Appendix C: The Controls

This section describes the controls you'll encounter, and should be used as a reference as you work with Sequitur.

C.1. The Knob Control

This control is used in places where values should be set quickly, and it's not important to get them exactly correct. Frequently, knob controls will have an associated number control to allow precise editing. To operate the knob, click on it and drag right / up to increase the value, and left / down to decrease the value.

C.2. The Number Control

This control displays exact values for a given item. It operates in the same way as the knob controls: Click and drag right / up to increase the value, left /down to decrease it. Additionally, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to set the value. Press ARROW UP or ARROW DOWN to increase or decrease the value by one. Hold down either key to change the value more rapidly.

You can perform precise editing by clicking the control and waiting several moments. A text box will appear that allows you to type in the desired value. You can also invoke this text box by pressing space when the control has focus.

C.3. The Band Controls

Sequitur often makes use of a class of controls that are segmented, which allows quick access to common values and still provides easy access to not-so-common values. These controls are all operated by clicking, holding, then dragging left / right or up / down. When you click on a band control, a bar will appear that displays the possible values for the control, along with a window displaying the current numeric value. As you drag over the bar, you'll notice that the number display moves rapidly in some places and not at all in others. The areas where it doesn't move are the values determined to be the most useful in practice. The areas inbetween these values, where the number changes rapidly, still allow you to choose a non-standard value.

C.3.1. The Zoom Control

This control determines the magnifcation level of its target view. To operate, click and drag left or right for the desired magnification.

C.3.2. The Duration Control

This control is used to define note durations. It is comprised of a multiplier, duration value, divider, and raw time value. The duration value sets note lengths using familiar settings like whole notes, eighth notes, quarter notes, etc. The divider is used to set the duration to triplets, quintuplets, etc. The multiplier value is multiplied against the final duration and modifier value. The actual tick value of the multiplier, duration value, and divider are displayed in the raw time view.

The duration control can optionally be displayed without either its multiplier or raw time controls. For example, the Quantize filter in the track window uses such a control to set both the duration of newly created notes and the snap-to grid.

C.3.3. The Velocity Control

The velocity control provides a default velocity value for all newly created notes.

C.4. The Control Change Control

This control is used to select one control change from the list of all available control changes. Make a selection by clicking on the desired item. In some cases this control may allow you to select more than one control change.

This control is used by the property window of certain filters.