Tracks Options

[Dennis Cherry]

OK, I like the Tracks option and understand how to use it, but what I want to know is the way everyones really uses the Tracks option.

What I mean is you can beak up your display in many ways using Tracks, do you use it as categories (Trees, mini trees, roof, bushes, etc.) or do you break it up in colors, combinations or something else?

What works for you and why? I want to know more about using Tracks and the reasons you use it that way.

[Dale W]

I break it up per areas. Mini Trees on the left of the display and mini trees on the right of the display so that I do not have to scroll up and down.

I also keep other specific channels together (I have a singing reindeer and having it's own track allows me to focus on it without having to look at the other channels.

[toymakr000]

I have my tracks seperated in to animation blocks. Like megatree, arches, minitrees, roof , front, bushes, shooting star,etc. This way if I want to animate the megatree all I have to do is go to that track instead of having to go through the entire 192 channels.

[RickMosher]

I'm doing the same thing. Each element has it's own track. Mega Tree, Aspen 1, Aspen 2, Apple Tree, Roof, Lamp Post 1, Lamp Post 2, Roof, etc. Then each track has however many channels assigned to it. For example the Aspens, Apple Tree, and Lamp Posts have 3 colors each so each color is it's own channel.

[iresq]

I don't have a ton of channels but do use the tracks were I want different and clean timings (ex. arches).

[George Simmons]

I also use separate tracks for different elements like mini trees, poles, etc. for the convenience factor. But what I most like about separate tracks is the ability to use different timings for different elements of the display.

What I don't particularly like about tracks is that if I'm making changes in the display animation through adding, modifying or deleting things (as most newbies do I suspect, at least until we learn not to) or if I move any tracks in the sequence I'm working on either up or down, it wreaks havoc when I export the updated configuration and then try to import it into an existing unfinished sequence. If there's a work-around other than making sure the track order and number of channels remains identical, I'd be delighted if someone would post it.

George Simmons

[Ed Slonka Jr]

I use the tracks for different elements of the song, such as one track to do the voice and another track to do the beat

especially for a halloween song using a pumpkin to make it look like it is singing the song.

To me it makes it easier because you don't have all the timings in one track.

[taybrynn]

Whats interesting in reading the responses of others is that tracks are really handling 'different timings' ... but are being used a lot for handling 'different groupings' of display (channel) items instead.

To me, it would be so handy to be able to tag similar items into groups (like dynamic tagging) ... and then you could type the tag (you wanted) into some small box and then it would alter the current track view to show only those channels with that tag.

Lets call this the channel tagging and quick group (based on tags) viewing enhancement ... or something like that.

I could see that capability being really handy and powerful.

So If I wanted a reindeer channel grouped, you could tag it as RD1 (reindeer group 1). But say I might also want all the clear light items in anothe group called CL1 (clear lights1). Then I could see the reindeer channel (say its a single channel for simplicity here) by typing either RD1 or CL1 into the 'quick group' window and click apply. By default, you would see all channels, but using tags a quick group capability, we could organize to our hearts content within the current track ... and wouldn't need to resort to copying to new tracks just to achieve some level or group organization.

You could add multiple tags to any channel by using a tag format something like this: RD1,CL1

And further, it might be nice to assign a grouped order sequence as well ...

[George Simmons]

Excellent suggestion, Taybrynn. Please make sure you get that on the wishlist of new LOR software features. Not being smart enough to know any different, it sounds to me like it should be pretty simple to do since spreadsheet programs have been doing things like that for a decade or two already.

[iresq]

To further Taybrynn's suggestion - how about saving and exporting at the track level? There would have to be a main configuration export to hold visualizer info, but having sub-configurations would be a help. Say you are adding a controller for leaping arches. You could just open each complete sequence and import the arches configuration.

[taybrynn]

I have posted these requests to the S2 enhancements email.

I've also been asking for the ability to change the way selections (regular, and freeform [spacebar utilized] ) work across tracks ... and the way your current positioning (play head location) works across tracks. I've been surprised at how I seem to be the only person disliking the current workflow between tracks.

The current workflow is independant control per window / track. Thats great, but when you flip over to a different track to say add 'quarter notes' instead of 'whole notes' (different timings) ... its a pain to have to relocate yourself each time and to loose your selections as well. I would say 90% of the time, I'm switching tracks to work on the same area ... not some totally different part of the sequence. So an optional to change the default behavior across tracks from independant to syncronized would solve this. I suppose if they added the quick view group tags, then it would also be nice to see these same groups between tracks ... or have that as a program preference ... independant or sync'd.

What I would like to do is make selections (or freeform selections) and current positioning configurable as either totally independant, or synchronized (between tracks).

So say I'm working on a sequence (in track 1) from 0:20 to 0:35 ... and have a selection defined from 0:25 to 0:28 ... it would be nice to be able to see that same positioning and selection there when I move from track 1 to say track 2 (or any other track). As it is, I have to manually attempt to redo the same positioning and selection each time I change tracks, or get by with something similar.

I find that (existing) workflow is rather lousy, because your constantly trying to move to the same place and establish the same selections between tracks. So I tend to migrate back into one track (mentality) to avoid those (usability) hassles.

And I see so many folks using the tracks for grouping, which makes a ton of sense ... but could be done more easily with tagging ... and this would leave tracks more for their intended purpose of maintaining differing timings. As people wouldn't feel a need for different groups (in tracks) ... if they could just pull them up easily.

I suppose and extension of the grouping would be the ability to have S2 to show a drop down list of your distinct tags (when sequence is loaded) and allow you to choose one that way as well -- or just type it in, and boom, the view (or channels) you want is there.