Option to set Disconnected Midi Devices to 'None' at startup

[Matthew Carr]

This is the scenario, I have a lot of external gear controlled by MIDI tracks (output) and a few controllers providing MIDI In.

If I open a project where one of the external devices is disconnected / powered off / not available, then the MIDI data is assigned to a random MIDI device

• Tracks receiving input from the missing midi controller are set to receive input from random MIDI devices(s) 
• Tracks outputting to a missing MIDI devices are, more often than not, assigned to a random VST within the project

This causes havoc when opening the  project, and it's not possible to prevent this from happening.  It's particularly problematic for outputs - they get assigned to a random VST in the project, which can result in a program change being sent - which then changes the VST patch the project was originally saved with.

E.g. A test project with Novation SL2 connected (it has both MIDI In and MIDI Out, to demonstrate )

If I open the same project, without the SL2 connected:

• The MIDI output on track 1 has been set to control Xpand2 (resulting in a patch change)
• The MIDI input on track 1 has been changed from 'None' to a random MIDI input device
• The MIDI input on track 2 has been set to a random device in the MIDI input list
• The changes were made silently - no warnings given - which makes it very easy to miss in even in a fairly simple project.

I guess there was a use case for this at some point, but frankly I can't imagine how this behaviour can be of use to anyone... ?

Instead, can please we have an option in preferences along the lines of 

If this option is checked, when opening the project, any MIDI inputs / outputs set to missing midi devices are set to 'None' rather than some random allocation.

This would massively help my workflow - at the moment I'm on tenterhooks every time I open a project (esp. at a different location), looking for any silent changes that have been made.

Hopefully the checkbox option would be a quick fix to prevent the craziness of above. I guess the longer term solution would be a dialog presented when opening the project to prompt the user to select the Midi device to be used for each missing MIDI device - similar to what happens for audio.

Cheers,

Matt

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by Matthew Carr
Edited for clarity

[SonusProject]

I could even suggest an additional checkbox for "Ignore disconnected MIDI device".  The intention here is that I don't want anything to change.

Regards,

Lance

[Adam Johnson]

I have this same issue. I would also love to see this enhancement.