Configuring Buttons

ezCart 2001 is built around the idea of having a large number of audio carts ready to play instantly, on-demand. The method to make these carts available quickly to the end user is to have 20 pages of 20 buttons per page, each of which can be configured to play a certain piece of audio (cart) simply by pressing the button. Each set of buttons, therefore, represents 400 possible carts that can be played. Further, you can have as many "button files" as you wish and retrieve the one you want on-demand.

You can also link DCS or Maestro user functions to a button, using either the function number or function name. When the button is pressed, the function is performed by the host DCS or Maestro unit.

There are several ways to configure a button:

•	Drag and drop a cart from the inventory list.

•	Right-click on a button of your choice and select Configure Button from the pop-up menu.

•	Open the Button Configuration dialog.

The first two methods listed are covered in the Using ezCart 2001 topic. The third method, using the Button Configuration dialog, allows you configure multiple buttons. You access this dialog by clicking on the [Buttons] button on the speed bar, selecting Edit | Button Setup from the main menu, or using the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl-B].

The display is sizeable - you can enlarge or reduce the size to suit your preference and it will be shown that same way next time you open the dialog. You can select the button page you wish to work with, along with the specific button to be programmed. If the button action is a Play Cart action, you can also preview the cart, both intro and outro, providing the cart exists on the host audio unit or is available to the host audio unit.

Programming a Button

Follow these steps to program a button with ezCart 2001 Button Setup dialog:

a)	Select the button page where the button is located by clicking on a page number. As you select a page, the page name is displayed beneath the pages buttons.

b)	Select the button you wish to program by clicking on a button number. If the button is currently programmed, the appropriate information is displayed in the data entry portion of the dialog.

c)	Select whether the Button Action will be a Play Action or a Function. This choice determines which of the remaining fields are enabled.

Play Action

1.	Enter the 4-digit cart number in the "Cart Number" field.

2.	Enter a description in the "Description" field.

You can select a cart from the inventory by clicking on the [Select Cart] button. Locate the cart you wish and drag it to the cart number or description field, then drop it. The cart number and description will be filled in automatically.

3.	Select the Play Channel for the cart from the drop-down list. The default value is "Default Channel", which means that this cart will be played on the channel you set in ezCart 2001 Preferences. You can also select a particular playback channel - 1, 2, or 3 (if available on the host audio unit).

4.	Change the button color and text color, if desired.

Button colors can be chosen either from a drop-down list of colors or from a pop-up color chart. The drop-down list is the default method. You can change that to the color chart by setting the "Use buttons for color selection" in ezCart 2001 Preferences.

5.	If the cart exists, you can play the intro or outro by clicking on the buttons [Intro Preview] and [Outro Preview].

Function

1.	Select the "Function Entry Type". Function Number requires the host audio unit's function number from it's configuration. Function Name requires the function name from the host unit's configuration.

The function name is case-sensitive! Make sure you type the function name (if used) exactly as it appears in the host unit configuration.

i.	If you select function number as the entry type, enter the function number in the "Function No." field. Enter a description of your choosing in the "Desc (Display)" field.

ii.	if you select function name as the entry type, enter the function name in the "Func. Name" field.

2.	The "Play Channel" field is disabled when programming a button to perform a function.

3.	Change the button color and text color, if desired.

4.	The [Intro Preview] and [Outro Preview] buttons are disabled when programming a function.

Repeat these steps for each additional button you wish to program.

Be sure to save your work before you exit the Button Configuration dialog. If you try to exit without saving, you will be prompted to save.