difference between in focus and selected

Could you be more specific?

Just taking a guess here but... there is having the track "focused" where you just click on it then you can open and view/adjust the Inspector and whatnot or you can click the blue button to "Select" it for more/different options/functions.

I'm assuming that's what he's referring to but I have not seen the vids. Cheers.

And then there is "Group Select" stuff for track templates and muting and group adjusting parameters. 

Good thread. Now you got me thinking about the differences. Cheers.

Woo hoo! I got something right.

;-)

Hi, sorry I've confused you. I was trying to explain the difference rather than confuse.

I use the term "In focus" because only one track can have full focus at any one time. Auto track zoom is a great option to use to explain what I mean.....

I'm assuming you have the track view open and several tracks inserted.....

First press Ctrl+Shift+A. Click on track number one anywhere other than the track number.

Now turn on Auto Track Zoom by selecting it from the Track View--->View menu.

Track one will now be zoomed in on vertically and the others collapsed, Track one is the in focus track. Now click on the track header of track two anywhere other than the track number.

The "Focus" of the program has shifted to track two and is "in focus". Any input you make will apply to that track. For example if you have data on the clipboard and press "Ctrl+V" the data will be pasted into track two because it has focus.

Selected is completely different. Select a track by clicking on the tracks number, say track 3. The track number highlights and that track will also now have focus as well. It is selected and in focus.

Now click on track two anywhere other than the track number. The focus has shifted to track two but it is not selected, track three is selected and track two is in focus.

It's important because some actions will apply to the in focus track and selected tracks, some to just the in focus track. Right click and select delete for example. This action will delete two tracks - 2 & 3. Press Ctrl + C to copy and only the data on track 3 will be copied. Press Ctrl + V and the copied data will be pasted into track two.

That particular scenario catches users by surprise at first, in the past there has been loads of complaints on these boards about data being pasted to the "wrong" track, when in reality it's just lack of understanding between "in focus" and "selected". A track can be one or both, selected isn't necessarily in focus and vice versa.

I guess I could have used the term "active" but "in focus" makes more sense to me as it has the input focus of the program and as Scott has pointed out above a selected track can be thought of as "activating" the track for some forms of editing.

I don't think "Highlight" would help for "in focus" either because it isn't "highlighted" as such (although it is a different shade) but a selected track number is actually "highlighted".

That was what I was trying to explain. Sorry for the confusion and hope the above helps.

 

Hi Steve glad to hear it but confusing people is one thing I am good at.

It is quite difficult trying to get meaning across plainly and concisely in words, Scott has my upmost respect for what he does....me, I'll stick to "Confusion via video"

I can see reasons for two types of focus... selection and focus...

It's hard for me when I can't anticipate the behavior. If I expect to change a parameter on one track and I change it on two, or another, that's confusing.

So, if I could get defined exactly what to expect, I think I could get used to it.

Beepster, I've gotta believe that the software designers didn't expect us to lock and unlock trax as we used them. This is a lot of work to protect from unexpected behavior. While I recognize that it is getting you through a rough patch as an early adopter, I would like to learn how the developers saw it being used.
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Focus is defined by the track number turning light blue background.
Selection is defined by vertical colored bar to the left of the track. Selected track has a bold color where unselected has a faded color.
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Right now, I select a track by clicking the number. With auto zoom off, I kinda get the behavior I'm used to. If I click to add a node to an envelope in another track, the focus and selection moves to that track.

Turn Auto zoom on, set the focus on track one, by clicking the number 1, add a node to the envelope of track 2. Rather than shifting the 'focus' and 'selection' to track 2 (as with auto zoom off), it expands the focus to tracks one and two. Selection is still just track 1.  Now, add a node to the envelope of track 3. Track 2 loses selection and track 3 gains it; track 1 remains selected (unchanged). You can range select across tracks two and three to set the Focus only on tracks 2 and 3, while selection is still track 1.

When I say that track 1 remains selected, I mean that the track's details are defined in the current inspector.

Selecting a region of any track moves the focus to that track but not the selection (when using auto zoom).

So, I need a lesson in this. Someone has put a great deal of thought into how it will work. FBB points out that you can float the inspector and lock it by clicking the track name at the bottom of the inspector and choosing 'lock the current track or bus'. Now, we can change the selected track without changing the track in the track inspector (where are our key strokes going?). A quick test shows Alt+M mutes the selected track, not the track in the locked inspector.

I believe we are not allowed multiple Track Inspectors. That is called the Console View. :-)

So...

Why all this fanciness? How will we whip through these differences in 5 years? How would we explain it to a newbie (us now)?
I would like to see it broken down what things occur to what tracks...
Copy applies to Focus...
Split Applies to (focus but not selection unless selection also has the focus)...
Paste...
Alt+M, Alt+R etc go to focus but this seems buggy. Set selection on track 1 and focus on tracks 2 and 3 by range selecting clips in 2 and 3. Alt+R and M can be turned on but not off. Select Mute by clicking the M on the selected track (1) and now alt M will toggle mute on tracks 2 and 3 only. Click the Record Icon on track 1 and Alt+R now toggles record on tracks 2 and 3 only. If you turn them off on the selected track, is possible to toggle them on for the focused tracks but not off.
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Where does scroll wheel go and when. I ask this because I have been surprised to see pro channel gains rolled on tracks I didn't expect and I suspect my scroll wheel.

gswitz
Focus is defined by the track number turning light blue background.
Selection is defined by vertical colored bar to the left of the track. Selected track has a bold color where unselected has a faded color. 

Old thread, I know. But it came up in a search and I realized you have it backwards.
 
In Focus = Clicking on a track making it a lighter color gray.
 
Selecting = The Track Number box turns Blue.
 
Interestingly a track does not have to be in focus to adjust its controls.

soens
Interestingly a track does not have to be in focus to adjust its controls.

Precisely! A track is usually 'Selected' to be the target of keyboard control changes. When you are working a lot with the automation envelopes, you can change Focus without changing 'Selected'.
 
I honestly believe that this is a very complicated and changed piece of the software. I think it is underestimated by most users as a potential culprit for confusion and is often the reason for what get called 'bugs'.
 
Frankly, if the software is so confusing that experienced heavy users don't figure out how it works, that's a bug in my book whether it's to functional specification or not.
 
The first place that Sonar should go on this is to clearly educate it's heavy user base on how it works and why it works this way now. Caution should be raised to all user so that they understand to look for the orange bar before sending shortcut commands to the track they have their eyes focused on.

Oh... if you are referring to keybindings, not mouse commands, then yes, I could see how a keystroke could change a track unintentionally.
 
That is why I constantly make use of the Ctrl + Shift + A command. If I'm about to make a change of pretty much any kind that isn't directly related to what I was already doing I hit that binding to clear any selections on or offscreen. That way I KNOW whatever I do is going to be limited to the track I next touch or any selection/quick groups I make. Seriously I hit that binding every 30 seconds or so if I'm doing lots of editing or other stuff that involves selections.
 

Like I said, I use Ctrl Shift A then click the track or parameter I want to mess with pretty much every time even if it may not be necessary. It's quicker than having to double check or fix something. Believe me I've had scenarios similar to what you are referring to. That's why I forced that habit into my workflow. As far as the In Focus vs. Selected issue if I'm not certain I'll try In Focus first and if it doesn't do what I want then I select it. It's just second nature to me now and I no longer have any wrong track issues unless I'm getting bit by the selection bug. Cheers.
 
Oh and it should be noted that Ctrl Shift A won't change the currently focused track so the habit of clicking the track in the Track Pane before proceeding avoids any issues there. Wax on wax off.

Within any GUI, the element that is "in focus" is the one that will currently respond to keyboard input.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(computing)

Yes it can get confusing. But the sooner one can accept that there is a difference between "in focus" and "select" (for what ever reason), and learn the differences between the two, the better your computing experience will be!

I seem to be lonesome and a long way from home. :-)
 
I recognize that I'm the only one who seems to get confused and have trouble with this. I'll be quiet about it now. I'll continue to practice with it until I get it right.
 
Thanks, all.
 
@Soens, thanks for your company.
 
For anyone listening, this thread started on X2 rather than X2a.