I haven't touched the inspector window yet, but as long as I can still change time signature inside a song (Switching back and forth between 4/4 and 3/4 every other bar, for instance), it should be fine. I'm pleased with the other improvements so far. I would like to request that a velocity slider be added to the main window. Currently you can change the velocity of a note by right-clicking it and adjusting the slider that pops up. I would like to see a slider in the main window that sets the velocity of new notes as they are created. Ben Kennedy wrote:
Hey all,
With no further ado, here are the several long-awaited improvements to beat editing now in build 1E9 which is downloadable for your pleasure at <http://www.doggiebox.com/distribution/Doggiebox-1E9.tbz> :
* A new floating inspector window replaces the old options sheet for specifying time signature and tempo.
Choosing "Tempo/Time Signature..." from the Song menu or "Song Inspector" from the Window menu will make it appear. In the next build, its state should be remembered for automatic showing/hiding.
* New behaviour for Cut and Paste: these operations now apply to the instruments laid down within beats only; the physical song structure will remain unaffected.
Thanks to everyone who has weighed in on this design/UI issue recently; this reflects what seemed to be the best consensus on how beat-level editing should work. Now it is possible to move instruments and rhythms around, within and across bars, without regard for disrupting the song structure.
Currently when you paste, the resultant patterns will be dropped in over top of whatever is currently there (beginning at the insertion point or the start of the selected region if there is one), resulting in an additive effect. In the next build, the behaviour will be changed to overwrite (replace all drums in) the target region by default, but with an additional "Paste Over" command to achieve this additive effect if desired.
* New commands Insert Bar, Insert Beat and Delete Beat(s)/Bar(s) for manipulating the song structure.
These are accessible from both the Song menu as well as buttons in the inspector. Beats may be added and deleted with respect to the time signature of the bar; e.g. inserting a beat into a 6|8 will turn it into a 7|8. Only whole beats may be deleted; e.g. in a 4|4 bar if you have an eighth-note region selected, the operation will actually take out the full quarter-note beat into which the eighth-note falls. To delete an entire bar, select all of its beats.
Adjusting the time signature using the stepper arrows in the inspector will preserve the duration and geometry of the bar. This makes it possible to e.g. overlay a 3-beat rhythm onto a 4|4 bar by temporarily switching the time signature to 3|4.
* Zooming now only affects the selected bars (or the one nearest the insertion point). To zoom everything at once, first do a Select All. I think this default behaviour is a little more helpful.
* Drag-selection of beats is now possible when the mouse is in either the "i-beam" or "triangle" cursor mode. Holding the option key will select whole bars. Support for discontiguous beat selection (i.e. command-click with "triangle" cursor) has been temporarily disabled.
* Fixed a potential crash that could occur after deleting drums from a bar, and various other bug fixes.
I'm interested in any and all feedback on the changes in this build, particularly insofar as the wisdom and usability of the new editing capabilities, inspector palette, keyboard shortcuts, etc.
-ben