Hi! I found this feature request in the Wiki, but not exactly as I suggest: “Detect newly added or removed device automatically”.
I use external sound cards. I noticed Audacity doesn’t refresh the inputs and outputs when I plug or unplug them, so it would be great to add a button in the audio engine tool bar to “tell” Audacity to “ask” Windows again for inputs and outputs and update its own lists. If I unlpug a sound card, for example, the list is not corresponding names with real devices anymore, so I need to restart Audacity or, if I can’t at the moment, set input and output to Microsoft sound mapper (so I can use the Windows “selector” instead of the Audacity one).
Doing that automatically (as the Wiki suggests) would be cool as well, but I don’t know if it will require more resources (or be more tricky to implement it). I would be so happy just with a button, if it makes it easier. If not, please add my vote to the automatic detection! ^-^
Cheers!