as an example.
Every LED control has
two states: OFF is
represented by state 0, and
ON is represented by state
1. Each state has choices
for image and color. We
originally chose red LEDs to
represent the digital data,
but the color and LED
image itself (there are
several choices) can be
altered by means of the
dropdown menu. For
example, you could choose
a green color for the OFF
state and a blue color for
the ON state to replace the
red colors. You can even
choose a different LED style
entirely. The point is it’s
easy to make changes to
the controls using the right-click dropdown menu for it.
Once again, each
control has its own set of
properties (as illustrated in
Figure 8) for the horizontal
meter just below the string
of LEDs. Here, we’ve
highlighted the color
choices for the meter
background. Clicking on the
color choice will change the
meter background as in
Figure 9 where the blue
background was changed to
orange. It’s that simple!
Back to the
Object Editor
While the dropdown
menus are great for
adjusting most control
properties, the more complete way is to use the Object
Editor. As before, to bring up the Object Editor right-click
on the top Y Axis Adj button (for this example); all the
properties are displayed as in Figure 10. The Object Editor
displays everything about the control including elements
that the dropdown menus don’t address, like the Text Tip.
Before we entered the Text Tip (the arrow is pointing at it
in Figure 10), there was none. Now,
if you mouse over the Y-Axis Adj
button, the Text Tip will appear. Notice that the Event
Code that was described earlier is also shown.
The Object Editor is quite an important MakerPlot
tool for naming, positioning, sizing, and configuring each
control object. It’s so extensive, in fact, that space does
not permit going into it more deeply. There are two videos
in the Object Editor on the MakerPlot website that explain
June 2014 53
Figure 8. Meter dropdown menu.
Figure 9. Meter color change
to orange.
Figure 10. Object Editor For Y axis adj.
Figure 7. LED 7 dropdown menu.
