Feature request: audition and mute buttons on clip headers

[Starship Krupa]

There is real estate available on clip headers that could be used for buttons to perform various functions and indications. This would help minimize trips to the very long context menu and provide immediate visual access.

The functions I would like most are clip audition, which would be a play button to audition what's in the clip (sent to the Preview bus like with the Media Browser). Another one is a mute button, with visible indication that the clip is in a muted state (which I know we already have with the color shift, but an indicator in the clip header would add more visibility).

Along with this, I'd like double-clicking on a clip's name to bring up the Rename dialog.

[Will.]

37 minutes ago, Starship Krupa said:

There is real estate available on clip headers that could be used for buttons to perform various functions and indications. This would help minimize trips to the very long context menu and provide immediate visual access.

The functions I would like most are clip audition, which would be a play button to audition what's in the clip (sent to the Preview bus like with the Media Browser). Another one is a mute button, with visible indication that the clip is in a muted state (which I know we already have with the color shift, but an indicator in the clip header would add more visibility).

Along with this, I'd like double-clicking on a clip's name to bring up the Rename dialog.

Both of these are already available in Cakewalk. Search Audition in Preference/ Shortcuts and Rename Clips ☺ to create your own shortcut as you know already. 

By default: SHIFT+SPACEBAR will Audition the selected take. 

[Starship Krupa]

Yes, I have several custom keystrokes, one of which is Rename Clip. I use the keystroke "K" to mute clips all the time.

This request is for buttons on the clip headers. It's not about whether those functions already exist, rather another handy way to access them.

I think it would be especially handy for new users.

Also, EDM performers, because if you want to mute and unmute clips on the fly, you can keep one hand on the mouse and the other one waving around in the air. It makes a difference between something to interest the crowd vs. an experience where they might as well be watching someone in a cubicle filling in HR forms.

[Will.]

Aah! Yes, I got you. 

[RBH]

Always in view in relation to the zoom level ? They would need to sync to the track view state. Mute and Solo would be really handy there.

[Starship Krupa]

For example they could sit just to the right of the clip name (if any). They'd be subject to the same display rules that clip names and the Tetris button on MIDI clips are now (what is that button called anyway?).

I hate tossing out the "other DAW" argument, but disclosure: Mixcraft has these buttons and they're a super handy way to access audition and mute/unmute.

[Mark Morgon-Shaw]

+1 ☺️

I would like to see the Region FX state have different colours for example if bypassed but it would be so much quicker to be able to bypass it from the clip header as the bypass is a couple of menus deep.

The more you can do without delving into menus and sub menus the better  👀

[Starship Krupa]

9 hours ago, chimkin2 said:

The more you can do without delving into menus and sub menus the better

Indeed. Sometimes I think back 3 years to try to remember what I found frustrating or clunky, what prevented me from learning Cakewalk faster, what might help newcomers.

Yes, I love that so many functions can be controlled with keystrokes. Mixcraft and Ableton Live! Lite are two other DAW's I sometimes use, and neither (to my knowledge, Mixcraft certainly doesn't) has a way to set custom keystrokes.

However, when one is new with a DAW or any program, memorizing keystrokes isn't a priority. Mixcraft is very good about having everything "front-facing," by which I mean that as few things as possible are hidden in context menus, or worse, the global menu. They do have factory standard keystroke shortcuts, but t's possible to fly the thing just fine using only a mouse, not missing any features. Cakewalk crushes Mixcraft as far as features, but Mixcraft smokes Cakewalk when it comes to learning curve (which is of course related, the fewer features you have, the easier they are to learn 😄).

I'd like to see more of that in Cakewalk, not because I want it to be like Mixcraft but because I think Cakewalk can make the new user impression even better than it already is.

[Xoo]

I'll be a dissenting voice: Cakewalk is often seen as having a cluttered interface, and adding buttons or similar in order to make as many(?) functions as possible immediately accesisble isn't going to help this.