Beta 3.4

by **Admin** Mon May 29, 2023 4:56 pm

I need help from some brave beta testers.

The midi plugin started "small" and has been expanded and extended, making the code hard to manage. I have made a significant overhaul and redesigned many parts of the code to make it more manageable.

Even though there aren't that many visible changes (see below), please consider everything to have been changed in one way or another. A summary of changes:

The complete Midi interface (how the plugin sends and receives Midi data) is redesigned.
Plugin operations are now much more in parallel rather than serial (multi-threading for you tech nerds out there). I don't expect this to be very noticeable, but it may make things smoother when switching profiles or when the plugin is under heavy load.
The plugin is now solely responsible for the button states. Previously, the Stream Deck software switched the button state automatically when you pressed the button, and the plugin had to counteract it if the resulting state was wrong. This tug-of-war could sometimes make the images flash temporarily when you press the button. The Stream Deck software is now blocked from changing the button state, and the plugin can set the correct state without fighting the Stream Deck software.
Global settings (e.g., midi port info for Mackie buttons) are stored "somewhere" by the Stream Deck software, but this storage is deleted when you uninstall the plugin. The plugin stores a backup copy of the global settings as a file not to lose data if you uninstall/reinstall the plugin. This file was created in the Documents/Trevliga Spel folder, which some Mac users meant was the wrong location for such a file. For Mac, this file is now moved to the "Application Support" folder. For Windows, the file is still in the Trevliga Spel folder.
A "loading page" is displayed while the plugin is loading (visible, e.g. if you open a button/dial in the editor while the Stream Deck software starts). If the plugin crashes, this page will be displayed instead of the ordinary page. The state of the plugin is checked every time a button or dial is opened in the editor, and you may see this page flash very briefly before the correct page is loaded.
When using "Rotate while pressed", I find it too easy to inadvertently trigger a normal "Rotate" action when I let go of the dial. To counteract this, I have implemented a 200 ms timer after the dial has been released, during which "Rotate" events are ignored.
Packages (e.g., the Stream Deck SDK) are updated to the latest versions.
New features:
- NRPN support is added to the buttons and dials that handle Control Change (since NRPN is CC messages).
- Generic and Mackie Multi dials now have graphical display options for "Rotate while pressed".
- The Script button has a larger script area, which can be resized.
Some bugs were found and fixed during this work.
And there are probably many other changes that I have forgotten about...

The most important thing is to verify that the plugin still works as it used to (or better). Since so much of the code has been changed, please expect anything to go wrong. I consider the plugin stable in everyday scenarios, but I need your help verifying that it works in your configurations. Please back up your profiles before installing this version.

~~Version 3.4.0.4~~ Please see later post.

by Joerg Sun Jun 04, 2023 9:46 am

Hi Gunnar,

just downloaded 3.4.0.4. After installing the plugin I had to re-assign several of my user grfx. But still there seems to be an error displaying them. Interestingly the error concerns different Mackie Commands (Keys, lower multi fader) every time I load a page. Mackie Commands (Dials) do work after an initial new assignment.

by **Admin** Sun Jun 04, 2023 10:49 am

Thanks for the report. I haven't seen anything like that in my tests.

When you say that you have to re-assign them, is it because the references to your custom designs are lost or are the references intact but the images not displayed until you re-assign them?

If you use a button with a missing image (in such a way that the image would be changed), does it appear?

There are a lot of optimizations where the plugin avoids sending images it thinks are already displayed, so my thinking is that it may be something wrong with that optimization code.

by Joerg Sun Jun 04, 2023 1:27 pm

At first I thought I had to re-assign them, because old links to the files might be outdated.

Now I am thinking it has something to to how the icon is refreshed. Interestingly you can solve the issue by refreshing volume infos (e.g. muting the channel)

by **Admin** Sun Jun 04, 2023 1:36 pm

It seems to be something with the optimization where the plugin doesn't display the image since it believes it's already displayed.

I'll see if I can reproduce that.

by Joerg Sun Jun 04, 2023 1:58 pm

Hmm, I forgot to tell you I am on StreamDeck 6.3.0.18895 which might also be a cause if you can't reproduce this effect.

by **Admin** Sun Jun 04, 2023 7:39 pm

OK, found it. As I suspected, it was a bug in the optimization routines.

I also added an option to suppress fader movement and only send fader touch if the speed slider is set to 0.

~~Version 3.4.0.12~~ Please see later post.

by Joerg Sat Jun 10, 2023 10:04 pm

Hi Gunnar,

I get an error when pressing "mute" a MultiMackie Command. Suddenly the plugin freezes and my own created fader graphics stop showing up. Only a restart helps and temporarily change the channel per command to reset the graphics.

by **Admin** Sun Jun 11, 2023 12:53 pm

I can't reproduce that. If it's a reproducible situation for you, please enable extended logging, trigger the problem and send the log file.

by Joerg Sun Jun 11, 2023 1:42 pm

Admin wrote:I can't reproduce that. If it's a reproducible situation for you, please enable extended logging, trigger the problem and send the log file.

Multi Mackie Command:

1. The custom fader grafx profile is not loaded at start
2. It can be restored via changing to a standard profile and then back again
3. Pressing "mute" freezes the midi plugin

Attachments

: pluginlog.txt You don't have permission to download attachments.(26 Kb) Downloaded 3 times

by **Admin** Sun Jun 11, 2023 4:48 pm

That log file was for the Cubase plugin.

by **Admin** Mon Jun 12, 2023 2:22 pm

Please send the Midi plugin log file.

by Joerg Mon Jun 12, 2023 8:02 pm

Admin wrote:Please send the Midi plugin log file.

So, it took me some time as I haven't been able to reproduce this error again (MIDI plugin freeze) after continuing to work on my profile. Either way what is still happening, is that every time I restart my computer the graphics of the Multi Mackie Commands which are located in my "Trevliga home" can't be automatically loaded. I have to choose another profile and then I am able to switch back again (see video and log).

log:
pluginlog.txt

video:

by **Admin** Mon Jun 12, 2023 9:34 pm

Great, I managed to clean up the mess I've caused. Embarassed

I initialized things in the wrong order, which led to this problem. I've fixed that now, but you may need to reassign the custom designs a final time.

This version also includes script support for NRPN.

~~Version 3.4.0.22~~ Please see later post.

by Joerg Mon Jun 12, 2023 10:17 pm

The only thing that is missing imho for the Multi Mackie SD+ commands is a possibility to display a channel is currently muted.

idea 1: Being able to exchange graphics e.g. "handle.png"

idea 2: Change Background Color of "Color of Title" or "Value Display"

when muting the channel.

by **Admin** Tue Jun 13, 2023 12:07 am

Yeah, I know. It's on the wish list.

by **Admin** Tue Jun 13, 2023 10:46 pm

I have added support for displaying the mute state using the fader graphics. Custom design files can be extended to include one handle image and one background image to be used when the channel is muted.

Code:: <Background dialimage="" dialimage_muted=""/> <Handle dialimage="" dialimage_muted=""/>

If the selected design has these additional images defined, checkboxes will show up in the editor, where you can select to use them whenever the channel gets muted.
In addition, an option to colorize the fader handle when the channel is muted is available for all designs.

~~Version 3.4.0.72~~ Please see later post

by Joerg Wed Jun 14, 2023 6:59 am

It's really awesome to have so many different ways to display "mute" now. Good job!

by Joerg Wed Jun 14, 2023 7:42 pm

Joerg wrote:
Looks like the new graphic features need some debuging love. Sometimes it happens, that the mute change (MultiMackie) is executed but the graphics are not updated while my single Mackie Control assigned to the same channel updates correctly. Lately I had the effect that even the graphics of the single Mackie Control stopped showing up.

Attachments

: pluginlog.zip You don't have permission to download attachments.(113 Kb) Downloaded 1 times

by **Admin** Thu Jun 15, 2023 7:32 am

I've never seen a log file with so many problems. Some of the problems seem to be due to Stream Deck V6.3; I need to install that version and see how it behaves.

by **Admin** Thu Jun 15, 2023 10:17 am

I can see errors from the Stream Deck software in your log but cannot reproduce them after an update to V6.3. I got version 6.3.0.18980, while you have version 6.3.0.18916; please update your Stream Deck software to the latest version to see if those errors disappear.

Other errors in the log are primarily due to multi-threading issues where multiple buttons/dials access the same resources simultaneously. I have tried to avoid such problems, but there were obviously some situations still causing problems. In particular, there was a problem accessing image files, and I guess that's the reason why images sometimes stopped showing up.

It isn't entirely obvious where the image file clash happens, but I've tried to safeguard image handling a bit more to see if I can stop those things from happening.

Version 3.4.0.76

by Joerg Thu Jun 15, 2023 11:29 am

Admin wrote:Version 3.4.0.76

I reproduced the error. Hopefully it is better documented for you now.

Attachments

: pluginlog.zip You don't have permission to download attachments.(60 Kb) Downloaded 2 times

by **Admin** Thu Jun 15, 2023 8:08 pm

I can't reproduce the problem.

This section of the log looks very odd:

Code:: MidiController Send_NoteOn [Sending NoteOnMessage, ID:e1543579f890678da4ebfd9dd5613463, Port:Daw2Mackie2, Channel:0, Key:18, Value:0] MidiController MidiIn_NoteOn [port:Daw2Mackie2, channel=0, note=18, velocity=127]

It is when you press the dial to unmute the channel. The plugin sends value 0, i.e., mute off, and half a millisecond later, it receives a value 127, i.e., mute on from somewhere. It's odd, but I don't think it is causing the problem. When pressing the multi, it receives the same value as it sends.

I have found some minor bugs, but I don't think they would cause this problem. I have corrected those and added logging that hopefully can show more details about what is going on.

After upgrading to V6.3 of the Stream Deck software, I can no longer perform a simple plugin update by just installing a new version locally. I don't know if this is a bug or "by design" in V6.3 or if it's something with my configuration. I get no error message when I try to install an update; it simply doesn't do it. I have to uninstall the previous version before installing the updated version of the plugin. So keep an eye on the version number to verify that it is indeed installed.

With this new version, please install it, enable extended logging, restart the Stream Deck software (important!) and then try to reproduce the problem. The log file will be massive, but please try to keep it going until you have triggered the situation.

~~Version 3.4.0.81~~ Please see later post

by Joerg Fri Jun 16, 2023 10:26 pm

The good news is, Streamdeck does not forget assigned graphics any more. Nonetheless, there is still a bug in displaying the mute status of the SD+ Multi Mackie command. I created a scenario using 3 different MIDI button Types assigned to the same audio channels to mute and watch them:
1. Midi: SD Mackie Control (4 simple mute buttons)
2. Midi: SD+ Mackie Control
3. Midi: SD+ Multi Mackie Control

Szenario A:
Sound in browser is already playing. You can mute the channel using all three buttons assigned to it and the graphics on all update simultaneously.

Szenario B:
No music is playing on channel "Music". The channel gets muted using all three different buttons but the graphics of 3. don't show the mute status. After starting to play music on this channel all buttons behave according Szenario A again.

From my point of view 3. behaves different to 1. and 2.

by **Admin** Sat Jun 17, 2023 9:17 am

Interesting find. Thank you for really stressing the plugin and testing a lot of scenarios. It's invaluable. Very Happy

When the plugin was configured to display the VU meter, it relied on the VU meter mute state instead of looking at the Mute button, and since there where no music playing, there where "no difference," so it didn't react.

This version fixes that problem.

~~Version 3.4.0.82~~ Please see later post.

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