Bc2000 (for the BCF2000 & BCR2000)

Having finally connected up all my MIDI gear, mostly via a MidiSport 8x8, I thought I would try BC Manager with my BCR2000.  Got them talking via MIDI, BCR in Mode S4 as suggested by the BC Manual.

It seemed like a good idea to start with a preset so I can see how the codes and assignments work, particularly as I have a Yamaha AN200 and see that there is an INI file in the BC Manager/Models folder.  From the BCM manual, I think I should be using the "Insert SysEx parameter dialog box" to load the INI file, but I can't find that dialog.

Could anyone provide me with an idiot's guide like:
BC Manager > View > B-Controls > File > ???????
or otherwise tell me how to load/save a Model INI file?

Many thanks

Bill

OK, I think I might have answered my own question.

BC Manager > View > B-Controls > View > Presets (or click 'P' icon) > View > Layout or Encoders.  Double-click on one of the Encoders to open dialog (eg BCR2000: Preset0: Encoder1), click Custom Output tab, then SYX button > Insert Sysex Parameter dialog.  The Models (INI files) appear in a drop-down list.  Select the model, then, from the next drop-down list, the parameter you want to load into the Encoder/button at that location.  Eg AN200 > AEG Attack.

So, if I understand it correctly, the INI files do not define a layout for an instrument, but are just a list of instrument parameters which can be arranged to create a preset.

Still not sure how you would save an INI file.  Are they just created with a text editor, or is there a way to output them from BC Manager?

--- In bc2000@yahoogroups.com, "twobeelandscape" <bill@...> wrote:
> So, if I understand it correctly, the INI files do not define a layout for an instrument, but are just a list of instrument parameters which can be arranged to create a preset.

Correct!

> Still not sure how you would save an INI file.  Are they just created with a text editor, or is there a way to output them from BC Manager?

No, BC Manager does not generate ini files.
You have to edit them with an external (Notepad-like) editor.
In BC Manager's "Insert SysEx parameter" dialog box, the "Edit definition file" button opens the file in the application associated with the "ini" extension.

Hope this helps,
Mark.

Thanks Mark

I have to say I found BC Manager initially pretty confusing, with its multiple windows and 96 page helpfile :)

Slowly getting into a workflow and I hope to provide some simple tutorial-type outlines back to the group: "If you want to do this, do this..."  

Does anyone know if this has been done before, perhaps in the Group's Messages, but not saved into the Files section?  If anyone recalls any such messages, post links and I'll try to pull a few together into a PDF.

Having proved its worth, I have now donated to BC Manager - it provides access to the full potential of the BCR and effectively makes the hardware worth the purchase!  More questions are sure to follow...

Thanks, Mark, for all your hard - and largely unpaid - work. Much appreciated. Thanks also to the Group for continuing support :)

Bill


--- In bc2000@yahoogroups.com, "Mark v.d. Berg" <markwinvdb@...> wrote:

> Hope this helps,
> Mark.
>

--- In bc2000@yahoogroups.com, "twobeelandscape" <bill@...> wrote:
> I have to say I found BC Manager initially pretty confusing, with its multiple windows and 96 page helpfile :)

Funny: the manual for BC Manager 1.0 was much smaller (maybe 30 pages), and at the time people complained that it was too SMALL!
This illustrates the catch-22 concerning software documentation: manuals themselves ADD to the complexity of the package they're trying to simplify. (Hence the practice of additional "Quick Start" manuals, but of course these further complicate matters...)

> Slowly getting into a workflow and I hope to provide some simple tutorial-type outlines back to the group: "If you want to do this, do this..."
> Does anyone know if this has been done before, perhaps in the Group's Messages, but not saved into the Files section?  If anyone recalls any such messages, post links and I'll try to pull a few together into a PDF.

Someone has done 2 videos:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/bc2000/files/Applications/BC%20Manager/

You might also want to take a look at the FAQ section of the BC Manager manual.
In particular the final part of my answer to question 45: this explains my intended workflow of BC Manager. I've been thinking about converting this into a tutorial (possibly even on Youtube), but haven't got round to it.
But if you can come up with some tutorials, I'm sure that will be very helpful to the still expanding BCF/R2000 community.
One problem with tutorials is of course that new users have wildly different backgrounds, expertise and goals; for instance, it matters a lot whether someone has prior knowledge of MIDI.
 
> Having proved its worth, I have now donated to BC Manager

Yes, I've received your donation, so thank you very much!

Best wishes,
Mark.