# New selected section visibility \[Solved\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Ideas / Feature requests\ **Tags:** controller-firmware\ **Created:** [May 8, 2021, 9:39am UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668 "2021-05-08T09:39:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Richard](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/richard/32/383_2.png) [@Richard](https://forum.electra.one/u/Richard)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 9:39am UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/1 "2021-05-08T09:39:02Z")
Hi there, Now the active section is highlighted with more brightness/color, while the 2 remaining are dimmed. I would like to see the screen with **no dimmed** sections (since it sometimes not so much obvious) with 2 markers instead: 2 red (or other color) dots blinking, or 2 slim lines, on the left since it seems there is some space here. What i would **not** like is a whole rectangle showing the active section. I’m more for a discrete thing. ![IMG_6905](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/uploads/electraone/original/1X/d7eed8ca8f9e0f2286b4bc8fa74997d5931a58af.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![thetechnobear](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/thetechnobear/32/134_2.png) [@thetechnobear](https://forum.electra.one/u/thetechnobear)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 11:39am UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/2 "2021-05-08T11:39:16Z")
sometimes I find the dimmed sections , a bit difficult to read - I think perhaps depends on ambient light as sometimes it’s fine?! Hard to think of an alternative… I think it’s has to be really obvious which section is active at a glance , as it would be very frustrating turning encoders to suddenly realize you’d change the wrong parameter as you were in the wrong section. … so I don’t think it should be subtle at all. in this regard current solution is really good, I think **personally** your solution is too subtle for my tastes. (actually, I didnt even notice your indicators when I first read your post!) If I was to go the route of using indicators, Id put them on the other side, for a UX/UI standpoint - they should be on the same side as the selection button, so the user associates the hardware buttons and the indicators. perhaps 3 side bars, on the left which are grey , and the active section is white. but honestly, I still think thats too subtle… essentially the user would be subconciously having to look for the indicators, before they ever touched an encoder , to ‘check’ which section was active. thats why I think doing something with control (like dimming as done currently) is better. Perhaps we could post some mock ups ( images) we think might work - see if @martin and others like them ?! ---
**Author:** ![thetechnobear](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/thetechnobear/32/134_2.png) [@thetechnobear](https://forum.electra.one/u/thetechnobear)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 12:01pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/3 "2021-05-08T12:01:56Z")
I have a similar UI requirement on the Percussa SSP (eurorack module) the SSP, has 4 encoders and I used buttons (EN+/-) to move between the active parameters. this is how I solved it for my VSTs on the SSP. ![Screenshot 2021-05-08 at 13.43.10](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/uploads/electraone/original/1X/7d06be375f71c7ba58d28b1f9435fe6ae94668d2.png) ![Screenshot 2021-05-08 at 13.43.48](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/uploads/electraone/original/1X/6ac6e6396a652442d9f194f5799b14fcdabc0fb8.png) what I wanted was for the inactive parameters to still be readable, however, I want it to be very obvious which parameters were active. i did this in 3 ways. - monochrome vs colour, monochrome is associated with being disabled in many UIs. also its still very readable. - reduce details. I get rid of the ‘exact’ values for disabled controls, again to reduce clutter, more focused view on the active parameters - colour coding rows. each row has a colour coding, the bar of colour at the bottom is next to the encoders, which reinforces that the encoders (sit below screen) are connected to this particular section. (not so important here, as its in a grid format, but for some vsts the active section of the UI might be somewhere else on the screen) * * * to be clear, this is not a suggestion for the E1… all hardware and applications have different requirements, and also some displays lend themselves more to particular approaches. perhaps the colour vs monochrome might work nicely on the E1. the reduced details, I think is a matter of taste, I like it… though it doesn’t work great in all scenarios. in particular above you can see ‘mode’ is an option parameter, and these do not really mean much without a label. (though you do get used to them) - it works much better on ‘relative’ values. anyway, I thought Id share just as an idea, which might inspire other ideas. ---
**Author:** ![markus.schloesser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@markus.schloesser](https://forum.electra.one/u/markus.schloesser)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:26am UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/4 "2021-05-09T02:26:23Z")
Monochrome is a great idea! ---
**Author:** ![martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/martin/32/145_2.png) [@martin](https://forum.electra.one/u/martin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/5 "2021-05-09T05:16:37Z")
I used indicator bars on the side of the section at the very beginnings of the project. see at at: [![](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/uploads/electraone/original/2X/4/4a5f641c8912c6859331539d2c8db70872d3851e.jpeg "Making Electra One prototypes") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzdsQWgiDZg) It was changed to dimmed sections later. Personally, I found it better but I get your point. There is one thing I do not like on dimming. If one decided to use knobs only for one section and the rest of touch only, the dim then just makes it hard to use. I am open to suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Richard](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/richard/32/383_2.png) [@Richard](https://forum.electra.one/u/Richard)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 7:41am UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/6 "2021-05-09T07:41:33Z")
That bar was nice actually. Now i can see where the small space, on right side of the screen, come from. ---
**Author:** ![nuipb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4af34b/32.png) [@nuipb](https://forum.electra.one/u/nuipb)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 12:02pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/7 "2021-05-09T12:02:41Z")
Not so sure, if one has a monochrome preset it might make little visual difference… > [@markus.schloesser](#): > > Monochrome is a great idea ---
**Author:** ![nuipb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4af34b/32.png) [@nuipb](https://forum.electra.one/u/nuipb)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 12:04pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/8 "2021-05-09T12:04:38Z")
> [@martin](#): > > I am open to suggestions. And how about a “clear” background of the whole active area ? as opposed to the current overall black one ? Clear but not in conflict with the available colours… ---
**Author:** ![markus.schloesser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@markus.schloesser](https://forum.electra.one/u/markus.schloesser)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/9 "2021-05-09T14:19:01Z")
IIRC the current color choices so not have that option? ---
**Author:** ![Richard](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/richard/32/383_2.png) [@Richard](https://forum.electra.one/u/Richard)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/10 "2021-05-09T14:26:39Z")
> [@martin](#): > > If one decided to use knobs only for one section and the rest of touch only, the dim then just makes it hard to use Do you mean that in such a case, AS AN OPTION we could deactivate the knob on 2 sections out of 3, so for example the bottom section would be control by the knobs, and the 2 others would be touch screen only? If yes, that would be amazing , as an option again. I looked again at your previous indicator bars on left/right, and i think it was really good as it was. ---
**Author:** ![martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/martin/32/145_2.png) [@martin](https://forum.electra.one/u/martin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/11 "2021-06-14T17:06:30Z")
As of 2.0.5b an alternative way of indicating the active section is available. To enable it: - visit the [Electra One App](https://beta.electra.one/sandbox/) - choose the Config option - copy and paste the JSON provided below - upload it to the controller ```auto { "version":1, "uiFeatures":{ "useBarsForControlSets":true } } ``` setting the option to `false` switches back to the standard version with the control dimming… ![IMG_3939](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/uploads/electraone/original/1X/cad6bfdcef7e6b1877e2d57b6d510f605cf49667.png) ---
**Author:** ![Richard](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/richard/32/383_2.png) [@Richard](https://forum.electra.one/u/Richard)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/12 "2021-06-14T17:26:16Z")
Hello Thanx a lot. Should the lines appears after i hit upload? ---
**Author:** ![martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/martin/32/145_2.png) [@martin](https://forum.electra.one/u/martin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/13 "2021-06-14T17:30:35Z")
Yup, but you have to have 2.0.5b firmware loaded. ---
**Author:** ![Richard](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/richard/32/383_2.png) [@Richard](https://forum.electra.one/u/Richard)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/14 "2021-06-14T17:32:41Z")
yep, that’s what i did first. When clicking upload, nothing happens, i tried to reboot E1 too, but no luck. on chrome ---
**Author:** ![martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/martin/32/145_2.png) [@martin](https://forum.electra.one/u/martin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/15 "2021-06-14T17:35:06Z")
Hmm, and you picked the Config option? I just tried that a few times and I can switch between the indicator versions no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Richard](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/richard/32/383_2.png) [@Richard](https://forum.electra.one/u/Richard)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/16 "2021-06-14T17:39:19Z")
yes using config option. EDIT= ok, it’s because i was not logged in. Perfect, thanx a lot ---
**Author:** ![martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/martin/32/145_2.png) [@martin](https://forum.electra.one/u/martin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/17 "2021-06-14T17:40:03Z")
ah, good to know 🙂 Does this work for you? ---
**Author:** ![Richard](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/richard/32/383_2.png) [@Richard](https://forum.electra.one/u/Richard)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/18 "2021-06-14T17:42:38Z")
Yes i find this solution effective. It’s a pleasure to see the screen all lit! ---
**Author:** ![Hotchkiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4af34b/32.png) [@Hotchkiss](https://forum.electra.one/u/Hotchkiss)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 7:20am UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/19 "2021-06-15T07:20:46Z")
> [@nuipb](#): > > > [@martin](#): > > > > I am open to suggestions. > > And how about a “clear” background of the whole active area ? as opposed to the current overall black one ? Clear but not in conflict with the available colours… I would be very interested to try this suggestion, personally I find the dim even too discrete in different situations, especially when the viewing angle is not so good and also when the distribution of the controls is not logical with the sections. ---
**Author:** ![martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.electra.one/martin/32/145_2.png) [@martin](https://forum.electra.one/u/martin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 10:45am UTC](https://forum.electra.one/t/new-selected-section-visibility-solved/668/20 "2021-06-18T10:45:20Z")
I tried that in the past and the issue was that the background harmed the contrast of the active section. I can see that there is an appetite for this, will try to include it in the next beta release so that you (users) can try that out. The idea is that there would be three options: dim, bars on the side, and solid background color.