Audacity Forum

Topic split from: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 50#p263750

Gale Andrews wrote:A significant question is where we auto-stop on choosing an edit command - where playback started from or where it ended? I have not seen the discussion, so what was the decision about that?

The discussion was at AU14 and was about the specific case of paused playback (a frequent cause of confusion for new users).
In this case, "auto stop" would in effect be a shortcut for "Stop and set cursor -> command" (which is what new users frequently assume will happen when applying a command when paused). A refinement to that idea that I favour is that if the user changes the selection or cursor position while paused, then the new selection / cursor position takes precedence.

I'd have liked a separate Stop and Set Cursor button as you know, but I agree it would not be the whole answer.

Using a cursor position or selection that was changed after Pause seems good.

I usually like to set the cursor back to the starting position on stop, so if there was a way to call the edit without first using stop, then set at the starting position, it would be labour-saving for me. If this feature was confined to buttons, the set to start (equivalent of SPACE) could perhaps be done by SHIFT-click on the buttons.

Is the feature expected to work with shortcuts so e.g. CTRL + X stops and performs the edit when playing or paused?

We should have a Bugzilla issue and Wiki page for this I think. After all pause or play then try-to-edit comes up every day on average doesn't it (adding in [email protected])?


Gale

Gale Andrews wrote:I'd have liked a separate Stop and Set Cursor button as you know, but I agree it would not be the whole answer.

Only slightly off topic, why can't we have shift+space for stop and set cursor?
I know that it is used for starting loop play, but it is not used during play.

Failing that, why not Ctrl+Space (Command+space)?

Either of those seems more logical, more discoverable, easier to remember and easier to find for non-typists than shift+a.

steve wrote:

Gale Andrews wrote:I'd have liked a separate Stop and Set Cursor button as you know, but I agree it would not be the whole answer.

Only slightly off topic, why can't we have shift+space for stop and set cursor?
I know that it is used for starting loop play, but it is not used during play.

Failing that, why not Ctrl+Space (Command+space)?

Either of those seems more logical, more discoverable, easier to remember and easier to find for non-typists than shift+a.

I've suggested CTRL + SPACE instead of SHIFT + A myself on one or more of the lists, but no-one supported the idea. It would really have to be CTRL + SPACE on Mac though, not COMMAND + SPACE, because the latter opens Spotlight.

SHIFT + SPACE to stop and set cursor during play seemed a little confusing to me at first thought. Perhaps it might work if we could show some kind of different stop icon when holding SHIFT during play or loop play, and allowed SHIFT-click on the Stop button to stop and set cursor. Even so, given SHIFT-click on the Play button starts/restarts Loop Play, some might expect SHIFT + SPACE to start/restart Loop Play.

Gale

Gale Andrews wrote:given SHIFT-click on the Play button starts/restarts Loop Play, some might expect SHIFT + SPACE to start/restart Loop Play.

They might expect that now, but it does nothing.

We use Shift as a modifier key for "Play" to produce an alternative type of "play" (modified play behaviour). We indicate the modified play behaviour by showing a modified play button.
We could use Shift as a modifier key for "Stop" to produce an alternative type of "stop" (modified stop behaviour). We could indicate the modified stop behaviour by showing a modified stop button.

Gale Andrews wrote:I'd have liked a separate Stop and Set Cursor button as you know

Do you have a button icon to suggest?
Whether we use Shift or Ctrl as a modifier for the stop button, if you have an icon for "Stop and Set Cursor" then we could use that as the "modified stop" button.

steve wrote:We could use Shift as a modifier key for "Stop" to produce an alternative type of "stop" (modified stop behaviour). We could indicate the modified stop behaviour by showing a modified stop button.

Yes, as I already suggested. To be convincing I think we would have to do both of these:

Gale Andrews wrote:Perhaps it might work if we could show some kind of different stop icon when holding SHIFT during play or loop play, and allowed SHIFT-click on the Stop button to stop and set cursor.

steve wrote:

Gale Andrews wrote:I'd have liked a separate Stop and Set Cursor button as you know

Do you have a button icon to suggest?
Whether we use Shift or Ctrl as a modifier for the stop button, if you have an icon for "Stop and Set Cursor" then we could use that as the "modified stop" button.

I did have one, but IIRC us two disagreed about it. You had this for a "Play/Stop and Set Cursor button": and I had this for a "Stop and Set Cursor" button And someone IIRC suggested a button just like Pause but yellow. But I think that is too like the new CTRL-modified Play button for Cut Preview (which I don't think is very good at suggesting what it does).

It could be something as simple as an overlay on the current Stop button of a downward-pointing arrow (in a colour that is easily visible over yellow).

Gale