Fit Vertical

[kozikowski]

I've had my first experience with a seriously multi-track show. Multi-track in the English sense of 10-12 tracks one above the other. As I add tracks to the show, I'm prompted to ask when would you not want Fit Vertical selected? As I pass stereo track three (which naturally fit), I have to Fit Vertical to see new work. Each Time. Shouldn't Fit Vertical be naturally occurring and maybe a setting buried in Preferences > View if you don't want it?

It should only kick in if new work is in danger of falling off the end of the screen and then stop helping as you edit so it doesn't fight the zoom tools.

You're not likely to add new work only to ignore it for days. You'd want to see the relationship between new work and the rest of the show right away.

Koz

[steve]

If the project has a lot of tracks, "Fit Vertical" will shrink the tracks down so that the pan/gain sliders and mute/solo buttons are hidden. Also the waveform is so small that it is near impossible to draw an envelope. Because the track height is "shrunk" (rather than "collapsed"), resizing a track so that it can be worked on must be done by clicking on an edge of the track and dragging. In these circumstances it is much easier for tracks to not be "shrunk", but to be "collapsed" instead (View menu > Collapse All Tracks).

Tracks that have been collapsed may be quickly and easily "expanded" by clicking on the Track Collapse Button http://manual.audacityteam.org/manual/h ... l#collapse BUT, the track only expands to its current non-collapsed sized. Applying "Fit Vertical" in these circumstances prevents tracks from being expanded with the Track Collapse Button (which should probably be called the "Track Collapse/Expand Button").

[solanus]

Hmmm.
10 -12 tracks on the screen might be too small to work with... but what about 6? 4?
The left hand panel of each track is set up inefficiently to deal with multiple tracks.
As tracks shrink, the first thing you lose is the Pan slider, at 4 tracks on the screen (at my resolution), then you lose the Gain at 5 tracks, then the mute/solo buttons at 6... leaving the sample rate etc info, which is the least useful thing when you have multiple tracks.
If the order of the info was changed, and the sliders slightly redesigned, you would have a far more usable multi-track interface.
Change the left panel to look like this:

ModifiedLeftPanel.png (3.28 KiB) Viewed 9235 times

Compare six tracks using the current panel

SixTracksCurrent.png (26.28 KiB) Viewed 9235 times

To six tracks with the modified left panel

SixTracksModified.png (27.72 KiB) Viewed 9235 times

Five tracks is even better, it would show the pan slider as well.

[solanus]

FiveTracksModified.png (23.92 KiB) Viewed 9235 times

When I work with multiple tracks, a lot of what I do is aligning using the Time Shift Tool, and cutting and pasting using the Selection Tool. I also like to have the ability to mute one or more tracks. If I need to do close work, I'll expand the track for things like envelopes, and then resize them back to show as many on screen as possible.
I think Fit Vertical would be useful; I also think that a Maximize/Restore Size function for each track would be as useful.

[PGA]

Change the left panel to look like this:

ModifiedLeftPanel.png

I quite like this redesign. However, I never use the Pan slider but frequently use the Gain slider. Therefore I would prefer to see the Gain slider above the Pan slider. Perhaps we need some options so that the user can choose in which order the sliders are shown.

[kozikowski]

When I work with multiple tracks, a lot of what I do is aligning using the Time Shift Tool, and cutting and pasting using the Selection Tool.

That's exactly what's happening to me. When I add a new track, I'll want to shift it into position immediately. It's not helpful when the track mounts somewhere down around my knees.

That's why I suggested a preference rather than irrevocable recode.

Totally. If you go much over 15 - 18 tracks or so, the screen turns into a mush of graphics and stops being useful again.

Koz

[solanus]

@PGA: In my proposed modification, the Gain slider actually is above the Pan slider, so at 6 tracks, you still have the Gain.

@koz: Now that I am playing with it, I am a little confused by your original post. In Preferences, select Tracks, and under Display is a checkbox that says "Automatically fit tracks vertically zoomed." If you check the box, then whenever you add a new track, it will automatically fit them vertical, up to 12 tracks. If that box is unchecked, then you start to see the behavior that you mentioned (first 3 tracks fit onscreen, the 4th+ start to go offscreen).
Doesn't this accomplish at least part of what you are asking?

[kozikowski]

Doesn't this accomplish at least part of what you are asking?

It may do the whole thing.
Again as in an earlier post, I'm recovering from a system crash in the middle of a complex edit, so it may take a bit to get that far.
Koz

[PGA]

@PGA: In my proposed modification, the Gain slider actually is above the Pan slider, so at 6 tracks, you still have the Gain.

@Solanus,

My apologies. I totally misread your attached images. Put it down to me getting online before I'd had my breakfast. I obviously wasn't awake!

[kozikowski]

I'm in production mode, not diagnostic mode, but I turned on that selector and stopped losing work beyond the graphic border, so it must be working. I'll do actual cause and effect testing now that my jobs are out the door.

Koz