NXT Buttons Block

This block outputs a "true" signal through a data wire when one of the NXT buttons is activated. You will have to select the button and the action that will send the "true" signal.

1. The icon at the bottom of the block indicates which NXT button has been selected.
2. The block’s data hub will automatically open when the block is placed on the sequence beam. You will need to drag a data wire from the NXT Buttons block to another block that can accept a logic (true/false) signal. (See the Data Hub section below for more information.)

Configuring the NXT Buttons Block

1. Select which NXT button will send out a "true" signal when activated.
2. Choose Bumped if you want the NXT button to be activated after a quick press and release. Choose Pressed if you want the button to be activated at the instant the button is pressed in. Choose Released if you want the button to be activated at the instant the button is released.
3. The feedback box will display a "1" when the chosen NXT button is bumped, pressed or released (according to the configuration you’ve set).

Configuring the NXT Buttons block’s Data Hub

You can control the NXT Buttons block dynamically by connecting data wires (from other blocks’ data hubs) to the NXT Buttons block’s data hub.

Open a block’s data hub by clicking the tab at the lower left edge of the block after it has been placed on the work area.

Data wires carrying input information to a block are connected to the plugs on the left side of its data hub. Data wires carrying output information are connected to the plugs on the right side.

[A] Input plug
[B] Output plug
[C] Number data wire (yellow)
[D] Logic data wire (green)
[E] Text data wire (orange)
[F] Broken data wire (gray)

Passing data from the input plug to the output plug

If an input plug has a corresponding output plug (see A above), the input data will pass through from the input plug to the output plug without being changed. In this case, you can only use the output plug if the input plug is connected to an input data wire; connecting an output data wire to such an output plug without a connected input data wire will cause the output data wire to be "broken" (and colored gray).

Data wires carry specific types of data

Each data wire carries a specific type of data between blocks. For example, if a data wire is dragged from a logic plug on a block’s data hub, it can only be connected to a logic plug on another block’s data hub. The chart below shows what kind of data each plug can accept or send out.

Data wire colors

Data wires are identified with specific colors: wires carrying number data are colored yellow, wires carrying logic data are colored green, and wires carrying text data are colored orange.

"Broken" data wires

If you try to connect a data wire to a plug of the wrong data type, the data wire will be broken (and colored gray). You will not be able to download your program if a data wire is broken.

If you click a broken wire you can read why it is broken in the small help window in the lower right corner of the work area.

Data must be within the possible range of the plug

If an input data wire transmits a value outside the possible range of the plug it is connected to, the block will either ignore the value or change it to a value within its range. For plugs that allow just a few input values (example: just 0, 1, or 2), the plug will ignore the input if a value arrives outside its range.

For plugs that accept larger input ranges (example: 0 – 100), the plug will force any input outside its range to fit. For example, if a Move block’s Power plug receives an input value of 150, the block will change the input value to 100 (i.e., a number within the Power plug’s range).

This chart shows the different characteristics of the plugs on the NXT Buttons block’s data hub:

	Plug	Data Type	Possible Range	What the Values Mean	This Plug is Ignored When...
	Button	Number	1 - 3	1 = Right 2 = Left 3 = Select
	Action	Number	0 - 2	0 = Pressed 1 = Released 2 = Bumped
	Yes / No	Logic	True/False	Result of comparison