Can we name files before we record our own playing?

[adri]

Hi Martin:

I don't go to this forum section all that often and this may have been suggested before...if so, my excuses in advance:

When in recording mode, it would be nice if a window pops up first asking me to name the file, and then hit a "Save" button and then the actual recording would start.

In this way I don't have to start looking/listening to the piece I recorded later on, especially when you do several one in a row, when you are on a roll. These files names now all look so alike!

Thanks.
Adri

[Gert]

Thanks Adri, indeed thats handy.
But...
I want to give the name after the recording because sometimes my recordings are not so successful. ;-(

My proposal:
- Hit 'record' (I prefer a button, not only in the menu)
- Than playing
- Than hit 'end recording' (I prefer a button, not only in the menu)
[- or hit 'cancel recording' (then no file is saved, that prevents all the garbage in my recording folder)]
- Than dialog pops up to enter a name
- Than OK

Thanks and regards,

Gert

[bellolid]

... in the same way as in all others commercial software:

before I create a document and after I decide to save or delete it!
(and if the document already exists with the selected name
or default name..... the software asks if I want to overwrite, no?)

My job is software programming and problem solving automation, normally I don't call this kind of request "improvement" but simply is the starting point for good user approach, I believe that hauptwerk software have a enormous potential and a robust sound engine and memory
management (real time solutions, the most important and hard to obtainig) but is limited in user facilities like midi implementations and organ setting....
not exist, for example, "copy and paste", "copy from", "drag and drop",
"apply to all" , "learning function" etc.. which are easy and fast
to make and testing in newest development environment!

in the same way, with difficulty I call ENHANCEMENT "reset
button moved to left of screen" for voicing features and
others little arrangement (often taked for granted),
my customers call these modifications "bugs fixing".
I always offer thanks to Martin for his software, but now
the product is at Version 3 and so we also have a right to
demand the user facilities....
I upgrade HW to advanced version a while ago, but sincerely
I don't find time to setting MIDI Output features, when I sit down
at the organ and I open the MIDI Output setting panel (before I have to run MidiOx!!!) and ....and...... I CLICK on "X" (close) button and I load an organ and play without Midi Output features!!!!

I hope that Martin puts these requests and facilities
in 3.X release and not in 4.0 version!

Best Regards.

[mdyde]

Hello Adri/Gert,

Thanks for the suggestions. The ability to specify filenames for recorded output is logged as an enhancement request and I've added your notes to it, including inclusion of a function to cancel recording and remove the recorded file.

- Hit 'record' (I prefer a button, not only in the menu)

Note that you can trigger any menu functions from a computer key or via MIDI. A button-bar for triggering menu functions via touch-screens is also planned for the future.

[mdyde]

Dario,

... in the same way as in all others commercial software:

before I create a document and after I decide to save or delete it!
(and if the document already exists with the selected name
or default name..... the software asks if I want to overwrite, no?)

My job is software programming and problem solving automation, normally I don't call this kind of request "improvement" but simply is the starting point for good user approach, I believe that hauptwerk software have a enormous potential and a robust sound engine and memory
management (real time solutions, the most important and hard to obtainig) but is limited in user facilities like midi implementations and organ setting....
not exist, for example, "copy and paste", "copy from", "drag and drop",
"apply to all" , "learning function" etc.. which are easy and fast
to make and testing in newest development environment!

in the same way, with difficulty I call ENHANCEMENT "reset
button moved to left of screen" for voicing features and
others little arrangement (often taked for granted),
my customers call these modifications "bugs fixing".
I always offer thanks to Martin for his software, but now
the product is at Version 3 and so we also have a right to
demand the user facilities....
I upgrade HW to advanced version a while ago, but sincerely
I don't find time to setting MIDI Output features, when I sit down
at the organ and I open the MIDI Output setting panel (before I have to run MidiOx!!!) and ....and...... I CLICK on "X" (close) button and I load an organ and play without Midi Output features!!!!

I hope that Martin puts these requests and facilities
in 3.X release and not in 4.0 version!

Please remember that Crumhorn Labs is not a large company. There are many, many features that I would dearly love to include in Hauptwerk (we have a database of many hundreds of them and many are in the area of improving ease-of-use/user interface), and there is no technical barrier to including them.

However, Crumhorn Labs is small company operating in a niche market, and the rate at which enhancements can be developed is determined by the resources available to us. Every enhancement, however small, takes time and/or equivalently money to implement (and test and document).

It may be common amongst major commercial software to have some of the features you mention, but we aren't Microsoft - we don't have large teams of programmers to be able to put onto specific areas or functionality.

However, I believe that Hauptwerk has a great many features that most commercial software does *not* have, such as its audio engine and sophisticated organ modelling ability. Large companies like Microsoft would probably not be interested in producing virtual organ software because the market would be too small for them.

in the same way, with difficulty I call ENHANCEMENT "reset
button moved to left of screen" for voicing features and
others little arrangement (often taked for granted),
my customers call these modifications "bugs fixing".

Adjusting the arrangement of a screen is certainly the most trivial of enhancements, but nonetheless it is an enhancement, not a bug, so it is listed as such. A bug is something that doesn't work properly. It's listed in the release notice because some people find it useful to know what's changed in a release, even if it is trivial (as in that case).

I don't find time to setting MIDI Output features, when I sit down
at the organ and I open the MIDI Output setting panel (before I have to run MidiOx!!!) and ....and...... I CLICK on "X" (close) button and I load an organ and play without Midi Output features!!!!

I'm sorry - I'm not clear what you're saying here? If you make changes on a settings screen then you need to click OK or press RETURN/ENTER on that screen for your settings changes to take effect. Either clicking Cancel, pressing ESCAPE or closing the settings screen window directly cancels the changes.

In summary, please be patient - the Hauptwerk software is developed as fast as we can within the resources available to Crumhorn Labs. I doubt that you would be able to find many examples of software that's developed at a faster rate than Hauptwerk within such a niche market, or that's supported to the degree that Hauptwerk is supported.

[bellolid]

Thank you Martin, your answers are always welcome
and you also be patient!
I know well that Cruhorn-Lab isn't Microsoft,
but in this moment, I'm thinking to minor
software like "JOrgan" that implemet
simply and basic solutions for final user... (free software)
I think that Hauptwerk final user must be an organist not
a cumputer specialist that plays pipe organ,
in this way you can enlarge your market!
You can create some easy default setting for
1 or 2 or 3 keybords consolle and a menu section
"ADVANCED" for expert, no?


The meaning of:

"I don't find time to setting MIDI Output features, when I sit down
at the organ and I open the MIDI Output setting panel
(before I have to run MidiOx!!!) and ....and......
I CLICK on "X" (close) button and I load an organ
and play without Midi Output features!!!!"

is that the actions for setting MIDI Output (or input)
features are so long that I prefer close window and play organ
postponig Midi output setting in the future (I know well that
"x" button is as Cancel operation!, my real problem is english)

To setting MIDI output, for each stop, I have to:
- creating name
- selecting with mouse in list the event type
(for one specific midi consolle is always the same, in my case is "system exclusive")
- selecting Output path
(in my case always the same)
- select number of byte
(for one specific midi consolle is always the same, in my case is "5 bytes")
- engage stop
- change screen or frame with mouse, reading in MidiOx the 5 values (3 digits each)
(for my midi consolle 3/5 values are always identicals)
- writing each value in specific box
- re-reading 5 values from midiOx, reading the values in HW, are they corrects? yes? NO?
- setting dis-engage stop
- testing functionality...
etc... etc...

and "if I want to change my midi consolle? oh no, thank you!
I have to repeat all midi setting...."

How many time the programmer uses to create a buttom labeled
"copy values from precedent" (OR SIMILAR) that call
a function that set actual.event_type := preced.event_type;
actual.n_of_byte := preced.n_of_byte; ... ... ...

You can release a PATCH BETA version and devolve upon your customers
these secondary features test!

[ldeutsch]

I'll add my two cents to this issue.

I use jOrgan as a front end to most of my Hauptwerk organs. I have created a "record" button in jOrgan that toggles the "start recording" and "stop recording" menu items in Hauptwerk. I also use a touch screen at my console. I cannot reach my computer while I am playing. I have no way to enter text data from the organ console.

I simply touch my record button, play ,and then touch the button a second time. My button has an indicator light to show when the record mode is on.

This works great for me. I do not mind renaming the recording files afterward. If I had to name them each time I recorded (either before or after the take) it would be very inconvenient. I like the Hauptwerk recording implementation just the way it is.

Les

[mdyde]

Hello Dario,

Yes - I'm fully aware that Hauptwerk could be easier and quicker to configure in various areas (especially MIDI settings), and I assure you that doing that is an *extremely* high priority.

As you say, cosmetic user interface enhancements are relatively quick to develop compared to the several years of development work that went into the (extremely large, powerful and complex) 'engine' that Hauptwerk has, as well as its subsequent maintenance, but, since sample sets are built around that 'engine' and its capabilities, it was important that the core engine for v2/v3 was developed early on, thus allowing sample set producers to adopt it and develop sample sets that can take advantage of it.

I believe it's the realism and power of that engine that sets Hauptwerk apart from any other software or hardware.

It's relatively easy to add usability improvements at a later date but not so much so with design changes to the engine, since sample sets depend upon it.

I assure you that usability improvements, including such things as settings copy/paste, 'MIDI learn' and so on are a very, very high priority and will be added at the first possible opportunity. The limiting factor is just the number of hours in the day!

[mdyde]

Hello Les,

I simply touch my record button, play ,and then touch the button a second time. My button has an indicator light to show when the record mode is on.

This works great for me. I do not mind renaming the recording files afterward. If I had to name them each time I recorded (either before or after the take) it would be very inconvenient. I like the Hauptwerk recording implementation just the way it is.

Thanks. Yes - it was done the way that it is simply because most users either use MIDI or use touch-screen(s) to control Hauptwerk, so requiring filenames to be typed wouldn't be an option for many people.

Any functionality added to allow filenames to be specified would be optional and/or be accessed via additional menu items so that the current mode of use would still be possible.

[telemanr]

My two cents also...

1. I don't have a keyboard right in front of me as I playing.

2. I find myself hitting record, playing a bit, stopping (mistakes or whatever). Hit record again, stop,
repeat, etc.

THEN

I delete all the hiccups and name the final file.

I most certainly don't want to stop and name a file evey time I start recording.

I would, however, like to have a way of deleting what I've just recorded with a simple menu item which I could assign to one of my controls or as a touch item. There are many more false attempts than there are successful full recordings. I would think that was true for most people.

[pwhodges]

When I was editing my son's first CD about ten years ago, we were reviewing the final version, and noticed a tiny mistake in the first bar of one piece that had passed us by until then (it was a subtle timing issue in a complex contemporary piece, not a wrong note). We went through every take we has transferred to the computer (we had been selective because of the small disk we had at the time), and found no better take. So we went back to the DATs of the recording session, and found a false start which was broken off in the second bar, but had the first bar perfect - that is now on the CD you can buy. And if we hadn't kept all false starts, it wouldn't be right!

Paul

[telemanr]

All I want is the "possibility" of erasing a false start quickly and easily. More often than not it is not something worth saving since it isn't something I'd want to splice into anythin. It's just a false start.

[engrssc]

Slightly off topic, but several suggestions to enhance operations:

A simple suggestion to having a keyboard/mouse at the console is to use a wireless (keyboard/mouse). The "receiver" for these has a USB 2 connection to the computer. (You can extend the USB line to (in my case) at least 30 feet). The cost for a wireless keyboard/mouse is cheap, I see ads all the time for $15 USD. It is easy to "store" these right at the console. My biggest "issue" is where to put the keyboard while typing on it. On the bench is too low, on my lap isn't great either. A pull out drawer could maybe work, but my console wouldn't accomodate that too well either. In any case, having a keyboard/mouse right at the console is very useful and I wouldn't be without "them".

One other "consideration" is that the keyboard and the mouse run on AA batteries. The receiver is USB powered. All in all, it is a good thing.

Another useful feature is to have a USB connection available right on the console. I have a USB hub at the console which accomodates all my USB connections. I added the extension which I use for instance, to access such as dongle upgrades for a new sample set, as well as other features the I download by means of a thumb drive. The organ computer in my case is 30 feet (downstairs) away form the console and is "remote controlled".

Rgds,
Ed

[engrssc]

In a private email, I was asked where to obtain a w/l keyboard/mouse for $15 USD. Here is one example and you can Google for more: http://cgi.ebay.com/MICROSOFT-WIRELESS-OPTICAL-DESKTOP-1000-KEYBOARD-MOUSE_W0QQITEMZ200218456367QQcategoryZ15389QQcmdZViewItem

BTW, most are PC and Mac compatible.

Rgds,
Ed