What do xml variables mean?

[bigcat1969]

My friend Hopi is working on making GUIs for me and he asked what various thing in the xml file mean.

"<label x="50" y="230" width="300" height="21" 8="" 3="0" 2="1" 6="<Sans-Serif>"
7="12" 5="0" 16777957="ffffff"/>

I know what the x and y do, and also the width and height, ... I would like to know what 8=, 3=, 2=, 7=, and 5= ...what each of those values controls"

Anyone know?

[caoxiang]

They mean image, actions, options, etc.

But you are not really suppose dig into the XML, the xml export import is there for quick GUI duplication across different instruments

[hopikiva]

Not meant to dig into the xml code?
That is ridiculous!
I do GUI development for other vst's such as Nebula by Acoustica Audio and it is ALL xml code and png images...

Your GUI editor leaves a lot to be desired... for simple example, lets say someone wants to move the meters or to not show the meters... you have no way to do that other than with the xml code and an xml editor.
Because in the editor there is no graphical item for the meters.

You really should have a look at Nebula skin xml code and see what is possible ... your GUI's 'could' have great meters instead of this silly stuff.

[Samulis]

Not meant to dig into the xml code?
That is ridiculous!
I do GUI development for other vst's such as Nebula by Acoustica Audio and it is ALL xml code and png images...

Your GUI editor leaves a lot to be desired... for simple example, lets say someone wants to move the meters or to not show the meters... you have no way to do that other than with the xml code and an xml editor.
Because in the editor there is no graphical item for the meters.

You really should have a look at Nebula skin xml code and see what is possible ... your GUI's 'could' have great meters instead of this silly stuff.

You reeally don't get what Maize is or who it is made for, do you... O.o

Maize is designed for people who don't WANT or don't know HOW to dig through code, and it's one of the ONLY solutions that achieves that with any degree of functionality, speed, and affordability. I can put together a decent, functional, entirely customized UI in well under a hour without recycling any components from previous UIs, and that includes all the work in Knobman and Photoshop, including an 88-key, custom-colored keyboard built from scratch. I want to see someone do that with a text-based solution, without using any code snippets or scripts or any of that.

Let's say I want to move a knob. I click, and I either arrow-key or drag it into place. I don't have to type in estimates, I don't have to take out a ruler utility and measure pixels. It's all WYSIWYG, and that is to me what anything that involves the word "design" should be- interactive, draggable, clickable, WYSIWYG. In fact, I am borderline stunned that there aren't WYSIWYG tools for creating, say, Kontakt interfaces. Successful web designers don't work in notepad anymore, they use tools like Dreamweaver or Muse. With a tool like Dreamweaver, you have that "crack open the box" functionality when and where you need it, but it's greatly assuaged by a large amount of WYSIWYG editing functionality, and Muse is almost entirely just WYSIWYG. (speaking of which, a good looking Muse site takes like, 2-4 hours to make... a good looking site made entirely in textpad or Notepad ++? You're talking literally weeks)

If I wanted to build a limitlessly powerful UI, I would spend a few years learning a language like C++ or Basic or whatever, but I don't care about that. I just want to put together an instrument with a few clicks of my mouse and drag and drop WYSIWYG editor functionality. I want to design my UI, not dig through a pile of code for hours/days and keep crossing my fingers it won't explode on me.

Finally, yes, you DO have a way to not show those meters or move them... click on them in the UI editor (yes, they are awfully hard to find, but once you get your bearings, you can just spam click around the area it is until you get one), then delete it or move it. I moved and replaced the meters on dozens of instruments so far and I haven't had any complaints. If you don't want 'em, just save the .xml version out after you make your changes so that it replaces the original xml, or just save it in a familiar place. Personally, I never use the default Maize UI, so I just leave it be until I replace it with one of my own, which either don't have meters or have meters set how I want them.

Ok, it's annoying to click an invisible meter, maybe he should have made the meter display at full volume by default so we can see it, but for heaven's sake... you can add a volume meter in one click! Before you couldn't even have a volume meter!

Just my thoughts, but I really think Maize is quite excellent as a tool to open up what was previously an elusive programmers-only field to musicians who just want to make products for and by musicians without all the tech fuss and code-digging.