties dialog box, select a preset. This action simulates the end user highlighting the same preset on the DR2's LCD screen and then pushing the knob to activate the preset.

Confirm that the block parameter values reflect what you saved to the preset.

note: In this step, we are not only testing the preset, we are also testing the control link between the DR2 and the preset Selector group. If you want to test the preset directly, you can select the Active radio button next to the preset in the All Presets dialog box.

Repeat step 3 for each preset. You should also test the No Selection option (if included). When selected, the block values should return to their Baseline values (as long as no other presets are active).