What is the TO ?

[markmcb]

Sorry for this question. I keep seeing this, and I've been using DP for a very long time, but I don't know what TO stands for.I'm sure I will be embarrassed when I find out.

[stubbsonic]

Not a dumb question. It stands for Tracks Overview. The DP interface just refers to it as "Tracks".

[markmcb]

Thank You

[Shooshie]

The manual always called it the Tracks Overview Window, but they changed the name of it officially in DP9 so that it is now just "Tracks." Likewise, they changed the name of the MIDI Graphic Edit Window to simply the MIDI Editor. When they named it, such an edit window needed some description in its name so that people would know it was not the Event List, which was often called the MIDI Editor. Graphic editors were new in MIDI Sequencers (this was before DAWs, even), and many people had never experienced the ability to move notes around on a "piano roll."

Likewise, there was another window called the Tracks Window, and while its purpose is now among the many things covered by the current Tracks Overview [now, just "Tracks"], you can see from the following picture that it's definitely NOT the Tracks Overview window, so there was yet again a need to distinguish the new graphically oriented Tracks Overview Window from the original "Tracks" window.
(Click graphic to see the whole picture in a new window)
The "Tracks" window is clearly related to the Tracks Overview, but they are miles apart in function.

Now, one can easily surmise that enough time has passed that this esoteric knowledge is possessed only by a few who definitely know the difference, so there's no need to maintain the difference. It's easier to use the short name, Tracks, which is essentially what the window is about.

While we're at it, let's take a look at the original Tracks Overview Window, which was a graphic editor, and yet it looks nothing like the current Tracks Overview/Tracks window.

See the dark rectangles of different shades? Those tell you whether there is data in those cells (bars) and whether it is dense or sparse. That helps you remember what's there, and you can move the data without opening it and viewing it directly. This was the precursor to the MIDI Graphic Edit Window (now MIDI Editor)

Speaking of MIDI Editors, in 1993, DP1.3, there were 3 ways you could edit MIDI while viewing actual MIDI events.

Those are all still there, but it's a little harder to find the MIDI Notation Window.

So, Tracks became Tracks Overview, which once again became Tracks (DP9).
MIDI Event List was often called the MIDI Editor, so the new graphic editor became the MIDI Graphic Editor, and now it's just called the MIDI Editor (DP9). There may be mistakes in the manual where the names haven't been changed; I haven't checked.

There it is: a free history lesson in DP. You want the DP History Textbook? Here ya go:
DP Timeline as of 2008. This little PDF file was put together by a member of the forum, Flashgerkin, with a little help from me and a couple others.

Shooshie

[frankf]

Nice history lesson Shooshie! I'm one of the dinosaurs for sure, still freely writing TO, GE freely with no compassion. At least the SE is holding its own and giving me a small break!!
Apologies for any confusion I've caused but I must say no guarantees.

[stubbsonic]

While we're at it, let's take a look at the original Tracks Overview Window, which was a graphic editor, and yet it looks nothing like the current Tracks Overview/Tracks window.

Um. Help me out. How is this different?

[Babz]

Wow, good one, Shoosh! I had totally forgotten there was once a "Tracks" window, different than the TO. Of course, I should expect no less than the full Shooshiepedia treatment by now, right? Ah the good old Memory meter! Back when a smoke was a smoke, and groovin' was groovin', and sequencers were measured in number of notes, and if you had a Mac, you were cooler than the kid next door trying to learn to break dance on a piece of cardboard in his parent's back yard. Suddenly, my avatar is all 80s chic, 'n stuff. I'm gonna go boot up my totally tubular TX81Z and bust some 4-Op.

8-bit Babz

[cleamon]

Likewise, they changed the name of the MIDI Graphic Edit Window to simply the MIDI Editor.
Shooshie

Thanks for the history. That explains why they used <shift>-G as the default command key for the MIDI editor. (other than M was used for mixer )

[markmcb]

This reminds me of working on my Amiga with MusicX and Bars and Pipes.