MOTU LISTENS !!!

[bayswater]

On further investigation, I did not find a setting for double tap-to-drag. Maybe I don't know what you're talking about. The settings I mentioned above work well for me in the current versions of everything. You can try them and see if they help. But double tap to drag? I haven't seen that. At least not recently. I'm pretty sure I've seen it somewhere in the past.

Shooshie

It's not double tap -- it's more like tap one and half taps. On the second tap you leave your finger in contact with the trackpad surface, and then you can drag whatever was selected on the first tap, then lift and tap again to release. I used this more than anything else.

[FMiguelez]

Hey, 'Nando, if you want to get better on the trackpad, I can help you. Please don't scan; read. (yeah, I do it, too. )

Shoosh!
Thank you for taking the time to write that very detailed post

I will definitely try all your suggestions. I really want to like this Track Pad thing!

The click area is surprisingly hard to click. Maybe it will get softer with time, but right now I must apply a fair amount of pressure for each click... Perhaps because it's new?

I'm quite familiar with the Magic Mouse, which I like a bit better, and of course, my laptop's Pad area as well.

You know what, you really NAILED my first issue in your first point: I need a good hand support!
That's probably why I didn't like it... My hand (and then my arm) started to get tired from the unnatural position. My other problem is that I need to find a way to rest the hand when not using the track pad (i.e., in between DP operations). I found myself with my hand being rigid just "hanging there" up in the air, in a "ready" position, and that became tiring. I just want to rest my hand somewhere near there.

But I think a good wrist support would be an essential starting point. Also, I will check out the JITouch app you mentioned for this.

On further investigation, I did not find a setting for double tap-to-drag. Maybe I don't know what you're talking about. The settings I mentioned above work well for me in the current versions of everything. You can try them and see if they help. But double tap to drag? I haven't seen that. At least not recently. I'm pretty sure I've seen it somewhere in the past.

It's not double tap -- it's more like tap one and half taps. On the second tap you leave your finger in contact with the trackpad surface, and then you can drag whatever was selected on the first tap, then lift and tap again to release. I used this more than anything else.

Exactly! That's what I meant.
You're right. It's more like 1 1/2 clicks
I will keep messing with the settings until I find a more precise way to scroll and move by tiny amounts.

At the moment I have the wired mouse plugged in (so I can use the TP and regular mouse anytime), but I'll unplug it for now to force myself to give it a better fair shot.

Thanks, guys.

[Shooshie]

Hey guys, I remember the tap-tap-drag thing, but for the life of me I cannot find it. What is the setting that creates it? Have they removed that in Mavericks? I looked at a Powerbook running 10.7.x, and it had the same preference settings as mine. When did this go away? Or is it still there, hiding in one of the settings?

[bayswater]

Hey guys, I remember the tap-tap-drag thing, but for the life of me I cannot find it. What is the setting that creates it? Have they removed that in Mavericks? I looked at a Powerbook running 10.7.x, and it had the same preference settings as mine. When did this go away? Or is it still there, hiding in one of the settings?

Strange isn't it. I haven't been able to find it either, but it didn't matter because I have it enabled. It may be one of those things moved to Accessibility. Try Trackpad options > Enable dragging > drag lock. I'm afraid to touch it in case I screw up the setting and can't get it back.

[Shooshie]

I found it. It's in System Prefs / Accessibility / Mouse & Trackpad / Trackpad Options / Enable Dragging / with or without Drag Lock.

I set mine for dragging without drag lock. When you lift your finger for about 1.5 seconds, it releases the drag. With the lock you have to tap again to stop dragging. You can also set the scrolling speed there, or turn the inertia on or off. (of course, I leave it on)

There are a lot of options in a lot of features that appear in Accessibility. I'm not sure if that's the best place for them, but that's where they are. I've got to get in the habit of looking there for things that I can use.

Shooshie

[bayswater]

There are a lot of options in a lot of features that appear in Accessibility. I'm not sure if that's the best place for them, but that's where they are. I've got to get in the habit of looking there for things that I can use.

Well clearly Apple has put them there because they think these are features for guys like us that have reached the stage of life where they'd like a little help. Without the drag lock turned on, don't you have a problem with the selected object moving along with your finger as you proceed to your next edit action?

[RROY]

Regarding how hard the track pad can be to click. I returned a Track pad because of that issue, and have stuck with my Magic Mouse. However, I have tried Track pads at the Apple store more recently and they have seemed much easier to click. Not sure if it's an older versus newer Track pad issue or if there is just some variability between Track pads.

[Shooshie]

Regarding how hard the track pad can be to click. I returned a Track pad because of that issue, and have stuck with my Magic Mouse. However, I have tried Track pads at the Apple store more recently and they have seemed much easier to click. Not sure if it's an older versus newer Track pad issue or if there is just some variability between Track pads.

I had to buy a new Magic Trackpad, because the button on my old one became so weak that it wouldn't pop back up. I'd literally have to pick up the corner of the trackpad to make the button come up again. It didn't start that way, so I'm assuming that there is a breaking-in period, and that they gradually get weaker with age. It might be better to have one with a little oomph behind it at first.

Well clearly Apple has put them there because they think these are features for guys like us that have reached the stage of life where they'd like a little help. Without the drag lock turned on, don't you have a problem with the selected object moving along with your finger as you proceed to your next edit action?

Well... no. In fact, until yesterday I did not have the drag thing turned on at all. I depended on my finger to hold down the button as I dragged. So I've compromised now and I'm using the drag feature, but without the lock. It stays "locked" for about a second, enough time to reposition your finger while dragging an object across the screen. Or, I can use my old method of simply alternating fingers while dragging an object — no more difficult than finger crossovers on the piano.

Shooshie

[FMiguelez]

BTW, I'm finding my new Trackpad unusable with DP (and most other apps). Not only because it just doesn't work (the scrolling is so clumsy), but because it involves a lot of extra movements to operate... Instead of clicking (the click area is hard), I have to tap twice to "grab" something, move it where I want and tap twice again to release it. That's 50% more "clicks" right there. And not only that, but there is NOT enough precision for things like CC editing, or grabbing those tiny MIDI bars in the GE.
The moment I switched back to my wired mouse, I was 100 times faster and more precise. Scrolling works perfectly in DP with a regular mouse. At first I was a little disappointed thinking DP was not fluid enough, but then I was flying in it with a normal mouse.

For the moment I have them both, so I can still try the trackpad for certain things and take the mouse for DP-related stuff.

Hey, 'Nando, if you want to get better on the trackpad, I can help you. Please don't scan; read. (yeah, I do it, too. )

Your problem is three-fold: 1) partly the settings. 2) partly your technique, and 3) partly just giving it some time and letting your muscles learn their jobs on this totally new [to your hands] kind of input device. I forced myself to use nothing but the Magic Trackpad for a few weeks. After that, I never wanted to go back. I have a closet shelf full of Kensington Expert Mouse Pro wireless trackballs — which I hold in the highest esteem as "best trackball ever made" — so I could go back at any time if the Magic Trackpad slowed me down. But... I love this thing too much to switch back!

Shoosh!
You were so right! I'm starting to love my Trackpad

The key thing was to find a nice cushioned wrist support. That made me like it instantly more.

Mission Control is incredible for DP (thanks to your video it took me seconds to set it up my own way). The extra Desktops are so cool!!!

Before, with my G5, I didn't even bother with these things... The poor creature could barely keep up with one or two windows opened, so having multiple plugs opened or various DP windows in different spaces was totally out of the question.

So I guess now I'm gonna turn into an opened-window pig with my new computer. SHE can handle as many opened things as I want

The only thing I'm still not too comfortable with is editing operations in DP. I guess I need more practice, but I've found that having a regular wired mouse and the trackpad connected at the same time is the best for me. For broad strokes and controlling the computer in general I'm using the TP, but for more detail I still prefer the mouse, especially because, no matter what settings I use for the TP, scrolling with it in DP is not working properly (it tries to go sideways, and when it does go up or down it's too slow and jumpy).

When this is fixed It'll be much better.

So thanks for not letting me quit on the TP, Shoosh!!! I'm really starting to enjoy it

[Shooshie]

Great to hear, Fernando! I'm going to think about that scrolling issue with the Trackpad. Mavericks brought that on in my system, but recently it's gotten better. I'm not sure why. I've changed some settings, thrown out some extra prefs, and upgraded to the latest versions of OS X and DP. Somewhere in there, the scrolling issue went away. (not the page-swipes in Safari, but I handled that another way)

You might try turning off "Swipe Between Pages" in the Magic Trackpad preferences (top of 3rd page) and see if that helps the scrolling in DP.

Glad you're enjoying Mission Control and Spaces. It's a real zero gravity experience!

Shooshie

[Splinter]

Instead of a double tap to drag, use the 3 finger drag. No tapping required. I hate clicking on the Trackpad. It's too difficult to hold it and move your finger unless you click with your thumb or other hand. I have everything set "soft." Tap instead of click; two finger scroll up and down, right and left; three finger tap and drag; and four finger swipe up for Mission Control, swipe left and right to jump windows. I get around much quicker this way than ever before. The only niggle I've found with this is sometimes just the proximity of another finger over the pad can confuse things. But as you've pointed out, a wrist support can help with this.

[bayswater]

three finger tap and drag;

I'm missing something. On my setup, one finger tap and drag and three finger tap and drag do the same thing. Surely one finger is simpler?

[Shooshie]

three finger tap and drag;

I'm missing something. On my setup, one finger tap and drag and three finger tap and drag do the same thing. Surely one finger is simpler?

I use the tap, myself, but I think he was saying the advantage to the three finger drag is that there is no tap involved. Just hit the pad a dragging!

Shoosh

[Splinter]

Sorry, I meant just three finger drag. I mean you have to ½ tap to put your fingers on the pad, but yeah... that's what I meant

[bogmusic]

Back to the original post...

I have to agree, MOTU have really delivered

I am really pleased I switched to Digital Performer. I am by no means an adept user but that's down to the limited time I have to use the software. I always look forward to the chance to spend more time with DP which I have set up on mac and PC.

Every time I do get quality time it is another step forward and transferring stuff I have put together in Auria on my iPad is transparent.

I'm sure there will be more to come but I certainly appreciate what I have right now!

Regards
Simon