Does Deleting a Certain Track also Delete the Animation?

[jimswinder]

I was copying some events from one of my tracks to create a quick sequence for an Interactive Button, and since it only involved my Mega Arches, I deleted my other 7 tracks I did not need.

Found out this also deleted my animation for the visualizer.

So...is the animation tied to Track 1 (or a combination of tracks) when you have multiple tracks?

Is it possible to delete any tracks without it affecting your animation?

[Don]

This is where proper management of Tracks is critical to your sequencing.

I'll give an example, and allow you to work it into your display. If you have a 32 channel display, one plan would be to have your "default" track simply go in Controller/Channel order.

You would then want to "duplicate" the track. (Perhaps give it the name "Working")

Now when you go into the animation window it wouldn't matter which track you used to "draw" with, as the channels are the same in both tracks.

In this example, your default track would _always_ have _every_ channel in it. You would not want to delete, remove, or even move channels in this track. Do all of your moving, sorting, etc., in your working track.

It sounds like in your case you created new tracks each time. As such when you deleted the tracks, you deleted them from the only place they were known to exist. So, deleting the tracks also deleted the animation.

[jimswinder]

well...it sucks to be me!! lol

seems like that sorta defeats the purpose of tracks if you have to have the first track that includes ALL of your 528 tracks...

now you have 1056 tracks to scroll thru...

but ahhhh...

bet you are going to tell me to hide the first track, huh? lol

[Don]

Well, you don't *have* to, or else the software would force you to.

Of course, if you don't, then you run into situations like the one you described earlier.

And yes, hide tracks you don't use. (I do, and so far it's worked out well.)

Consider this: When you define a channel in a track, it's given an ID within the actual file. That ID is for the computer software, not the human reader. So, you could create two channels called "Arch 1 White" and have them going to "Controller 1/Channel 1".

If you copy the channel to a new track there is only one ID for it. If you create the channel manually in the new track, a new internal ID is created. Now you run into a situation where you could have "Arch 1 White" off and on at the same time.

[George Simmons]

jimswinder wrote:

So...is the animation tied to Track 1 (or a combination of tracks) when you have multiple tracks?

The animation is linked to a specific channel, not a track. When you delete a track you're also deleting the animation of all the channels in that track, presuming those channels don't also appear in other tracks.

Personally, I'm not sold on the benefits (or any advantages) of maintaining a "master" track. I'd like to see a discussion of this sometime. I have 19 tracks containing over 770 channels (including the two CCRs) and I have no duplicates, nor can I conjure up a scenario where I would have needed any over the past three years.

[jimswinder]

George Simmons wrote:

The animation is linked to a specific channel, not a track. When you delete a track you're also deleting the animation of all the channels in that track, presuming those channels don't also appear in other tracks.

So...if I did not delete ALL my channels, would there have not been SOME animation left?

Specifically those channels I did not delete?

But yet there was none.

[George Simmons]

If all your tracks are unique with no duplicate channels anywhere, and if all your channels are individually represented in your animation drawing, then YES - there would still be animation for the channels that are in whatever track you still have after you delete all the other tracks. If it's not working that way, then we go back to your two favorite words: "operator error" and see where the variance is between reality and what you think you did.

[jimswinder]

George Simmons wrote:

If all your tracks are unique with no duplicate channels anywhere, and if all your channels are individually represented in your animation drawing, then YES - there would still be animation for the channels that are in whatever track you still have after you delete all the other tracks. If it's not working that way, then we go back to your two favorite words: "operator error" and see where the variance is between reality and what you think you did.

lol...I am sure it is the old O.E. syndrome...BUT...

1) all my tracks are unique with no duplicate channels anywhere
2) all my channels are individually represented in my animation drawing
3) NO - there is NO animation for the channels that are in whatever track I still have after I delete all the other tracks

[jimswinder]

WHY do I constantly set myself up for embarrassment George???

Just did a test..deleting one track at a time, and there, right before my VERY OLD eyes, I saw each track disappear from the animation...until I was down to my last track...the SAME track I had the other night with NO animation...

and yet, tonight, because George put his curse on me...there was the animation to the lone track I had left...

I HATE you George Simmons!!!!!!!!!

[George Simmons]

You just wouldn't be yourself if you didn't do such a superb job of self-skewering.

Glad to be of service... call on me anytime.