Open Plugin-Menu without Mouse

[Zigus]

Hello everybody,

 

is there a way to open the instrument menu (to select a plug-in) in the channel strip without the help of a mouse, preferably using a shortcut?

 

The background is that I would like to be able to open certain plugins via Keyboard-Maesto just by pressing a button on the controller. This works in principle, but only if I enter exact coordinates for the mouse to open the instrument menu. As soon as the resolution of my screen changes, however, the mouse no longer moves to the correct position, and it is exactly the same if there are already several audio FX in the strip and the instrument button graphically moves upwards.

Once this window is open, everything else can be done using the arrow keys, I just fail at the first action.

Another option of how I can open a plugin in a strip without using the mouse would help me too.

 

Thank you in advance!

Felix

[des99]

Logic doesn't have the facility to choose and load plugins using the keyboard only (unless you include clicking on a plugin slot and then using the cursor keys to navigate the plugin menus, or you use a control surface like the MCU which can do it).

[Zigus]

Thanks des99, I feared that and hoped someone would have a solution or a workaround.

[facej]

Can Keyboard Maestro search for text in an open window? If you open the Library, search for "Bass", and click you should be positioned properly to use keyboard arrows to navigate.

 

clumsy, but might work.

[des99]

You can’t open plugins from the library, or target insert slots.

[robinloops]

You could open plugins you want open for a particular process and lock and save as a screen set, which can then be recalled using a keystroke.

[Zigus]

Thanks robinloops - not exactly what I am looking for but still a good idea to keep in mind!

[David Nahmani]

or you use a control surface like the MCU which can do it).

I suppose that probably means that you can program Keyboard Maestro to react to a computer key or keyboard shortcut by sending a MIDI event that can be interpreted by Logic as a control surface, which would allow you to access all MCU functionality from a computer keyboard?

[des99]

In theory, yes, but it's a bit more complicated than that due to a number of factors.

[David Nahmani]

In theory, yes, but it's a bit more complicated than that due to a number of factors.

Oh that's too bad. I haven't used Keyboard Maestro but I was under the impression that it would work for this kind of application.

[robinloops]

Better Touch Tool now supports MIDI. Maybe it has an easier implementation. Unless the complication for implementation is within logic itself.

[des99]

It's not just a matter of sending a few MIDI bytes to pick a plugin. For the MCU, you need to send commands to put Logic into certain plugin modes (the sequence of which will vary depending on which modes Logic is already in and some other complications), then you need to make sure you're targetting the correct inserts (again, which will vary depending on which inserts are active), and then you need to enter plugin selection mode, which makes plugin selection come up on one vpot, which you then need to turn to select the correct plugin, from an unsorted menu of entries who's indexes will change when you install or remove plugins (and also in different contexts eg mono vs stereo channels). You also need to parse the display updates to try to extract information about where you are to determine which MIDI messages you need to send in a given context etc.

 

As I say, it's possible (I know because I've implemented exactly this for a previous unreleased project), but it's not trivial, and requires a certain intelligence that is not practical to build into a Keyboard Maestro macro or similar.

 

If you want to have a go, by all means. But this whole thing was really best summed up by my previous response:

 

In theory, yes, but it's a bit more complicated than that due to a number of factors.

[David Nahmani]

Wait a minute what about all the new open plug-in key commands!? Forgot about those:

 

[des99]

Yes, but that only opens/closes the plugin already on that insert. It doesn't allow you to actually choose and insert a plugin, which is presumably what the OP is referring to based on their reference to the plugin menus.

[David Nahmani]

Oh yes right of course.

[noisyneil]

i'm using a combo of PlugSearch and keyboard maestro to insert plugins on tracks. work great but the setup was a headscratcher for a while!

[Zigus]

Hi Noisyneil,

thank you for the input! Would you mind to share this Keyboard Maestro Script with us or with me?

Thanks Felix

[noisyneil]

Sure! A lot depends on the found images and you'll need the track inspector open in your arrange window. I shared this with someone else and it worked straight out of the box, but if you have issues, you'll have to play around with the found images to get them to marry up with your display setup, and that will require a clear mind, patience and lots of coffee! You may want to consider duplicating this macro to have a version for each display resolution; perhaps include in each one a sub-macro to set the resolution, so that the two things change together. I'm afraid there's no perfect solution to this that doesn't break when resolution changes, due to the heavy reliance on found image conditions, but this works nicely for me.

 

Just to clarify: what this does is lets you use PlugSearch without having to touch the mouse. No need to position the pointer over the desired plugin slot; you just hit your keystroke and PlugSearch becomes available. If you happen to have Stream Deck, things can get a little more fun... Good luck!

Insert Plugin with Plugsearch.kmmacros.zip

[noisyneil]

Update: Linus at Speakerfood has updated PlugSearch to automatically select the first available slot for you, so it's a good time to check that out if you haven't already. Special use-cases aside, you don't really need Keyboard Maestro macros any more.