comparison README_OSC.md @ 2520:2fa6ee1df046

Reformat README.OSC as markdown and expand and update it a bit

+
+OSC control of Sonic Visualiser
+===============================
+
+Sonic Visualiser can be controlled remotely using the Open Sound
+Control protocol.  This facility requires Steve Harris's liblo (Lite
+OSC) library to have been available when Sonic Visualiser was built.
+
+Sonic Visualiser opens a single OSC port on startup, provided that OSC
+support is compiled in, the `--no-osc` command-line option has not
+been supplied, and permission to use the network was not refused by
+the user the first time Sonic Visualiser was run.
+
+The URL of the OSC port is printed to standard output on startup, or
+can be read from the About box on the Help menu.
+
+
+General outline
+---------------
+
+OSC commands accepted by Sonic Visualiser take the form:
+
+```
+<scheme>://<host>:<port>/<method> [<arg> ...]
+```
+
+For example, `osc.udp://localhost:12654/play 2.0` will play the
+current session from time 2.0 seconds.
+
+Methods that manipulate panes or layers act on the currently selected
+pane or layer.  Use the `setcurrent` method to choose the right target
+for subsequent such methods.
+
+
+OSC clients and invocation
+--------------------------
+
+If you need an OSC client, there is a small program in the svcore
+library at `svcore/data/osc/sv-osc-send.c` that sends an OSC method
+and arguments to a given URL -- this is not specific to SV but will
+work with it. To compile that program you should only have to run
+
+```
+$ gcc sv-osc-send.c -o sv-osc-send -llo
+```
+
+provided you have liblo installed.
+
+Then there is a small shell script in the same directory, called
+`sv-command`, that provides a basic command shell for Sonic
+Visualiser.  Start SV first, then `sv-command` should find its OSC
+port from the system process table when you start it.  For example:
+
+```
+$ PATH=.:$PATH ./sv-command      # Set PATH so it can find sv-osc-send
+/open snare_hex.wav
+/add spectrogram
+/set layer Colour Sunset
+/play
+/quit
+$
+```
+
+You can also start Sonic Visualiser directly in "OSC script" mode by
+supplying the `--osc-script <filename>` command-line option. The
+argument to this should be the path of a text file containing a series
+of OSC commands (like those in the example above). These will be
+executed in succession as quickly as possible. A line that contains
+only a number, instead of a command, will cause SV to pause for that
+number of seconds before going on with the script. Lines beginning
+with `#` are ignored.
+
+If you supply "-" as the filename argument to the `--osc-script`
+option, SV will instead read OSC commands from standard input. So you
+can do something like
+
+```
+$ rlwrap sonic-visualiser --osc-script - /path/to/filename.wav
+```
+
+to obtain a rather limited Sonic Visualiser OSC read-eval loop.
+
+
+Method reference
+----------------
+
+### File management
+
+```
+/open <filename>
+```
+
+Open a new file (of type determined by Sonic Visualiser).  If it is an
+audio file, use it to replace the existing main audio file (if any).
+
+```
+/openadditional <filename> 
+```
+
+Open a new file.  If it is an audio file, open it in a new pane in
+addition to the existing audio file (if any).
+
+```
+/recent <n>
+/last
+```
+
+Open the `<n>`th most recent file from the Recent Files menu, counting
+from 1 for the most recent file opened.  "last" is a synonym for
+"recent 1".
+
+```
+/save <filename>
+```
+
+Save the current session in `<filename>` as an SV session file.
+
+This action will try to fail rather than overwrite an existing file,
+but you probably shouldn't rely on that.
+
+```
+/export <filename>
+```
+
+Export the main audio file to `<filename>` in floating-point extended
+WAV format. If a region is selected, export only that region.
+
+This action will try to fail rather than overwrite an existing
+file, but you probably shouldn't rely on that.
+
+```
+/exportlayer <filename>
+```
+
+Export the current layer to `<filename>`. See `/setcurrent` for how to
+change which layer is current. The format to use is determined from
+the file extension of `<filename>`:
+
+ * `xml`, `svl` - Sonic Visualiser layer file formats
+ * `mid`, `midi` - MIDI (note layers only)
+ * `ttl`, `n3` - Audio Features Ontology RDF/Turtle (only some layer types)
+ * `csv` - Comma-separated text
+ * anything else - Tab-separated text
+
+If a region is currently selected, and the file type is CSV,
+tab-separated, or MIDI, export only that region. Otherwise export
+the whole layer.
+
+This action will try to fail rather than overwrite an existing
+file, but you probably shouldn't rely on that.
+
+```
+/exportimage <filename>
+```
+
+Export a PNG image of the contents of the current pane to
+`<filename>`. See `/setcurrent` for how to change which pane is
+current. If a region is currently selected, export only that
+region. Otherwise export the whole pane. Currently the export will
+fail if the area to be exported is more than 32767 pixels wide.
+
+To export to an image of a fixed width regardless of model duration,
+consider using `/zoom fit` to zoom the model contents to fit the
+window width, then optionally zooming in or out a known number of
+steps, before exporting.
+
+This action will try to fail rather than overwrite an existing file,
+but you probably shouldn't rely on that.
+
+```
+/exportsvg <filename>
+```
+
+Export a SVG vector graphic of the contents of the current pane to
+`<filename>`.  See `/setcurrent` for how to change which pane is
+current.  If a region is currently selected, export only that
+region. Otherwise export the whole pane.
+
+This action will try to fail rather than overwrite an existing file,
+but you probably shouldn't rely on that.
+
+
+### Playback control
+
+```
+/jump <t>
+/jump end
+/jump selection
+```
+
+Jump the playback position to time `<t>` (in seconds); or to the end
+of the file; or to the start of the current selection.
+
+```
+/play
+/play <t>
+/play selection
+```
+
+Start playback.  If a time `<t>` is given, start from that time in
+seconds.  If the word `selection` is given instead, play the current
+selection.
+
+```
+/stop
+```
+
+Stop playback.
+
+```
+/loop on
+/loop off
+```
+
+Switch playback loop mode on or off.
+
+
+### Region selection
+
+```
+/select <t0> <t1>
+/select all
+/select none
+```
+
+Select the region from times `<t0>` to `<t1>` in seconds; or select
+the whole file; or clear the selection.  If there is a layer selected
+that can be used as a snap guide for the selection, then the selection
+will be snapped to it (in the same manner as when making selections
+interactively).
+
+```
+/addselect <t0> <t1>
+```
+
+Make an additional selection (leaving any existing selection in place)
+from times `<t0>` to `<t1>` in seconds.
+
+
+### Panes, layers, and the window
+
+```
+/add <layertype>
+/add <layertype> <channel>
+```
+
+Add a new pane containing a layer of the given type, based on the
+given channel of the main audio file (numbered from 0). If no
+`<channel>` is specified, mix all channels.
+
+Useful values of `<layertype>` are:
+
+```
+  waveform
+  spectrogram
+  melodicrange
+  peakfrequency
+  spectrum
+  timeruler
+```
+
+The following `<layertype>`s are also accepted:
+
+```
+  timeinstants
+  timevalues
+  notes
+  text
+  colour3dplot
+```
+
+But they are less useful, as they create empty layers which there is
+currently no OSC support for editing.
+
+```
+/setcurrent <pane>
+/setcurrent <pane> <layer>
+```
+
+Make the given `<pane>` (a number counting from 1 for the topmost
+pane) and optionally the given `<layer>` on that pane (a number
+counting from 1 for the "frontmost" layer) the current pane and layer
+for subsequent pane and layer operations.
+
+```
+/delete pane
+/delete layer
+```
+
+Delete the current pane or layer.
+
+```
+/set <control> <value>
+/set pane <control> <value>
+/set layer <control> <value>
+```
+
+Set a main window control; a property of the current pane; or a
+property of the current layer.
+
+Accepted main window controls are:
+
+ * `gain` - whose values are linear multipliers (i.e. 1.0 == unity gain).
+ * `speed` - takes a value of a percentage change in playback speed,
+so 100 is the default playback speed, 200 sets double the default
+speed, and 50 sets half the default.
+ * `overlays` - controls the verbosity level of the text overlays on
+each pane, from 0 (everything off) to 2 (everything on).
+ * `zoomwheels` - controls whether the zoom wheels are displayed (1)
+or not (0).
+ * `propertyboxes` - controls whether the property boxes are displayed
+(1) or not (0).
+
+For pane and layer properties, the control name is the displayed name
+of the given property (though you may use "-" or "_" in place of any
+spaces in the name if it's easier for you).  The value may be the
+displayed value or underlying integer for the property.
+
+Some examples:
+
+```
+    /set pane Global-Scroll off
+    /set pane Follow_Playback Scroll
+    /set layer Colour Blue
+    /set layer Scale-Units dB
+    /set layer Frequency-Scale Log
+```
+
+Note that while you can use "-" or "_" in place of spaces in the
+property name, you cannot currently do so in the value text.  If
+this is a problem for you, you might be able to set the value
+as an integer instead (all layer properties can be set this way).
+
+```
+/zoom <level>
+/zoom in
+/zoom out
+/zoom fit
+/zoom default
+```
+
+Zoom to a given zoom `<level>`, given in audio sample frames per
+pixel; or zoom in or out one step from the current level; or zoom so
+that the whole model duration fits in the current view width; or
+return to the default zoom level.  This method acts on the current
+pane (it only affects all panes if set to Global Zoom, which is the
+default).
+
+```
+/zoomvertical <min> <max>
+/zoomvertical in
+/zoomvertical out
+/zoomvertical default
+```
+
+Change the vertical zoom and origin so as to show the value range from
+`<min>` to `<max>` in the vertical scale; or zoom in or out
+vertically; or return to the default vertical zoom level.  The effect
+of this method is heavily dependent on the current layer.
+
+```
+/transform <name>
+```
+
+Transform the current main audio file using the named transform.
+Transforms are named according to the scheme
+
+```
+    type:source:plugin:output
+```
+
+For example, the percussion onset detector from the Vamp example
+plugin set can be invoked via
+
+```
+    /transform vamp:vamp-example-plugins:percussiononsets:onsets
+```
+
+If the output is omitted, the first is used.  Note that you need to
+use the plugin and output name, not description: in this case
+`percussiononsets` rather than "Simple Percussion Onset Detector".
+
+There is not yet any way to run a transform via OSC on any but the
+main audio file, nor with any but its default parameters, processing
+block/step size, or channel selection.
+
+```
+/resize <w> <h>
+```
+
+Resize the main window to width `<w>` and height `<h>` (if the window
+system permits).
+
+
+### Housekeeping
+
+```
+/undo
+/redo
+```
+
+Undo the last editing operation; redo the last undone operation.  Note
+that most of the classic editing operations (copy and paste etc) are
+not controllable via OSC, but undo may still be useful because Sonic
+Visualiser considers actions such as adding a pane to be undoable
+editing operations as well.
+
+```
+/quit
+```
+
+Exit the program abruptly without saving.
+
+
+### Missing things
+
+Handy features still missing from the OSC interface include:
+
+ * the ability to run transforms with non-default parameters or
+   starting from different source models
+ * the ability to add layers to a pane (without transform)
+ * the ability to add panes (and layers) showing any but the
+   main model
+ * the ability to set play parameters on a layer/model and show/hide it
+ * the ability to import layers
+ * a working pane resize
+ * the ability to rename a layer
+
+