Information about parameter automation.
On this page
Overview
The term "automation" can mean two things in AAX:
-
A host feature allowing users to record and play back plug-in parameter changes. In this documentation, this data is referred to as automation data, and it is stored in automation lanes in the host.
-
A system for arbitrating between changes from different parameter editors such as the plug-in GUI, control surfaces, and pre-recorded automation values. In this documentation, this is referred to as the event system for parameters.
Here are some examples of how these two different meanings are used in AAX:
For more information about the parameter event system, see the
Parameter updates pages, and particularly the information on the
Token protocol
Plug-in elements used for automation
Plug-in elements used for events and automation
Defining automatable parameters
In order for a parameter to be available for automation recording, editing, and playback, the plug-in must meet the following criteria:
- It must provide
true
when the host calls GetParameterIsAutomatable() for the parameter. In nearly all plug-ins, this means providing true
to the automatable
parameter in the parameter's AAX_CParameter constructor.
- It must expose the parameter to the parameter event system (see below.)
In order for a parameter to be exposed to the event system, the plug-in must meet the following criteria:
All plug-in parameters must be registered with the host's event system in order for editors, including the plug-in's GUI, to work properly. Therefore a plug-in should always define a complete
'PgTL'
(default) page table including all of its parameters, even the parameters that are not "automatable".
Advanced automation topics