Virtual key groups

Can anyone point me in the direction of where I can find out how the 'virtual key groups' operate in the saturn series key input units?

For example, in the 2 gang key input there are 6 virtual key groups (2 of which change to 'join key groups' when enabled in the environment tab)

Thanks,
Matt

 

In the 'bocks' tab, you can see all the allowed groups in a key unit.
By default, button 1 directs any action only to group 1, button 2 to group 2, etc. but all C-Bus key units allow free association between buttons and groups. You can, for example, associate button 1 with group 3 of you want. You can also associate any button with multiple groups. There is a table of tick-boxes to allow any association.

The name 'Virtual' is really appropriate for all groups, because no groups are actually 'hard-wired' to any buttons. The default associations make the system easier to understand and get working the first time.

 

My question is very similar to this, when I look in the toolkit at a 4 gang saturn I see 4 virtual keys, so what are they used for? what triggers them (button, logic, etc)

 

For Saturn series switches the main purpose of the virtual keys is for storing additional Scenes that can be remotely triggered by other units. With the prevalence of other units now available in C-Bus that can store Scenes, the need for this is fairly minimal.

The concept of virtual keys is of more use in Neo switches, where it allows configuration of up to 8 individual "keys" that can be activated by Infrared remote controls.

The Join Mode feature allows alternate functions to be assigned to keys when the Join Group(s) turn on. In a 2-key Saturn, for example, turning on the Join Mode group address will cause the physical buttons to be mapped to the 2 Join Keys instead of the regular 2 keys. The typical use case of this is for rooms with removable partitions, where the physical keys are required to control only the loads in one small area when the partition is closed, but the keys then automatically control both areas simultaneously when the partition is removed.

 

Cheers Newman, I kind of thought that was going to be the case but could not find any clear description in the clipsal help files or manuals for wired units.

 

Hi all,

I know this is an old thread, but it occured to me (and subsdequently tested) that virtual keys could also be used to control multiple groups On-Off. Admittedly you are limited to the available virtual keys on a particular switch, as to the number of similtaneous groups you want to control. Nevertheless, through Virtual key assignment and appropriate block configuration, this is possible, to a limited extent.

I'm sure someone else has probably commented about this in another thread, if not, could any of the forum elders comment on the viability of using such a method.

Thanks in advance.

 

This is basically what happens with the movable partition example I mentioned earlier. When Join Mode is activated the physical keys become internally mapped to virtual keys that control the additional extra groups. Exactly which groups are controlled under this condition is determined by the block mapping table.