the plot X and Y percentages to 80 and 80, which means
80% in both the X and Y directions for the plot area
(Figure 4). Now, there’s room on the right to place meters
and other controls. Before we do this, let’s see how to
change the background color from a
dark red maroon to gold (Figure 5).
Using the Object Editor, click on the
Media/Color tab and select oBack,
which stands for Object Background.
Next, click on the gold.jpg from the
drop-down list and drag it to the
rectangular area as shown. This will
change the color of the Object Area
background to gold. The choices of
colors and background jpgs run the
gamut, so you can select whatever
suits your fancy.
Adding Meters
So far, so good. Now, let’s add
two horizontal meters.
Referring to Figure 6, click on the
Object Editor toolbar icon and click
on the Controls 2 tab. At the top,
Next, click on the Duplicate button in the Object
Editor as this will bring up another instance of a
horizontal meter.
You can reposition both meters
separately using the keyboard arrow
keys. You can also make changes to the
meter’s background colors by using the
Object Editor for that meter; we’ve
chosen blue for the top meter and
green for the bottom one to distinguish
them from one another.
Finally, you can add minimum and
maximum alarm settings (the little red
marks under the meter scale), as well.
When the analog signals that the
meters are linked to go above or below
these settings, an audio alarm will
sound. Plus, you can change the type
of audio alarm to know which meter is
responding.
We’re purposely leaving out a lot
of the placement, positioning, and
other details to avoid boring you, but if
you want to know exactly how all of
this is done, then view the videos at
www.makerplot.com under Maker
Videos ; Adding Meters.
56 May 2014
Figure 6. Adding two horizontal meters.
Figure 7. Adding Y axis adj buttons.