Side Panel Controls
- David Avgikos
The side panel uses a variety of controls. Although they look very similar, they function differently. This section explains the different types of controls found in the side panel of all DART applications.
Option Controls
An ellipsis on the right side of a button indicates that an additional choice must be made when the button is clicked. This can be in the form of a load/save window or a multiple choice menu.
Dialog Buttons
Some buttons will open a Windows dialog for loading and saving files. For example, clicking the Ambient Audio button in Studio will open a window to select and load an audio file.
You can also perform standard Windows commands such as deleting and renaming files, creating new sub-folders, etc. by clicking the right mouse button on a file name or inside the dialog window.
Menu Buttons
Clicking a menu button will display a list of available choices. Move your cursor to the desired option and left-click to select it.
Slider Controls
Slider controls are used to select a value in one of two ways. Click and hold the left button while moving the mouse left and right.
Or left-click the value and type in a value manually.
Minimum and Maximum Slider Values
Sliders have predetermined minimum and maximum values that cover a majority of circumstances. Sometimes these values can be overridden by entering a lower or higher value. For example, if a slider normally has a range of 15 to 60, you may be able to enter 100 and have the slider control adjust to the new max value. Not all sliders allow this action. The min and max values can be reset by clicking the reset icon to the right of the slider.
Slider Limits
Clicking the + icon next to a slider (if available) will open a window used to set the minimum and maximum values of the slider. If you enter an invalid value, the program will use the closest valid value instead. For example, if a negative number is entered where one is not allowed, the program would use the value 0.
Some sliders have limitations that cannot be exceeded. For example, a percentage slider cannot be set below 0% or above 100%. However, you can customize the range within those limits. For example, you can set the minimum and maximum between 25% and 50% if you find that those are the values you use most often.
The text on the right side of the dialog shows the default minimum and maximum values for the slider. This information does not change and is there to show what a slider’s default values are.
Using Favorites
Controls that you frequently use in Studio can be marked as favorites by clicking the heart icon next to the control. When the heart is solid, the control is considered a favorite. Clicking the icon again will deselect the icon and turn off the favorite status.
Click the hamburger menu at the top left of the side panel and select the Favorites option (Shift Z) to show your favorite controls.
Other Considerations
If there are more options than can be seen in the side panel (for example from the Library), it can be scrolled vertically by left-clicking the side scroll bar and dragging the mouse up and down.
Right-Click Menu
If you highlight a numerical value and right-click it, a small menu will appear allowing you to perform quick operations such as copy and paste.
