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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
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<title>VST SDK 2.4: VST Parameters Structure</title>
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<h1><a class="anchor" name="vstparamstruct">VST Parameters Structure</a></h1><h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>
In general, VST Plug-Ins present a flat, unsorted list of parameters to the host application, and finally to the user.
The VST Parameters Structure XML definition provides an easy way to structure parameters of existing VST Plug-Ins hierarchically, without having to recompile the Plug-In binary.
</p>
<p>
<u>Windows</u>:<br>
<br>
The host application searches for a <b>.vstxml</b> file next to the Plug-In DLL (e.g. if your Plug-In is in '...\Vstplugins\MyEffect.dll' the corresponding XML file must be named '...\Vstplugins\MyEffect.vstxml').
Alternatively, the Parameter Structure XML can be embedded in the DLL as a resource (resource type <b>VSTXML</b>, resource identifier <b>1</b>).
Please note that an external .vstxml file always overrides the embedded resource!
</p>
<p>
<u>Mac OS X</u>:<br>
<br>
The .vstxml file is in the Resources Folder of the bundle and its name is constructed from the CFBundleName.
</p>
<p class="subhead">Example:</p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1">
<tr>
<td class="md">
<pre>
<<b>VSTPluginProperties</b>>
<<b>VSTParametersStructure</b>>
<font color=#989898><!-- Value Types: --></font>
<<a href="#ValueType">ValueType</a> name="<font color=#980000>SwitchOnOff</font>">
<<a href="#Entry">Entry</a> name="Off" value="[0, 0.5["/>
<<a href="#Entry">Entry</a> name="On" value="[0.5, 1]"/>
</ValueType>
<font color=#989898><!-- Templates: --></font>
<<a href="#Template">Template</a> name="<font color=#0000FF>Channel</font>">
<<a href="#Param">Param</a> name="Bypass" shortName="Byp." type="<font color=#980000>SwitchOnOff</font>" id="<font color=#009800>offset</font>+1"/>
...
</Template>
<font color=#989898><!-- Global: --></font>
<<a href="#Param">Param</a> name="Volume" shortName="Vol." label="dB" id="0"/>
<<a href="#Group">Group</a> name="Channel 1" template="<font color=#0000FF>Channel</font>" values="<font color=#009800>offset</font>=10"/>
<<a href="#Group">Group</a> name="Channel 2" template="<font color=#0000FF>Channel</font>" values="<font color=#009800>offset</font>=20"/>
...
</<b>VSTParametersStructure</b>>
</<b>VSTPluginProperties</b>></pre>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
The following tags are used to describe a parameter structure:
</p>
<p>
<table border=0>
<tr>
<td width=150>VSTPluginProperties</td>
<td>optional root tag</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=150>VSTParametersStructure</td>
<td>parameters structure tag</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="#Param">Param</a></td>
<td>describes a single parameter with name, label, id etc.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="#Group">Group</a></td>
<td>encloses a group of parameters, can be nested</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="#Template">Template</a></td>
<td>defines a parameter group, can be "instanciated" multiple times</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="#ValueType">ValueType</a></td>
<td>definition of an internal value type, contains a list of <a href="#Entry">Entry</a> tags</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="#Entry">Entry</a></td>
<td>describes a single state of a <a href="#ValueType">ValueType</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p class="subhead">Advanced topics:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#RelativeAddressing">Relative Parameter Addressing</a>
<li><a href="#Examples">Example</a>
</ul>
<hr noshade size="4">
<h2>XML Definitions Reference</h2>
<a name="Param"></a>
<h2>Param</h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
<tr>
<td class="md">
<div class="xmltag">
<<span class="tagname">Param</span> <span class="mandatory">id</span>="..." name="..."
label="..." shortName="..." type="..." numberOfStates="..." defaultValue="..."/>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
Describes a Plug-In parameter.
</p>
<p class="subhead">Attributes:</p>
<p>
<table border=0 cellspacing=6>
<tr>
<td width=150 valign=top>
id
</td>
<td>
corresponds to zero-based index in flat parameter list.<br>
can either be an integer constant (e.g. "100") or an expression which evaluates
to an integer (e.g. "offset + 1").
See <a href="#RelativeAddressing">Relative Parameter Addressing</a> for details.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
name
</td>
<td>
parameter name visible to the user (e.g. "Volume").
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
label
</td>
<td>
parameter label visible in generic editor or on remote control (e.g. "dB")
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
shortName
</td>
<td>
short parameter name, displayed on remote controls.<br>
can be a list of several names of different lengths, separated by colons
(e.g. "OSC Frequ., OSCFrq., Frq"). The host application selects best fitting string
for current remote displays.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
type
</td>
<td>
user defined (see <a href="#ValueType">ValueType</a>)
or predefined value type. Default type is a linear fader between 0.0 and 1.0<br>
<br>
<u>Predefined types</u>:<br>
- switch : parameter toggles between 0 and 1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
numberOfStates
</td>
<td>
defines how many states this parameter can have:<br>
<br>
<small>
state N = [N / numberOfStates, (N + 1) / numberOfStates[<br>
state N = (long)(value * numberOfStates)
</small>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
defaultValue
</td>
<td>
default value normalized between [0.0, 1.0]
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p class="subhead">Remarks:</p>
<p>
Most VST Plug-Ins already provide parameter attributes like name, label, etc. and support string conversion.
The XML description always <u>overwrites</u> Plug-In -provided attributes!
Everything not described in XML is taken from the Plug-In at runtime.
</p>
<hr noshade size="4">
<a name="Group"></a>
<h3>Group</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
<tr>
<td class="md">
<div class="xmltag">
<<span class="tagname">Group</span> <span class="mandatory">name</span>="..." template="..." values="..."/>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
Groups are used to create hierarchical parameter structures. A <Group> either contains <<a href="#Param">Param</a>> tags directly,
or is defined by a <a href="#Template">Template</a>.
</p>
<p class="subhead">Attributes:</p>
<p>
<table border=0 cellspacing=6>
<tr>
<td width=150 valign=top>
name
</td>
<td>
group name visible to the user (e.g. "Channel 1", "LFO Section",...)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
template
</td>
<td>
Name of <a href="#Template">template</a> defining this group (optional).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
values
</td>
<td>
List of arguments passed to the template
(see <a href="#RelativeAddressing">Relative Parameter Addressing</a> for details).<br>
<br>
Each arguments consists of a name and an integer value (e.g. "offset=100").
Multiple arguments are separated by semicolons, whitespaces are ignored
(e.g. "offset1=100; offset2=100").
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<hr noshade size="4">
<a name="Template"></a>
<h3>Template</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
<tr>
<td class="md">
<div class="xmltag">
<<span class="tagname">Template</span> <span class="mandatory">name</span>="..."/>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
Assume a Plug-In with 16 channels, each consisting of an identical set of parameters. You only have to
describe a channel once as a template and create 16 "instances" using the <Group> tag.
If each channel contains let's say 20 parameters, which appear continuously in the flat parameter list,
they can be addressed using an offset value instead of absolute indices
(see <a href="#RelativeAddressing">Relative Parameter Addressing</a> for details).
</p>
<p class="subhead">Attributes:</p>
<p>
<table border=0 cellspacing=6>
<tr>
<td width=150 valign=top>
name
</td>
<td>
internal template name, referred to by <a href="#Group">groups</a>.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<hr noshade size="4">
<a name="ValueType"></a>
<h3>ValueType</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
<tr>
<td class="md">
<div class="xmltag">
<<span class="tagname">ValueType</span> <span class="mandatory">name</span>="..." label="..."/>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
Defines an internal value type by a list of <<a href="#Entry">Entry</a>> tags.
</p>
<p class="subhead">Attributes:</p>
<p>
<table border=0 cellspacing=6>
<tr>
<td width=150 valign=top>
name
</td>
<td>
internal value type name, referred to by <a href="#Param">parameters</a>.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
label
</td>
<td>
value label (e.g. "dB")
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p class="subhead">Remarks:</p>
<p>
The <i>label</i> attribute is used as parameter label if the <i>label</i> field of a <<a href="#Param">Param</a>>
tag using this value type is empty.
</p>
<hr noshade size="4">
<a name="Entry"></a>
<h3>Entry</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
<tr>
<td class="md">
<div class="xmltag">
<<span class="tagname">Entry</span> <span class="mandatory">name</span>="..." value="..."/>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
Each entry in a <<a href="#ValueType">ValueType</a>> list provides a string representation for
a certain parameter state. A simple example would be a toggle parameter with two
states named "On" and "Off". The string "Off" should be displayed if the normalized parameter value is between
0.0 and 0.5 (exclusively), and "On" if it is >= 0.5 and <= 1.0.
</p>
<p class="subhead">Attributes:</p>
<p>
<table border=0 cellspacing=6>
<tr>
<td width=150 valign=top>
name
</td>
<td>
name of parameter state, displayed to the user (e.g. "On", "Off", "Sine", "Square",...)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
value
</td>
<td>
optional: describes the parameter range this state corresponds to,
using the mathematical range definition [a, b].<br>
<br>
Exclusive range:<br>
e.g. "[0.0,0.5[" -> if value >= 0.0 and < 0.5<br>
<br>
Inclusive range:<br>
e.g. "[0.5,1.0]" -> if value >= 0.5 and <= 1.0
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p class="subhead">Remarks:</p>
<p>
The value range is optional. If not specified, the limits of a state are calculated based on the total number of entries
in the value type:<br>
<br>
a = index / total<br>
b = (index + 1) / total;<br>
</p>
<hr noshade size="4">
<a name="RelativeAddressing"></a>
<h2>Relative Parameter Addressing</h2>
<p>
Relative parameter addressing is used to describe parameter IDs inside <a href="#Template">templates</a>.
Instead of assigning a parameter index directly, an expression - mostly consisting of a "base address" variable and
a constant offset value - can be used. The variable is passed to the template each time it is "instanciated" as a
<a href="#Group">group</a>.
</p>
<p class="subhead">Example:</p>
<p>
<table border=0>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<div align=center>Parameter list:</div>
<pre>
...
11: Volume CH1
...
21: Volume CH2
...
31: Volume CH3
...
</pre>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<div align=center>XML code:</div><br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1">
<tr>
<td class="md">
<pre>
<<b>Template</b> name="Channel">
<<b>Param</b> name="Volume" id="<font color=#009800>offset</font>+1"/>
</<b>Template</b>>
<<b>Group</b> name="CH 1" template="Channel" values="<font color=#009800>offset</font>=10"/>
<<b>Group</b> name="CH 2" template="Channel" values="<font color=#009800>offset</font>=20"/>
<<b>Group</b> name="CH 3" template="Channel" values="<font color=#009800>offset</font>=30"/>
</pre>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<hr noshade size="4">
<a name="Examples"></a>
<h2>Example</h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1">
<tr>
<td class="md">
<pre>
<!-- =========================================================== -->
<!-- XML definition of VST parameters for Dynamics Plug-In====== -->
<!-- Draft 0.1================================================== -->
<!-- Date: 14.11.2005=========================================== -->
<!-- =========================================================== -->
<VSTPluginProperties>
<VSTParametersStructure>
<!-- Create Global Params================================== -->
<Param name="Routing" shortName="Rout" id="13"/>
<!-- Create AutoGate Group================================= -->
<Group name="AutoGate">
<Param name="On" type="<font color=#009800>switch</font>" id="0"/>
<Param name="Thresh" shortName="ThrHo" label="dB" id="3"/>
<Param name="Attack" shortName="Att" label="ms" id="4"/>
<Param name="Hold" label="ms" id="5"/>
<Param name="Release" shortName="Rel" label="ms" id="6"/>
<Param name="Auto" id="7"/>
<Param name="Mode" id="9"/>
<Param name="Calib" id="10"/>
<Param name="LowFreq" shortName="LoFrq" label="Hz" id="11"/>
<Param name="HighFreq" shortName="HiFrq" label="Hz" id="12"/>
</Group>
<!-- Create Compressor Group======================================= -->
<Group name="Compressor">
<Param name="On" type="<font color=#009800>switch</font>" id="1"/>
<Param name="Thresh" shortName="ThrHo" label="dB" id="14"/>
<Param name="Ratio" id="15"/>
<Param name="Attack" shortName="Att" label="ms" id="16"/>
<Param name="Release" shortName="Rel" label="ms" id="17"/>
<Param name="MakeUp" shortName="MkUp" label="dB" id="18"/>
<Param name="Auto" id="19"/>
<Param name="RMS" id="20"/>
</Group>
<!-- Create Limiter Group======================================= -->
<Group name="Limiter">
<Param name="On" type="<font color=#009800>switch</font>" id="2"/>
<Param name="Thresh" shortName="ThrHo" label="dB" id="21"/>
<Param name="Release" shortName="Rel" label="ms" id="22"/>
<Param name="Auto" id="23"/>
</Group>
</VSTParametersStructure>
</VSTPluginProperties>
</pre>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
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<head>
<title>Empty</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name="Author" content="mario">
</head>
<body>
<br/>
<hr width="100%" size="2" align="left" />
<div align=left>
Copyright �2006 <a href="http://www.steinberg.net" target="_blank"><u>Steinberg Media Technologies</u></a>.
All Rights Reserved.
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