View Issue Details
| ID | Project | Category | View Status | Date Submitted | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0004396 | ardour | other | public | 2011-10-25 18:49 | 2012-04-24 23:59 |
| Reporter | danboid | Assigned To | |||
| Priority | normal | Severity | tweak | Reproducibility | N/A |
| Status | acknowledged | Resolution | open | ||
| Target Version | 3.0 | ||||
| Summary | 0004396: better ordering and defaults for the MIDI connection manager tabs | ||||
| Description | Any unneeded tabs (such as busses) need to be removed then both the horizontal and vertical tabs need to be re-ordered so that the user is more likely to see the connections they are looking for without having to dig through the various other available tabs. In having just a singular regular USB MIDI controller here I'd say I've got a very average kind of use case. Lets say you're running under 32bit A3 where both MIDI and MIDI plugins get autoconnected - the first time I find myself needing to make any changes to MIDI is when I create a second track as its at this point I need to normally disconnect my USB MIDI controller from the MIDI input of the first MIDI track so I'm only sending note data to that track. In order for me to see the connection I usually need to adjust first without exploration of the MCM it should open by default on 'Ardour Tracks' on the vertical set of tabs (instead of 'Hardware') so maybe move this to the top tab and the horizontal row of tabs should default to 'Hardware' (instead of the to-be-removed busses) when you first open it so maybe move this to the far left tab too. | ||||
| Tags | No tags attached. | ||||
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Thats how I'd like it to start but obviously some may disagree so I think we can improve the MCM by adding at least the following two default view presets. The default I suggested above could be called 'Show MIDI hardware inputs to tracks' and the combination of having 'Ardour Tracks' set as a source then 'Hardware' set as destination could be called 'Show track outputs to MIDI hardware' Of course, people are likely to quickly outgrow the need for such view presets but I've heard a number of people say the MCM is initially confusing so adding presets that spell out what you are seeing should minimise initial confusion and serve as a great learning (or remembering, as in my case) aid. |
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A couple more suggestions on MCM view presets: The MCM is drawn with quite a large gap between the right edge of the right-most sources tab and the right edge of the MCM window and I'd bet this gap is large enough to fit a drop-down menu for selecting MCM view presets? I personally would prob only need the two previously suggested presets and I can't say that I've ever used neither the busses nor the Ardour Misc tabs under the MCM. The busses tabs are of course prob going away so no need to consider them but maybe a potential third MCM view preset would simply be called 'Misc' which would of course marry up the two Misc/Sync menus for anyone who makes frequent use of them? |
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When you load a JACK MIDI softsynth a new tab appears on the right under destinations which is unhelpfully called 'other' at the moment when it should surely be labelled 'Softsynths' or something more descriptive and as I just hinted at in my last comment, wouldn't the 'Ardour Misc' tab under both sections (Sources and Destinations) of the MCM be better off being renamed 'Sync' instead? |
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Been thinking about this more so can be a bit more more verbose on my suggested changes now. If we implement a view selector then there isn't any need for specific defaults as to what tabs show when your first open it so scratch that suggestion. The tabs should definitely be in the same order - going either left to right or top to bottom they should read Tracks, Hardware, (Softsynths), and Sync which in my view is the order in which they're likely to be used. Instead of calling the options 'Show MIDI hardware inputs to tracks' I think it makes more sense to call them 'View MIDI hardware inputs to tracks' etc. Another couple of potential view presets would be 'View Track outputs to Softsynths (currently 'Other')' and 'View Hardware outputs to Softsynths' but I don't use any standalone JACK MIDI softsynths any more due to lack of JACK session portability so I'd leave them off unless they get requested and same goes for my Misc (Sync) to Misc preset suggestion- the whole point of the view preset selector is to try to reduce confusion and make things simpler in the MCM after all. |
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I've removed the busses tab from the MIDI connection managers, and flipped the order of vertical tabs when they are on the right-hand-side of the manager, so hopefully that's a bit more intuitive now. A few comments: 1. if you are altering inputs for a particular track you are probably better off clicking on the inputs button in the track mixer strip; that way you will only see the track inputs on one axis, rather than everything. 2. renaming "other" to "softsynths" seems limiting; other contains *any* non-Ardour (and non-hardware) ports, so definitely not restricted to softsynths. 3. I like the view presets idea, I will take a look at that. |
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The MCM is certainly looking neater and less confusing now the busses tabs are gone and the labels rearranged to be more uniform so thanks for clearing that bit up Carl. What might Ardour control or display under 'other' that couldn't legitimately be described as a softsynth? If you think its wrong to call a sampler a softsynth, and if we're being pedantic then yes I suppose it isn't strictly a synth then maybe 'JACK Apps' might be a more suitable/descriptive label than 'Other'? |
| Date Modified | Username | Field | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-10-25 18:49 | danboid | New Issue | |
| 2011-10-25 19:36 | danboid | Note Added: 0011789 | |
| 2011-10-25 19:53 | cth103 | cost | => 0.00 |
| 2011-10-25 19:53 | cth103 | Target Version | => 3.0-beta1 |
| 2011-10-25 20:06 | danboid | Note Added: 0011790 | |
| 2011-10-25 20:13 | danboid | Note Added: 0011791 | |
| 2011-10-26 08:18 | danboid | Note Added: 0011802 | |
| 2011-10-31 22:27 | cth103 | Note Added: 0011842 | |
| 2011-10-31 22:27 | cth103 | Status | new => feedback |
| 2011-11-01 13:09 | danboid | Note Added: 0011855 | |
| 2011-11-15 15:50 | cth103 | Target Version | 3.0-beta1 => 3.0-beta2 |
| 2011-12-11 16:44 | cth103 | Target Version | 3.0-beta2 => 3.0 |
| 2012-04-24 23:59 | cth103 | Status | feedback => acknowledged |
