Brand:

• BSS

Models:

• AVX Architect

Overview:

This article will introduce you to the AVX Architect software with a brief description of the workspace and menu options.  Additional videos and articles will cover many of these options in greater detail.

To see a video of this article, click HERE.

AVX Architect:

AVX Architect is a program for defining and configuring Soundweb OMNI projects and creating control panels for AVX Control.

​Dashboard:

After launching AVX Architect you will see a splash screen and then be presented the Dashboard. The Dashboard is where you will view, create, import, and export Projects.​
 

The button in the upper left corner is the Hamburger Menu.  
 

This is where you can access Help content, the End User License Agreement, Credits for licensed software, Import a Project, and Version information.  There is also a list of other AVX apps that can be launched as well as a list of recent projects you have opened.  Clicking the X in the upper left will close this window and take you back to the Dashboard.

• ​​​​Hamburger Men​​​​​u
  • Help
    • Keyboard Shortcuts
    • About
  • EULA
  • Credits
  • Import (Dashboard menu only)
  • Version information
  • APP menu – List of APPs that can be launched.
    • ​Manager – Launch AVX Manager.
  • Recent Projects – List of your most recent Projects.
  • AVX Home (Configure menu only) – Takes you back to the Dashboard​​​

The Create New Project button will bring up a new dialog window to Name the Project and provide a description. Pressing Create will open the Project for editing.  Pressing Cancel will take you back to the Dashboard without creating a Project.

• ​​​Ne​w Project
  • Name – Provide a name for the Project.
  • Description – Provide a description of the project (optional).
  • Opens project in Configure after new Project creation.

​
The ​​Import From Computer button will bring up a dialog window to select an AVX Architect export file to be selected from a folder on this PC.

The Import From Device Network will bring up a new dialog that will display all the project files found on the network allowing the user to select which one they wish to open.​​​​​​

Search allows you to search by Project Name.

Filter changes the sort order of Projects on the Dashboard.

The Pin icon allows searching by Pinned Projects.

• Search
  Filter​
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Oldest to Newest
  • A to Z
  • Z to A​
• Pin

Clicking on an existing Project will open it in CONFIGURE for editing.  

Hovering over a project reveals the Ellipses menu button.  Clicking on this menu shows the following options:

• Pin the Project on the Dashboard.
• Edit the Project (this opens the Project in Configure just the same as left clicking on the project).
• Export the Project to a file for backup and portability.
• Delete the Project from the Dashboard. ​​

​​​
​Project Ellipses me​​​nu:

• Pin - Pins this Project to the top of the Dashboard sorted list
• Edit - Opens this Project for editing in the Configure app.
• Export - Exports the Project as a _ file type
• Delete - Deletes this Project

CONFIGURE:

When a Project is created or edited, the CONFIGURE app will be opened and your project loaded.  This is where your system hardware and configuration are defined.  This app is divided into 4 areas: Top Pane, Left Pane, Right Pane, and Workspace.A screenshot of a computer    Description automatically generated.

​Top Pa​​ne:

View Selection – Changes the Left and Right Panes and what is displayed on the Workspace / Canvas.

• ​SYSTEM –​​​ This is where the physical characteristics of the system (Hardware, topology and interconnects) are defined.
• VIRTUAL – This is where the signal flow and processing throughout a system is defined. 
• UI DESIGN – This is where the Graphical User Interface panels that are loaded to a device running AVX Control are defined.​​

In the Top Pane is the Hamburger Menu with the same options as in Dashboard.  In the center of the Top Pane is the View selection.

Clicking on the view label will open that window in the Workspace.  Clicking the small icon to the right of the label will open the view in a new window.

This allows multiple views of different types open and visible on your desktop at the same time.

SYSTEM view is where you define the physical characteristics of the system (Hardware, topology and interconnects).

VIRTUAL view is where you define the signal flow and processing throughout a system.

UI DESIGN view is where you define the Graphical User Interface panels that are loaded to a device running AVX Control.

​

This button in the upper right corner of the app enables or disables AVX Architect's access to the network.  When enabled, devices in the Project that match devices discovered on the defined network will indicate Matched with an amber bar at the top of the device in the System view.

The button to the right is the Deploy button.  This button is only available if Networking is Enabled.  This will open a dialog window showing all the discovered and matched devices.  Here you can update firmware, load devices that do not have this Project file or synchronize devices that do have the same Project file by either sending/receiving parameter values to/from the device(s).

​​​​Enable/Disable Networking –  ​​Discover device(s) on network. Must be Enabled to Deploy.
​​​Deploy & Connect - Check firmware, load or synchronize the Project to the System. Loads DSP configuration and firmware if required.​​​

The bar below the View selection is the Edit Bar.  Here are the controls for Undo/Redo with history, align selected objects or change their z-order.  The Zoom Resolution selection box changes the view of the Workspace from 25% to 1000%.  Holding CTRL + Mouse Wheel will scroll the zoom.  Zoom to Fit will adjust the Workspace view to show only the selected items.

​​​Edit Bar (System view)

• Undo
  • Last action
  • History
• Redo
  • Last action
  • History
• Align Tools
  • Left
  • Top
  • Right
  • Bottom
• Z-Order
  • Bring to front
  • Send to back
• Import Legacy Device
• Resource Meters
  • CPU
  • Dante
  • DSP
• Zoom Resolution – 25%-1000%
• Zoom to Fit – Fit selection to Workspace/Canvas

CRTL+Mouse Wheel when the cursor is over the Top, Left or Right Panes changes the Zoom Resolution of the application separately from the workspace.

The VIRTUAL view Edit Bar has the same features as SYSTEM View with two additional buttons that open dialogs for editing Presets and Links.  For more on Linking and Presets see our dedicated articles on these topics.

​​Edit Bar (Virtual view)

• ​​Undo
  • Last action
  • History
• Redo
  • Last action
  • History
• Align Tools
  • Left
  • Top
  • Right
  • Bottom
• Z-Order
  • Bring to front
  • Send to back
• Resource Meters
  • CPU
  • Dante
  • DSP
• Presets –
• Linking –
• Zoom Resolution – 25%-1000%
• Zoom to Fit – Fit selection to Workspace/Canvas​​

The UI DESIGN view Edit Bar has the same features as SYSTEM View with the following additional buttons:

• Buttons for making Sections within the page
  
• Button to place the panel into Operate for testing functionality
  
• Button to Preview the look of the page
  
• Button to Show/Hide the rulers
  
• Button to Show/Hide the grid
  

​Edit Bar (Design view)

• Undo
  • Last action
  • History
• Redo
  • Last action
  • History
• Make Section –
• Make Fluid Section –
• Align Tools
  • Left
  • Top
  • Right
  • Bottom
  • Center
• Vertical Align
• Horizontal Align
• Z-Order
  • Bring Forward
  • Send Backward
  • Bring to front
  • Send to back
• Resource Meters
  • CPU
  • Dante
  • DSP
• Operate
• Preview
• Hide/Show Ruler
• Hide/Show Grid lines
• Zoom Resolution – 25%-1000%
• Zoom to Fit – Fit selection to Workspace/Canvas​​

Right Pane (All views):

In all views, the Right Pane displays the properties of the selected object.  The information displayed will depend on the object selected.

In the GENERAL section​ of the PROPERTIES window, each object is given a default name based on the order it was placed on the workspace.  This name will appear above the object in the workspace.  The name can be changed to reflect the function within the design for enhanced clarity.

The name and type displayed above the object in the workspace can also be hidden by unchecking these “Show” checkboxes.

“Coordinates”, is showing where in the workspace this object is, and “Size” is the object box size in the workspace.  These can also be changed by dragging the object around in the workspace or grabbing the handles to resize.

“Allocation” identifies the DSP in the system where this processing object resides. With multiple DSPs, you can choose the DSP where this processing will occur.  

Left Pane (SYSTEM view)​​​​:

In SYSTEM view, the Left Pane displays the the System Library; a list of configurable and illustrative devices that can be added to the Project.

Configurable is a list of HARMAN device that can be programmed or configured using AVX Architect.
Illustrative is a list of objects that can be added to the System view to show a more complete view of the physical topology and interconnects of the system.

​​​​​​​​​System Library –​​ list of Configurable and Illustrative devices that can be added to the System Workspace.

The Hamburger menu collapses/expands the Left Pane and hides or shows the Search Bar.
 

Hamburger Menu​:

• Expand/Collapse
• Show/Hide Search
• Search Bar​

The Configurable category represents an ever-growing list of HARMAN products supported in AVX Architect. ​
 

​Configurable

• BSS
  • ​Soundweb Omni
    • ​512p
    • ​256p
  • Soundweb​ Contrio
    • EC-4B
    • EC-4BV
    • EC-8BV
    • EC-v
• AMX
  • Muse
  • Controller
• AVX Control
  • Android
  • iOS
  • Windows
• HARMAN
  • KT/KW
  • KT600
  • KT600V
  • KT800V
  • KW100
  • KW600
  • KW600V
  • KW800V​
    ​​​​​​​​

The Illustrative category represents generic devices that can be added to the SYSTEM view to provide better clarity with connections to equipment or systems that are not supported within​​ AVX Architect.
 

​​Illustrative:

• Generic Input Source
• Generic Output Destination
• Network Switch
• Annotation
• Wire Tag​​​

Left Pa​ne (VIRTUAL view):

COMPONENT LIST:

This list also has a Hamburger menu for managing the view and Search Bar settings for this list within the Left Pane.​
 

Component List – ​​This is a list of configurable devices added to the System view.

​Hamburger Menu

• ​Expand/Collapse 
• ​​Show/Hide Search 

​
VIRTUAL LIBRARY:

The VIRTUAL LIBRARY lists all the audio and logic processing objects that can be added to configurable devices.  Consult the current AVX Architect release notes for a growing list of available processing objects.

This list also has a Hamburger menu for managing the view and Search Bar settings for this list within the Left Pane.​

Hamburger Menu

• Expand/Collapse ​
• Show/Hide Search

The Default Host selects the DSP to allocate an object to when adding an object to the Workspace.  This can be changed at the object level in the Properties Pane.

Default Host​ - Chooses which DSP the processing objects will reside in by default.​

Search Bar

• ​ Audio​
  • ​​Conferencing
  • ​AEC
  • ​VoIP
  • Crossovers/Filters
    • Crossover
    • High Pass Filter
    • Low Pass Filter
  • Dante
    • ​Dante Input/Rx
    • ​Dante Output/Tx
  • Delay
  • Dynamics
    • ​Auto Gain Control
    • ​Compressor
    • ​Ducker
    • ​Expander
    • ​Gate
    • Limiter
  • Equalization
    • ​Graphic EQ
    • ​Parametric EQ
  • Matrices
    • ​Matrix
    • ​Selector
  • Mixers/Gain
    • ​Automixer Gain Sharing
    • ​Gain
    • ​Mixer
    • ​Summer
  • Tools
    • Meter
    • Signal Generator
• Dynamic Meters
• Logic
  • Begin
    • ​Logic Locate
    • ​Logic Source
    • ​Pulse
  • Bindable
    • ​Logic Binary
    • ​Logic Continuous
    • ​Logic Multistate
  • Conversion
    • Discrete Converter
    • Percentage Converter
  • End
    • ​Ethernet Trigger
    • ​Logic End
    • ​Preset Trigger
  • Gate
    • ​AND
    • ​NAND
    • ​NOR
    • ​NOT
    • ​OR
    • ​XOR
  • Processing
    • ​Counter Trigger
    • ​Counter/Shifter
    • ​Logic Delay
    • ​Logic Timed Delay
    • ​Single Pulse Trigger
    • ​​Truth Table
• RTA Meters - Real Time Analyzer to display amplitude across multiple frequency bands.​
• Annotation - For adding notes to the layout. 
• Wire Tag​ - Adds a transmitter and receiver pair, used to move signals to another part of the workspace.​

Left Pane (UI DESIGN mode):

The first time you open UI DESIGN you will see a screen prompting you to add a new interface.  Selecting Add will allow you to select the type of interface you want to program; HControl Panel, HARMAN Keypad, Contrio controller or Import a Keypad.

This list also has a Hamburger menu for managing the view and Search Bar settings for this list within the Left Pane.

User Interfaces

• Add
  • Add Control Panel
  • Add Keypad
  • Add Contrio
  • Add Page to Selection
  • Import Keypad
• Hamburger​ Menu
  • Collapse/Expand List
  • Show/Hide Search

Once at least one user interface has been created in the project, the Left Pane will display options for selecting and configuring interfaces.

The USER INTERFACES section of the Left Pane displays Control Panels with their Pages, Contrio controller mappings and Hornet Keypad mappings for this Project.  

• ​​​​User Interfaces - A list of User Interfaces created in this Project.

The UI LIBRARY is a selection of tools used to create Graphical User Interfaces for devices running HControl.

COMMON UI has standard control panel objects such as labels, indicators, faders and buttons. ​

​UI Library

• Common UI
  • Button
  • Fader
  • Rectangle
  • Oval
  • Label
  • LED
  • Meter
  • Rotary
  • Image
  • Toggle
  • Region

FORM CONTROL is a selection of more advanced controls like Checkbox, Drop Down and Radio.​

​Form Control

• Input Field
• Radio
• Checkbox
• Drop Down
• Spinner

GRAPH CONTROLS can be used for displaying EQ , Crossovers and Limiters.
 

Graph Controls

• EQ Graph
• Crossover
• Compressor​

The PARAMETERS TREE is a list of all the parameters from within the project.   These can be dragged onto a panel object to bind the parameter to a control.
 

• ​Parameters - ​​​​Varies depending on object selected.