New solution: Continuous pinch to zoom for Cubase on macOS

Cubase
62

Hey Guys,

I’m very pleased with the update rolling out so quitely so far. By now, PinchBar 0.3 has been downloaded more than 70 times, each day adding around 5 more to that number and all that without any kind of promotion. Nice!

I got only one new issue on github from a user noticing lag with the new version, where there was none with PinchBar 0.2. It seems to be related to a somewhat nasty interaction between PinchBar and third party input methods (I think he means intput source), but I don’t have enough infomation to reproduce that yet.

So I want to ask you: How is PinchBar 0.3 performing on your machines? Any issues with lag or strange interactions with other applications?

If so, please feel free to report and perhaps to add a short explenation how to reproduce your issue.

Thx!

63

It’s working perfectly here! (macOS 14.3.1, Apple M1 Pro, Cubase 13.0.30). Thanks a lot for working on the app :slight_smile:

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64

I love the app, its so good. I have a little problem tho: when i gesture zoom in, in cubase it appears as its zooming out, and when i zoom out, in cubase its zooming in. Is there any reverse setting? Thanks!

65

This is realy amazing. Thanks a lot for developing this and providing it!

1 Like
66

Hey guys!

Sry for the hiatus - I was on tour with my band and needed some days of sleep afterwards :sleeping:

Really? As far as I know, you’re the very first to encounter an issue like this. By now, PinchBar is extensively tested against any combination of macOS Trackpad settings. In particular its zoom mapping is (and was always) independent of the “Natural scrolling” setting (in macOS’s Trackpad settings under “Scroll and Zoom”). Could you please share your Trackpad settings with me? Do you use any other trackpad or mouse driver or related software which might interact with PinchBar?

In dead there is. But with PinchBar 0.3, it’s still not very convinient to set up. Have a look at my answer to kroger from last year for the procedure. The attribute you’re looking for is called “sensivity” and has different values for each modifier in every preset. By default, these are all positive values, but can be negative as well reversing the direction of the events that PinchBar produces. E.g. this file reverses every gesture PinchBar would produce with its default settings:

➜ defaults import com.pnoqable.PinchBar PinchBarReversed.plist
➜ defaults read com.pnoqable.PinchBar
{
    appPresets =     {
        Cubase = Cubase;
    };
    presets =     {
        Cubase =         {
            0 =             {
                flags = 1048576;
                replaceWith =                 {
                    wheel =                     {
                    };
                };
                sensivity = "-200";
            };
            1048576 =             {
                flags = 131072;
                replaceWith =                 {
                    keys =                     {
                        codeA = 5;
                        codeB = 4;
                    };
                };
                sensivity = "-5";
            };
            524288 =             {
                flags = 524288;
                replaceWith =                 {
                    keys =                     {
                        codeA = 5;
                        codeB = 4;
                    };
                };
                sensivity = "-5";
            };
        };
        "Cubase 13" =         {
            0 =             {
                flags = 1048576;
                replaceWith =                 {
                    wheel =                     {
                    };
                };
                sensivity = "-200";
            };
            1048576 =             {
                flags = 1179648;
                replaceWith =                 {
                    wheel =                     {
                    };
                };
                sensivity = "-500";
            };
            524288 =             {
                flags = 1572864;
                replaceWith =                 {
                    wheel =                     {
                    };
                };
                sensivity = "-500";
            };
        };
        "Font Size" =         {
            0 =             {
                flags = 1048576;
                replaceWith =                 {
                    keys =                     {
                        codeA = 44;
                        codeB = 30;
                    };
                };
                sensivity = "-5";
            };
            1048576 =             {
                flags = 0;
                sensivity = "-1";
            };
        };
        "Font Size/cmd" =         {
            0 =             {
                flags = 0;
                sensivity = "-1";
            };
            1048576 =             {
                flags = 1048576;
                replaceWith =                 {
                    keys =                     {
                        codeA = 44;
                        codeB = 30;
                    };
                };
                sensivity = "-5";
            };
        };
    };
}

If you want to edit single entries and don’t have Xcode installed, you can convert plist files to human readable json files back and forth and defaults import them afterwards. As written above, preset configuration of PinchBar 0.3 is not yet really end user friendly…

67

Hi, it works fine for me =)) Really great work.

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68

Just tested on my Mac Mini (M2 Pro) with Cubase Pro 13. It’s working great. Thank you so much for that!

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69

Thanks for this!!! It works great on my M1.

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70

Wonderful! Thanks! Been needing this!

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71

Floored!

So smooth.

Thank you so much for developing this tool.

Mac M2 Max

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72

This is pretty great, thanks for putting it together. Works great on my MBP M4.

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73

Thanks heaps. This is bloomin’ marvelous.

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74

Hey!

Glad to see your positive feedback!

Btw: Can anybody confirm having rendering glitches while zooming in Cubase 14? I read about that here on this forum and there’s also an issue on github, that I responded to kind of late after returning home from a rehab hospital.

I tried to replicate the issue, but to me, Cubase 14 (free trial version) feels exactly like Cubase 13 on all the hardware I have available :man_shrugging:

76

Had an issue and wrote this . . .

“I got Pinchbar to work yesterday in Cubase 14. Today, it refuses to work. I tried the various presets. “Enable Pinchbar in Accessibility” is ticked but greyed out.
Please advise” . . . then went back to Cubase and it was working.
Not sure what happened, but I’m glad it’s working again.
Thanks again.

77

It seems to be working fine here on a MacBook Pro M1 Pro and Cubase Pro 14.

78

Ok then, if anybody reads this in the future having issues with Cubase 14, please share your config either on github or just PM me.

The only thing I can think of is a small quirk in current PinchBar releases, which is that the zoom mode depends on the state of all modifier keys, including Caps Lock, which is just unintuitive. There’s already a quick fix on my “experimental” branch, which I could release if there’s interest.