Configure the MLC 104 IP Plus Front Panel

The Front Panel tab provides a graphical representation of the MLC 104 IP Plus front control panel.  It gives you the ability to:

1. Configure the operations of the front control panel buttons.

2. Configure the captions and functions of the control buttons that are displayed in the GlobalViewer® interface.

Functions of the Front Panel tab include:

• Set a Button Caption

• Set a Button Tool Tip

• Set a Button Repeat Rate

• Set Switcher Input

• Set Button Operations

• Set Button Modes

• Clear, Reset, and Auto Fill Button Captions

Set a button caption

To set a button caption:

1. Select a button.

2. Enter the top caption text in the Line 1 field (if desired).

3. Enter the bottom caption text in the Line 2 field (if desired).

In the example below, Line 1: "Power", and Line 2: "On" are displayed in line 1 (top) and line 2 (bottom) of the selected button.

A caption can be set for each button in the front panel display.

Set a button tool tip

A tool tip is a descriptive line of text that is displayed in the GlobalViewer interface when the cursor is positioned over a button.

To set a tool tip:

1. Select a button.

2. Enter the desired text in the Tool Tip field.

Set a button repeat rate

The repeat rate is how quickly a button repeats its function if the button is held down.

Example

If you have configured a button as an increment volume button and given it a repeat rate of 1.00 sec,  as long as you keep this button pressed (the front panel button or  the GlobalViewer button), the "increment volume" command is sent every 1.00 second.

To set a repeat rate:

1. Select a button.

2. Select a rate from the Repeat Rate drop-down list.

Set switcher input

The Switcher Input field allows you to assign a specific input from an attached MediaLink Switcher (MLS) to a specific pushbutton on the MLC 104 IP Plus front panel.

To assign a switcher input:

1. Select a button (see below).

2. Select a switcher input number from the drop-down list.

Set button operations

The tabs located within the Button Operations section include:

• Driver

• Time Delay

• User Defined

• Light Control

The functions of each tab are described in the paragraphs below.

Note:  Functions in the Button Operations (1) section are selected and moved to the Press (2) section or Release (3) section to be assigned to a button.  If a function is moved to the Press section, the function occurs when the selected button is pressed (either on the physical front control panel of the device, or in the GlobalViewer interface).  If a function is moved to the Release section, the function occurs as the button is released.

             Because the DISPLAY power buttons are pressed down together to enter PIN mode, it is good practice to assign functionality to them on their release (as opposed to the press) so that when you enter PIN mode, if you inadvertently press one button slightly before the other, you won't initiate its assigned function instead of entering PIN mode.

Note:  A red triangle in the top, left corner of a button indicates that it has been assigned a button operation.

Note:  Changes to the GC file do not appear in the GlobalViewer interface until the GC file has been built and uploaded to the network devices.

See Build Changed Configuration for more information.

Driver

To assign a driver function to a device button:  

1. Select a button (see below).

2. In the Button Operations section, select the Driver tab.

3. Select a device and expand its folder (example: Eiki LC-XG100).

4. Expand the desired operation folder (example: Power).

5. Select the desired function (example: On).

6. Drag the selected function (On) to the Press section or the Release section.

- or -

Click one of the green Right Arrows to move the selected function (On) to either the respective Press section or Release section.

- or -

Drag the selected function (On) and drop it over the selected button (1).

Time Delay

When you add multiple functions to a front panel button, you may want to insert a time delay between the functions.  The Time Delay tab provides the capability to add a delay of from 1 second to 180 seconds to the Press or Release action of a button.

To add a time delay:

1. Select a front panel button.

2. Click the Time Delay tab in the Button Operations section.

3. Expand the Time Delay function (click the + sign).

4. Enter the desired number of seconds (1 to 180) in the Wait field.

5. Drag the Wait icon to either the Press or Release section.

- or -

Click one of the green Right Arrows to move the Wait function to the Press or Release section.  

User Defined

The User Defined tab in the Button Operations section allows you to add button functionality that is not
pre-defined by entering ASCII strings or Extron Simple Instruction Set (SIS™) commands in the Command field and moving those commands to the Press or Release section.  The User Defined tab is functional only with serial ports.

For a listing of ASCII codes, open the View menu and select View ASCII Chart.

To add a user-defined command:

1. Select a front panel button.

2. Click the User Defined tab in the Button Operations section.

3. Expand a serial port.

4. Click User Defined Command.

5. Enter your desired ASCII command string in the Command field.

6. Drag the user-defined command to the Press or Release section.  

- or -

Click the respective green Right Arrow to move the user-defined command to either the Press or Release section.

Light Control

The Light Control tab allows you to assign an indicator color to both the Press and Release actions of selected buttons.

Indicator color options are:

• Off

• Green

• Red

• Amber

Indicator blink options are:

• No Blink

• Slow Blink

• Fast Blink

To assign an indicator color to a button:

1. Select a button.

2. Click the Light Control tab in the Button Operations section.

3. Expand a No Blink, Slow Blink, or Fast Blink folder (click the + sign).

4. Drag the desired color icon (Off, Green, Red, Amber) to either the Press (4) or Release (5) section.

Note:  In the screen below, a solid green indicator is assigned to the button when pressed.  A solid amber indicator is assigned to the button when released.  These indicators appear on the actual device button and in the GlobalViewer graphical representation of the button.

Set button modes

The options within the Button Modes drop-down list allow the you to apply three different modes of operation for all buttons on a MediaLink (MLC) device front panel.

Button modes of operation are:

• Single Switch

• Toggle

• Input

• Group (X)

Button modes of operation are described below.

Single Switch

In Single Switch mode, the pushbutton switch performs the same primary function each time it is pressed.

Single Switch mode is the opposite of Toggle mode described below.

Toggle

In Toggle mode you can assign two different actions to subsequent depressions of the same pushbutton switch.

If we apply the Toggle mode to a pushbutton switch, the initial press of the switch causes one action, and the next press of the switch causes a second action to occur.

To create a Toggle mode button:

1. Select a button.

2. Select Toggle from the Button Modes drop-down list.

3. Expand the desired device driver (click the + sign).

4. Expand the desired operation folder (click the + sign).

5. Select toggle state #1.

6. Drag the desired button operation (Video Mute On) to either the Press or Release section.

7. Select toggle state #2.

8. Drag the second desired button operation (Video Mute Off) to either the Press or Release section.

Toggle mode is indicated by red (top) and gold (bottom) coloring of the switch.

Toggle mode is the opposite of Single Switch mode described above.  

Input

An Input button mode means that when this button is activated, the audio or video input signal associated with this button is sent to the display device.

To assign Input mode to a switch:

1. Select a switch.

2. Select Input from the Button Modes drop-down list.

Group (X)

When multiple buttons are assigned to a group:

• Only one button can be activated at a time.

• When a button is activated, it de-activates any other currently active button.

• The button label color changes to match other buttons of the same group.

• Group 1 = blue labels

• Group 2 = red labels

• Group 3 = purple labels

• Group 4 = green labels

To create a button group:

1. Select a button.

2. Select a Group (#) from the Button Modes drop-down list.

The selected button turns the color of the selected group (blue in the example below).  

3. Select a second button.

4. Again select the desired Group (#) from the Button Modes drop-down list.

The second button turns the color of the selected group indicating that these two buttons now belong to the same group.

To return a grouped button to its original single switch state:

1. Select the desired button.

2. Select Single Switch from the Button Modes drop-down list.

The button returns to its single switch state, and its original gray color.  

Clear, Reset, or Auto Fill

The Clear button is used to clear all of the front panel button caption text.

The Reset button is used to set all of the front panel button captions to their factory default text.

The Auto Fill button is not active on the Front Panel tab.  It is active on the Address tab when a Control Module is selected in the IP Link Tree window.  

See Clear, Reset, and Auto Fill for more information.