How to Customize the Look of Airwindows GUI Plugins

Updated

You can customize the appearance of Airwindows GUI plugins by editing the AirwindowsGlobals.txt file and replacing the GreyWatercolor.jpg image that ship inside AirwindowsGlobals.zip. The plugin reads both files from an Airwindows folder in your Documents folder, so the customization is a matter of putting the folder in the right place and editing plain text and an image — no recompiling required.

What you need

  • AirwindowsGlobals.zip (158k), which contains a text file, a folder structure, and a JPEG image.
  • A GUI version of an Airwindows plugin that uses the AirwindowsGlobals system.
  • A text editor for AirwindowsGlobals.txt and an image editor for GreyWatercolor.jpg.

Steps

1. Download and unpack AirwindowsGlobals.zip

The archive holds the text file, the folder structure, and the JPEG. Inside it there is an extra folder that tells you to put the Airwindows folder into your Documents folder.

2. Place the Airwindows folder in Documents

On the Mac, JUCE looks in the Documents folder, so the expected paths are:

  • Documents/Airwindows/AirwindowsGlobals.txt
  • Documents/Airwindows/GreyWatercolor.jpg (beside the text file)

If JUCE looks for documents files in a different place on your system, put the folder there instead. The Mac behavior is the documented default.

3. Edit AirwindowsGlobals.txt

Open AirwindowsGlobals.txt in a text editor. AirwindowsGlobals now includes a bunch of comments telling you how to do things, which makes it easier to use. Follow those comments to change the look.

4. Replace GreyWatercolor.jpg

Swap in your own image in place of GreyWatercolor.jpg to change the texture. The grey watercolor texture is the one Chris favors, but the point of the system is to let you make the Airwindows GUI plugins your own in any way you want.

5. Verify

Load a GUI Airwindows plugin that uses AirwindowsGlobals and confirm the new look appears. If nothing changes, re-check that the Airwindows folder is in the location JUCE actually reads on your system, and that the text file and JPEG sit together at the paths above.

Common snags

  • Wrong folder location. The Mac default is Documents/Airwindows/, but JUCE may look elsewhere on other systems. Put the folder where JUCE expects documents files.
  • File and image separated. GreyWatercolor.jpg must sit beside AirwindowsGlobals.txt, not in a subfolder.
  • Installing the Audio Unit from the GUI package. If you mean to use the GUI version, don't install the Audio Unit from it — the installer for the GUI version doesn't want to install if a plugin of that name is already present.

Related notes from the same source

  • For the ConsoleX3 shown in the video, the release is at https://github.com/airwindows/ConsoleX3/releases; as of posting it is 0.0.7, and GitHub has not been able to set it as a "latest release."
  • Standalone, no-GUI versions (such as for Raspberry Pi) are available as ConsoleX3NoGUI.zip (882k) standalone (AU, VST2).
  • For a surround-capable ConsoleX3 you have to use the Audio Unit ConsoleX3Mono plugin, because that is the one that runs any number of channels. It does not do surround panning, so you handle that separately.
  • ConsoleX3 has too many controls to go into Consolidated, so it does not go in Consolidated; the standalone plugins are in all the existing standalone plugin collections.
  • All of this is free and open source under the MIT license, brought to you by Chris's Patreon.