Hi MetaGrid Pro family,
Przemek here. Today I’d like to introduce two features coming in MetaGrid Pro 2: Shared Objects and Modules.
Both address something that becomes more noticeable as your setup grows: the same controls appearing across several grids, with each copy needing its own maintenance.
Shared Objects: one control, multiple places
Imagine a useful button that you’ve placed on five grids. You improve its macro — and now you need to make the same change five times.
With a Shared Object, those placements refer to one control in your library. Editing its actions, settings or content updates that shared definition. There’s no special “master” placement you need to hunt down.
Its button state is shared too. Turn a shared toggle on in one grid, and every linked placement controlling the same target shows it as on.
Its position and size can be different on each grid. Shared Objects will also support named appearances: perhaps a compact, icon-only appearance for one layout and a larger appearance with text for another. Editing an appearance updates the placements using it, while the underlying actions and state remain shared.
If one placement needs to go its own way, Make Independent lets you detach it while keeping its configuration and chosen appearance.
Modules: reuse an entire arrangement
A Module brings several controls together into a reusable composition.
You could build a transport panel, a set of editing shortcuts, or a group of frequently used controls, then place that Module on different grids.
Editing the Module’s layout or its controls updates the source used by every placement. Moving the Module on one grid changes only its position there.
The buttons inside a Module share their states across its placements too. Switch a button on in one placement, and that same button shows as on wherever the Module is used to control the same target. Each button keeps its own state; turning one on doesn’t turn the whole Module on.
Modules can also contain Shared Objects. For example, a shared Piano Roll Editor button could appear inside your editing Module and separately on your main grid. Both placements would use the same macro and share the button’s state, while each could use an appearance suited to its layout.
Separate target computers keep separate state, and updating the other presentations doesn’t run the button’s macro again.
Module Slots: controls that follow your workflow
A Module Slot reserves an area of your grid for displaying a Module, with multiple Module assignments available in that same space.
Module Slots will support Dynamic Focus Tracking, allowing the displayed Module to change based on:
- An incoming window title.
- A MIDI message.
- A keyboard shortcut.
- A snapshot state.
That means one area of your grid could show recording controls, editing tools or mixing controls as you move through your workflow.
For example, opening the Piano Roll Editor could bring up a Module with your note-editing tools. A MIDI message or keyboard shortcut could switch that area to another panel. A snapshot state could select the Module you need for a particular setup.
The Module’s internal arrangement stays intact. Resizing its slot changes the visible area rather than stretching or rearranging its controls.
Build useful controls and arrangements once, reuse them across your grids, and let the right panel appear when you need it.
And yes… a Shared Object inside a Module inside another Module. Let that sink in for a moment. 
Very MetaGrid Pro.
— Przemek
