Audacity Forum

Audacity is so good, I almost hate to make a feature request. I use the heck out of it and I'm blown away how good it is.

That said:

I may have overlooked something, but I can't find a way for the "Transcription Toolbar > Play at Speed" to retain its playback speed.

I'd like it to retain the previous usage until I change it, even if I open a new file. If I play a file at 1.5x or 1.8x (which I do regularly) it's always reset to 1x each time a file is opened.

That doesn't make sense to me because the only real use for that alternate playback is to play at a non-standard speed. 1x for that playback is always NOT what I want IF I select that playback mode. (If I want 1x playback, I use the standard transport controls, usually spacebar.)

I see two scenarios: If the previous speed I used was not wanted this playback, I change that slider (I double click it set it to the same exact value each time.) If it retained the previous playback setting, it still could be wrong, but there is a strong chance it will be right. In my case I'm regularly playing back audio at 1.8x speed to do a quality control pass.

Again: It's ALWAYS wrong in the default settings for me, so I reset it each file. Not a big deal, but I'm processing 10-100 files per week and that's growing.

If it retains the previous setting (just like input selection, mono/stereo, the scale on the audio window, etc.) it would be a much stronger usability factor from my POV. It seems to me anybody using that playback control would also have to set it each time, as the default simply duplicates another control.

(BTW - I mapped "Alt-Spacebar" as a shortcut because I use the heck out of the fast playback for a final QC check.)

As a bonus: It wouldn't hurt if the tooltip for both the Play icon and the slider reflected the speed that is set without having to click right on the slider control. I do know about the double-click to set the speed which is handy.

Again, I feel funny asking about this one one hand, but of all the feature requests, this one seems easier than most. Of course I've never evaluated any of the code. As a former software developer I know many things look easy, but side effect issues are all over the place.

Unlikely wrote:I can't find a way for the "Transcription Toolbar > Play at Speed" to retain its playback speed.
I'd like it to retain the previous usage until I change it, even if I open a new file. If I play a file at 1.5x or 1.8x (which I do regularly) it's always reset to 1x each time a file is opened.

OK this seems a good change.

Would you want the play speed to be set globally (like Recording Channels) or per project (so that if you changed the speed slider in one project window, it does not change in the other window, as now)? I think per project.

Unlikely wrote:It wouldn't hurt if the tooltip for both the Play icon and the slider reflected the speed that is set without having to click right on the slider control. I do know about the double-click to set the speed which is handy.

Yes, there is already an issue open for that: http://bugzilla.audacityteam.org/show_bug.cgi?id=626 .

Unlikely wrote:I know many things look easy, but side effect issues are all over the place.

I would guess your suggestion is minimally invasive.


Gale

Gale Andrews wrote:<snip>
OK this seems a good change.

Would you want the play speed to be set globally (like Recording Channels) or per project (so that if you changed the speed slider in one project window, it does not change in the other window, as now)? I think per project.

<snip>

Gale

Gale,

Sorry this reply took me so long.

Here's my typical usage:

Because high speed playback is used for auditing, it's much easier to audit when all playbacks are at the same high speed. because my ears learn to hear the details and everything is relative. I originally started listening back at 1.5, then moved it up by .1 and now I'm regularly listening at 1.8 or 1.85. My goal is to adjust and work my way to 2.0.

If all windows change that works fine for me, and my gut says anybody using this feature would find their own "ideal" listening speed, stick with that 80% of the time, and adjust for the odd case as needed.

As I mentioned, 1x playback is never what I want IF I use that feature. My recent use was on a 86 chapter book, with each chapter being a separate file. I adjusted the playback slider 86 times in that book alone. If someone is listening to music, they probably are trying to get to a certain point (maybe find the start of the guitar solo, or a drum fill) and again, they have to adjust the current default (1.x) so if they adjust because they were listening at 1.5x before, then no additional steps.

BTW - Now after your questions, I looked at how the mic input slider works. After that review it makes good sense for it to be global, so the slider controls are consistent AND retain their settings from session to session, consistent with the Mic input concept. It's also discoverable and once you understand the other controls, this one would work the same. In my mind that tends to be the best usability situation, even though occasionally I may have a project that needs a different speed.

Nothing is perfect for all cases, but I love consistency when it also makes sense (as in this situation.)

I also see the tool tips for the mic slider has the setting indicator that this toolbar slider should have too.

Thanks for the consideration. I'm blown away how good this software is, and the depth. Hats off to the developers!

Don

There may well be people now who use different speed slider settings per project window, so I doubt that changing the speed slider in one window should change it identically in another open window like moving the input/output level does.

I think it should work as the Selection Toolbar format does (this does not work properly in 2.0.5 but will do in the next 2.0.6 release).

If you have a project window open and open a new project window, the speed slider in the new window would take the slider setting from the audacity.cfg settings file, so will have the same value as the original project window. This is better than the slider starting out at 1x in the new window as happens now. But if you move the slider in the new project window, the slider in the original project window remains at its current setting.

If you explicitly save a project, then that project has the slider setting saved into it and will open at that setting, whatever the current setting in audacity.cfg is.

Would that work for you?


Gale

What Gale said– +1

Gale Andrews wrote:<snip>

If you have a project window open and open a new project window, the speed slider in the new window would take the slider setting from the audacity.cfg settings file, so will have the same value as the original project window. This is better than the slider starting out at 1x in the new window as happens now. But if you move the slider in the new project window, the slider in the original project window remains at its current setting.

If you explicitly save a project, then that project has the slider setting saved into it and will open at that setting, whatever the current setting in audacity.cfg is.

Would that work for you?
Gale

This would work GREAT for me!