Console View background now white, not usual dark gray.

[Tom B]

I recently updated to Cakewalk 2101.04.  Of course, I received the message about my custom theme possibly being incompatible.  Even though the theme works fine, I couldn't find a a way around the warning message each time Cakewalk is started.

 I started from scratch using the theme editor with the Mercury base theme.  The theme change is:  Add a red, dashed-stripe around the punch-in button when it's selected.  It's a simple graphics change which I've been using since theme editing became available in Sonar.  After using the Theme Editor to make the change, I opened Cakewalk and switched to the new theme.  The punch-in button  change worked as expected.

However, in the empty area between channel strips (console view), Mercury normally sets the background color to a Dark Charcoal Gray.  After adding my theme,  the background is now white (not my intention).

Any ideas why this happened and/or is there a simple way to revert the console background back to the dark gray?

Thanks!

Here's a pic:

[Matthew White]

The colour in the editor for this is: Console View-Background #2. Change to a shade of your choice or if you want it back to the same as the 'Mercury' theme default enter the colour code 333333.

[sjoens]

As to why this happened, not sure. If you based your theme on a fresh new default Mercury, the only changes you should see are the ones you made.

However, this is clearly a bug...

I just created a new theme based on Mercury with the same single change you made and the CV background changed to white like yours did.

The Learn More button in the Help browser also turns white.

I checked the color in T.E. and it was not white. 

To regain the default color I had to change it to its original color for it to work.

Edit: I didn't get the compatibility warning, though.

Edited June 23, 2021 by sjoens

[User 905133]

@Matthew White Thanks for sharing that.  I also have the issue, but solved it by adding tracks and buses as the project expanded. Thanks to @Tom B for asking about this!

[sjoens]

I confirmed this also happens with Sonar Platinum's Theme Editor and posted a bug report in Feedback forum.

[Matthew White]

2 hours ago, sjoens said:

However, this is clearly a bug...

I just created a new theme based on Mercury with the same single change you made and the CV background changed to white like yours did.

Nice catch checking that and finding it happens for you also, however, I just tried 4 times and was unable to recreate the issue. As you mentioned, the colour for this area had not changed to white in the editor, it made me wonder if a colour is overriding it from the 'Preferences', 'Colors' menu as that can happen yet I can't find anything there for that area, that also wouldn't affect the 'Learn More' button. ?‍♂️

(EDIT) I've just been thinking, which versions/builds of Cakewalk are we using? I'm on 27.04.0.175. Another thought is, as the colour doesn't change to white in the editor, my guess is it's most likely a bug in Cakewalk rather than the editor.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Matthew White

[Colin Nicholls]

I've noticed this on my laptop, but not on my tower DAW. Same theme, different appearance. I couldn't figure it out. I'm glad someone else is seeing it.

[sjoens]

I only have a laptop but not sure why they'd be different.

I reproduced it several times and never noticed it before this. But I normally don't use Mercury to base themes on.

[Tom B]

Thanks for all for the replies to my question.  Glad others were able to confirm this. I'll try changing the color per @Matthew White 's post.  I'll report back after trying the work-around  -- probably later this evening (Pacific US time). 

Hopefully @sjoens  post in the Feedback Forum will result in a fix in an upcoming release.

 

 

[Tom B]

14 hours ago, Matthew White said:

The colour in the editor for this is: Console View-Background #2. Change to a shade of your choice or if you want it back to the same as the 'Mercury' theme default enter the colour code 333333.

Thanks Matthew!  Your work-around fixed the problem and the Console View background is now the original Mercury theme color.

Summary:  As Matthew wrote, enter 333333 as the color.  After closing the color editor, the theme editor will display: 333333FF (FF is the 'opacity', it's appended by the color editor).  Oddly, the 'Original' and 'Theme' color values are the same.  Something is going wrong with the 'Original' and is  fixed by the 'Theme'.

BTW, I'm using Cakewalk 2021.04 Build 175. 

Edited June 24, 2021 by Tom B
Added Cakewalk version. Explained 'FF'.

[Starship Krupa]

The Theme Editor and its relationship to Cakewalk are sometimes confounding.

While working on my most recent theme updates, I was trying to change a text color, followed YLIP, and the color didn't change. Restarting, changing themes, nothing would get it to take in my updated theme. So I made a note to ask Colin about it and went on working on other things.

After several saves and loads to check my work, I happened to notice that somewhere in there, my text change had been accepted.

If I have this right, you all are saying that if you make a change to the Punch In button art, it hoses Console Background #2? This is one of the oddest, up there with the thing where your background for the medium size Custom module gets turned into a strange tiled background for the whole Control Bar.

[sjoens]

16 hours ago, Matthew White said:

The colour in the editor for this is: Console View-Background #2. Change to a shade of your choice or if you want it back to the same as the 'Mercury' theme default enter the colour code 333333.

I found you don't actually need to change or enter any values, simply open and close the color and save and you're good to go.

[sjoens]

1 hour ago, Starship Krupa said:

The Theme Editor and its relationship to Cakewalk are sometimes confounding.

While working on my most recent theme updates, I was trying to change a text color, followed YLIP, and the color didn't change. Restarting, changing themes, nothing would get it to take in my updated theme. So I made a note to ask Colin about it and went on working on other things.

After several saves and loads to check my work, I happened to notice that somewhere in there, my text change had been accepted.

If I have this right, you all are saying that if you make a change to the Punch In button art, it hoses Console Background #2? This is one of the oddest, up there with the thing where your background for the medium size Custom module gets turned into a strange tiled background for the whole Control Bar.

Haven't noticed this, other than some colors require a program reboot or project reload to take effect.

BTW, you cannot save a new theme without making at least one change. The Punch In button... or any change at all, will trigger the glitch, which is why I believe it's a bug with T.E., or its interpretation of Mercury, and not CbB. CbB simply reads the file as it's given.

Also, this only happens with Mercury based themes. Tungsten causes no glitches that I'm away of.

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by sjoens

[User 905133]

I think there is at least one unpredictable or unknown condition here.  While working on  project, I just changed to about 15 different test themes I have never updated with incompatible element fixes.  In all 15 the Console Background did NOT turn to white.  Not sure why they didn't.

UPDATE: I rebooted Cakewalk and still didn't get the white console background with numerous unrepaired themes. I wanted to try this:

43 minutes ago, sjoens said:

I found you don't actually need to change or enter any values, simply open and close the color and save and you're good to go.

  but couldn't since I can't get the problem back.

20 minutes ago, Tom B said:

Verified this helpful shortcut!   It looks like the Color Editor copies the 'Original' value to a new 'Theme' value.   

  Yes!  If I get the white console background problem again, I will give this a try! (Though I cannot understand how it could have fixed itself.)

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by User 905133
to add an update

[Tom B]

11 minutes ago, sjoens said:

I found you don't actually need to change or enter any values, simply open and close the color and save and you're good to go.

Verified this helpful shortcut!   It looks like the Color Editor copies the 'Original' value to a new 'Theme' value.   

[sjoens]

13 hours ago, User 905133 said:

I think there is at least one unpredictable or unknown condition here.  While working on  project, I just changed to about 15 different test themes I have never updated with incompatible element fixes.  In all 15 the Console Background did NOT turn to white.  Not sure why they didn't.

It only appears to happen when creating a new theme based on Mercury.

[User 905133]

16 minutes ago, sjoens said:

It only appears to happen when creating a new theme based on Mercury.

I had it happen (the white background) with test themes I made  over the past year or so.  But as of yesterday that no longer happened--regardless of whether or not I resaved to old theme.  Hmmmm.  They might have been old themes  which I opened and resaved because someone somewhere said that fixes them.  If so, then the re-saving of the old theme jives with what you are saying because it appears to be a new theme even though it isn't.

The fix/workaround is so simple, easy, and fast, its really just an intellectual exercise to try to find what unique set of circumstances trigger the white background "bug." 

I am being musically creative today.  Maybe later I will try to find an old theme that I haven't opened and resaved to try this.

Edited June 24, 2021 by User 905133

[Colin Nicholls]

I ran Cakewalk on my laptop today and noticed the console background has gone back to normal grey, from the unusual white. I have not changed or updated the theme in anyway. Or updated Cakewalk. There is definitely a random aspect to this, assuming it is the same issue which frankly I can't believe it isn't.

[Starship Krupa]

8 hours ago, Colin Nicholls said:

I ran Cakewalk on my laptop today and noticed the console background has gone back to normal grey, from the unusual white. I have not changed or updated the theme in anyway. Or updated Cakewalk. There is definitely a random aspect to this, assuming it is the same issue which frankly I can't believe it isn't.

See also the "random folder stats gradient" oddity that you and I have tried to hammer out. This one sounds more predictable, at least as far as what triggers it.

It's funny, these issues seem to fix themselves over time. Maybe Cakewalk needs to get triggered to load a particular theme element before it completely settles down.

[sjoens]

Looks like once you save the project with this theme and close CbB, the next time you launch CbB the theme reverts to the default CV background.

All is fine until... you reload the same theme again and it reverts to the white CV background.

???