Workspaces & Screensets

[Bill Phillips]

Are Screensets and Workspaces mutually exclusive? It appears that I can either use Screensets or Workspaces but not both in the same project. I'd stopped using Screensets and have setup several Workspaces for mixing and editing. Today I decided to investigate adding Screensets to the mix and am confused. When I open the project I'm working on it opens in the workspace I saved it with which is good. No Screenset is shown at startup since I haven't been using them. What I wanted to do is save the view I have as Screenset 01, but there's no way to save a Screenset. When I open Screenset 1 it opens the default screenset 01 which I don't want. So I re-open my workspace which blanks the screenset display. I've read through a number of the existing discussions on this topic and didn't find an answer.

[Nigel Mackay]

Screensets are only applicable to that project. Open a different project and they are gone.

Screensets are meant to be a quick-fix. You find you are swapping back and forth between 2 views while doing a particular task? And in 30 minutes when you are finished with that task the views become redundant? Use screensets.

To save a screenset switch to another one. So, select Screenset 1. Set up your view. Click Screenset 2. Screenset 1 gets saved. Set up Screenset 2. Select Screenset 1. Screenset 2 gets saved. Now you can switch back and forth between the 2 views to your heart's content.

And when you have finished that task you will never use those screensets again. Like strangers you bump into at the pub. While chatting you remember their names and which one has just taken his fog to the vet. The moment you walk out the door on your way home you forget them. You will never see them again. Screensets.

But... While tracking do you ALWAYS want the Track Inspector closed, the Browser open? Define a Workspace called Tracking that is set up that way. Workspaces apply to all projects. Define Workspaces for Recording, Tracking, Mixing, Automating, Mastering. Set them up the way you like things to look. Then they are always there for you, with every project that you work on.

Like old Fred and John that you join up with every Thursday night at the pub. Every Thursday you go through the same greeting rituals, the same taking turns in paying for rounds, play the same 3 games of darts. Workspaces.

While with Fred and john you might start chatting to some guy who is in town for 3 days on a business trip. The 3 of you chat to him, he plays a game of darts with you. But after that you never see him again. He is a Screenshot. But next Thursday Fred and John will be there, same as usual, because they are Workspaces. And some other guy in town for the night joins you for the evening. But gone tomorrow. He was just a Screenshot.

[user 905133]

22 minutes ago, Bill Phillips said:

Are Screensets and Workspaces mutually exclusive? It appears that I can either use Screensets or Workspaces but not both in the same project. I'd stopped using Screensets and have setup several Workspaces for mixing and editing. Today I decided to investigate adding Screensets to the mix and am confused. When I open the project I'm working on it opens in the workspace I saved it with which is good. No Screenset is shown at startup since I haven't been using them. What I wanted to do is save the view I have as Screenset 01, but there's no way to save a Screenset. When I open Screenset 1 it opens the default screenset 01 which I don't want. So I re-open my workspace which blanks the screenset display. I've read through a number of the existing discussions on this topic and didn't find an answer.

From teaching myself workspaces, I have made use of both.  However, I have made some workspaces that intentionally have no screensets.  In other workspaces, I have screensets enabled. When enabled, the screensets come from the project. That is, screensets that have been saved in a project can be used (or not used) depending on the workspace.

I probably understand how to use them more than some users, but much less than others. So, I will let others explain it further.  Just wanted to say they are not mutually exclusive from what I have seen.

PS: I recently discovered a problem on my PC that seems to be related to some plug-ins which use OpenGL routines that I don't have.  As a result, it interferes with screensets under certain conditions.  I am pretty sure this is related to my specific PC, but wanted to mention it because your description is vaguely similar.

Edited April 25, 2020 by User 905133

[wunderbier]

I use both, but I'm by no means an expert. Afaik screensets belong to the project and workspaces are global. I generally don't change workspaces, but have one customized to my tastes. I've edited the default templates I use to include the five different screensets I use (and the routing, buses, and folders I always use). So long as I start a new project from one of those templates, everything is where I expect it to be when changing screensets. I don't know what happens if you change workspaces in a project with different screensets.

[Bill Phillips]

@User 905133 & @wunderbier thank you. Your comments help. My problem is I haven't  used screensets for a long time, can't remember when if ever.  I've been using Workspaces since Lenses were replaced by Worksapces. I'm now experimenting to see if Screensets and Workspaces can be complementary. I've made some progress. I now have Screenset 01 set to show my Mix Edit project view I see when it opens and the Workspace is still Mix Edit 1 which is the work space I'm using. So I renamed Screenset 01 to Mix Edit Home.

To save additional screensets it looks like I need to first duplicate my Mix Edit Home screenset, then make changes to another mix edit view and save that as the next screenset and so on. All the time my workspace is Mix Edit 1 which also includes default screen settings. Seems like overlapping not mutually exclusive. I'm still confused, but making progress I think.

[Bill Phillips]

@Nigel Mackay thanks. Useful analogies  

[Jacques Boileau]

5 hours ago, Nigel Mackay said:

Screensets are only applicable to that project. Open a different project and they are gone.

Screensets are meant to be a quick-fix. You find you are swapping back and forth between 2 views while doing a particular task? And in 30 minutes when you are finished with that task the views become redundant? Use screensets.

To save a screenset switch to another one. So, select Screenset 1. Set up your view. Click Screenset 2. Screenset 1 gets saved. Set up Screenset 2. Select Screenset 1. Screenset 2 gets saved. Now you can switch back and forth between the 2 views to your heart's content.

And when you have finished that task you will never use those screensets again. Like strangers you bump into at the pub. While chatting you remember their names and which one has just taken his fog to the vet. The moment you walk out the door on your way home you forget them. You will never see them again. Screensets.

But... While tracking do you ALWAYS want the Track Inspector closed, the Browser open? Define a Workspace called Tracking that is set up that way. Workspaces apply to all projects. Define Workspaces for Recording, Tracking, Mixing, Automating, Mastering. Set them up the way you like things to look. Then they are always there for you, with every project that you work on.

Like old Fred and John that you join up with every Thursday night at the pub. Every Thursday you go through the same greeting rituals, the same taking turns in paying for rounds, play the same 3 games of darts. Workspaces.

While with Fred and john you might start chatting to some guy who is in town for 3 days on a business trip. The 3 of you chat to him, he plays a game of darts with you. But after that you never see him again. He is a Screenshot. But next Thursday Fred and John will be there, same as usual, because they are Workspaces. And some other guy in town for the night joins you for the evening. But gone tomorrow. He was just a Screenshot.

This should be in the manual... and you should think about a career in writing!

I now understand worksapces and screensets. Never used them before, will be using them forever now!

[sjoens]

Funny, I use the same screenset for almost every project....

[Sven]

I tend to just use only 4 workspaces to get things done.  I just want full screen track view or full screen console view with or without seeing muted channels.  In both views I want the option to see the synth rack.  In track view I want to be able to go to the MIDI view on any highlighted track(s).   And that's about it.   I need to see the markers also but not too often.

I've tried various attempts over the years at achieving this with varying success.  Maybe I should study the manual longer but I don't find the process intuitive.   To get what I want with no surprises I currently undock each window, resize them the way I want to almost full screen under the main menus, and then save that workspace.   Then I can use shortcut keys to flip back and forth and see what I want the way I want as I work. 

But I always seem to get unwanted surprises later for whatever reason.  Maybe my cat stepped on the '2' key and brought up an old screenset or something.  I feel like what I want is pretty simple, and maybe I'm not doing it correctly, but there's many times where the interface has later changed to something I didn't expect and it distracts me from the actual recording process.  

I anyone has any suggestions on how I can gracefully achieve what I mentioned in paragraph one I'd appreciate hearing them.  

 

[user 905133]

First question: What do you mean by the "MIDI view?"  I can think of several possibilities. Not sure if those are what you have in mind.  

Second question: Why do you want to use a special Workspace?  (What are you trying to achieve?)

27 minutes ago, Sven said:

I just want full screen track view or full screen console view with or without seeing muted channels.  In both views I want the option to see the synth rack.  In track view I want to be able to go to the MIDI view on any highlighted track(s).   And that's about it.   I need to see the markers also but not too often.

Third question: Can you have the MIDI view as a tab in the Multi Dock and use the D shortcut to toggle between (1) full-screen track view and (2) full-screen dock view and select either the Console or MIDI view? (I have done that for some projects.)

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by User 905133
added more questions

[Sven]

Hi User 905133,

  Sorry for the delayed reply.

1) I meant Piano View.  I always think of that a MIDI view.

2) As I mentioned I like to work with the four workplace appearances I described above.   My understanding is that I want to use workplaces rather than screen shots to achieve this.   

I never like to see combination of track and console at the same time or other combos.   I actually am only trying go back to the basic appearance of Guitar Tracks Pro which is what it was first introduced me to Cakewalk many years ago.  

3)  The D shortcut key is new to me but interesting.  I'm re-reading the documentation on all of this.  Year ago once I had achieved my four basic screens I was happy.   I don't remember how I achieved it but I believe I undocked the console, track, piano, bookmarks, and synth views and stretched them each the way I want to see them.  Then Alt-1, Alt-2, Alt-3, etc... would get me the view I was interest in at the moment.  Usually I'm just toggling back and forth between track and console views.

Thanks.

 

 

 

[sjoens]

16 hours ago, Sven said:

Usually I'm just toggling back and forth between track and console views.

I do this with one screenset and the "D" key, which is kind of like having 2 screensets in one.

Track View has the Multidock edge to edge over the top with Track View, Inspector and Browser nested under it. Inspector and Browser can be opened/collapsed using the "I" and "B" keys. Currently Synth Rack can be inserted into the Browser or free floating on it's own and recalled using the Alt+9 keys. 

With the Multidock edge to edge, you can open Console View or any other view in the Multidock by hitting "D" and it will be full width.

If Console View opens half screen, double click it's tab to open full screen. Now every time you hit the "D" key, it will reopen full screen.

This routine will be saved with the project. 

Edited January 23, 2023 by sjoens