AMX AXCESS CONTROL SYSTEM PROGRAM Instruction Manual page 25

The output change keywords are described in the table below:
Output Change Keywords
ON
OFF
TOTAL_OFF
TO
MIN_TO
PULSE
Axcess Programming Language
The ON keyword turns on a channel or variable.
If the channel or variable is already on, its status will remain unchanged. Here
are two examples:
ON [1,2] (* Turns on channel 2 of device 1 *)
ON [TEMP] (* Sets the value of the variable
TEMP to 1 *)
A variable is considered ON if it contains a non-zero number; in this case, the
value is 1. If a variable contains the value Ø, it is considered OFF.
The OFF keyword turns off a channel or variable.
If the channel or variable is already off, its status will remain unchanged. Here
are two examples:
OFF [1,2] (* Turns off channel 2 of device 1 *)
OFF [TEMP] (* Sets the value of the variable
TEMP to 0 *)
The TOTAL_OFF keyword acts in the same manner as OFF, except that it also
turns off the status of a channel or variable that is in a mutually exclusive set.
For more information on mutually exclusive sets, refer to Mutually Exclusive on
page 20.
The TO keyword is used to activate a channel or variable for as long as the cor-
responding device-channel of its PUSH statement is activated.
When the device-channel referenced by the PUSH statement changes from off
to on, the TO activates the device-channel or variable in the brackets following
it. When the device-channel of its PUSH is released, the TO statement stops
activating its device- channel or variable. For this reason, TO must be placed
underneath a PUSH statement.
The TO keyword has several conditions:
• It must be used only below a PUSH statement.
• It cannot be used with the WAIT keyword. For detailed information, refer to
Multiple Waits in the Waits and Timer Keywords section.
• It cannot be placed in the DEFINE_START section.
The channel or variable will act under the rules set by DEFINE_LATCHING,
DEFINE_MUTUALLY_EXCLUSIVE, and DEFINE_TOGGLING. For more infor-
mation, refer to the Channel Characteristics section. You will learn about these
definitions later, when you add more to your program.
This keyword operates like the TO keyword, except that the specified channel
or variable stays on for a minimum amount of time, even if the corresponding
device-channel is released.
The time duration is determined by SET_PULSE_TIME. MIN_TO follows the
same conditions of operation as the TO keyword.
The PULSE keyword turns on a channel or variable for a certain amount of
time. Once the time elapses, the channel or variable is turned off.
As an example, refer back to the discussion on DEFINE_START, in the Defin-
ing Start section. The PULSE keyword was used to activate a lighting preset, a
drapes change, and a screen change. The duration of this PULSE is one half-
second, but it can be changed if necessary with the SET_PULSE_TIME key-
word. The PULSE time is measured in tenths of seconds, and the Axcess
default is one half-second. The PULSE time remains the same value until it is
changed in the program. For example:
SET_PULSE_TIME(12)
This sets the current duration of future PULSEs to 1.2 seconds. It is always a
good practice to return pulse time to the default setting of .5 seconds, as shown
in the following example:
SET_PULSE_TIME(5)
Using Input and Output
17