UPDATE: This module is no longer in beta and is part of the library. Release thread here.
UnDuLaR Rack Scroller
I have not tested it thoroughly, and tried it only on Windows. Feel free to report issues either in this thread or on github. Corrections to the documentation are also welcome.
See the post above for downloads.
Disregard the output at the bottom, it’s just for debug.
Here’s a copy-paste of the documentation for it:
Scroll your rack via CV! UnDuLaR adjusts to the size of your rack without any setup. You can also automate cable tension and opacity.
This is particularly useful for live performance with MIDI gear. While you can bind every control, I recommend using only one movement input. Build a rack that is no wider (or no taller) than your screen at your preferred zoom level, bind to MIDI either a trig input pair or a scroll input, then lock the unused axis with its button. You do not want the mental overhead of navigating two dimensions while performing.
- UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT: Take trigs, and jump around the rack in the corresponding direction, wrapping around when it reaches the end.
The default vertical jump is 3U - the height of exactly one module.
The default horizontal jump is 32hp - the width of exactly one module, so long as the module in question happens to be exactly 32hp. - Step X, Step Y: Adjust the distance to jump on each trigger.
- Scroll X, Scroll Y: Take 0V~10V, and smoothly scrolls your rack horizontally or vertically. You might want to invert the input if it feels more natural for you to operate your MIDI controller in the reverse direction.
- Padding: Overshoots the scrolling a little by the specified amount of pixels at 100% zoom.
- Zoom: Takes 0V~10V, and zooms your rack in and out from 25% to 400%. Zooming in and out in VCV Rack is neither fast nor reliable enough to ever attempt during live performance. Expect broken graphics, CPU usage spikes, and audio crackles. This is due to VCV’s graphics engine, there is nothing I can do to improve the performance.
- Alpha (Opacity): Takes 0V~10V, and scrolls your rack horizontally, adapting to its current dimensions.
- Tnsn. (Tension): Takes 0V~10V, and scrolls your rack horizontally, adapting to its current dimensions.
- Lock X/Lock Y: By pressing those dangerous buttons, UnDuLaR fully takes over scrolling on that axis, preventing scrolling from the scrollbars, scrollwheels, arrow keys, middle click, or from dragging cables at the edges of the screen. It will be a little bit jittery, I can’t help it. Those locks will only work if the three corresponding cable inputs for that axis are unplugged. If you find yourself unable to scroll back to UnDuLaR, use this menu option temporarily to re-enable scrolling:
Engine > Sample Rate > Pause.
Known issue: zooming in and out after locking the rack won’t bring you where you expect, and might allow you to get out of bounds.
Known solution: don’t do that.
You can only use a single instance of UnDuLaR in your patch, as multiple instances would just fight each other for control. Additional instances past the first one do nothing.
Make sure you triple check the module works to your expectations every single time you’re about to take it on the stage, especially after a Rack update! I’ll hear no complaints about botched performances, the module is provided as-is, with zero guarantee it will work with your setup, and zero guarantee that it will continue to work in the future. The only guarantee I offer is that zooming will cause you no end of trouble.
Thanks to Frank Buss’ Shaker for demonstrating it’s possible to do this stuff from a module!
Protip for cool kids only: Never hesitate to attempt all sorts of imbecilic party tricks you will regret immediately, such as connecting an oscillator to the controls, forcing you to use Engine > Sample Rate > Pause before the onset of the seizure.
And if the use case isn’t clear, this is the use case:
This module was spurred by the difficulty to use a pen tablet with VCV. Kind of an esoteric need, and I hope it can help with other unusual setups.
There’s a lot of “wouldn’t it be neat if you could” kinda scenarios with this module, but I will not implement them if they’re suggested, I’ll implement them if there’s a clear use case for an artist out there. I don’t want to put in a lot of polish just in case in a very niche module few people will use.