Cantabile Development Blog

Recorders Finished

Today I finished re-integrating the audio and MIDI file recorders and the new recordings list functionality.

First up, there's some new commands on the ribbon:

• The Show List command shows the recording list - a new panel docked to the left of Cantabile's main window that show's a list of all recordings.
• The Clear List command deletes all unpinned recordings, keeps the pinned recordings and clear's out the list.
• The Delete Unpinned command deletes all recordings that are not pinned, leaving pinned recordings in the list.
• Each recording shows the name of the recording and its duration. When a recording is in progress, the icon has red record overlay and the duration ticks over.
• Although not shown above recordings also have tool tips that show the full file location, duration and date/time the recording was made.
• The recording list shows audio and MIDI recordings together with the most recent recording at the top.

Also, some commands have been removed: rename last recording, delete last recording, save all recordings, save last recording. These commands have been replaced with a context menu on the items in the recording list.

Pinning or unpinning a recording is simply a matter of clicking the pin next to the recording's name. There's an option (see below) to control whether new recordings are initially pinned or unpinned:

Right clicking a recording (or pressing the menu key) gives some useful options:

Ribbon groups now support "dialog buttons" which appear as a little button in the bottom right corner. When clicked they display a dialog with additional settings or options. I've added buttons to various other ribbon groups too (eg: QuickSessions, Metronome, etc...). Mostly they just display pre-existing dialogs.

Finally there's a bunch of new options to control the behaviour of the recording list, most of which should be self explanatory. (Also note the rogue icon in top left corner and wrong font in the OK/Cancel buttons - I think these only happen on XP but will address during the bug fixing/clean up period).

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the new functionality in the recorders though I haven't actually used it in anger yet. I'm sure it will need some fine tuning over the coming weeks but it's mostly there.

Finally, I'm also working on a new website dedicated completely to Cantabile. I think some of the other products/info on this site distract from what Cantabile is all about and feel this next version probably deserves its own little space (and a fresh look to match the new UI). I'll post more about this closer to release date.

Next up is re-integrating the sequencer and design work for audio playback...

Posted on March 18, 2008

Share This