[Feature Request] Please update CWAF Tool... it could be so much more!
I only have Sonar Home Studio version 6, which comes with Cakewalk Audio Finder (CWAF) 3.7. For all I know the CWAF tool has been updated with Sonar version 7, but I have done a search and couldn't find any info about this. I am starting to build up a "Cakewalk Projects" folder full of half completed projects and snippets/ideas. I have around 60-70 .cwp files in my folder now. And remembering what's in each project can be a real pain, even if I've given the .cwp file a descriptive name. To me, it would be ideal if the CWAF Tool was given a major update, and I am suggesting the following features could be added:
1.
An ADVANCED search mode - it would be fantastic to have some way to search for specific text in the various fields of a Cakewalk project's "File Info". ie - Title, Subtitle, Author, Keywords, etc. Also, maybe other search parameters could be useful too. eg - the ability to search for all project files containing at least 20 audio tracks, or having a base speed between 100 and 120 bpm, etc.
2.
A more detailed file information display after performing a search - It would be great to say have a window on the right hand side of the tool which displays all the information about a project file when you click on it in the list. Things that could be listed could include Cakewalk/Sonar Version Info, Audio/MIDI track count, soft synth count, all the File Info fields, project running time, sample rate, bit depth, etc. etc. I think it would be really useful to be able to click on a listed project file and instantly see all the info about it, without having to open a dozen files just to find the one you are looking for.
3.
The ability to preview/playback entire projects from the CWAF Tool rather than just .wav files. - Wouldn't it be great to be able to preview a project's entire mix as easily as you can preview groove clips in the Loop Explorer? It would take a ton of time out of finding projects, especially when you have 5 different mixes of the same song and you are trying to remember which one you are after.
I know a bit about computer programming, and I really don't think the first 2 features I suggest would be very difficult to do at all. The 3rd one is a bit more problematic, because you would need to use Sonar's audio engine to preview project files, and this might take a bit of complexity. Also this feature might take up a lot of computer resources (eg - loading soft synths, effects and audio tracks). But the time is coming when PCs should have enough horsepower to be able to preview Sonar projects almost instantly without lengthy loading delays.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has trouble sorting through all my project files, so I really think an update to the CWAF Tool would save Sonar users a heap of time! What are other people's thoughts on this?
post edited by finrod - 2007/11/23 07:45:32