Export VST plugin?

[human fly]

hi,
ive got to the point where i want to export a VST plugin
to try out. i’ve done this before when i was running 32bit
Windows, but i’m now on Win10 64bit, and i cannot see a
Ctrlr.dll – i have ‘hidden items’ set to be visible –

1/ how do i get Ctrlr to appear in my VST Instruments list
in a 32bit VST host? (eg: Orion, here ) – i thought i had a
Ctrlr.dll last time, and was able to load my panel into that.

2/’export’: my project file exists as a *.panel; export offers
options:
-‘export binary’, as a *.bpanel
-‘export compressed binary’, as a *.bpanelz (?z=zip?)
and :
-‘export instance’ as a *.exe

No export *.dll…. it also offers to export XML/compressed XML
(not too familiar with that yet)

please refresh my memory on how to do this.
i’m aware that there may be differences between 32bit and 64bit
VST, and VST2.4 and VST3. what can i export, from which version
of Ctrlr? my host is 32bit, so i mainly want to export that first.
what is exported for 64bit? and does it matter if i work/create
my panel project in 32bit or 64bit Windows?(i figure i can load
the actual project panel files into either version, please confirm
how this works).

i don’t actually know much about 64bit VST, so i don’t know how it
corresponds with 32bit VST2.4. not really interested in VST3 at this
stage. (is there 64bit VST2.4?)

3/ Once i can get Ctrlr to appear in my VST plugins list, i can load
my panel file, and ‘export restricted instance’, producing a locked
VST version(seem to remember..) – can i produce both 32bit and 64bit
from Ctrlr running on 32bit VST host?

quick tutorial please ! thanks.

[dasfaker]

On Win x64, you should have two Program Files folders: Program Files and Program Files(x86). Check on both folders where you installed Ctrlr.dll.

To export a panel as .dll, you must load Ctrlr.dll inside a host and from there, export instance to get a .dll vst of the panel. Export from standalone Ctrlr.exe to get an .exe panel.

To export a 32bit .exe or .dll you need a 32 bit Windows, and a 64bit Windows to export 64bit instances.

What I don’t know is how to export VST3 .dll as my DAW is Ableton Live and it doesn’t support VST3.

[human fly]

whaddya mean, Ctrlr.dll? i can’t find it in either…i must’ve skipped
that option on install, then? yeah, because i’m pretty sure it was
there last time i had Ctrlr.

so for 32bit, i need to run my project file actually ON a 32bit Windows?
i can’t just run the 32bit version and do it there? shouldn’t be too
much of a problem if i can get to a 32bit machine; my last one isn’t
back in action yet.

VST3…yeah, that’s just my synthedit head: synthedit 1.2 64bit will
unfortunately only be VST3, at least for the time being, and that
sounds like a strange animal: no presets for VST3, or MIDI CC …
so i forgot VST2.4 can be 64bit, of course.

i think it’s a shame cubase is dropping support for 32bit. i wouldn’t
use it these days anyway, but it’s a bit of a slap in the face for
all the developers who invested chunks of their lifes in supporting
their platform, making great creations now to, presumably, be con-
signed to the dustbin of technological history. well, not exactly,
but.. hey dasfaker, my next step is sorting out the VSTIndex#s. i’m
going to be asking you about that. i don’t think it matters for the
standalone exe i just gave out, but i’m going to have to accomodate
at least 58 x4 parameters, and then a lot more when i do the multi
mode, and the individual rhythm part notes.

[dasfaker]

When installing Ctrlr it asks where to install the dll, maybe you skipped it.

I use a Virtual Machine with a 32bit Windows install, it works fine.

About vst indexes: each modulator must have a unique vst index, otherwise you’ll get into troubles. Bear in mind that this parameter is what the host and Ctrlr uses to assign the values stored to each modulator when recalling parameters. Just use the modulator list window for that, it’s pretty fast to change any value.

[human fly]

yeah i must’ve skipped the dll install for some reason.
i will check out how to install a virtual machine 32bit,
i have a big enough hard drive now. is this similar to
having a multi-boot drive with different OS’s on separate
partitions? that was a consideration. if i can just boot
win10 and switch to another OS afterwards, it might be
better (not mad keen on win10, it has some really bad
file behaviours, you double click on a file on small
windows and find you’ve selected the next column, that’s
really bad;, no confirm on file delete is also bad)

i got into trouble with VST Index#s on the first stage
of work with this, my first Ctrlr project. how many is
the default limit now, with the current version ? i seem
to remember it was 64, is that it? and that i need a Lua
method to override this.

because i have such a long list of parameters, and was
creating modulators not necessarily in order, initially,
i had renumbered, right up into the 800s or something,
so that they could appear in numerical order, which
seemed sensible; but then modulators wouldn’t load with
assigned default settings any more. now, i have Index#s
that are complete rubbish, it isn’t ready for plugin
draft yet until i sort that out. but i think it can run
as a standalone. they all seem to be sending MIDI.
i’ve got index#s that are… here we go, here’s one:
-2147483648
what’s happened there?
lol… and others that are at 850 etc. i had some copy
and paste problems, produced some doubles i had to weed
out. it’s shaping up, i’m just proceeding in order, so
that’s next. i think i’m going to tidy up/simplify the
Groups structure first, once i’ve got a bit of feedback
from some users.

[dasfaker]

A VM machine works like any Windows app, it host a OS windowed inside your OS, handier than a dual boot.

Don’t confuse maxExportedParameters with the number of mods a panel can have (should be unlimited). MaxExported parameters is the number of modulators available to the host when running Ctrlr inside the host. Once you export to the panel to dll, this is ignored, and all modulators with variable “Export parameter to VST host” checked will be available to the host.

Negative values for a vst index? Weird. Just assign a unique number for each mod, sort them the way you want.

What is important, at least for me, is the index of the mod, not the VST index of the mod. The index of the mod is the order of creation of the mod. First mod created on the panel has index 1, second mod created, index two, and so on. This is not a variable you can change, the only way to do it is editing the .panel file and moving the code of each modulator up or down.

When accessing mods, it’s much faster using panel:getModulatorByIndex() than any other method, like panel:getModulatorByVSTIndex(). I usually create the mods in the same order a voice dump assign values, so when you assign the values of a dump, first byte goes to first mod index, second byte to second mod index… This way, with a few lines of code you can assign all values to all mods, specially with Roland dumps where usually each byte corresponds to a unique parameter, and it’s really much faster.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by dasfaker.

[human fly]

the negative value was probably an accidental scroll before
copying it, early on.

problem for me in creating objects in order: i wish i could
have been that meticulous: but this panel was only really
feasible by copying groups of objects already locked to their
position and size, otherwise it would’ve driven me nuts; ok, so
now i know i can just type in size and position, but i have details
like text height and justification etc. – just wouldn’t be workable.
plus i think it’s best to have the freedom to create, and fix up
later, no?

so good news that i can renumber VSTindex#s when i want.
so MaxExported parameters are the one that show, say, in
the Edit page of a host, where you can draw in automation
curves? is that where there’s the default limit of 64 ?
since my plugin would principally be an editor, and not a
performance controller, i don’t need to list any there,
really. sure, it would be nice to have everything but it
may just be confusing and difficult for the user. with
synthedit, it was hard to get those to list in the order
you wanted, and sometimes made it unworkable, or you could
not display a viable title for a parameter because of the
way something was built. so i would leave them hidden/private
if there were too many useless entries;

i cannot see panel:getModulatorByIndex() or the other one.
haven’t looked at the ‘panel’ entries much.
as for order, yes, and a sysex bulk dump will follow order
rigourously due to the way ‘packed parameter’ sysex messages
allow you to just specify the first address in a series, and
then concatenate a series of values following the first one.
i’ve done that calling waveforms on the jv1080, where it needs
3 separate parameters,- at least 2 – or you get a ‘no selection’.
you cannot just use the waveform number, it has to have its
groupID as well, so you add an extra byte, and checksum that
with the rest at the end. so i reckon that’s pretty much how
a bulk dump is assembled.(not going there lol)(my JV remoteSL
templates are pretty cool, i can edit that machine with my
eyes closed now, literally, and very fast – it’s pretty basic
really, just a grown-up D-110)
i need to digest this good info, about these things you mention,
i haven’t found them yet – are they lua methods? where are they?
and can i re-order those? re-ordering after creating is really
my ideal/preferred option. and i don’t want to start over !
job’s nearly done. i want to do Yamaha XG for QY sequencers
after this (or Yamaha RX7 if it can receive realtime sysex edits)

[dasfaker]

I just gave you an advice based on my experience, you can do it the way you want.
Any mod parameter can be renumbered, yes.

human fly wrote:

so MaxExported parameters are the one that show, say, in
the Edit page of a host, where you can draw in automation
curves? is that where there’s the default limit of 64 ?

Yes, when using Ctrlr inside host and not panel.dll.

human fly wrote:

i cannot see panel:getModulatorByIndex() or the other one.
haven’t looked at the ‘panel’ entries much.

This is LUA code.

human fly wrote:

on the jv1080, where it needs
3 separate parameters,- at least 2 – or you get a ‘no selection’.
you cannot just use the waveform number, it has to have its
groupID as well

Yes, there are always exceptions.

[human fly]

ok.
another question: what’s the lowest VSTIndex#?
0 or 1 ? i’d better ask before i renumber them all

[human fly]

Okaaaay, your reply has just sunken in.. 😉

maxExported parameters is when you are running Ctrlr ITSELF
inside a VST Host, as opposed to running a plugin instance
one has exported as *.dll

when working, i run Ctrlr by itself, without a VST host, and
only want to get to the point where i complete my panel, then
load it in the Ctrlr.dll, in order to export a restricted
instance, eg myPlugin.dll

so, if you export the *.dll, you can ignore ‘maxExported
parameters’, is that it?

and all VST Index numbers shown in properties will be
available in the plugin, irrespective of ‘maxExported’ ?

sorry to be so slow on the pickup with this !

i was worrying about that ‘override maxExported’ Lua that
i might need. but it doesn’t sound like i do anymore?

[Author]

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