Selection save/load weirdness

[cleamon]

Having trouble understanding the utility of "Saved Times". It appears that you can save ranges of times for use later in making selections, because when you "load" a saved time, the selection information is set to the saved values. That could be very useful. However, no selection of data actually takes place. The edit/copy (and cut/erase) menu item will be enabled (as though data was selected), but choosing it gives you the "error burp" sound, and in fact no data is put on the clipboard (or cut/erased). Here's an example:
I've selected a range of notes in the MIDI editor, then using the "Set to..." popup menu in the selection information window, created a "new saved time" named "kickoff".




Now, I move on to other things, then come back to this area and select "Set To..." and "kickoff". Note that the selection start/end/duration are indeed set, but the data is not selected AND the edit menu items, cut, copy, erase, etc. are enabled BUT will not do anything.



I did find a little anomaly, in that if I actually select ANYTHING , ANYWHERE, then select "Set to..." and "kickoff", then the selection information is loaded AND the data is actually selected.

[Shooshie]

Once the time range was selected, did you click on a track? You have to click the tracks you want to select. Time ranges don't automatically select tracks.

Also, the saved time range doesn't save an actual selection. It's just a pair of numbers in the selection range fields. The intersection of tracks and time = "selection." So, you provide the tracks by clicking on them after setting the time range. It always has worked for me. I haven't tried the saved range in DP9, but I have no reason to believe it works any differently than it has in the past.

If you ARE making a track selection, and it still isn't working, THEN we've got a problem.

Shooshie

[Shooshie]

I decided to boot DP9 and give it a try. At first, I did it in the Tracks window and the Sequence Editor. Worked perfectly there. Then I tried it in the MIDI Editor. I had the same problem as you, there. It would not select anything, and since there aren't really any "tracks" in a list to grab, it presents a small obstacle.

There are several work-arounds. Choose the one(s) you like.
• Select All, then choose your saved time range.

• Drag a selection box around a group of MIDI events that represent the tracks you want to select, then choose your saved time range. Voilá! Your selection is now the desired tracks in the desired range.

• Make the selection in the Tracks Overview window or the Sequence Editor, then switch to the MIDI Editor. (this is easy for me, because those three windows are always open in their own "Spaces," or Apple's virtual monitors. I usually run about 4 or 5 Spaces/Desktops, give or take a few, so it's nothing for me to hit the key to switch to the other window. Very convenient when selecting things to use the power of the Tracks Window, then edit the selection in the MIDI Editor.

In each case, the added move costs you practically no time at all. The workarounds are really negligible as far as elapsed time is concerned.

Meanwhile, I would consider this an oversight bug, meaning that the programmers simply left out an automatic way to have it select the contents of the MIDI Graphic Editor Window. If any note at all is selected, the saved time range will select all the MIDI Events for that track that fall within the saved range. But you shouldn't have to do anything extra to produce a selection in the MIDI Editor. By default, it should select whatever is on the screen. MOTU's programmers should make it so.

Shooshie

[cleamon]

I decided to boot DP9 and give it a try. At first, I did it in the Tracks window and the Sequence Editor. Worked perfectly there. Then I tried it in the MIDI Editor. I had the same problem as you, there. It would not select anything, and since there aren't really any "tracks" in a list to grab, it presents a small obstacle.

There are several work-arounds. Choose the one(s) you like.
• Select All, then choose your saved time range.

• Drag a selection box around a group of MIDI events that represent the tracks you want to select, then choose your saved time range. Voilá! Your selection is now the desired tracks in the desired range.

• Make the selection in the Tracks Overview window or the Sequence Editor, then switch to the MIDI Editor. (this is easy for me, because those three windows are always open in their own "Spacesj," or Apple's virtual monitors. I usually run about 4 or 5 Spaces/Desktops, give or take a few, so it's nothing for me to hit the key to switch to the other window. Very convenient when selecting things to use the power of the Tracks Window, then edit the selection in the MIDI Editor.

In each case, the added move costs you practically no time at all. The workarounds are really negligible as far as elapsed time is concerned.

Meanwhile, I would consider this an oversight bug, meaning that the programmers simply left out an automatic way to have it select the contents of the MIDI Graphic Editor Window. If any note at all is selected, the saved time range will select all the MIDI Events for that track that fall within the saved range. But you shouldn't have to do anything extra to produce a selection in the MIDI Editor. By default, it should select whatever is on the screen. MOTU's programmers should make it so.

Shooshie

Thanks for looking at this and confirming the behavior. I work in the MIDI editor more than in the TO or Sequence editor when doing MIDI stuff. Yeah, I found out that by selecting anything before choosing the saved time makes it work as expected. An oversight by the developers. No biggy. I created a tech link, so we'll see if anything happens.

[cleamon]

...
But you shouldn't have to do anything extra to produce a selection in the MIDI Editor. By default, it should select whatever is on the screen. MOTU's programmers should make it so.
...
Shooshie

Motu confirmed this "bug", but who knows when the fix will get into a release. (I'm sticking with 8.07 at least until 9.x settles down -- in fact there is very little, if anything, in 9.x that "rings my bell"; more synths, stomp boxes, lanes (meh) ).

I ended up making a video to show them what I was doing and why (I think) it's not working the way it should.

At least there is a reasonable workaround.