Split Off Meters...*Really* Split

[kozikowski]

I think all the Audacitys do this. I pull off the meters so I can blow them up and see them easier. They become crippled separate applications. I minimize the main program (yellow button) to do something else on the desktop, I need to keep pushing the meters out of the way. They don't follow the main program and they don't seem to have their own window management buttons.

Koz

[steve]

I think that it is due to a design limitation in WxWidgets (which Audacity uses to provide a cross platform GUI).

The meters can either be dockable (as they are) but then they do not have minimise or close buttons (they are not "windows"), or they can be in a window, but then they are not dockable.

The new "Mixer Board" feature may help in some situations. This is a brand new feature and is still being tweaked to overcome some known problems and improve usability, but it is in a real window, so it can be closed, resized or minimised (but cannot be docked). It provides playback meters for individual tracks. It does not help with record level metering as it is designed to assist playback mixing

It would be good if the Mixer Board also included a meter for the overall output level, though the developers may argue that that is already provided by the standard Audacity meter bar.

[Gale Andrews]

I think all the Audacitys do this. I pull off the meters so I can blow them up and see them easier. They become crippled separate applications. I minimize the main program (yellow button) to do something else on the desktop, I need to keep pushing the meters out of the way. They don't follow the main program and they don't seem to have their own window management buttons.
Koz

In 1.2 (on Windows anyway) the Meter ended up on top of all other programs if you undocked it and task switched away, but not if you minimised Audacity. That isn't true in 1.3.8 on Windows - the meter should disappear if you minimise Audacity or task switch away. Not sure about the yellow button (is that a Mac thing)? It might be a WXMAC problem, but just in case, do you have steps to reproduce the problem or a screenshot?


Gale

[kozikowski]

<<<That isn't true in 1.3.8 on Windows - the meter should disappear if you minimise Audacity or task switch away.>>>

I'm fairly certain that's not true. I made it a point to do this test on one of the 1.3.8 programs to make sure nobody fixed it when my back was turned.

Any particular one you want me to try?

The yellow button is the carefully shaded graphic, fuzzy-warm, fancy-pants version of minimize. The underline character in Windows.

Koz

[kozikowski]

2009 08 15
15" MacBook Pro 2.66 GHz Intel DuoCore
OS-X 10.5.8 Leopard
Audacity 1.3.8 Release Date JUL 21 2009

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/illustra ... Normal.jpg
http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/illustra ... _Split.jpg
http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/illustra ... imized.jpg

Note the production is minimized (yellow ball) down next to the trash can on the bottom.

Koz

[Gale Andrews]

2009 08 15
15" MacBook Pro 2.66 GHz Intel DuoCore
OS-X 10.5.8 Leopard
Audacity 1.3.8 Release Date JUL 21 2009

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/illustra ... Normal.jpg
http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/illustra ... _Split.jpg
http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/illustra ... imized.jpg

Note the production is minimized (yellow ball) down next to the trash can on the bottom.

Koz

I wasn't dragging the Meter Toolbar outside the Audacity window, but I tried that on Windows in 1.3.9-alpha and if I minimise or task switch, the meters disappear with the main Audacity window. It's reproducible in 1.3.9-a in Ubuntu if you move the meters before minimising. The meters will be on top with the task switch focus still on Audacity, so the easiest way to get rid of the meters is task switch to the app you want to work with. If you switch back to Audacity, then minimise again without moving the meters, the meters will disappear.

On that basis I'd call it something not absolutely critical to fix for 2.0, unless on Mac you really do have to drag the meters out of the way and can't just task switch to get rid of them, and if it happens every time even if you don't move the meter before minimising. Let me know what it does for you.


Gale

[kozikowski]

I don't exactly know that I follow that, but there is no way to minimize the split meters, hot keys or not. That means if you have extensive documents or clips on the desktop, some of them are going to be hiding behind the meters.

Task Switching (Apple-TAB) just brings one or the other application forward. It doesn't minimize or deminimize.

Koz

[steve]

It's reproducible in 1.3.9-a in Ubuntu if you move the meters before minimising.

I can't reproduce it here. If I minimise Audacity, the meters are also minimised, just like on Windows.
I'm using Ubuntu 9.04 with Compiz.

Just in case it is related, on Ubuntu it is impossible to put the main Audacity window in front of the Spectrum Analyze window. I think this is also the case on Windows, but it doesn't seem to me to be a correct way to manage windows. (It's rather irritating when comparing the spectra of different selections).

[kozikowski]

<<<put the main Audacity window in front of the Spectrum Analyze window.>>>

I can do that in Mac 1.3.7. I can try the others. I can't get more than one analysis, tho. How are you doing that?

Yup. I can do it in 1.3.8 Release Jul 21.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Here we are on the test bench. Intel Mac Mini minimal install. Few other applications.

Leopard patched this morning.

Audacity 1.3.9a Release 15 JUL.

I can put the spectrum analyzer behind the main editor and the meters do not minimize.

Koz