annoying things - looking for a couple of answers

[dhelpling]

Hey there MOTU peeps - I've been using DP since it was "Performer" and now that I'm on DP8 on the new Mac Pro there are a couple of things that are getting in the way:

How can I use the "delete" key as a Command (it won't let me enter it as a secondary command)? I used this for "Erase" in DP7.

How can I ensure that Consolidated Windows NEVER come up? I have them disabled in prefs but every once in a while I accidentally double-click a window or something and it enters consolidated.

I don't know if this is DP8 or Mavericks, but using the Magic Mouse, waveform editing and navigating in the Sequence Editor has gotten VERY squirrely? The contents of the window itself slip and nudge all over the place...this did not happen in OS X 10.8

Thanks for any responses - back to production...

[stubbsonic]

I'm with you on the consolidated window. I'd prefer never to see it. But yea, I don't know how to prevent it.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I was against the CW from day one. Hated them. But when I used it in full screen mode that all changed. I can't imagine using DP any other way. Once you set them up the way you want and set a couple of key commands to call up the various arrangements, or makes positions of various windows and tabs, mini menus, etc. very predictable. Popping a particular window out and even into a large close to full screen and popping it back in to the CW is a simple cmd-1 key command.

It's one if those things that takes a little time to set up in a way that works for you, and the rewards cannot be understated.

I'm not trying to convert anyone. Hate it if you will. That, IMO, is hating antibiotics do much you'd rather have a strep throat. I know people like that too.

Just sayin

[dhelpling]

Thanks for the thoughts...I don't "hate" the CW design, I just don't like using it after 10 years of old school DP :^)

Anyone else here care to help a brother out? Maybe just how to avoid whatever I occasionally do that causes it to switch in consolidated window?

Thanks Much - DH

[Dan Worley]

Thanks for the thoughts...I don't "hate" the CW design, I just don't like using it after 10 years of old school DP :^)

Anyone else here care to help a brother out? Maybe just how to avoid whatever I occasionally do that causes it to switch in consolidated window?

Thanks Much - DH

About the only thing I can tell you is to go into the Consolidated Windows preferences and make sure none of the windows are highlighted (no doubt you already did that).

The Consolidated Window may still show up in some projects. If that's the case, just pop the Tracks window out of the CW and then close the CW window and that should pop out all the other windows.

I hadn't had to use it for a while, so I just noticed that Control-1 is the command to pop windows in/out of the CW, that's the same as switching spaces in Mission Control, at least it is one my setup. I changed it to Control Option Command-1.

We used to be able to get rid of the window tabs that use up vertical pixels for no reason (I mean, wouldn't we know what window we're in?), but I don't know a way of doing that in 8.05.

[HCMarkus]

HI David! There has been some talk 'round these parts about some squirrely behavior under Mavericks. I'm running Mountain Lion with DP8.04 on a Hex 5,1 Mac and it is puuurfect. If you got a nMP, that is not an option. If you are running a cheese grater, you might want to head back to ML.

[James Steele]

HI David! There has been some talk 'round these parts about some squirrely behavior under Mavericks. I'm running Mountain Lion with DP8.04 on a Hex 5,1 Mac and it is puuurfect. If you got a nMP, that is not an option. If you are running a cheese grater, you might want to head back to ML.

Is that even possible if Mavericks has updated the Mail messages?

[dhelpling]

Thanks for the thoughts Dan - and what's up Marcus? Any geniuses out there that can help in getting the "delete" key to work as a Command for "Erase"?

Cheers gentlemen - DH

[dhelpling]

Sorry - it is "Markus" I believe :^)

[bayswater]

How can I use the "delete" key as a Command (it won't let me enter it as a secondary command)? I used this for "Erase" in DP7.

If you want to use it for Erase in DP 8, I see the Delete key is already the default secondary command for Erase in my two DP 8 setups.

Also, see the manual: "You can use any key you want, except for the delete key, which removes the current key binding, if any."

[MIDI Life Crisis]

And the there's Quickeys.

[Shooshie]

David, here are some answers to the best of my knowledge:

Delete Key
"Delete" already functions as "erase" in most instances where you'd expect it to. That does not include erasing tracks, sequences, fades, track folders, and several other things which logically make some sense. You can use a modified form of Delete for those, as in CONTROL-OPTION-SHIFT-DELETE. I use similar commands so that it's not very likely that I'll accidentally delete a bunch of tracks. I think that happened to me about 20-something years ago, and I didn't know it until days later, causing me to have to go through each daily backup until I found the part to copy and paste back into the current version.

But the larger answer is that there are many forms of "delete" in DP, and some already use only the Delete Key. Those are more or less hard-wired, and they work as you'd expect them to. The Delete key can be used for other commands in combination with other keys, but by iteself it is reserved for deleting events/soundbites, or deleting the commands in the Commands Window.

Type in "Delete" in the Commands Window [SHIFT-L], and you'll get a list of about 20 commands. Delete, on its own, already works for deleting individually selected events, but there are separate commands for deleting the others in the list. You can change them as you wish; just use a modifier key such as CONTROL-DELETE, which is easy to hit with one hand.

OR: you can always use the forward Delete command, which is right next door to Delete (Backspace) on most Apple keyboards. You can't reassign Backspace, but you can reassign the other Delete key.

Consolidated Windows
If you've already set the preferences so that each window opens as an individual window, I don't know what else you can do. Using Window Sets may help. There was a time when I used dozens of window sets, and I kept a "cheat sheet" on my desk to help me remember all the commands for them. No longer. Now I use Consolidated Windows, with the exception of two main windows: the Mixing Board and the MIDI Graphic Edit Window.

When I'm working intensely on something that's fairly large, I move the Mixing Board window and the MIDI Graphic Edit window to separate "Spaces" or "Desktops" as they are now called. Switching to the Mixing Board, then, is merely a matter of hitting Control-2, which switches to the 2nd Space. Or for the MIDI Editor, Control-3, where my MIDI window will always remain at full-screen. This is 2nd nature to me now, so it's as easy as having each of those windows in its own monitor. "Spaces" are virtual monitors, and you can have as many as you want, up to about 16 or so.

So, the Consolidated Window contains the Tracks Overview and the Sequence Editor. Or, I may choose to put the sequence editor in its own space if I need a full screen for it. It's flexible; you can put any window anywhere you like. The only drawback is that with the way Apple has designed things, you can't save a window to a particular space. Therefore, when you open a sequence you have to move its windows to their respective spaces. This is easily done in what Apple now calls "Mission Control." You can zip each window to its space as easily as dealing cards. Each window will retain its saved position, so there is no need to reposition them. Just open Mission Control (F1 for me), and deal the windows. It takes about 5 seconds.

Lest you think this sounds complicated, and you blow it off as unsuitable for you, let me just say that I have worked in DP and Performer since their beginnings, and thought I had my workflow perfected. The along came Spaces, and it blew my old methods out of the water. I'll never go back as long as I have the option to use Spaces. Also, if you choose to try it, go to DP's Preferences and choose Display / Control Panel and set the control panel to float above the other windows. Also, if you want to use Spaces, do not use the "Full screen" version of DP. That, essentially, confines the Control Panel to one screen. You want it to float to any screen-space you are currently viewing. Trust me, once you set this up, it's super-easy and fast to use. I wish we could save the space information for each window, but I'm content using Mission Control to "deal" the windows to their respective spaces.

That, in my opinion, gives you the best of both worlds: Consolidated and Individual Windows, each of which is sized to its maximum fit on the monitor. You will scroll less and see more of each window all the time. Again, it's all flexible. You can change anything you want merely by popping windows out of the Consolidated Windows and dealing them to their own spaces.

Magic Mouse and Scrolling
This is a Mavericks issue. You're not alone. Despite several people saying they don't see the problem, you'll find the Apple forums filled with folks who do, so this is one that's up to Apple to fix.

I use a Magic Trackpad, which I absolutely love. This problem has me contemplating pulling my old Kensington Turbo Mouse Wireless Trackball out of the closet and using it again until Apple fixes the problem. On the other hand, I'm not sure that would fix anything. Some people who use other input devices also report the same kinds of problems. The problems are intensified for trackpad users who use gestures. Safari, in particular, tends to freeze up when you use the page-back/page-forward gestures. DP has trouble scrolling the faders as well as other things. I'm pretty sure Apple (and/or MOTU) will get these things worked out eventually, but until then we've got to live with it or make major changes ourselves. (going back to Mountain Lion, for example) Sorry to bear the bad news, but that's the life of anyone who uses a computer. Eventually you'll find yourself on an OS that causes you trouble until the next upgrade.

Shoosh

[Killahurts]

Hey David,

I had the Magic Mouse problem as well, after updating to Mavericks. I use a Magic Trackpad and a Magic Mouse. The trackpad seemed to work fine, mostly, but the MM was "squirrely" as you say.

I have the computers in a machine room, away from my control room, so I have to use a USB bluetooth (2.0) adapter in the CR to make the MM and TP work. Turned out that Apple abandoned Bluetooth 2.0 entirely with Mavericks, they just didn't tell anyone. I went out and got another $20 adapter that was Bluetooth 4.0, plugged it into the USB hub in the CR, and everything was fixed.

Your Mac Pro may be close enough to you that the crappy internal antenna is adequate, so it may not be a fix for you, but it worked perfectly here.. and a good thing too, I was about to throw my magic mouse against the wall, hard.

btw, welcome to the board David! I really love your work..

[labman]

Hey Killaurts. What USB adapter did you grab? And does that mean that even older magic mice and trackpads will benefit from it?

[Killahurts]

Hey Killaurts. What USB adapter did you grab? And does that mean that even older magic mice and trackpads will benefit from it?

Hey Lab, I threw away the packaging, but I think it is an IO Gear BT adaptor.. the important thing is to get a Bluetooth 4.0 adapter, as it has the best compatibility with the Mavericks OS (apparently).