Sometimes I have a specific automation-tracks open across multiple tracks, say, to tweak a combination settings (Volume, Send 1, Send 2, Pan), but across multiple audio tracks/instruments/channels, quickly skimming between them all making tweaks. Furthermore, many of these tracks also contain used automation that is hidden that I wouldn’t want to make visible by using the ‘show all automation’ shortcut key.
Sometimes, within this scenario, I want to minimize all the automation I’m working on either to get an uncluttered view of the project, or to make unrelated edits/tweaks but I would want to quickly return to the last combination of open automation tracks I had. A simple toggle would make things a lot quicker then current solutions… It would consolidate about 3 or 4 time consuming steps/many clicks, into a single keystroke.
With the above suggestion, if it were implemented, a problem with it might be (or maybe a separate feature needed to solve), is someone might want to retain their current open automation configuration but close it all to do other work. If they use this toggle hotkey, and close all the current visible/open automation tracks, but then open a new automation track it would essentially erase the previous toggle memory.
So either the hotkey above would work as such and users would have to be mindful, or the toggle is in fact a held memory snapshot that once toggled as “hide” it saves that hidden memory until toggle back to show regardless of what other unrelated automation tracks have been opened. (This itself could be a box toggle feature in preferences, with its own hotkey)
Or much like the channel/track visibility configure feature, you could have one in the automation panel.
You’ve just given me an idea - Workspaces. I’ve not thought of using them as a type of ‘scratchpad view’ of a project before; keep thinking in terms of set tasks/specific jobs…
Don’t know; it might work…
Bob
[EDIT] Shame - it doesn’t; seems Automation lanes are not part of the ‘Workspace view’
I’m actually thinking it may be a bug, or overlooked bit of code that automation lanes aren’t saved with the track/channel visibility configure feature. When I switch between configurations, automation lanes are minimized automatically. If this weren’t so, I’d have a fairly simple work around using configurations (updating configuration with how automation lanes are currently set then creating new/switching to different configuration.
Having a toggle key could still come in handy for quick workflow - ie, a single save memory configuration toggle - ‘toggle on’ takes memory snapshot of current configuration, then you could minimize all automation lanes, do your other work, then toggle off to return to what automation you were working on. Macro key combo could be set to ‘Toggle Snapshot Current Figuration’ → Minimize all automation lanes. Or if open/closed automation lanes were part of configurations, macro: ‘Create Visibility Configuration’ → ‘Create Visibility Configuration’ → ‘Hide All Automation’ → ‘Update Visibility Configuration’.
It would make easy switching between audio region editing of grouped multi-track and, editing automation of various tracks automation lanes.
