Wish List

[futz]

I have been tinkering with energyXT's sequencer and have made a wish list that I will keep adding to every time I think of something or find some little interface thing that doesn't work right or that could be improved.

Now don't freak out and think I'm bashing energyXT. I'm not. I like this program a lot, but it's a work in progress and I like to see it improved.

I suspect Jorgen has much of this stuff already on his list, but is leaving it for later and concentrating on adding "real" features. I'm just hoping to not let these little "boring" things get forgotten.

I'm a long time Cakewalk/Sonar user, so some of these interface things are how it's done in that program. I'm not suggesting that energyXT should become Sonar. Most of these things are just windows standards.


Here's the list so far:

1. More windows standards compliance!!! The best reason for following the standards is that users don't have to relearn how to do basic things in every different program they install.

CTRL-TAB should switch between the various windows of XT. It doesn't.

When I click on a XT window that's under another, it should pop to the top. It doesn't. I have to move stuff around to get at the lower windows.

When I go to Rename something, the dialog box should open with the name highlighted, ready to edit/replace, in the standard windows way. I hate having to backspace the default name out. It's a waste of time, as you opened the edit window to change/replace it anyway. CTRL-leftarrow and CTRL-rightarrow keys should work in the standard windows way. They don't. All standard windows text editing conventions should be implemented.

I'd like to be able to double-click a name to edit it instead of fumbling thru a menu. Menus are for stuff that doesn't get used as much and for people who are just learning the program and don't know, or can't remember, the shortcuts.

The mouse wheel doesn't work right. It kinda works, but doesn't use the windows settings. Mine is set to scroll 3 lines per click. It doesn't in energyXT.

On scroll bars, clicking in the area between the slider and the arrows at the ends should move you a page at a time. It doesn't.

CTRL-Z should work for EVERYTHING you do. It doesn't. Works for most things, but not all.


2. I made some new Arr(angements?). Was confused for a bit (where did my music go???). Then I figured it out and got back to my original Arr, but I can't figure out how to delete the new ones I made.


3. You can hide the sequencer mixer with one click. You should be able to restore it with one click without having to go to a menu. Also a hot key would be good.


4. I'd like to see more hot keys available (maybe even make em user configurable). Sonar and most other progs use Space to start and stop the sequencer. W works well for rewind. In XT, Space stops the sequencer, but I don't know what key, if any, starts it.


5. Hot keys for patch changes. I hate having to reach for the mouse every time I want to change to another patch. When the patch box is "active", why not have it highlighted to show that it IS active and have it respond to + and - to increment/decrement the patch number? Same goes for MIDI channels and other stuff.

I've had some carpal tunnel problems over the years from overuse of the mouse. I always try to avoid using it as much as possible. Hot keys help you work much quicker anyway once you learn them.

[NicFit]

1. More windows standards compliance!!! The best reason for following the standards is that users don't have to relearn how to do basic things in every different program they install.

Jorgen is planning crossplatform compatibility with Linux. I'm not sure if it's such an easy thing to add certain features, since he cannot simply drop some premade widget in his code. He's always making improvements based on user feedback though.

CTRL-TAB should switch between the various windows of XT. It doesn't.

yeah that would be cool.

When I click on a XT window that's under another, it should pop to the top. It doesn't. I have to move stuff around to get at the lower windows.

I look at this as a feature ...I've learned to use this behavior to my advantage.

When I go to Rename something, the dialog box should open with the name highlighted, ready to edit/replace, in the standard windows way. I hate having to backspace the default name out. It's a waste of time, as you opened the edit window to change/replace it anyway. CTRL-leftarrow and CTRL-rightarrow keys should work in the standard windows way. They don't. All standard windows text editing conventions should be implemented.

I'd like to be able to double-click a name to edit it instead of fumbling thru a menu. Menus are for stuff that doesn't get used as much and for people who are just learning the program and don't know, or can't remember, the shortcuts.

Yes, Yes and Yes

The mouse wheel doesn't work right. It kinda works, but doesn't use the windows settings. Mine is set to scroll 3 lines per click. It doesn't in energyXT.

On scroll bars, clicking in the area between the slider and the arrows at the ends should move you a page at a time. It doesn't.

CTRL-Z should work for EVERYTHING you do. It doesn't. Works for most things, but not all

2. I made some new Arr(angements?). Was confused for a bit (where did my music go???). Then I figured it out and got back to my original Arr, but I can't figure out how to delete the new ones I made..

I suspect these are all "on the list"

3. You can hide the sequencer mixer with one click. You should be able to restore it with one click without having to go to a menu. Also a hot key would be good.

use the F9 key

4. I'd like to see more hot keys available (maybe even make em user configurable). Sonar and most other progs use Space to start and stop the sequencer. W works well for rewind. In XT, Space stops the sequencer, but I don't know what key, if any, starts it.

Jorgen plans to make all the hot-keys user configurable.
To start the sequencer use the "Enter" key

5. Hot keys for patch changes. I hate having to reach for the mouse every time I want to change to another patch. When the patch box is "active", why not have it highlighted to show that it IS active and have it respond to + and - to increment/decrement the patch number? Same goes for MIDI channels and other stuff.

PageUP PageDown to change patches.

I've had some carpal tunnel problems over the years from overuse of the mouse. I always try to avoid using it as much as possible. Hot keys help you work much quicker anyway once you learn them.

I think jorgen prefers working with keyboard also

Some of your suggestions may also be fufilled with jorgens dockable/tabbed windows plans.

nF

[jens]

some good points in there.

b.t.w.: 'return' starts the sequencer, but I agree, there is no reason why space shouldn't do.

While we're at it I'll add another few points:

- when you click on a track it should highlight the synths and fx it is routed to (and on audio-tracks their gain slider etc.) - In short everything in the mixer on the left that belongs to a selected track should be highlighted.

- it should be possible to drag parts (including copies of them) across tracks. When there is no track where you drag a new one should automatically be created.

- when you import an audio track and there is no audio track or no audio track is selected a new one should automatically be created.

[elfan]

I've had some carpal tunnel problems over the years from overuse of the mouse. I always try to avoid using it as much as possible. Hot keys help you work much quicker anyway once you learn them.

The discussion about using the mouse as little as possible in eXT intrigues me . Ever since I stopped using trackers to start using VST-sequencers as my main mean of composing music, I have been forced to start using the mouse more than I'd prefer. I totally agree with the suggestion to let the user be able to use the mouse as little as possible (as an alternative way of using eXT at least ). Not only would this help people with medical problems as well as people who just don't like the mouse , it could also, if properly applied, speed up your work progress a lot, just as futz says ! Just look at trackers. In those, you can make music at lightning speed just because you rarely use the mouse .

One general thing I would really appreciate, would be making the sequencer as mouse independent as possible, letting the user write music very quickly in the sequencer using mostly the computer keyboard (and possibly midi keyboard). Of course it should be possible to use the mouse as well - just as today - but the "workflows" in which you spend most of your time should be keyboard-centric so to speak . These "workflows" would be pretty much everything that has to do with notes and composition, such as inserting / moving / stretching / shortening / transposing notes, copying / pasting / moving sequences of notes and things like that, that you do a million times and really want to do quickly. For every such small, but oftenly used, operation, there should be a way of doing by using the keyboard.

Actually, I have brough up issues regarding keyboard control of the sequencer earlier. These have been things such as shortkey to snap (so the user doesn't have to use a mouse and menu every time the snap needs to be changed or turned off/on) and note audition (allowing you to immediately hear the notes that are inserted/transposed by computer keyboard, instead of forcing you to look for the right note by using the mouse and trigging the notes through the "little piano keyboard inside the midi part", in search for the desired note).

Snap shortkeys have appeared in recent betas and I'm eagerly looking forward to a quick-snap-bypass-while-pressing-shortkey . Given this, I really hope that eXT will move towards enabling quicker composing and work done more independently of the mouse. That would be yet another unique feature of eXT, for sure !

Best regards,
Tomas

[futz]

Whew! Was wondering if I'd get flamed for that post Glad we all agree.

Thanks for the tips NicFit.

Jens! Those are some excellent ideas.

I just thought of another trivial little thing I'd like to see. A real icon for energyXT, so I don't have to look at that ugly windows default icon in my Alt-Tab menu and on the taskbar.

[futz]

when you click on a track it should highlight the synths and fx it is routed to (and on audio-tracks their gain slider etc.) - In short everything in the mixer on the left that belongs to a selected track should be highlighted

Actually, it kinda does that now in a way. Just under the sequencer transport there is a listbox that has 3 choices; All, By Track and Auto.

In 'All' mode, there is no way to tell at a glance which instrument goes with which track.

In 'By Track' mode, you only see the stuff connected to the currently selected track.

In 'Auto' mode, the non-selected track stuff is minimized and the selected track stuff is expanded.

So if we could have color highlighting in 'All' mode, that would be very nice, but not absolutely necessary.

[futz]

Aaaarrrrgggghhh...

CTRL-C seems to copy notes fine and CTRL-V pasted them (in another track) fine one time. Then the next time I did it, energyXT crashed.

Killed the unresponsive program in the task manager and restarted.

Tried copying and pasting that way again, and tho CTRL-C did copy the notes, I could not paste them with CTRL-V. Had to use the menu and choose paste.

And CTRL-X doesn't cut the notes the way it should. It does copy them though.

Yet another windows standard (that I use constantly) that doesn't work in XT. Hmmm...

[jorgen]

futz,

- do you have copy/paste problems in latest beta? I cant reproduce it here. Would be nice to know if any other have it too?

- ctrl-x is on the list.

- just added ctrl-tab switch window

- I will add an option to disable the default "stay on top of parent window " behaviour.

- delete arr coming soon, in v1.27, thats when you can trigger multiple arrs from midi key and stuff.

nF, yeah, I prefer keyboard, and I got an Edirol PCR-A30, which I hope to use instead of the mouse too. I'm planning to add support for using cc to navigate around eXT.

jens, drooping a wav on an empty area to insert new audio track, sounds like a good idea. Will do.

jorgen

[jens]

when you click on a track it should highlight the synths and fx it is routed to (and on audio-tracks their gain slider etc.) - In short everything in the mixer on the left that belongs to a selected track should be highlighted

Actually, it kinda does that now in a way. Just under the sequencer transport there is a listbox that has 3 choices; All, By Track and Auto.

In 'All' mode, there is no way to tell at a glance which instrument goes with which track.

In 'By Track' mode, you only see the stuff connected to the currently selected track.

In 'Auto' mode, the non-selected track stuff is minimized and the selected track stuff is expanded.

So if we could have color highlighting in 'All' mode, that would be very nice, but not absolutely necessary.

hey, didn't knew that - thanks, Futz

[jens]

jens, drooping a wav on an empty area to insert new audio track, sounds like a good idea. Will do.

jorgen

thanks, Jorgen

are there any chances that dragging of parts between tracks will also be possible?

another thing: I know there's the 'move-up'-command, but I think it would be great if we could just drag
the track-headers up and down. What do you think?

(I know I'm getting greedy )

[jorgen]

I'll keep that in mind

thanks
jorgen

[jens]

thanks, Jorgen

[scam_artist]

another thing: I know there's the 'move-up'-command, but I think it would be great if we could just drag
the track-headers up and down. What do you think?

i was thinking that the other day too would be easier to use

[futz]

do you have copy/paste problems in latest beta?

Yes, in v1.26. I had crashed and restarted the sequencer probably a couple times at that point. I'll try it again tonight after a fresh boot and let you know if it still does it.

Edirol PCR-A30

Cool. I use my old D-50 as a master controller.

there's the 'move-up'-command, but I think it would be great if we could just drag
the track-headers up and down

YES YES YES!!!

[futz]

do you have copy/paste problems in latest beta?

Checked it again right now after a fresh boot and it works pretty well. First time it copied & pasted fine. Second time I pasted, it didn't work - only pasted the last note. Then after that it worked every time.

So it seems that I can't replicate the problem either. But don't worry, I'll be working on it. I've developed software before, so I know how hard it can be to find all the bugs. I'd swear the program was solid and within minutes the beta testers would break it. Swat one bug and 2 more pop up. Damn bugs.