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The variation buttons appear in Note Editing Windows for patterns and in the Wave Track. They consist ofa double row of 32 numbered buttons, with a larger button on each end, as shown in the following figure.
Click the selection bar to activate or deactivate all enabled variations.
The Variation Choices button is displayed only for pattern parts, not wave tracks.
The smaller buttons are used to specify and display the state of each variation, as shown in the following table.
Variation state | Button appearance | Effect | How to set |
Inactive | Up | Notes are hidden and are not heard in audition. | Click active button. |
Active | Down | Notes are shown and are heard in audition; notes can be edited. | Click inactive button; double-click to make all others inactive, or to restore previous state. |
Disabled | Dark background | Variation is not used in playback, but can be auditioned if active. | Right-click and select Disable on shortcut menu. This disables all active variations. |
Enabled | Light background | Variation is used in playback, but not heard in audition unless active. | Right-click and select Enable on shortcut menu. This enables all active variations. |
Empty | White number | Variation contains no notes, but can play as a silent variation if enabled. | Delete all notes. |
Not empty | Black number | Variation contains notes. | Add notes. |
It is important to understand the difference between the active and enabled states.
Notes are displayed and can be edited. Active variations are heard when the pattern is auditioned in Pattern Editor. This state has no significance outside Pattern Editor.
The variation can play when the style or pattern track is played, either within DirectMusic Producer or in another application. If a pattern has eight variations with notes, but only five of those are enabled, one of the five enabled variations is played each time the pattern plays. This state has no significance for note editing or for auditioning within Pattern Editor.
Because every part must have at least one variation, it is impossible to disable all buttons.
Note You can disable a variation in the Variation Choices window by not identifying any chord types that can play the variation. If no chord types are enabled for a variation, the variation button turns dark.
The following figure shows four possible settings for variations, none of which are active.
When you create a new pattern or add a new instrument part to a pattern, all the variations are active and enabled by default, as shown in the following figure.
This default setting simplifies the process of inserting notes as you begin creating a part, by ensuring that the notes are initially placed in all 32 variations. You can double-click any individual variation button to isolate the variation and make all other variations inactive. Click the selection bar at the left of the variation buttons to make all variations active. Click it again to make all variations inactive.
You can activate variations in any combination. All the notes from all active variations are displayed. When you edit an existing note, changes apply only to the active variations to which that note belongs. If you add a note, it is added to all active variations. For more information, see Working with Multiple Variations.