Lesson Description
Named Components
4m 42s
Use the "View Named Components List" tool to access your controls from any script in the design.
Video Transcript
Named Components
4m 42s
0:08
Using the Control Tree, there’s actually a third way we can manipulate controls within our script.
0:13
With the Control Script you needed to wire an outside control into your script’s control pins, and with
0:19
Scriptable Controls you can reference a native control built into that component, but you could also
0:25
make use of Named Components.
0:28
A Named Component is exactly what it sounds like – a component that you’ve given a custom name.
0:34
For instance, I’ll drag this Gain block into the design, and when you type on it you can give it any
0:39
name you want. I’ll name mine “RobinHood.” This may seem like just a convenient way to label your
0:45
schematic objects, but under the hood it actually assigns a lua table to that component.
0:51
If you select a Named Component and then go up to the Tools menu, you’ll find an option called
0:57
“View Named Component Info.” This brings up a table of every control inside that Named
1:02
Component – here, I can see the four controls that make up my Gain component. The name on
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the left is its Lua name, and the name on the right is just a description of that control. For a simple
1:13
gain block like this these names are all the same, but if you were to grab a Matrix Mixer, for instance,
1:19
you’d see that the Lua tree is a little more complicated, while the description is here to help you
1:24
understand which control is which.
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Using this Named Component Information, you can actually target your controls from any Lua script,
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without needing to wire the control to that script. Let’s open up a Control Script and do this. The
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syntax looks like this: Component.New, then in parentheses you’ll need to provide the name of your
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Named Component. Since this label is a textual string, you’ll need to put quotes around it. Next you’ll
1:55
need to open up some brackets to specify the name of the control in that Named Component that
2:00
you want to target – which, once again, must be enclosed in quotes. Now that you’ve successfully
2:06
referenced the control itself, you can then continue the control tree to select one of its properties.
2:11
For instance, I’ll change the .Value of RobinHood’s Mute control and set it to 1. When I run the script,
2:20
you can see that it worked!
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Personally, I would recommend using a variable to represent this control. This is an ugly piece of
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code – Component.New-parentheses quotes, brackets quotes – let’s just define variable MrGain as
2:37
that whole thing. Now I can reference that control just by using MrGain.Value or MrGain.String,
2:46
which is a lot easier to look at, and should feel more like the other control tree activities you’ve seen
2:50
so far.
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Named Components are a powerful way to give your scripts access to your controls without using
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wires or Scriptable Controls. It also means that any number of different Lua scripts can reference
3:02
that same control. Basically, this lets you reference something specific that’s not in your script. For
3:09
example, if I were to mention that I’m also a novelist and I wrote a book about Robin Hood, that
3:14
would be a weirdly specific reference that’s definitely not in the script. You can find my book at –
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Well, Nate's fired. So… okay… As "I" was saying, Named Components are an important tool in your
3:36
scripting database. However, there isn’t currently a block in the Block Controller that can represent a
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control found in a Named Component. However, you could still access the Named Component by
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going to the System category, and using the “Lua” block.
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This lets you enter any Lua code you like, specifically for rarer features like this that may not have an
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associated block. I’ll type in the action that I want to perform, such as changing the component Gain
4:05
to -40. In this case, just for variety, let’s use a Trigger button from the Block Controller itself to
4:14
execute this code. I’ll bring this Trigger Button’s “on control change” block, and snap my Lua
4:20
code into the “do” section. Now when I run the script and press the trigger button, the Named
4:28
Component receives the command.
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Well, that's it for Named Components AND for Nate. There's an exercise to complete in the Control
4:36
Worksheet, and then move on whenever you’re ready.
Downloads and Links
Named Components
4m 42s