Hi,
This is a real small one but would make my day, it would be helpful to have easier access to switch between light and dark mode without delving into preferences. Some suggestions are to add to option for Command Bar view OR add a menu in ‘Workspace’ menu OR add a button in the View Tab. The first is probably my preferred option.
Could you explain why you need this “feature”. Thanks!
Sorry, but no. This setting is rather meant to be set once for all. Especially, this setting only takes effect fully after restarting WaveLab.
I understand.
As to why…
I use WL in multiple environments, some with controlled lighting and some not, including a laptop which can be anywhere.
My request was triggered by working in my home office, opening a blind to let the lovely sunshine in, and not being able to read the display. I went searching for the view mode switch and wished it was more accessible.
I imagine I’m not the only person who works in variable and changing light conditions.
100% customer satisfaction does not seem to be a primary goal of Steinberg, though.
For the Audio Editor, you can change the Waveform Window Theme Partially through this menu.
The design of software is not about adding buttons or options here and there every time a user requests them. Otherwise, the software would become bloated, and legitimate user satisfaction issues would arise.
I think your remark is misplaced, and frankly, I’m starting to grow tired of your consistently negative comments, which are rarely constructive. I don’t think I’m the only one.
Year, I am kind of tired of stating the obvious and figuring out all the inconsistent scattered hidden secrets of Wavelab. Guess, I’m not the only one; but a minority, probably.
Actually, you can create an AutoHotkey script (I recommend version 1) for easily switching between themes. AHK is a great way to create a series of actions that can run in a sequence, just by pressing a specific key (with Ctrl / Alt / Shift modifiers or as a standalone key).
You can use something called image recognition, that is, you create a screenshot of an interface element that AHK can recognize and then it can be used to take the mouse cursor there and click it.
Even though a lot of people might frown upon it, ChatGPT is great for helping with making a script like that, as long as you describe exactly what you need the script to perform. And then you can modify it for your liking.
I already made a script that double-clicks on this element of my GUI to maximize / minimize the Audio Montage, since there doesn’t seem to be a native hotkey to do that.
In your case the pseudo code would look something like this:
1). Press the hotkey for Options/Settings
2). Click on Audio Montages button
3). Click the Style tab
4). Click on the themes dropdown menu
5). Use arrow keys to pick either Dark or Light Theme
6). Press Enter, then ESC
You can do the same with Global > Display > Theme, to change the overall WaveLab theme.
But the challenge with image recognition is, that when a button is pressed down, it might look different from when it isn’t pressed down:
And also, that same button will look different on Light Theme. In that case, you can either make an IF statement (if that image is not there, try the next one, or the next, etc.) OR you can use screen X and Y coordinates, that bypasses image recognition entirely.
Let me know if you need any help.
Please stop these destructive comments. Of course, no program is built around one person, but intended for a group of users. It’s understandable that there are components not everyone uses. Show me one program that doesn’t have this problem. Personally, I’m very satisfied with Wavelab. I rarely or never use various components. Does that make it a bad program? Quite the opposite. It’s intended and suitable for a wide range of users, with a developer we can be proud of.
Wavelab is surely a great software, no question about that, but it lacks some very basic features and is partly inconsistent, imho. And no, this does not make it a bad software!
It might not be popular to mention those facts (especially for those, who are using WL for years or even decades - this leads to operationally blindness, which is also completely normal and not to complain), but this is not of concern here, imho.
WL seems to me a bit overengineered and unnecessarily complicated (i. e. one needs more actions (mouse clicks) to accomplish a certain task).
I am using WL for about 1,5 years now - bought it, because of good memories some 25 years ago, blindly - which might not be the best way of doing so… But that’s the way it is.
And no, I won’t stop mentioning obvious flaws and quirks, just because someone might consider this as almost blasphemy.
The only critique I have to your comment is this.
While I agree that having choices is good, I think WaveLab should be better at letting you customize your GUI better, so you can for instance hide tools and features that you are not using, like in Cubase. I know that I tend to compare WaveLab to Cubase a lot, but how can I not. Both applications are from the same company and are supposed to work seamlessly together, offsetting each other’s weaknesses and complementing each other’s strengths.
For instance, the ribbon bar has static elements that can’t be customized (AFAIK). Why not let the user drag sections (Source, Time Selection, ClipBoard, etc.) around and hide sections that you rarely use.
And do the same with tools, like Range, Extend, Toggle, for instance, of each section. Let the user combine several tools into one dropdown menu or hide some of them or all of them entirely. If I have too many buttons on my screen, that I don’t use, it steals the focus and screenspace from the buttons / tools that I still use.
If I mastered the hotkeys for some of these tools, and I don’t need their visual GUI elements on the screen, then less is more.
And same goes with the Command Bar. Would be nice if I could add stuff that I use often and remove stuff that I rarely use:
And speaking of screenspace - this might also solve the high dpi problem. The argument has always been: “there aren’t enough pixels to run WaveLab with DPI that high”. If the interface could become more dynamic and customizable, then it might stop being a problem, as well.
To conclude, plenty of options, tools and features are very welcome, but there should always be a way to hide stuff that you’re not using.
Also, I do agree with this, but we can do it in a constructive way 
FWIW, experience has shown that … whether it’s ProTo’ls, Sequo’a, WaveLab or whatever … establishing a workflow in a program that is comfortable and intuitive for you is key.
And if the program doesn’t end up offering you that (and for me Sequo’a was in that category) it’s probably time to move on to one that does. Complaining that Sequo’a wasn’t built for me intuitively would not have taken anything anywhere since a ton of very successful engineers can’t live without it … illustrating that there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with the program. I could drive it OK … and in fact still receive requests and offers from them … but at some point you have to say ‘it’s just not a good fit’ and find something else that is.
Specialized software like WL is not everything to everybody and it’s not supposed to be.
Good luck
