Is there any support for IDF import?

Question

I am wondering if there is any support for instrument definition file import as a way to jumpstart a new layout. If not - is there any way to write a midi designer layout file programmatically? That would seem to make it possible to generate starter layouts from IDF's for a lot of instruments. Maybe this is just a bad idea for a lot of reasons but I am lazy and do not have much experience with the "MIDI learn" capability and its advantages. If this is your recommendation - please point me to the best learn based tutorial you have seen for a complex synth.

Comments

Is there a repository of IDF files for popular MIDI targets? We'd love to know about this. This is the first time we've heard of IDF AFAIK...

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Sorry - IDF is the "way old" term for it. Cakewalk/Sonar adopted it and fully specified it and they are now called INS (instrument) files. You can freely download all the ones that Sonar supports from here as well as get the spec:

https://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013272/Instrument-Definitions

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Some history can be found here:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/jan96/pcnotes.html

The current Sonar INS does a lot more then just instrument definitions.

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Thanks, that's great to know. Regarding your original request, "please point me to the best learn based tutorial you have seen for a complex synth"... we've never seen any. However, if you find one -- or write one! -- we'd love to know. Another way to go would be to create a video tutorial. That would be a great way to help out other users.

Thanks!

Answer 1

1. There's no support in MD for any kind of definition file: MD uses a GUI to allow users to create and modify layouts. While the GUI is quite awesome (so they say), it's up to you to create the layout the "old-fashioned" way.
2. MIDI Designer files cannot be created programmatically: although we had originally planned to create a comprehensible XML format that would allow for this, other concerns -- speed, size and convenience -- won out. Right now, the file is a binary plist which requires the object universe of MD for reading and writing. While you could edit it in theory, in practice it's impossible.
3. While we don't know any, there are probably some tutorials out there that will take you from the manual for a MIDI target to creating a layout. The way most people work is much more direct: start with one parameter and figure it out a bit at a time. 

Hoping that helps, thanks!

Comments

I would love to see any tutorials related to this if anyone can pass them along. Sounds like a good workflow has me using a PDF of the manual for the device open to the MIDI programming section and copy pasting stuff across.

Does the new list control in V2 open this up as a bigger issue. How will very long lists of patch names going to get populated by users?

Keep in mind that I have an ADD style brain. This means that I have a very hard time doing very tedious simple tasks. The idea of copy pasting a list of 256 entries one at a time is like a fate worse then death.  This is why I became a programmer. I would rather take a week to write a program to copy paste the 256 entries between two apps then just get it done manually. Much more interesting.

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We all have an ADD-style brain these days! Named Ticks has an "Edit Text" box that allows you to set your stuff up in Excel (or vi, in your case) and bring over all the named ticks for one control in one PASTE.

On the other hand, going from a PDF of a device to a layout is rough because there is no standard for manuals. We've been helping users get from manual to layout since 2011, and there's usually a lot of human in between. Try moving forward with a layout and perhaps you'll appreciate the grace of MD. If not... Lemur is based on the idea of "scripting" and it's a different ball of wax entirely. While we don't know Lemur very well, it might be worth checking out as well.

There is tedious stuff in MD, for sure, but if you look at what our ADD/OCD users have created, you'll understand that it's workable. Perhaps it will be for you, too!

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http://mididesigner.com/namedticks/

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Good to hear that Named Ticks already has built in support for the paste method. That is probably what we will get in V2 then for the new list control. Works for me. I just need to get on with it now. Thanks!

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The "Picker" is just another "view" (+ gesture support) for a Named Ticks control. So... yes, exactly.

Answer 2

1. There's no support in MD for any kind of definition file: MD uses a GUI to allow users to create and modify layouts. While the GUI is quite awesome (so they say), it's up to you to create the layout the "old-fashioned" way.
2. MIDI Designer files cannot be created programmatically: although we had originally planned to create a comprehensible XML format that would allow for this, other concerns -- speed, size and convenience -- won out. Right now, the file is a binary plist which requires the object universe of MD for reading and writing. While you could edit it in theory, in practice it's impossible.
3. While we don't know any, there are probably some tutorials out there that will take you from the manual for a MIDI target to creating a layout. The way most people work is much more direct: start with one parameter and figure it out a bit at a time. 

Hoping that helps, thanks!