Data Indices

The HID parser assigns a data index that uniquely identifies each usage described in a top-level collection's button capability arrays and value capability arrays. Conceptually, a data index is a zero-based array index that a user-mode application or kernel-mode driver can use to access individual control data in a report. The parser assigns a unique set of data indices to each report type supported by each top-level collection.

Capability structures cross-reference usages and data indices in the following way:

  • Each capability structure that describes a usage has its NotRange.Usage member set to identify the usage and its NotRange.DataIndex member set to the usage's corresponding data index.

  • Each capability structure that describes a usage range has its Range.UsageMin and Range.UsageMax members set to identify the usage range and its Range.DataIndexMin and Range.DataIndexMax members set to identify the usage range's corresponding data index range. (Data index range specifies a consecutive sequence of data indices; and the number of data indices in a data index range is equal to the number of usages in a corresponding usage range.)

For more information about how to use data indices, see Extracting and Setting Control Data by Data Indices.