It's the little things in DP 8

[Prime Mover]

But that, the scrolling thing, the fact that I can't use the consolidated control panel, because it won't float to other spaces when I do, are all parts of a growing list of things that cause me concern in DP.

Well, I just assumed, right from the start, that the consolidated control panel was not for us Space heads. Is there any reason to complain about it? The videos said you could turn it off. I just thought I'd set it up the way it is in DP7.

Scrolling... that is a concern, and to be honest, DP7 wasn't a winner in the scrolling department either. Past a certain zoom level, all horizontal scrolling became really slow, I hope they've cleared that up (it wouldn't surprise me if that was due to old carbon code). Vertical scrolling was always a bit of a challenge too, just because of it's complexity. I spend so much of my time in the sequence editor working with take comping, that I'd always accidentally end up scrolling the multi-take box instead of the actual track list. I'll be curious to see how it fares on my computer.

All in all, we kind of expect this update to not be DP7. DP7 was all about polishing an already completed (though buggy) version, DP8 is a whole new era. I'm sure it'll be a bumpy ride for a bit. By 8.02, though, I bet it'll be pretty rock solid.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I'd probably use the consolidated window if DP didn't dictate which tabs appear across the top. I'll never use some of them ans its a waste of screen real estate.

[Shooshie]

Today the scrolling seems better, but it's still not as responsive as it used to be. It moves, but it feels like you're telling someone else to move it. I don't feel like there's a direct connection between it and me. Come to think of it, this seems to be going on in a few other apps, such as Pages, and Preview when looking at PDFs. And in Safari, I get a lot of overshoot and undershoot when trying to click on links and buttons, or selecting and highlighting text. This may be an issue in Lion, though I'm not ruling out a problem in my Trackpad.

Shooshie

[Shooshie]

I'd probably use the consolidated window if DP didn't dictate which tabs appear across the top. I'll never use some of them ans its a waste of screen real estate.

I use consolidated windows in one of my Spaces. The convenience of having all those windows update when you change chunks is one that just can't be overlooked, and I've got plenty of screen real estate. It's really quite nice, IMO.

Shooshie

[zed]

Bad news: I still don't know, because they appear to be a % of whatever is the background color, and don't appear to be addressed individually in the xml. The good news is that if you set the entire graphic editor background to 255:255:255 (max white) the stripes also lighten. This works well enough for me for now. Also, while digging around, I edited the barlines to be black, so they stand out more from the grid. Very helpful!

(If you want to know which TEXT lines I edited in the xml, let me know. DP is on my other computer and it's shut down right now.)

I think I was trying to do the opposite thing from you. I wanted to lessen the contrast and make it so that those barlines did not stand out so much. In previous versions of DP (version 5 and prior) those grey lines were lighter and I preferred that.

But at this point, I have become used to it enough that I don't even think about it anymore, so I don't think I am going to fiddle around with any text editing right now. But I would be interested in seeing a screen capture of your altered contrast if that is easy for you to do.

Here are the images from a couple of years back where I compared what it looked like in DP 5 versus what it became in DP 6.

This was DP5:



And then the starker contrast of bars in DP6 (and then DP7):



The really interesting thing is now that I look at these images (and I am just viewing them for the first time in a couple of years), I actually like the way they changed it, where at first I really didn't like it at all. I would still like to get the grey bars even lighter (the opposite of your preference), but at this point I am willing to just be happy with the way that it is.

I don't suppose either of us would complain if they turned the contrast of those bars into a user specified preference. It certainly would be nice to have control over it.

[wheever]

I think I was trying to do the opposite thing from you. I wanted to lessen the contrast and make it so that those barlines did not stand out so much. In previous versions of DP (version 5 and prior) those grey lines were lighter and I preferred that...

I don't suppose either of us would complain if they turned the contrast of those bars into a user specified preference. It certainly would be nice to have control over it.

You've misunderstood me, we're trying to do the exact same thing! I want the grey bars lighter, relative to the background color. I MUCH prefer DP5's version. The darker the black key bars are, the harder it is for my eye to pick out the notes, especially as I zoom out.

[wheever]

Zed, just noticed, using digital color meter on your screen grabs that, actually, the black key stripes are darker in DP5. (79.2:79.6:78.8, vs 83.5:83.9:83.1--higher meaning lighter.) But the light stripes are also darker. (DP5 are ~86:86:86 vs ~96:96:96 in DP 6/7x)

What's important here to note is the delta between the light and dark stripes: ~7 in DP 5; 13 in DP6 and later.

So, that might be some useful info. Or maybe not.

[zed]

You've misunderstood me, we're trying to do the exact same thing! I want the grey bars lighter, relative to the background color. I MUCH prefer DP5's version. The darker the black key bars are, the harder it is for my eye to pick out the notes, especially as I zoom out.

Ah cool! We are on the same page then! Yes, I remember having a real hard time with that stark contrast when MOTU removed the grey background. But I do kind of like the white background now. However, if you do manage to find a way to lighten those strips slightly, I would be glad to get a copy of the file.

Maybe we should hold off until we have DP8 installed since it is a little late in the game to be fiddling with DP7.

[Shooshie]

My problem is that I don't like white and gray themes. MOTU loves white and gray themes. In fact, to me, most of their themes look pretty much alike. Just a few that are really different, and only a couple that I can stand to use.

I really hope that Amplidood
gets all fired up and in the mood
to make his gorgeous themes renewed
otherwise, at the risk of sounding rude…
…… we're screwed.

Shooshie
(pardon the 'tude.
don't want a feud)

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Different strokes, dude. Some of us are more sensitive to display colors than others, I suppose. I really am pretty happy with the default. Whoever designed that must have the same "color aptitude" as I do. Given your graphic work, I can see why you might prefer a more highly developed color scheme for the GUI.

Colors make the man! ~ Roy G. Biv

[kgdrum]

I've fallen in love with the Hardware theme!

[Shooshie]

I've fallen in love with the Hardware theme!

Yeah, "Hardware" borrows quite obviously from Andy's "Mellow." It's one of my favorites in his lineup. Not only did MOTU borrow from his color palette, but also the shapes of the faders and the control panel buttons. (Not literal copies, but "inspired by") It looks quite nice, and I may end up using that until Andy gets his line updated.

[EDIT: OOPS! That's not "Hardware." The theme I was thinking of is "Round is Right." Sorry for the confusion.]

Shooshie

[toodamnhip]

My problem is that I don't like white and gray themes. MOTU loves white and gray themes. In fact, to me, most of their themes look pretty much alike. Just a few that are really different, and only a couple that I can stand to use.

I really hope that Amplidood
gets all fired up and in the mood
to make his gorgeous themes renewed
otherwise, at the risk of sounding rude…
…… we're screwed.

Shooshie
(pardon the 'tude.
don't want a feud)

I am kind of amazed that MOTU didn’t give him DP 8?
I just don;t get it.
Seeing him have to ask for donations is beyond my comprehension. This company has truly benefitted by his work.
I really wish I could speak with MOTU and understand. I know I am an outsider looking in, but it looks really unappreciative and even insulting to me from the outside.
Maybe Andy took the “james” route and told MOTU he didn’t want to be incorporated into their company, who knows. Maybe MOTU offered a lot more than I can see. But I surely don;t understand him needing to ask for donations or having to buy DP 8.
If I am missing a BIG part of this, which is entirely possible, then I do apologize MOTU.

[Steve Steele]

I didn't even get an email that DP8 was out! Did you guys get emails or just check their site? Dang, I had to find from Waves of all people!! Well at lest I can hear some bug reports from you guys first.

[dwood3455]

The new plug in selection window is amazingly efficient. Especially the "recent" subgroup that auto updates. It is so convenient to be able to organize plugs the way I want. And the search bar, and the preset management . . . .