display bug / interface bug

[whomper]

Okay
trying to follow up on tip from another thread
clicked on the db scale (which defaults to magnifier + )

with one click too many --
only solid blue in window
and
the fit to window command no longer works
and clicking with magnifier -
does nothing

it seems as if both +/- maginfiers are now set to magnify + only

winxp pro sp2
beta 1.3.9
screen 800x600 and needed to stay there so I can read anything on it
even though I *could* go to 1280x1024 I would not be able to see at that resolution

bug part 2 -
db scale does not always appear correectly when clicking anywhere with magnifiers
often disappears
sometimes says 0 at top and bottom
possibly other error combintions too

strongly suggest we need a scale set command
instead of just letting it happen
and
do NOT default to magnifier on the db scale

also need
an absolute value command
to see the peaks both pos and neg
(which i sort of got by random clicking various icons - go figure)
to allow greater resolution of the modulation
and less of the solid blue stuff in the middle

also
a way to see just the meaningful modulation portion
and delete the solid blue from the middle

[steve]

Left click on vertical scale to zoom in vertically.
Right click on vertical scale to zoom out vertically.

The zoom buttons (magnifiers) are for zooming in/out horizontally.

To switch from linear view to dB view on the vertical scale, click on the track name and select:
"Waveform" for linear scale
"Waveform (dB)" for dB scale.

There is a peculiarity (feature) in Audacity in that it displays dB only on a log scale, and shows numbers (+1.0 to -1.0) on a linear scale. This takes a bit of getting used to if you are familiar with other audio editors, but makes sense eventually. For new users it is recommended that they use the "Waveform" (linear) scale as this ties in with the documentation, with many of the plug-ins, and shows a familiar view of waveforms (it's just the numbering that is unusual).

The rationale behind the +1.0 to -1.0 scale is that each sample has a numerical value in that range.

To view more numbers on the vertical scale it is necessary to expand the track vertically.
The numbers on the dB scale are limited to the range set in Preferences (Edit menu > preferences > Interface > Meter/Waveform dB range)

[kozikowski]

<<<Left click on vertical scale to zoom in vertically.
Right click on vertical scale to zoom out vertically.>>>

Shift-Click to zoom back out if you're on a one-button machine.

The percent range (0-1 or 0% to 100% is pretty convenient for editing because most people like to edit in the top of their loudness range. If you switch to Waveform dB, suddenly you get the whole range of volumes and the actual show variations usually end up in the top small fraction of the display and very hard to see.

The actual range of volumes goes from about 0dB maximum loudness to -70dB where most people hear complete silence. Most of that is invisible on the percent display. Half volume to your ears is about 12%. So from half volume down to complete silence is crammed into the bottom 10% of the percent display. .5 or 50% is half level, but it's not half volume.

You ears hear in a very unusual way.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Horizontal magnifying to see a phrase or individual sound is a lot easier. Drag-select some waves and Control-E to zoom into them. Control-3 to zoom back out slightly and control F to zoom out full. I live on those three shortcuts.

If you add silence to a piece, Audacity will zoom out full after it's finished. Control-E and Control-3 will put you back about where you were when you put the silence in.

Koz

[kozikowski]

<<<bug part 2 ->>>

Developers get testy when people call something a bug because bugs are a very specific thing. They are an unintentional effect (usually bad) experienced by many people who can produce the problem at any time.

Export Multiple in Audacity 1.3.10 was a bug. It killed everybody all over the world and was fixed in 1.3.11.

So while it's highly unusual for one person to have a bug, it is possible for one person to find a bug that then many people can experience, thus certifying its bugness. This can happen with some of the more exotic Audacity tools, or an unusual application of an existing tool.

The other thing that's very common with Audacity is that your bug is a carefully programmed, intentional, and documented feature of the program.

Koz

[steve]

If you add silence to a piece, Audacity will zoom out full after it's finished.

Only in older versions of Audacity. The current beta version does not change the zoom level after generating silence (which in my opinion is much better).

[whomper]

<<<bug part 2 ->>>

Developers get testy when people call something a bug because bugs are a very specific thing. They are an unintentional effect (usually bad) experienced by many people who can produce the problem at any time.

Export Multiple in Audacity 1.3.10 was a bug. It killed everybody all over the world and was fixed in 1.3.11.

So while it's highly unusual for one person to have a bug, it is possible for one person to find a bug that then many people can experience, thus certifying its bugness. This can happen with some of the more exotic Audacity tools, or an unusual application of an existing tool.

The other thing that's very common with Audacity is that your bug is a carefully programmed, intentional, and documented feature of the program.

Koz

guess i just missed where all that was documented

to the user anything unintuitive is a bug
even if that was the developers intent
more so if the user doesnt know to look for that quirk in the manual
and ditto if he cant find it -- a printable manual is much easier to use when you dont know what you need to find