Playing selection in 5.22

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Vince
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Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:02 pm

Playing selection in 5.22

Post by Vince »

I've just installed 5.22 after 5.17. When I make a selection in a sound file and hit Space the selection starts to play as always. When I hit the Space bar again the playback stops, but the cursor stays put. It used to move back to the start of the selection. I just cant find a way to make it do this.
Can someone help please? I find it very disconcerting to have the cursor sitting in the middle of the selection as I edit it.
Thanks
GoldWave Inc.
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Re: Playing selection in 5.22

Post by GoldWave Inc. »

The latest version has a persistent playback cursor. To play the selection as the previous version does, press the F11 key and set the Green play button to "Selection" instead of "Cursor". Also make note of the new View | Auto Scroll Lock option.

Chris
Vince
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Post by Vince »

I saw your advice in a previous post.
I've set the playback button as you say, and tried both options of Auto Scroll Lock, but the cursor still stays put when the space bar is pressed during playback, but the shimmering stops.
I agree that functionally the operation is as before, with playback resuming at the start of the selection when the space bar is pressed again, but I'd like the cursor to disappear when play is stopped.
Was there a particular reason for implementing the persistent cursor? Perhaps a future release could have an option to turn it off.
Stiiv
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Post by Stiiv »

I'd like the cursor to disappear when play is stopped.
Hear, hear! :wink:
Perhaps a future release could have an option to turn it off.
Hear HEAR hear! :lol:
Stiiv
Vince
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Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:02 pm

Post by Vince »

I'm afraid I've encountered another snag. Ctrl-Q now always places a cue-point at the cursor position even when play is stopped, rather than the selection start position. The only shortish way to get the Cue at the selection start seems to be Shift-Ctrl-Q then click At Start then click OK. Am I missing something?
I think we were all delighted when Ctrl-Q was first implemented, now in 5.22 we see to have reverted to the original system of multiple operations to get the cue set. I wouldn't mind so much if there was an easy way to get the cursor back to the selection start and stay there, but I cant find any cursor control at all.
Please may we have back the old cursor function and its associated implied functions, as an option?
Reluctantly, because I like some of the new functions, I'm going back to 5.17, or 5.20 which I'm downloading, for the time being.
JackH
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Post by JackH »

Vince wrote: I'd like the cursor to disappear when play is stopped.
I agree -- it creates quite an annoyance, and should be optional.
holtram
Posts: 78
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 2:29 pm

Persistent Cursor

Post by holtram »

Yes I'm afraid I have to agree. I like and use most of Chris's enhancements (and the ones I don't are just beyond my skill/need level) and he does a terrific job keeping Goldwave current and state-of-the-art.

The persistent cursor is probably a great enhancement for some users, but I admit I haven't been able to warm to it. After using 5.22 for a while I've backed it off and will probably run at 5.20 until there's an absolute "killer" enhancement I just have to have (such as resetting the auto-cue timer if an existing cue point is encountered), or until the persistent cursor is made optional.

I fear, though, that making the persistent cursor optional is possibly a difficult proposition or Chris probably would have introduced 5.22 with the option available.
Vince
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Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:02 pm

Post by Vince »

Vince wrote:I'm afraid I've encountered another snag. Ctrl-Q now always places a cue-point at the cursor position even when play is stopped........I wouldn't mind so much if there was an easy way to get the cursor back to the selection start and stay there, but I cant find any cursor control at all.....
Whoops! I just found you how the Home and End keys work in a Selection :) I kept looking for 'cursor' in the Help.
Of course, the End key moves the cursor to the end of the selection so it's actually easier to set cues at the start and end of a selection with Home,Ctrl+Q then End,Ctrl+Q which may help the poster who wanted a way to set cues at the start and end of a selection.
Guess I'm happy with 5.22 now :D
packzap
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Location: Pacific Nor'west - United States

Post by packzap »

I spent about 20 agonizing minutes hunting around all the options in Goldwave version 5.22 to get the space bar to work like it did previously. I thought it was something under Options, Keyboard and was trying to figure out all the mapping names. Then, I found this post in the support forum.

It's amazing how a change in the interface can drive a person mad. One of the neat things about this amazing program is its ease of use. Thanks for the solution to get the space bar back to playing at the selection point. That's my vote on where to keep it. You have saved my sanity.
jkowtko
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Post by jkowtko »

I never figured this one out, and had to back my version down to 5.20 to fix the "problem". Now that I've read this thread I'll try 5.22 again and learn the new task flow.

I "Nth" the motion -- please be cautious about adding non-intuitive or counter-intuitive features, especially when they create the perception of usability regressions. Either an "opt-in" for this feature, or a clearly intuitive or discoverable instruction on how to use it or disable it, was needed.

Thanks. John
GoldWave Inc.
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Post by GoldWave Inc. »

Actually the persistent playback cursor is an intuitive feature. Apparently people expect playback to continue where it last stopped. It seems like only long time GoldWave users dislike it.

One drawback of the free upgrade policy is that GoldWave depends almost exclusively on new users to stay in business, so sometimes a change has to be made to make the program easier for new users.

A similar backlash occurred when the left/right selection method was changed to the more "intuitive" click-and-drag selection method, even though it wasn't my preferred method. Now I can't go back to the old method because the ability to right-click-and-drag to select, play, or zoom is so useful.

Hopefully refinements to the playback cursor in future updates will appease most users, so keep the suggestions coming.

Chris
donrandall
Posts: 550
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:06 pm
Location: Denver, Colorado

Post by donrandall »

A similar backlash occurred when the left/right selection method was changed to the more "intuitive" click-and-drag selection method, even though it wasn't my preferred method. Now I can't go back to the old method because the ability to right-click-and-drag to select, play, or zoom is so useful.
Geezers - I had not discovered the right click trick...so I just went and tried it. Hey, I like it!

It's amazing what a guy can learn, just hangin' around here!
Gauss256
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat May 21, 2005 2:35 pm

Post by Gauss256 »

GoldWave Inc. wrote:It seems like only long time GoldWave users dislike it.
I'm with Chris on this issue. I'm a long time GoldWave user, but I'm also a user of various other audio/video editing programs. The click-and-drag selection and persistent cursor behavior are more like the way other programs work and improvements in their right, IMHO. OK, maybe the barber pole effect isn't so great. :)

Also because the play properties and keyboard are customizable, I found it was easy to set up alternatives to the default behavior that are handy on occasion.

All in all, the GoldWave user interface and editing behaviors are much better than in many more expensive packages and have kept me a loyal fan for many years.

Bruce
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