Switching from plugin window to MixBus window for playback

[Oleg]

Hello, It's little bit annoying to me to switch between plugin and Mixbus windows for start or stop playing. When I make some changes in plugin window including XT or 3-rd party ones, I have then to click on empty area of MixBus window to press spacebar to start play or stop playing.
If you understand what I mean.
Appreciate you for your response.

[Dingo]

That should only happen when you have the green keyboard lock on (to allow text entry into a field).
I tend to use the mouse / control surface to adjust values rather than typing in numbers, that way I can leave the plugin open and still use the space bar and numeric transport key shortcuts.

[Pi_K]

Hi Dingo, at least in Windows, it behaves like Olag described.
I never pressed the keyboard button, dont know for what it is really. But just a quick example, if you insert and open even the a-eq and tweak something with the mouse on the eq, if you press the spacebar nothing happens regarding playback. You have to click on some place of the mixer and the press the spacebar.

[Andy76]

x42 answered it in the past here


(20) is hard, and sometimes near impossible. Some plugin UIs just grab all events in a way that Mixbus does not even know that a key was pressed. That'll require trickery to work around.

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So maybe one day they will find a solution..

[Pi_K]

x42 answered it in the past here


(20) is hard, and sometimes near impossible. Some plugin UIs just grab all events in a way that Mixbus does not even know that a key was pressed. That'll require trickery to work around.

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So maybe one day they will find a solution..

Interesting... but how does this works properly in other DAWs?
This has to be something "windows" related or something like that. I mean I wish someday also Mixbus could have all the events under the "UNDO" scope. I mean, move a knob on the channel strip and can press the CTRL-Z and undo that move...
Waves allows that under their shell, ok, but this example or the Spacebar thing, is in an "upper" layer I guess, if Mixbus (or Ardour, Im not sure now whats going on) takes control over the spacebar since you open Mixbus, thats it, that's all I need for transport start/stop. No need to know wich keys are used in the GUI of plugins, because you start not considering the "spacebar" as a "key" if you know what I mean.

Im not a coder, but, what's the difference here. It's a strange logic and I don't know why those answers saying that is impossible or triky are given honestly.

[sunrat]

I usually roll my eyes at many of the nitpicking posts but this is one issue that would be really good for which to have a solution. Behaviour is the same in Linux/KDE as the plugin window has to have focus to stay on top so the alternative would be to have the plugin disappear behind the MB window every time a transport key is pressed. Especially tricky if the plugin window requires text input including space key. Either way is annoying and I can understand it would be difficult to code.
Maybe it could be improved with dedicated transport keys like those on most multimedia keyboards; make those global for Mixbus transport and leave the text input keys, including spacebar, for text input (or maybe only allow them for transport if Mixbus window has focus).
The poor developers are in limbo between a rock and a hard place, I'm sure.

[Milt]

Hi Dingo, at least in Windows, it behaves like Olag described.
I never pressed the keyboard button, dont know for what it is really. But just a quick example, if you insert and open even the a-eq and tweak something with the mouse on the eq, if you press the spacebar nothing happens regarding playback. You have to click on some place of the mixer and the press the spacebar.

I would really like for this to be fixed!!!

[Mixing The Band]

It works just fine in Pro Tools!! Ha ha ha. Workaround: Since I'm mixing most records in Mixbus 32C now, I picked up a Faderport for under $50 on ebay, and it lives right next to my keyboard like a keyboard extension, and transport controls are always active. Plus the rest of the keys are mappable, so I have Save, Mono, and other handy jumps on easy buttons right in front of me. I wish there was a knob to control the main volume control in the monitor section, but I haven't found a way.

[Yriisem]

You can use a gaming mouse, and assign several quick functions to the keys. In my A4Tech V8, I have assigned only three combinations out of 12. full-screen mode, mixer and editor view, track list for editor and mixer, I reassigned to one key, so it opens with one button both in the mixer and in the editor. I think you can also assign a space to a convenient key. By default, the letter "A" controls the transport, I do not know exactly how it works specifically as opposed to a space.

[Stephane Morisse]

Where's that green button ? I must be blind, I can't see it.

That should only happen when you have the green keyboard lock on (to allow text entry into a field).
I tend to use the mouse / control surface to adjust values rather than typing in numbers, that way I can leave the plugin open and still use the space bar and numeric transport key shortcuts.