Feature/Improvement Suggestions?

#1

@Iced I have one or two small suggested improvements to existing features that I think would more or less be universally useful to all users.

Just wondering if there’s a section for suggesting features/improvements, or if you prefer fielding these via email…

Cheers, and hope you had a nice holiday…

#2

Feel free to post them here :slight_smile:

#3

Thanks.

The main one would be the ability to nest sidebar groups. I have a lot of sub-genres I need to cover, it’s always going to be fastest to have a top level genre/category with some nested sub-genre/categories. Currently I just have a giant list of sidebar groups, many covering the same genre as other groups.

For example I’ve been doing a lot of writing for a trailer library so an example of how an ideal structure of nested playlists might look something like:

/Trailer
> Electronic
> Horror
> Hybrid
> Orchestral
> Tension

This same logic could be applied to any category like SFX, drums, etc.

As far as why - I find having too many playlists in one group is a difficult way to work. (I’m dyslexic ((TMI :confused: )) Too many things in one place and I start having a hard time visually locating things, even if alphabetical…

The other big quality of life improvement would be if eventually there were a way to re-scan a list so it worked the way one would expect it to work, (where applicable - like if you’ve saved an entire folder or drive as a playlist). Basically I thought ‘refresh’ would re-scan lists when I 1st started using AF.

Even though the concept here is simple I’m guessing this is one involves a lot of work. Totally get that if it does… It’d be great if this were possible some day, even if that day were a looong way away.

Thanks again!

1 Like
#4

Groups inside of groups eh? Let me think about if there’s an simpler way to solve that. You know how it goes? Once I add one more level, then the next thing is can we add another level and then you end up with a deep tree.

Ok to be clear, lists have a serious limitation. Everything is great when you don’t move your files, but once you move them the list breaks. Why? There’s just no way to find a file if someone moves it because AudioFinder only know where you placed it last. It would be no different if you took files from a Logic Project and move them some where outside of the project. Logic will open the project and show the files missing.

The Metadata Database is better than lists in this case because it fingerprints each sound and allows you to search for it across your system.

#5

I hear that… It took Ableton 10 versions before they understood why users kept requesting groups inside of groups :stuck_out_tongue:

What if there were were something like Sidebar Group Folders, or Playlist Folders.

It’s not that it’s only difficult to navigate a long list of categories, it’s that there can also be multiple categories of the same sound family.

For example:

Reverse Hits - Atonal
Reverse Hits - Tonal
Reverse Hits - Stingers

or

Braams - Aggressive
Braams - Atmospheric.
Braams - Dark
Braams - Horror

The current use case I’m in is composing And sound designing for horror album for a trailer library. Not only is trailer music already niche in its sound categories, Horror is even more specialized. I’ve found I’ve had to yet again make another sidebar group and completely new custom playlists…

So basically folders inside of groups would be helpful to put each specialized list in its own parent group. I’d imagine people using AF for SFX work would find it useful too… They could have a Weapons parent group and nest different weapons lists inside… Guns, Bullets, Blades, Artillery, etc.

I understand your point about moved or missing files. The thing is that every DAW gives you a way to search for and relocate those missing files. When files are missing from a DAW project you’re greeted with a search window, or the DAW has an icon where you choose a location or locations and it will rescan. Unlike a DAW once link’s in AF are broken and there’s no way to search for the missing files.

As it is I have two machines with totally different file structures. I have to maintain each machine separately and I’ve more or less given up on using AF on one of them because one’s a MBP with a single internal disk the other’s a MP with multiple drives, i.e. different locations…

Even if the same files with identical names exist on the other machine I’d have to manually re-create each list because AF doesn’t have the ability to search for files with identical names in different locations.

Here are a few thoughts based on different types of implementations I’ve seen…

  1. A Preferences option to set drives and folder locations that AF could use for searching if files go missing.
  2. A database file based on these drive or folder locations that can be cross referenced. (Soundweaver uses this. You have to manually update the database yourself, as long as you do it’s painless. It’s never tossed up a missing file error at me because I update the database anytime anything on the sample drive’s changed…)
  3. A search window that can search inside all subfolders of the directory or disk chosen. (Logic does this. If multiple sample files are missing you only need to steer it to the right directory once and it relocates all other missing files, even if some of them are in subfolders).

I know the last one’s a big ask but not only is this something I’ve run into myself, I’ve seen it mentioned regularly.

Anyway thanks again for taking the time to read through this whatever the outcome… It’s always nice to see when a developer’s actually willing to hear user requests!

Cheers…

1 Like
#6

Great suggestions @JackRabbitSlim I too have Dyslexia and your suggestions really would make a difference for me.