Zen features requests

[Big Tick]

OK. Stars ratings is done and working, ready for V1.6 (or maybe 1.5.4)

Another thing I've been working on, is a global volume control:




Now, what do you think is best, between:
- volume controls sets the global level for every preset played by Zen
- or something more clever: zen volume gets stored with the preset it is set for, and also becomes the default level for subsequent presets of the same synth.

[GeoSuPhat]

I think it would be great if it stores along with the preset. Would have to see how it would work on default or globaly setting the value.

[Big Tick]

Here's another feature I would welcome input for: Preset comments. I want to add a field for users to write comments about the presets. The contents of this field will also be searched by the fulltext search.

The tricky part is, where to put the comments on the UI. I've been toying with 2 different options, without being fully satisfied with either.


It could be displayed below the selected preset, as shown above, however it means that if you move over to a different search page, you won't see the comments any more. Or even more annoying, if you select a preset from the bank slots and this preset isn't in your current search list. I don't want to increase the size of the UI just for this, but on the other hand, it is better if this information is displayed at all times when selecting a preset...

The other option is shown below, I have simply expanded the area for the preset name and put the comments there. The additional space also makes it easier to redesign the volume slider, so that it is easier to grab than in the current version. The downside of this option is that the area for presets search results is now reduced - which means, additional scrolling...

[sunhome]

Big Tick, I really like option B [the comment always displayed] and I have a really sweet request for us mousewheel users, it would be so kool to use the mousewheel to scroll thru presets.

Regards, James

[Big Tick]

Big Tick, I really like option B [the comment always displayed] and I have a really sweet request for us mousewheel users, it would be so kool to use the mousewheel to scroll thru presets.

Regards, James

It should already be the case - which host/OS are you using ?

[sunhome]

Big Tick, I really like option B [the comment always displayed] and I have a really sweet request for us mousewheel users, it would be so kool to use the mousewheel to scroll thru presets.

Regards, James

It should already be the case - which host/OS are you using ?

Windows Vista 32 - laptop with a usb mouse - the mousewheel doesn't allow me to change presets. Also, it would be nice to be able to scroll through any number of presets not just the first page.

[Big Tick]

oh, you mean, you want to use the mousewheel to actually select the next/previous preset, not to scroll through the results list ?

[sunhome]

right, next/previous preset select via mousewheel would be very slick, imo;

in practice, once you click on any preset this action would be available via the mousewheel.

Regards, James

[Big Tick]

The thing is, mousewheel is also used to scroll the presets list window. I've just added next/previous preset selection with mousewheel on the current preset name box in the bottom right, it does work.

Regarding option B, there is a catch - how will the comments be created ? Some synths have presets comments already, but these can't be retrieved from Zen. This means that in the beginning (until people start actually typing comments in), this box will be empty and look like a waste of screen real estate.

[bM3w]

Regarding option B, there is a catch - how will the comments be created ? Some synths have presets comments already, but these can't be retrieved from Zen. This means that in the beginning (until people start actually typing comments in), this box will be empty and look like a waste of screen real estate.

Why not make it a "slide in/slide out" style window within the preset list? That way the user can decide if the information is visible or not. I quickly made a rough mockup to demonstrate how it could look like:



and collapsed:



Just my 2 cents

[TabSel]

Great idea!

Question: As presets get synced, do these preset Info texts, too? So that everyone could See any info anyone put into this box?

[Big Tick]

Question: As presets get synced, do these preset Info texts, too? So that everyone could See any info anyone put into this box?

Yes, that's the idea, and I will probably add comments moderation on the server before they get pushed to the Zen clients. I don't know if more advanced features are needed, like private (never get published to the server) or locked (never get synced from the server) comments - I guess it will depend on how people use this.

Why not make it a "slide in/slide out" style window within the preset list? That way the user can decide if the information is visible or not. I quickly made a rough mockup to demonstrate how it could look like

Good idea - the only thing I don't like is that in collapsed mode, the new "preset info" title breaks the alignment with other boxes, I find it visually disturbing.

[TabSel]

Align it to your liking...

What about "private coloring" with the Option to sort by private color?

I use Automap. Automap creates a "xxx (Automap).dll" for a "xxx.dll".
What happens, when I create a preset for Plugin "xxx (Automap).dll"? Can users of "xxx.dll" load my preset? And vice versa? (share presets among different named dll's of a plugin?

What about letting people privately create presets within Zen for ALL their plugins, for testing reasons, and enable syncing only for plugins your server is enabled for?

[Big Tick]

What about "private coloring" with the Option to sort by private color?

I've never used this on synths that offer this feature. Maybe I should...

I use Automap. Automap creates a "xxx (Automap).dll" for a "xxx.dll".
What happens, when I create a preset for Plugin "xxx (Automap).dll"? Can users of "xxx.dll" load my preset? And vice versa? (share presets among different named dll's of a plugin?

This is more an automap question than a Zen question, actually. I don't know about Automap, but if you save a preset through the wrapped plugin, can you load it back in the unwrapped one ? and the other way around ? if yes, it shouldn't matter. Zen doesn't care about the name of the dll, all it needs is a plugin capable of accepting the preset chunk data.

What about letting people privately create presets within Zen for ALL their plugins, for testing reasons, and enable syncing only for plugins your server is enabled for?

Yes, I've been thinking of this. I don't want to write more UI code than necessary, and there are a few steps involved for enabling a plugin, like finding the fxid, .... maybe it could be automated, though, something like dropping a .dll in the plugins list.

[bM3w]

Why not make it a "slide in/slide out" style window within the preset list? That way the user can decide if the information is visible or not. I quickly made a rough mockup to demonstrate how it could look like

Good idea - the only thing I don't like is that in collapsed mode, the new "preset info" title breaks the alignment with other boxes, I find it visually disturbing.

Thanks. Since it was just a mockup to get the idea across I'm sure you'll find a visually pleasing way for the collapsed mode Maybe simply by moving the little rectangles from the left side of the preset list to the right?!