What should the Memory On/Off command do?

[Robert Randolph]

I'm a bit confused with the Memory On/Off command. It seems to do some weird on/off combination between Auto Rewind, Auto Stop, Memory Cycle and Link Playback to Memory.

Try having various combinations of those on/off and hitting the key for Memory On/Off (numberpad 7 by default).

I've tried searching the manual and I can't seem to locate a reference to this command.

Here's a quick gif of me hitting 'Memory On/Off' starting with various options. It appears to me that the order of things being enabled/disabled is confusing. Particularly any combinations with 'Link Playback to Memory' behave in a way that I see as odd.



So what am I misunderstanding here?

[Robert Randolph]

And while I'm here, is there any command to just turn 'Memory Cycle' on and off? That's how I ended up here.

edit: Duh. It's 'Cycle On/Off'. I was searching the command list for 'Memory Cycle' and 'Memory'. I got there eventually though!

edit 2: I really need a number pad one day.

[Shooshie]

All the following are keypad references, not the main keyboard:

• 9 = Auto Stop
• 8 = Auto Rewind
• - (minus) = Memory Cycle
• 7 toggles whatever configuration you have with the above Memory settings.

These keys get a lot more interesting when you turn on Link Selection to Memory, and Link Playback to Memory. Remember that Memory is the range selected and stored as endpoints for playback operations, rather than selections. You can set the endpoints of memory with keyboard commands. I think the defaults are:

• F1 = Memory Start
  F2 = Memory End
  F3 = Auto Record Start
  F4 = Auto Record End
  F5 = Selection Start
  F6 = Selection End

Note that the first initials of the three Start commands spell MAS, the mnemonic for MOTU Audio System. That makes the system easy to remember. I respelled mine with Option before each one, so as not to block the normal use of F keys on my system, which I use for Spaces/Mission Control.

So, using the Link Selection to Memory command sets the memory to whatever you select. Drag a range, and your memory is set for that range. That makes auto rewind, auto stop, and memory cycle all VERY easy and quick to use. Add the Link Playback to Memory automates the whole process. Drag a range, hit play, and it starts at the beginning of that range, stops at the end, and rewinds back to the beginning. This can make detailed editing a breeze, since you don't have to keep setting your stop and start points with the keypad or cursor. You just drag a range, and it's automatic.

Play around with it, and I think you'll find some wonderful operations. For example, let's say you want to A/B a couple of verses, separated by a bridge. You only want to hear the first four measures of the verses. Use only the "Link Playback to Memory" button, and the auto-rewind button, and do the following:

• 1) Turn on Link Selection to Memory, and drag over the first verse's 4 bars,
  2) Turn off Link Selection to Memory, leaving on Link Playback to Memory. You should now have a memory range that will stay in place when you select something else.
  3) Select the 2nd verse's 4 bars
  4) Hit Play. It will play the first verse. (Set to memory endpoints)
  5) Hit Option-Spacebar. It will play the 2nd four bars. (Selected)
  6) Repeat 4 & 5 as often as you need to A/B the pair of regions.

I'm doing this all by memory, so if I made a mistake up there, you'll be able to figure it out by experimenting, but I think I got it right.

You'll find other ways to use it. That's just a special little trick I use. I have been planning to make a video of it. Once you learn the commands and buttons, there is SO much you can do, SO fast in DP, that other people will not be able to follow you. You can play things seemingly before they finish asking you for them. It's just a matter of learning what all is there, figuring out workflows that use these commands efficiently, and making habits of them.

Feel free to ask anything you're unsure of, but you'll probably learn faster by merely experimenting with all the keyboard commands, figuring out what they do and learning hand-patterns to do sequences quickly. Not that speed is essential, but it impresses clients.

Shooshie

[Shooshie]

edit 2: I really need a number pad one day.

Oh my... you sure do! There are some wireless versions. See if Logitech makes a wireless keypad you can use with their multiple-device receiver.

Better still, get a Logitech Wireless K750 Mac keyboard. It's amazing and wonderful. It recharges with photocells, so you never have to plug it in. The ambient light from my room (which is not all that bright) keeps it charged 100% at all times.

Whatever you get, you really ought to have a keypad. That makes DP a lot faster, and I mean a LOT faster. Most of the transport commands are there. Add a Magic Trackpad and a monitor, and you can dock your laptop and use it like a desktop, then take it with you.

Shooshie

[bayswater]

I'm a bit confused with the Memory On/Off command. It seems to do some weird on/off combination between Auto Rewind, Auto Stop, Memory Cycle and Link Playback to Memory.

Try having various combinations of those on/off and hitting the key for Memory On/Off (numberpad 7 by default).

I've tried searching the manual and I can't seem to locate a reference to this command.

Here's a quick gif of me hitting 'Memory On/Off' starting with various options. It appears to me that the order of things being enabled/disabled is confusing. Particularly any combinations with 'Link Playback to Memory' behave in a way that I see as odd.



So what am I misunderstanding here?

It's odd isn't it, and the documentation doesn't help much. The Memory On/Off button toggles the state of the three memory buttons to the left. Select one or more (except you can't have memory cycle and memory stop on at the same time, otherwise it wouldn't cycle) and Memory On/Off will turn the selected buttons on and off. This pattern applies whether Link Selection to Memory (which appears to operate independently of the other 4 memory buttons) is on or off.

It sort of makes sense to this point, but a complication arises when you use Link Playback to Memory. Turn this on, and press Memory On/Off a few times. The first time, it will turn Link Playback to Memory off, and the next time it will turn it on. So far OK. But press it a third time, and it will turn off, and the two leftmost buttons will turn on, regardless of the previous state of the three leftmost buttons. Subsequent presses continue to toggle the two leftmost buttons.

I've never understood this. Maybe DP thinks turning Link Playback to Memory off implies you want Auto Stop and Auto Rewind turned on, but why would they only be turned on the second time around? Is DP waiting to see if you're really sure?

[Robert Randolph]

All the following are keypad references, not the main keyboard:

<snip for brevity>

Shooshie

Very helpful information Shooshie. I plan on going through your whole post this evening and refreshing what I already know with it.

Do you have any comment on the Memory On/Off behaviour, I didn't see anything in your post about it?

[Shooshie]

Do you have any comment on the Memory On/Off behaviour, I didn't see anything in your post about it?

That was this line:

• 7 toggles whatever configuration you have with Memory, other than Memory Cycle, which remains separate.

Bays gave us a more detailed accounting of Memory On/Off, but the basic behavior of it is in the line I quoted above.

Shooshie

[Robert Randolph]

• 7 toggles whatever configuration you have with Memory, other than Memory Cycle, which remains separate.

Bays gave us a more detailed accounting of Memory On/Off, but the basic behavior of it is in the line I quoted above.

Shooshie

That's the thing though, if you watch the gif, it doesn't always do that. Any combination with 'Link Playback to Memory' on causes some strange cycling.

I assume this is a bug now, so I will report it.

[Shooshie]

The buttons in the GIF are, from left to right:

Auto Rewind, Auto Stop, Memory Cycle, Link Playback to Memory, Link Selection to Memory

Memory ON/OFF is a keyboard command: Keypad 7. (or whatever you set it to) So, are you hitting the keyboard command in that GIF? If so, you may have something else assigned to the same command. Mine does not behave that way when I repeatedly hit Keypad 7.

I'm having trouble following exactly what is being clicked or pressed in the GIF to cause the selections I see coming on and off.

The 7 key toggles your current memory settings, for auto rewind & auto stop and recycle. (I think it didn't used to affect Cycle in previous versions of DP, but I may be wrong)

I don't use Keypad 7 for Link Playback to Memory or Link Selection to Memory. I use their own keyboard commands for that, which I set in the COMMANDS window to Control-keypad8 and Control-keypad9, respectively. I just use Keypad 7 for toggling my memory settings for Auto-Rewind, Auto-Stop, and Memory-Cycle.

You may be right; it may be a bug. I've just worked around it so long that I don't notice it.

Shooshie

[bayswater]

You may be right; it may be a bug. I've just worked around it so long that I don't notice it.

Shooshie

Considering this, copied and pasted from my earlier post -- can you see any purpose for Mem On/Off to work this way?

"Link Playback to Memory. Turn this on, and press Memory On/Off a few times. The first time, it will turn Link Playback to Memory off, and the next time it will turn it on. Press it a third time, and it will turn off, and the two leftmost buttons will turn on, regardless of the previous state of the three leftmost buttons. Subsequent presses continue to toggle the two leftmost buttons."

[Shooshie]

You may be right; it may be a bug. I've just worked around it so long that I don't notice it.

Shooshie

Considering this, copied and pasted from my earlier post -- can you see any purpose for Mem On/Off to work this way?

"Link Playback to Memory. Turn this on, and press Memory On/Off a few times. The first time, it will turn Link Playback to Memory off, and the next time it will turn it on. Press it a third time, and it will turn off, and the two leftmost buttons will turn on, regardless of the previous state of the three leftmost buttons. Subsequent presses continue to toggle the two leftmost buttons."

After reading your post, I opened DP and tried it a few times. Your description was precise! I just had not used Keypad [7] (Memory On/Off) for the Link Playback and Link Selection buttons. I use it all the time for Auto rewind and stop. In fact, I don't remember it working with Memory Cycle (Keypad [-]), but it certainly did last night. I need to explore that; it definitely did NOT operate Memory Cycle up until fairly recently on my setup. I remember thinking "why didn't they go all the way and make it the universal on/off?" But now it seems to do that. Maybe they changed it in an upgrade. Or maybe it's just "one of them thangs."

Now, as for the odd behavior you described, I simply have no idea. It seems inconsistent, and I could not think of any particular reason why one might find that beneficial. So... it's probably an oversight, or the technical term: bug! I wouldn't mind at all if they fixed that!

These buttons were mysterious to me for the first six months to a year after they appeared. (originally, they were in the expanding "drawers" of buttons beside the control panel in pre DP6 versions) Eventually I started trying them and figuring them out. They've been essential transport tools ever since. I once made a video describing the things you can do with them, but it was too long, so I never posted it. (I posted a 2 minute segment from it) I'm thinking I'll do the same thing, but in short sections.

Shooshie

[bayswater]

Thanks for checking that out. I'll report it as a bug.

[Robert Randolph]

I've already made a techlink about it, however I think extra one or two may help.

Thanks for checking it out guys!

[Robert Randolph]

I got a response. Hopefully it's alright to post it here.

Hi Robert,

Thank you for reaching out. This is not the intended behavior of the Memory On/Off function, and that is known here at MOTU. We are still looking into the issue specifically. For now I would advise using the mouse button to click the “Link Playback to Memory” option on and off. This issue will be addressed in a later version of Digital Performer. Please keep an eye out on our website for future updates.

Let me know if you have any additional questions, or need further assistance.

Best,
Chad

I take that as good news.

[bayswater]

I got a reply too (what's with the complaints on waiting months for replies -- I always get a reply quickly). It has been logged as genuine bug. Engineers will be on it.