Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

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yael
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Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by yael »

Greetings to the whole forum, I have a question, in ALL DAW that I used when selecting a track that track is also selected in the mixer and vice versa, even obviously changes color in "both windows" I have not managed to do the same in DP How can I do it ???
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by MW1 »

I wish that selecting a track in the Tracks window would highlight the channel strip in the mixer - this is a real weakness of DP's interface IMO.

As it stands, and considering the track counts that often build up, it can be really frustrating scrolling around to find the relevant channel or group of channels in the mixer itself. Logic Pro is much clearer in this respect.

I'm praying that MOTU will radically overhaul the interface in DP10 as, apart from the odd cosmetic theme color option, it hasn't really moved on from the 90's - tiny GUI elements, bad contrast and readability etc...
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by Shooshie »

Couple options:
1) in addition to the mixer, use the channel strip in the Consolidated Windows.
2) If you want not to have to scroll around for the strip of the selected track, leave your mixing board open full-screen all the time. How? Use "Spaces." Also known as Mission Control. Here's a video I made on doing that. I've been working this way for over 10 years, and I really can't go back. It's too slow the old way.

Using Spaces for working in DP

I also keep frequently used edit windows in their own space, also full-screen.
In the case of the mixer, keep the channel strips organization locked to track order. That helps if you still have to scroll, or just finding the channel. Also use well-thought-out color schemes for organizing your tracks. If they're all the same color, you're going to have to read the name of every strip. Bad business.

Use track names that give meaningful information when truncated in the mixing board. You still have to be able to read what the track names are When you can't find a track's channel strip, chances are its color and name both need rethinking.

Sure, it takes a day or two to get used to it. Once you do, the speed an simplicity of finding tracks makes up for any inconvenience of Spaces 10-fold.

One thing you'll have to sacrifice if you use Spaces: the Control Panel cannot be embedded in a full-screen consolidated window. It must float. As you go from space to space, you must have the control panel float there with you. Not a problem. I never did like the full-screen CW. Too confining.

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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by bayswater »

Of those option, putting a channel strip window in the left side bar is simple and effective. It shows the track currently selected in any other window, and it can be arranged a number of ways.

Try it. Easier than looking for the 'highlighted' channel strip in a mixer window, especially when the number of channels exceeds the screen space. And since we're comparing to other DAWs, consider that Logic and Cubase, while they might highlight a channel in the mixer, both provide inspectors showing the selected channel/track for this purpose. In all three DAWs, the mixer is not the place to do it.
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by FMiguelez »

.... And if you need to work on a set of many tracks, simply select them in the TO, and then press Shift-m. That will open the mixer with only the selected tracks showing.

For this to work for me, the mixer window has to be previously closed (be unopened), unfortunately, but nothng that a quick Shift-m followed by Command-w can't quickly do.

I feel there's room for improvement in this area, though.
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by ccrane »

Another option is to select "Scroll the Mixing Board to the selection" in DP's Consolidated Window preferences. I always keep a few (2-6) channels of the Mixer visible on the left side of the Consolidated Window. Mixer automatically scrolls to the the selected SE or TO track. I prefer this method over the Channel Strip as that limits viewing to one track at a time. -Chris
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by FMiguelez »

ccrane wrote:Another option is to select "Scroll the Mixing Board to the selection" in DP's Consolidated Window preferences. I always keep a few (2-6) channels of the Mixer visible on the left side of the Consolidated Window. Mixer automatically scrolls to the the selected SE or TO track. I prefer this method over the Channel Strip as that limits viewing to one track at a time. -Chris
:shock:

OMG! I really need to try that one! I can't believe I didn't know about this.

But what happens when you have a multi-selection of non-contiguous tracks? Will it scroll to the selected track that is at the top most in the TO?

Must one use Consolidated Windows for this to work? I always keep the mixer outside of the CW.

{EDIT}
Oh, I see. So you need to keep the mixer in a side bar in the CW for this to work, right? And it should show at least a few tracks, so it would take up more space in the window.. I'll try it and see if it works for me.
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by MW1 »

Yes, I always have the channel strip open in the left hand sidebar - it's useful enough for a single track but when you need to work in the mixer, I often find it really awkward to identify the selected track(s).

Re 'Spaces', color coding, track naming etc - I have the mixer permanently open full width on its own separate Cinema display and with the track counts I often have to deal with I still have to scroll horizontally, even with the channels in narrow view, so there's really not much more I can do except hope that MOTU implements some sort of channel strip highlighting in a future version.
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by ccrane »

FMiguelez wrote:
ccrane wrote:Another option is to select "Scroll the Mixing Board to the selection" in DP's Consolidated Window preferences. I always keep a few (2-6) channels of the Mixer visible on the left side of the Consolidated Window. Mixer automatically scrolls to the the selected SE or TO track. I prefer this method over the Channel Strip as that limits viewing to one track at a time. -Chris
:shock:

OMG! I really need to try that one! I can't believe I didn't know about this.

But what happens when you have a multi-selection of non-contiguous tracks? Will it scroll to the selected track that is at the top most in the TO?

Must one use Consolidated Windows for this to work? I always keep the mixer outside of the CW.

{EDIT}
Oh, I see. So you need to keep the mixer in a side bar in the CW for this to work, right? And it should show at least a few tracks, so it would take up more space in the window.. I'll try it and see if it works for me.
I know, I wish 'scroll to selection' also worked outside the CW. I like the CW in general so it works for me.
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by wvandyck »

With the mixer fully open and the Track Selector in a side window, entering the first few letters of a track in the Track Selector's search window at the top isolates the track in the mixer.

Side window options are preferred here
- Mixer in the side window (Scroll the Mixing Board to Selection)
- Channel Strip
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by Shooshie »

The mixer is one of those things that makes me LOVE the Magic Trackpad. Scrolling is as natural as turning pages of a book, or gliding your fingers over a console till you find the right fader. Incorporate intelligent color schemes for your tracks, and use names that remain meaningful when truncated, and even mixers that exceed the width of your monitor are still easily searched. But if you have random colors, or colors that are mixed up, and if your names are hard to read, then I pity the poor soul having to jump in and out of the mixer, scrolling each time he/she does it.

Everything I've done in DP since I began using Performer in 1986 has been geared toward making life easier for one who has to do this every day. Spaces, colors, and track names are some of my most dependable "tricks" for speed and convenience. When I get things mixed up so that my system isn't working right, I get a taste of life before Spaces, and I quickly do whatever it takes to fix it and get my tracks back in order again.
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by Shooshie »

Another trick I use for orienting myself quickly in the mixer and other windows is to leave a blank track between sections. It varies how I do it, but things that are grouped logically will be grouped visually, too, and maybe a blank track between them will be named something like
-=-=-=-=-=-
or
=x=x=x=x=
or
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

These catch your eye, and by using different ones in different places, they actually help you to find the section you are looking for.

|–|—|—|—|–|

0000000000

ZZZZZZZZZ

[][][][][][][][[]

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

=========

Those will help. They will especially help MIDI tracks, but I use them sometimes on Audio, too.

I still think MOTU should give us the option to highlight the selected track's channel strip, but since they haven't so far, it may never actually happen. Until then, all tricks help.

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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by zandurian »

I've brought this up more than once. Glad to learn about some workarounds. Also nice to see that others see the need for a simple feature - for highlights to be universal.....


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yael
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by yael »

Thank you very much everyone for the tips and advice, shooshie, very good your proposal of spaces, Fmiguelez, shift-m the best of the day ... all excellent solutions to my question, thank you very much for your support ...
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Re: Track selection follows the selection in mixer, how?

Post by JSmith1234567 »

Shooshie wrote:Another trick I use for orienting myself quickly in the mixer and other windows is to leave a blank track between sections. It varies how I do it, but things that are grouped logically will be grouped visually, too, and maybe a blank track between them will be named something like
-=-=-=-=-=-
or
=x=x=x=x=
or
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

These catch your eye, and by using different ones in different places, they actually help you to find the section you are looking for.

|–|—|—|—|–|

0000000000

ZZZZZZZZZ

[][][][][][][][[]

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

=========

Those will help. They will especially help MIDI tracks, but I use them sometimes on Audio, too.

I still think MOTU should give us the option to highlight the selected track's channel strip, but since they haven't so far, it may never actually happen. Until then, all tricks help.

Shooshie
Those are terrific!

I'm going to use those.

Thank you.
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