Chunks Window Insanity

[James Steele]

So if understand correctly, you're not necessarily re-ordering chunks (sequences) on the fly during your set...

I had buttons assigned to my MIDI controller pedal to step forward and backward through chunks as well as a play/stop button.

Great info and definitely in context with what I'm doing but I should have explained a little more. I don't really concern myself with the chunks window while performing. I have a marker at the beginning of each sequence that I can easily read up in the transport display. I use the buttons on the little AKAI LPD8 to switch forward/back through chunks, start/stop, rewind, etc.. in a similar manner as you describe.

The issue occurs during the prep work. I like to have all the sequences in order according to the set list I've created beforehand so that's when I'm in the Chunks window trying to slide them around where I want them.
When the performance starts then I can just press my "Next" button between songs. Certainly we may skip a song or go out of order sometimes but there are a couple other ways to look at and pull up songs/chunks that are easier than going back to the Chunks window.

Okay... so you're already doing what I was doing... I've never had any problems re-ordering chunks in the Chunks Window as I recall. So... i got nothin' I guess.

[CharlzS]

Do you have so many chunks that you need to scroll them in the chunks window? There was another issue recently discussed.here about not being able to reliably drag position of items in a list that scrolled. Perhaps a bug. Can you pop out the chunks window and make it long enough so it doesn't scroll? Just speculating that these issues may be related.

[ggm1960]

I don't know how to describe it other than it seems I have trouble getting the sequence/chunk positioned correctly before releasing the mouse and they don't land where I wanted them. I believe the biggest problem is that it's too small in that window and therefore requires great "mouse maneuvering precision". The Chunks window doesn't have the +/- for size you see in other windows. I can latch onto the upside down trapezoid, slide up/down and get the sequence where it looks like it should drop but then apparently sometimes I'm just not in the absolute perfect position. I guess I just wish there was an alternate method for repositioning chunks. I know this seems like a rather obscure issue but we all occasionally have a rant.

[bayswater]

If I understand, we’re talking about arranging Chunks in the Song window. Not arranging Chunks in the Chunks window. Arranging Chunks in the Chunks window means nothing more than dragging them up and down to change the order, or moving them in and out of folders.

Arranging Chunks in the Song window is pretty simple, and maybe the problem is that the Song windows doesn’t work like other edit windows. You can’t just put it anywhere. When you drag a chunk into the Song window, it is positioned into a “column”, and places with its start at the start of the column. It extends to the end of the column where it is placed, but if the chunk is longer than a column it will carry over to the next column and extend to the end of that column.

If you want to position the start of a Chunk somewhere other than the start of a column, you have to create a new column that starts where you want to place the Chunk. At that point you might create a column that is a different length than those already in the Song window, but all the columns will appear the same size. So the timeline in the Song window is not the same as other edit windows, and does not show the Chunks in proportion to their duration. You can look at the time line at the top to see where Chunks start, but even there, you can’t see where they end.

If you want to put a Chunk somewhere after the last times shown in the time ruler, you have to change the song length.

The Song editor is weird, but within the above conditions, positioning a Chunk where you want it is very simple, it’s just that you can’t just drag it somewhere and expect it to stay there. Perhaps it would be easier if DP automatically created a new column if you position it somewhere other than the start of an existing column. But that’s a whole other can of worms to confuse things.`

[bayswater]

BTW, I was wrong about tempo being taken from the lower of overlapping Chunks. It comes from the upper Chunk.

[stubbsonic]

BTW, I was wrong about tempo being taken from the lower of overlapping Chunks. It comes from the upper Chunk.

The song also has a conductor track, so I wonder how it deals with conflicts. Or is it display only, and shows the conductor contents of the topmost sequence?

[bayswater]

BTW, I was wrong about tempo being taken from the lower of overlapping Chunks. It comes from the upper Chunk.

The song also has a conductor track, so I wonder how it deals with conflicts. Or is it display only, and shows the conductor contents of the topmost sequence?

It’s a bit vague. You can copy the tempo tracks to the Song but if there are overlapping sequences, it copies the upper one. I don’t know whether it is making a copy, or whether it just uses what’s in the sequence. Either way, I think it would be better if each sequence was played at its internal tempo regardless of the tempo of other sequences playing at the same time. Let DP figure out how to scale the sequences, so you don’t have to muck about with tempos in transitions.

[EMRR]

Here’s my old tangent on oddities with chunks in the song window, if it helps anyone.

viewtopic.php?p=549418#p549418

[frankf]

Subsequences: I still occasionally long for them!


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