Custom controls

Hi! I'm trying to customize the controls for a Transform node via the Edit Controls dialogue but I think something's wrong with it. I looked at the manual and there's supposed to be a window asking me everytime I select an existing control if I want to Replace it, Hide it, or Change ID, but this window never appears.

So I can't hide any controls! I'm also having trouble changing the order of the custom controls I create, is there a way?

Also, what's the best way to add an expression that can be self-referenced but not edited? Like, I want a custom control to have an expression which will be referenced by another control, so I want the one with the expression to be hidden. Since that window doesn't appear, I can't hide any of the controls I create...

EDIT: btw, I'm referencing pages 1214-1215 in the DaVinci Resolve 16 manual (march 2020)

Sounds like the manual wasn't updated to reflect changes in the UI. It used to be possible to hide controls that way, but it no longer is. I had thought it was possible to do it using a text editor, but it appears that setting the IC_Visible tag doesn't work for User Controls the way it does in a Fuse.

You can rearrange your User Controls by copying the tool and pasting it into a text editor—I recommend a programmer's editor like Notepad++. Find the area headed UserControls = ordered() {, and you can cut-and-paste the controls into the order you wish. Just make sure that there's a comma after the bracket enclosing each tool. This image illustrates the danger:

Capture.JPG (71.4 KiB) Viewed 1694 times

I've circled the end bracket, with its comma. If you were to copy the Blend control above the Center, you'd need to add a comma where the arrow is pointing, or the tool wouldn't work. It doesn't matter whether or not there's a comma there for the very last control, but there definitely needs to be one for each prior control.

Once they've been rearranged the way you like, you can copy the code and paste it back into the Flow view to check it.

Anyway, from the sound of it, it seems like you might want to consider making a macro rather than modifying a tool. That would allow you to more flexibly customize the control panel, and you'd be able to hide expressions on the tools by simply not exposing them in the macro's controls.

There's a useful thread about building macros on We Suck Less:
https://www.steakunderwater.com/wesuckl ... 581#p11590

Thank you!

I've tried messing with the code in a notepad but had no luck so far... The tools simply didn't work when I pasted them back. Or I would delete some controls and they'd show up again... Mysterious.

But yeah, I've been trying a mix of macro and edit controls functionalities!

The problem is I have to create the custom tools exactly in the order I want them to be and not make a single mistake, or else I have to start over since there's no easy way to edit the controls I just created or to delete them.

Oh well

EDIT: PS: wow, that post on macros you linked me to is awesome!!! Will help me a lot, I can tell. Thanks a bunch