Re: [Audacity-devel] multiple label tracks

[Gale A. <ga...@au...>]

| From James Crook <cr...@in...> 
| Tue, 25 Dec 2007 13:50:57 +0000
| Subject: [Audacity-devel] multiple label tracks
> Gale Andrews wrote:
> > I suggested exactly the same thing when we were discussing it and Leland
> > felt it was too presumptuous to assume that the user wanted to switch
> > focus after ENTER. You also have to consider if the user has multiple
> > tracks, he may not want to switch focus to the one which our rule has
> > decided he should switch to. He was also concerned what happens if there
> > is no audio track to switch focus to.  
> 
> > With the old code I always used to just use the arrow key after ENTER to
> > switch focus, and I pointed that out to David B, and also that
> > potentially you could use a modifier for playback hotkeys to work round
> > the problem. I think the upshot was that screen reader users need the
> > focus in the Label Track while playing the corresponding audio.  
>
> OK, in that case I leave it as it now is (Ctrl-B not needed, focus left 
> on label track after label complete).  Needing Ctrl-B to start a label I 
> found a very significant backward step.  Done right changes which make 
> things better for visually impaired users should be win-win, they should 
> help everyone.  The two solutions you suggest (arrow key, or use a 
> modifier) seem perfectly reasonable to me.
> 
> Another possible solution is a preference (normally on) 'Typing in Label 
> Track starts new label'.  I'm not planning to add that new preference at 
> this stage.  I'll be much happier about adding extra preferences when we 
> have context-help integrated with the preferences, which will be after 
> 1.4.0.

On the whole I found the change so you can use unmodified hotkeys
without switching focus to the audio track beneficial. So for me, your
change is a backwards step. This may be because I am usually applying
effects to labelled sections. Therefore the focus is in the audio track and 
to make another label, some other action like arrow and CTRL + B is 
necessary anyway. For what I do, the experience where you don't have 
to switch from label track to audio track to use (say) P to pause is
much smoother. Changing hotkeys and remembering to switch focus after 
ENTER are not all that convenient for VI users.    

Even with your current change you still have to click in the label track
to define a point or a region before you can type a new label, hence my
idea of a modified click as an alternative to CTRL + B. Double-click is 
already used to create a selection area from zero to the last label, but 
right-click seems feasible and reasonably intuitive to me.

I don't think we can regard this as settled without some input from one
of the Davids, and as for the Preference it may well be the only solution.
If so, why wait given the number we've been adding recently? 


Gale