A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool?

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rbowser
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 19:15:18 (permalink)
John



Keni is saying he wants it to be a one-hand operation. He doesn't want to use both the computer keyboard and mouse at the same time. He's wanting it to work in a way it doesn't. So. - RB
He can with X1 by using the split tool.



Right - But he was talking about the Smart Tool and avoiding the clicks to go to the tool palette to get a different tool.  He's just wanting it to work in a way it doesn't.

Keni, glad to hear you're still getting work done with 8.5.  Stick with that so you don't end up in a padded room over X1.  Hang in there.

RB

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#31
Keni
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 19:19:24 (permalink)
Guys... You're still missing it!

I have tried "your way" and it's not that it's "hard to do", but it is NOT as accurate for me...

...and I don't want a return to the way things we're... I want what's new AND what's old... I want to decide which items work better/worse for me...

If this is another rant, it's becuase everyone is always trying to tell me how to do it... I know how... I want alternatives!!!

So please... understand that while I appreciate all your attempts to instruct me, It's not instruction I was posting for... The forum is here for many reasons... Sometimes to let others know what we like and don't like... and often it must be said over an over... I began this post simply to implore the staff to ADD the abilities to the current draw (or Smart) tool... Not change it back to what it was...

My apology if I don't always make this clear... I didn't think I was going to get people telling me how to do this work... I wouldn't be complaining if I hadn't already banged my head into it and was stating my observations as I do...

Sometimes I do miss things (often), but so far no one has told me how to do what I want to do... Which I always could and now can't ...Period... I can get the job done but I must work in other ways... So my solution was that I've been forced to use an extra click (and mouse movement! That's another important element)...

We are all part of the reason(s) Cakewalk makes the changes and additions it does and if we don't speak up as much as we feel it we're doing a dis-service to everyone...

I'm not a casual user... I can already work quite rapidly in X1 and get my work done... But when I run into something I can't get around (not YOUR way) and that makes for extra work for me.... It's annoying...

So again, I'm sorry for abusing your time. I will endeavor to make my posts more explicit when I'm looking for help or stating observations...

Thanks...
Keni


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#32
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 19:23:15 (permalink)
rbowser


John



Keni is saying he wants it to be a one-hand operation. He doesn't want to use both the computer keyboard and mouse at the same time. He's wanting it to work in a way it doesn't. So. - RB
He can with X1 by using the split tool.



Right - But he was talking about the Smart Tool and avoiding the clicks to go to the tool palette to get a different tool.  He's just wanting it to work in a way it doesn't.

Keni, glad to hear you're still getting work done with 8.5.  Stick with that so you don't end up in a padded room over X1.  Hang in there.

RB


Thanks RB...

...but I guess you didn't know that I already AM in a padded room! (foam tho ;-))

8.5 still rocks... Yet I look forward to many changes and additions to the new "X" variety until it becomes as robust as the old Sonar was... Right now it's a pretty face (argueable) with a lot of needs before it's as good as 8.5..........

When I think about it I realize that for me the Draw Tool (8.5) is simply as smart as I need... I barely recall ever changing tools to get done what I was working on...

Keni

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#33
FastBikerBoy
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 19:56:32 (permalink)
Ok so I think I'm getting it now.......... maybe. You want to make sure that the now time is in the right position before making the split?

In that case left click where you think you want the split and then when you are happy you're in the right position. Right click and select split from the context menu.

If you don't want to do that select the 'select' tool, left click and when you're happy press 'S'.

If you don't want to do that you'll have to use two clicks with the smart tool (one to position, one to select) and then press 'S', unless you use the 'Alt' key which you've said you don't want to do.

If you don't want to do that. In the TV view go to Options->Click Behaviour->Double Click-> and then select 'Nothing' for the clip types you want to be able to split. Now you can click a track in the lower half  and then press 'S' on the keyboard to split.

And if you don't want to do any of those you'll have to go back to 8.5...................

Edited: for technique accuracy
post edited by FastBikerBoy - 2011/01/28 20:03:17
#34
UnderTow
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 21:02:02 (permalink)
Keni


So how about this idea? For me, The smart tool is essentially the same as how I've always worked with the draw tool and it's set of customizations (up thru 8.5.3)... Right now, the smart tool ONLY locates when clicked in the upper half of the clip and only selects in the bottom... this forces an extra click all day long for me...
Yes. I found this weird behaviour(/design) after using X1 for literally minutes. It is a very strange idea. I really don't understand how this got passed the developers and the beta testers. When selecting a clip with the Smart Tool, the Now Time should move to the place you clicked. (Or as you call it, locate).
An option to alter the behavior of smart tool so that clicking in the upper half BOTH locates AND selects... and as with the draw tool in 8.5, if you click-drag within a clip, it highlights/selects just as smart tool does now....
It shouldn't be an option IMO. I see no reason why clicking on the bottom half of a clip should not always move the Now Time.

Changing this behaviour was part of my long suggestions list. Here are the suggestions I mad that are specific to the Editing Tools:

Editing Tools:
==============

- Selected and Move Tool should just be one Tool with one button to select it. The Select Tool is nearly pointless. Just call both tools together the Grab Tool and have it select clip sections when on the upper half of a track (Just like the Select Tool does now).
- Remove Timing Tool. It doesn't work on MIDI clips. It is unlikely to be used very often on Audio Clips. (Seriously, how often does one need to Time-Stretch Audio?) And you can already easily Time-Stretch by pressing CTRL while using the Smart Tool. You can move AudioSnap Transients with other tools. In other words, this tool does nothing really that other tools don't already do. Often better.
- Split Tool should get it's own button.

So to resume we have the following Tools left:

SMART | GRAB | TRIM | SPLIT |  DRAW | ERASE/MUTE


- Some functionality is accessible through a modifier key when using the Smart Tool (Like ALT for Split and CTRL for Time-Stretch). Why not make those available for more tools? It hardly
adds any confusion or ambiguity because the user specifically has to press those modifier keys for them to be active:
   
    - Grab Tool:     ALT+CLick to Split; CTRL+Click on edge to Time Stretch.
    - Trim Tool:    ALT+CLick to Split.   
   
Smart Tool:
-----------

- When clicking on the bottom half of a Clip to select it, the Now Time should move to the point where you click. This would mean you can then straight away press S to Split at that position (for instance).

- The way the Smart Tool trims Audio Clips with a fade is confusing. I would much prefer that the clip was trimmed regardless of where you select the edge. The means less thinking when trimming clips. The Fade can always be adjusted by dragging the little Fade triangle. (How often does one need to trim a clip but leave the end point of the fade? It happens but IMO bot as often as the existense of this feature suggests. This paticular feature makes the GUI less intuitive and more cluttered feeling IMO).

- When you hover your mouse over the edge of a clip, the little edit triangles in the top corners of a Clip appear on _both_ sides of the clip. This is confusing and unnecessary clutter. Only the little triangle on the side you are about to trim should show up. This is how clear visual feedback should work. Don't give meaningless feedback that is NOT telling you what the tool is really doing. The same goes for the little square at the bottom corner of the clip. It should only sho up there if you are about to trim the Fade and keep the Fade ending at the same point.

To Resume:     - When triming left edge of clip, show left hand blue bar and left little triange only.
        - When triming right edge of clip, show right hand blue bar and rightlittle triange only.
        - When Fade trimming the left edge of clip, show left hand blue bar and left hand little square only.
        - When Fade trimming the right edge of clip, show right hand blue bar and right hand little square only.

- There is a tine little horizontal blue line off of the vertical blue line when you hover your mouse on the edge of the clip to show the dilenation between Trimming and Fade Trimming. Add a similar red (or blue) line on the upper half to show the dileneation between Trimming and Fading.

Clear and unambigous visual feedback at all times!

Trim Tool:
----------

- The Trim Tool icon in the Control Bar and Tool HUD is not clear. What does a little spanner mean? Make it clear what it does.

- The little red bar at the end of an Audio Clip Fade and the little Fade Edit Triangle are very confusing. With the Smart Tool this only shows up when you have the mouse placed in such a way as to change the Fade. Having it the triangle and the red bar when using the Trim Tool suggest that the Fade is about the be changed. Especially if you are hovering your mouse over the little triangle.

- See Smart Tool for similar issues about ambigous visual feedback.

Clear and unambigous visual feedback at all times!


Split Tool:
-----------
- Allow lasso behaviour when not clicking on a clip. That would make splitting multiple Clips that are at the same point in time on different tracks (or layers) much quicker.
- Have a modifier like ALT+Click to split Clips on all Tracks. This would make it very easy to split a song into sections.
- Have an alternate mode which does multiple-splitting. Drag your mouse along a clip and it is repeatedly split according to the Snap To Grid settings.
- Allow lasso behaviour in alternate mode and let ALT-Click while dragging split all selected clips according the Snap To Grid settings.

Draw Tool:
----------
- Call this the Envelope or Automation Tool as that is really what it does. (Unless you plan on adding a pen tool function to edit waveforms).
- See Presonus S1 for an amazing implementation of a similar Tool. (And drool over the Transform Tool). ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSgBy6n9le4 )


Tool HUD:
---------
- Lack of Tooltip hints makes it unintuitive.
- Make the List reflect the suggestions I make above. (See Above)
UnderTow

post edited by UnderTow - 2011/01/28 21:21:09
#35
Keni
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 21:03:35 (permalink)
FastBikerBoy


Ok so I think I'm getting it now.......... maybe. You want to make sure that the now time is in the right position before making the split?

In that case left click where you think you want the split and then when you are happy you're in the right position. Right click and select split from the context menu.

If you don't want to do that select the 'select' tool, left click and when you're happy press 'S'.

If you don't want to do that you'll have to use two clicks with the smart tool (one to position, one to select) and then press 'S', unless you use the 'Alt' key which you've said you don't want to do.

If you don't want to do that. In the TV view go to Options->Click Behaviour->Double Click-> and then select 'Nothing' for the clip types you want to be able to split. Now you can click a track in the lower half  and then press 'S' on the keyboard to split.

And if you don't want to do any of those you'll have to go back to 8.5...................

Edited: for technique accuracy


Hi FBB...

I'm glad you see the issues even if you don't agree with me. I understand very well the alternatives I have and I'm glad they work for many. I simply want another option which I already had and was taken from me... It's not a question of can I do it... It's a plea to allow me to do it the way I choose...

...and There's no going back to 8.5 as I haven't left it... I'm trying to improve X1 so that it will cover more bases to satisfy more people. If I didn't believe in the Bakers desire and ability to give us the things we want I probably wouldn't have been with them all these years... As these issues get addressed as well as some of the more "immediate" bugs get fixed, I fully expect to be happily working with X1 (maybe X2 or X3 by then ;-))... It's still Sonar underneath and the majority of things have not changed...Only access to.....

Thanks for making such a concise list of what I don't want to do... ;-) (But I will until it's different - tho it may be a while until I'm using it for clients... ;-))

Keni


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#36
UnderTow
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 21:11:41 (permalink)
Keni

I'm glad you see the issues even if you don't agree with me. I understand very well the alternatives I have and I'm glad they work for many. I simply want another option which I already had and was taken from me... It's not a question of can I do it... It's a plea to allow me to do it the way I choose...
It isn't even about the way you choose, it is about a smarter and faster way of doing it. No doubt about it. 8.5 did this particular thing better and it should be very easy for Cakewalk to fix it in X1.

PS: Heh, rereading my suggestions list, the behaviour you complained about was the very first thing I noticed when using the Smart Tool (and thus is my first suggestion).

UnderTow
post edited by UnderTow - 2011/01/28 21:13:46
#37
rabeach
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 21:34:26 (permalink)
Keni


OK...

I got an idea... I've been going back and forth between 8.5 and X1a comparing some things...

This one? One of my main peeves and may be simple to "fix"?

Remember when we had the issue about which side (if any) should remain selected after performing a split? Cakewalks solution was wonderful... We can set this to our liking now...

So how about this idea? For me, The smart tool is essentially the same as how I've always worked with the draw tool and it's set of customizations (up thru 8.5.3)... Right now, the smart tool ONLY locates when clicked in the upper half of the clip and only selects in the bottom... this forces an extra click all day long for me...

The draw tool however would work fine... except it no longer can edit fade in/out's...

So if either fade in/out editing could be added to the draw toolset (I haven't investigated all the key-cluster commands to see if it can do as the draw tool did in 8.5) or...

An option to alter the behavior of smart tool so that clicking in the upper half BOTH locates AND selects... and as with the draw tool in 8.5, if you click-drag within a clip, it highlights/selects just as smart tool does now....

So again I wonder what it is that makes the smart tool any smarter than the draw tool was in 8.5??? The pop-up menu?

Keni


I believe this might work for you. I have not been able to get the "smart" tool to do this but if you use the "select" tool instead and under options set "click behavior" to "left click sets now" then when you point your mouse at the lower area of a clip you want to select (you will see an arrow) and left mouse click it will select the clip and set the now time. Then you can use "s" to split. One mouse click one keyboard shortcut.
post edited by rabeach - 2011/01/28 21:52:07
#38
Tom Riggs
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 21:53:13 (permalink)
keni I scanned the thread and I may have missed if this was mentioned before. However in your project if you go to options>click behavior you can choose to have the right click set the now time. In this way it will set the now time select the underlying clip and bring up the dialog that allows you to choose split from the mouse menu.

Hope that helps

Edit:
See someone already mentioned this. It works also with the smart tool as as well.
post edited by Tom Riggs - 2011/01/28 21:54:26

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#39
Neole
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 22:09:49 (permalink)
I found this incredibly frustrating within minutes of use of SonarX1 as well. I couldnt select-a-clip-AND-move-the-now-time-to-the-desired-location with a single click. (Which I used to do with sonar 8 and previous all the time. Select the position and hit 's' to split the clip). 

If my other hand is on a midi keyboard, or even holding a mic I could select and hit 's' with my one hand.

Now I have to use 'alt' click to split a tool. Which means using two hands. Or I have to use two clicks to select a clip, move the cursor to now position, and then hit 's'. Which feels very clunky.

Selecting a clip should move the now time to the cursor position as well - that should solve this issue.
#40
giankap
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 22:12:05 (permalink)
In my opinion going back and forth comparing the two versions of Sonar is ridiculous. I think that if your audio is working allright with the upgrade then you just have to spend some actual time on the software and work on an actual project as long as you can. I believe that it will take some time to adjust (max 1 day) but after that you will just fine. And the coolest thing would be that you'd actually have done some music. Switching between versions is such a waste of energy!!!

sincerely,

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some work
#41
Neole
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 22:12:26 (permalink)
Tom Riggs


keni I scanned the thread and I may have missed if this was mentioned before. However in your project if you go to options>click behavior you can choose to have the right click set the now time. In this way it will set the now time select the underlying clip and bring up the dialog that allows you to choose split from the mouse menu.

Hope that helps

Edit:
See someone already mentioned this. It works also with the smart tool as as well.

Somehow we dont prefer to work that way. First we must see the location of the cursor with the clip waveform is set correctly (it takes 2-3 tries sometimes!) only then we hit 's'. With right clicking the waveform visibility gets less because of the option menu.
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Neole
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 22:14:14 (permalink)
giankap


 I believe that it will take some time to adjust (max 1 day) but after that you will just fine. 
Ive been on X1 for a month now worked on 3-4 new projects, and there are things that are still jarring. And also a few things that are very welcome.
#43
giankap
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 22:23:38 (permalink)
At least you don't just try how the plugins run on each version, like some of the folks here, and that's great. By the way I know exactly how you feel, but keep in mind that it's a completely new version and it needs more time. I bet that by the time the new fix is released you won't even remember how the older version looked like.

sincerely,

Ioannis

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some work
#44
UnderTow
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 22:37:54 (permalink)
giankap


In my opinion going back and forth comparing the two versions of Sonar is ridiculous. I think that if your audio is working allright with the upgrade then you just have to spend some actual time on the software and work on an actual project as long as you can. I believe that it will take some time to adjust (max 1 day) but after that you will just fine. And the coolest thing would be that you'd actually have done some music. Switching between versions is such a waste of energy!!!
Who said anything about switching between versions? Some of us have been using Sonar or it's predecessor for over a decade. Why should we forget how things were implemented before? Some of us use multiple DAWs an know very well how various tools in various DAWs work so we know fully well when something can be done better.

This issue has absolutely nothing to do with adjusting to X1 or getting familiar with it. This is simply not well thought out by Cakewalk. Selecting a clip with the Smart Tool should change the Now Time. That is smarter behaviour. At the moment the Smart Tool is not quite smart enough.

UnderTow
post edited by UnderTow - 2011/01/28 22:39:52
#45
rabeach
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 22:45:22 (permalink)
This issue has absolutely nothing to do with adjusting to X1 or getting familiar with it. This is simply not well thought out by Cakewalk. Selecting a clip with the Smart Tool should change the Now Time. That is smarter behaviour. At the moment the Smart Tool is not quite smart enough.

 
use the select tool instead with the options I pointed out above.
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UnderTow
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 23:07:14 (permalink)
rabeach

 
use the select tool instead with the options I pointed out above.
We are not asking for workarounds. We are asking for Cakewalk to fix a mediocre design for this particular aspect of the GUI. The current behaviour is inefficient. It causes needless extra clicking or key pressing. All that is needed to improve this is that selecting a clip with the Smart Tool also changes the Now Time. That can't be too hard to fix.

As for the Select Tool, it shouldn't even exist. The Select Tool and Move Tool should be replaced by a single Grab Tool.

UnderTow
#47
rabeach
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 23:10:57 (permalink)
It causes needless extra clicking or key pressing.

One mouse click one keyboard shortcut. How were you able to do it faster before?
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UnderTow
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 23:27:13 (permalink)
rabeach



It causes needless extra clicking or key pressing.

One mouse click one keyboard shortcut. How were you able to do it faster before?
It is not one mouse and keyboard shortcut. You have to switch to the Select Tool first and then when you are done switch back to the Smart Tool (or another tool).

And again, no one is asking for any workarounds. This issue is easily resolved. All Cakewalk need to do is set the Now Time when selecting a clip with  the Smart Tool. Very simple.

EDIT: To answer your second question: The Select Tool in previous versions of Sonar did everything the Smart Tool in X1 does except selecting partial clips by dragging. You could click anywhere on a clip and it would select it and set the Now Time. The partial selection in the Smart Tool is a good feature. All that is lacking is setting of the Now Time when you select a clip by clicking on it's lower half. That is all.

UnderTow



post edited by UnderTow - 2011/01/28 23:30:11
#49
rabeach
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/28 23:39:58 (permalink)

EDIT: To answer your second question: The Select Tool in previous versions of Sonar did everything the Smart Tool in X1 does except selecting partial clips by dragging. You could click anywhere on a clip and it would select it and set the Now Time. The partial selection in the Smart Tool is a good feature. All that is lacking is setting of the Now Time when you select a clip by clicking on it's lower half. That is all. UnderTow

I understand. Get rid of the select tool and add it's abilities to the smart tool. That would be okay by me.
post edited by rabeach - 2011/01/28 23:41:03
#50
SoundBank
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 00:09:45 (permalink)
Undertow
All that is needed to improve this is that selecting a clip with the Smart Tool also changes the Now Time. That can't be too hard to fix.


Track View-->Options-->Click Behavior-->Right Click Sets Now time.
Using Smart Tool

Right Clicking in the lower half of clip Selects Clip and Moves the Now Time, and you can split, or edit as the menu comes up.
Right Clicking in the lower half of clip Selects Clip and Moves the Now Time; left click removes menu if not needed.

Need to fix "Left Click sets Now Times" in track view as it works in the top half of a clip, but not in the lower half for (select clip).
post edited by SoundBank - 2011/01/29 00:16:24
#51
UnderTow
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 00:16:16 (permalink)
rabeach



EDIT: To answer your second question: The Select Tool in previous versions of Sonar did everything the Smart Tool in X1 does except selecting partial clips by dragging. You could click anywhere on a clip and it would select it and set the Now Time. The partial selection in the Smart Tool is a good feature. All that is lacking is setting of the Now Time when you select a clip by clicking on it's lower half. That is all. UnderTow

I understand. Get rid of the select tool and add it's abilities to the smart tool. That would be okay by me.
Actually, my suggestion would be to combine the Select Tool and the Move Tool into a single Grab Tool. I personally like to use multi-purpose tools all the time. (In previous versions of Sonar I was using the Select Tool nearly all the time which is nearly identical to the current Smart Tool and in Pro Tools I am always using the Smart Tool). But I understand that many people like to have separate tools.

In this particular case though (Select Tool and Grab Tool), they don't really do much. Having them combined in a single Grab Tool would make much more sense. I'll just copy the specific suggestion that I posted above.

- Selected and Move Tool should just be one Tool with one button to select it. The Select Tool is nearly pointless. Just call both tools together the Grab Tool and have it select clip sections when on the upper half of a track (Just like the Select Tool does now).
- Remove Timing Tool. It doesn't work on MIDI clips. It is unlikely to be used very often on Audio Clips. (Seriously, how often does one need to Time-Stretch Audio?) And you can already easily Time-Stretch by pressing CTRL while using the Smart Tool. You can move AudioSnap Transients with other tools. In other words, this tool does nothing really that other tools don't already do. Often better.
- Split Tool should get it's own button.

So to resume we have the following Tools left:

SMART | GRAB | TRIM | SPLIT |  DRAW | ERASE/MUTE


- Some functionality is accessible through a modifier key when using the Smart Tool (Like ALT for Split and CTRL for Time-Stretch). Why not make those available for more tools? It hardly
adds any confusion or ambiguity because the user specifically has to press those modifier keys for them to be active:
   
    - Grab Tool:     ALT+CLick to Split; CTRL+Click on edge to Time Stretch.
    - Trim Tool:    ALT+CLick to Split.

It is the exact same number of tools as currently in X1, six,  but this is clearer, more efficient, makes better use of the space in the Control Bar. Means less clicking and/or keyboard pressing than the current implementation. An all-round improvement really.

UnderTow
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SoundBank
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 00:31:17 (permalink)
Keni Post #1
An option to alter the behavior of smart tool so that clicking in the upper half BOTH locates <NOW TIME?> AND selects... and as with the draw tool in 8.5, if you click-drag within a clip, it highlights/selects just as smart tool does now.


Using Smart Tool in the Top Half of a Clip as you suggested above and moving Now Time can be done.
Track View-->Options-->Click Behavior-->Right Click Sets Now time.
Track View-->Options-->Click Behavior-->Left Click Sets Now time.

Click and hold  Both Left and Right mouse buttons
Highlight the part of the clip you want.
Let go of Right mouse button first.  

Selected area of the clip is highlighted.
Now Time is moved


post edited by SoundBank - 2011/01/29 00:50:19
#53
UnderTow
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 00:44:52 (permalink)
SoundBank


Keni Post #1
An option to alter the behavior of smart tool so that clicking in the upper half BOTH locates <NOW TIME?> AND selects... and as with the draw tool in 8.5, if you click-drag within a clip, it highlights/selects just as smart tool does now.


Using Smart Tool in the Top Half of a Clip as you suggested above and moving Now Time can be done.
Track View-->Options-->Click Behavior-->Right Click Sets Now time.
Track View-->Options-->Click Behavior-->Right Click Sets Now time.

Click and hold  Both Left and Right mouse buttons
Highlight the part of the clip you want.
Let go of Right mouse button first.  

Selected area of the clip is highlighted.
Now Time is moved
Right clicking to select is very counter intuitive. Clicking with both buttons to select is even more counter intuitive. This doesn't address when you quickly want to select a whole clip.

Anyway, see all Keni and my responses. It isn't about asking for workarounds. It is a feature request basically. A suggestion for improvement.

UnderTow

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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 01:10:26 (permalink)
Thanks Undertow,
I do understand we aren't looking for workarounds.

"Left Click Sets Now time", doesn't work in lower half of a clip with the Smart Tool as it should.

Pressing and releasing both mouse buttons is counter intuitive but until the bug is fixed it is a fast way to Highlight/Select and move Now Time in a clip, in "One Quick Sweep" of the mouse.

Before we know it all these bugs should be fixed, and hopefully we can customize functions to our liking.

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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 02:56:28 (permalink)
Aw...give Keni a break! How would you guys like it if somebody re arranged  the letters on you pc keyboard  or re designed your bathroom with a square toilet?...would you say oh just get used to it?  I was watching this scene in a movie called "Some Like It Hot" with Marilyn Monroe...it was a scene where she had her legs up on in front of an air conditioner. I noticed the air conditioner looked exactly the same today as it did in this old movie and that had to be the 50's...and I swear..the first thing i thought about was X1! Just to let you know it's not just you Keni. Not everybody is going to be feeling it...so stick to 8.5.3 Keni..wait til X1 is fully baked. I do and all is well here in music heaven.
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 07:40:44 (permalink)
UnderTow


rabeach



It causes needless extra clicking or key pressing.

One mouse click one keyboard shortcut. How were you able to do it faster before?
It is not one mouse and keyboard shortcut. You have to switch to the Select Tool first and then when you are done switch back to the Smart Tool (or another tool).

And again, no one is asking for any workarounds. This issue is easily resolved. All Cakewalk need to do is set the Now Time when selecting a clip with  the Smart Tool. Very simple.

EDIT: To answer your second question: The Select Tool in previous versions of Sonar did everything the Smart Tool in X1 does except selecting partial clips by dragging. You could click anywhere on a clip and it would select it and set the Now Time. The partial selection in the Smart Tool is a good feature. All that is lacking is setting of the Now Time when you select a clip by clicking on it's lower half. That is all.

UnderTow

you know it seems easy to just fix the now time when selecting a clip.but arent these programs very complicated,its not like just reaching in and grabing a beer out of the fridge.when you change one thing it reflects 10 fold on other things,this is where bugs start if you dont follow down the path of one thing you changed,its a chain of events that change alot more than just one thing.what seems easy to us,isnt that easy sometimes,maybe you know more about computer programing than i do,if thats the case then please disregaurd my comment.
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 07:57:20 (permalink)
chuckebaby


you know it seems easy to just fix the now time when selecting a clip.but arent these programs very complicated,its not like just reaching in and grabing a beer out of the fridge.when you change one thing it reflects 10 fold on other things,this is where bugs start if you dont follow down the path of one thing you changed,its a chain of events that change alot more than just one thing.what seems easy to us,isnt that easy sometimes,maybe you know more about computer programing than i do,if thats the case then please disregaurd my comment.
If the "Tools" code is well organised, this shouldn't be too hard to change and Cakewalk really should have designed it this way to start with. Not a huge issue as long as it gets fixed in the foreseeable future.

And by simple I mean the concept is simple. It was in response to some of the comments in this thread from people that didn't seem to follow what Keni was driving at rather than a comment about how hard or easy it is to implement. Oh and maybe a little bit of a dig at Cakewalk for not getting it right from the start.

UnderTow
post edited by UnderTow - 2011/01/29 07:58:26
#58
Keni
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 10:33:12 (permalink)
Thanks Everybody...

I'm glad to see that a few other users are rankled by this current situation as well as I am... tho I wish we all were not.

As Undertow has well-stated... We're not looking for work arounds... I can get my work done... But it's not as good as it was... and yes, the program is a complicated code, but this is not a difficult element to deal with...

Very correctly... why is there an option to set now time with left click when only HALF of the time will this work (upper half of clips only)... so maybe it's a bug and will be magically fixed?

If someone likes the current behavior, simply don't select this option... If that button can't be made to over rule the upper/lower clip issue, then add a third button that makes upper and lower halves have the same abilities... I don't know about anyone else but tho I didn't mention it here, I find it a PITA to have to select clips from the lower half only... I have ZERO use for the upper half action other than setting the now time... Both of these issues are painful to me and counter productive... It not only means more clicks, but more mouse movement in between and more tedious placement to select the clips...

When something is as constantly used as these tools, the difference of these extra clicks and mouse moves adds up to a lot of what should be unnecessary work...

...and please... Stop telling "us" that we have to learn the new way... there is no new way... We still need to locate now time and split or select clips... the job hasn't changed, only some of the roads have been made more difficult! I want a road repair team to fix this pothole!

Keni


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#59
rabeach
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Re:A Possible Fix For The Smart Tool? 2011/01/29 10:51:57 (permalink)
what I CAN'T do is locate and select in a single click...

Keni,
I think this post is why I suggested a method to achieve this. Best of luck to you.
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