Audacity Forum

Gale Andrews wrote:If you can't and that's regarded as a "feature"

I'm looking at SetupCutPreviewTracks in ControlToolBar.cpp. I'm only just starting to get to grips with this track iterator stuff, but it looks like it gets the first selected track and copies the section before the selection and the section after the selection to a "virtual" track, and it is that copy that is played on preview. What it doesn't seem to do, but I think it should do, is to iterate through all selected tracks.

It should not preview all tracks as if they have been cut, because we are only cutting from the selected tracks. If we were to include all (non muted) tracks in the preview, then:
A=section before the selection
B=the selection
C=section after the selection.
Selected tracks should play A and C. Not-selected tracks should play A and B. (so as to "preview" the effect of the cut).
However, I think that would be confusing and completely different to what "Preview" does elsewhere. So better, I think, for all selected tracks to play A and C.

It is a "feature" in that Audacity can skip instantly from the end of A to the start of B, because it has prepared the selection that it is going to play. It is important when checking that a cut action does not glitch that going from the end of A to the start of B is instant (no delay at all). The down side is that because the preview audio is prepared ahead of time, it can't be changed in real time. Preview could be muted altogether, but not on an individual track level, so I don't see that would be useful.

Gale Andrews wrote:Perhaps they explicitly don't want to hear the muted selected track that is going to have a piece cut from it (because they muted it).

Imho it would be insanely dangerous to edit audio that you can't hear unless you are into stochastic editing.

steve wrote:

Gale Andrews wrote:If you can't and that's regarded as a "feature"

I'm looking at SetupCutPreviewTracks in ControlToolBar.cpp. I'm only just starting to get to grips with this track iterator stuff, but it looks like it gets the first selected track and copies the section before the selection and the section after the selection to a "virtual" track, and it is that copy that is played on preview. What it doesn't seem to do, but I think it should do, is to iterate through all selected tracks.

I think everyone agrees the current behaviour is wrong.

steve wrote:It should not preview all tracks as if they have been cut, because we are only cutting from the selected tracks. If we were to include all (non muted) tracks in the preview, then:
A=section before the selection
B=the selection
C=section after the selection.
Selected tracks should play A and C. Not-selected tracks should play A and B. (so as to "preview" the effect of the cut).
However, I think that would be confusing and completely different to what "Preview" does elsewhere.

I agree, that's confusing.

steve wrote:It is a "feature" in that Audacity can skip instantly from the end of A to the start of B, because it has prepared the selection that it is going to play.

Agreed but perhaps there is a better way to make a real-time mix that still leaves no gap where the selection is to be removed.

steve wrote:

Gale Andrews wrote:Perhaps they explicitly don't want to hear the muted selected track that is going to have a piece cut from it (because they muted it).

Imho it would be insanely dangerous to edit audio that you can't hear unless you are into stochastic editing.

I think there will also be many cases where you want to hear a track that you are not cutting.

How about if muted, selected tracks are not cut, but in the preview the mix plays as one normally expects it to do, obeying mute/solo and not selectedness?


Gale

Gale Andrews wrote:How about if muted, selected tracks are not cut, but in the preview the mix plays as one normally expects it to do, obeying mute/solo and not selectedness?

There will always be exceptions, but generally I think it is easier and more useful for Preview to be consistent whether it is previewing a cut or previewing an effect or previewing anything else.

steve wrote:

Gale Andrews wrote:How about if muted, selected tracks are not cut, but in the preview the mix plays as one normally expects it to do, obeying mute/solo and not selectedness?

There will always be exceptions, but generally I think it is easier and more useful for Preview to be consistent whether it is previewing a cut or previewing an effect or previewing anything else.

Certainly not easier in the cases mentioned.


Gale

BUMP

have all the votes been counted and transferred?

Can I move this to archive?

Peter

waxcylinder wrote:have all the votes been counted and transferred?

Can I move this to archive?

Yes and yes.

Gale