Collections

[Ulf Werner]

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In tha last release Note you mentioned:

“Added a warning dialog to detect and warn if the active collection has conflicting keybowrd shortcuts for effect macros.”

 

Would be great to have more than 3 saveable Collections Shortcuts.

It think you planned it already to give us freedom with creating shortcuts for it and protect us for conflicts with system predefined shortcuts with the above improvement.

But at the moment there are just 3 predefined Shortcut possible for collections.

Is it part of an upcoming update? Wish to have more shortcuts. 😉

[Will]

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Yes, we still plan to give users the ability to re-map almost all the shortcuts, with just a few exceptions.  The warning message you mention does not interfere with that goal.  The warning message actually pertains to the new “effect macro” feature.  Effect macros have their own user-defined keyboard shortcuts, but these effect macro shortcuts are independent of the function shortcuts.

 

Effect macro shortcuts are only active when the show is playing.  Function shortcuts, for the most part, are only active when the shot is not playing.  So by and large, there is no conflict between these types of shortcuts, and they can overlap.  An exception is the “i” key for the function of inserting an empty cue, which has to work while the show is playing.

 

The ability to add more collections shortcuts thus is unaffected by the effect macros.  We have not heard very much feedback about the collections shortcuts, and we didn’t know if people used them.  So your feedback is very welcome!  If you had your choice, how many collection shortcuts would you want?

[Ulf Werner]

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So i try to explain my usecase for a lot off different collection sortcuts. At the moment i cant define a exact count, i just think any think in direction of 20-30 could makes sense, but why we even want to limit it? I try to define my planned usecase:

 

When i am in a scripting process my creative ideas are emerging faster than i am actual able to filter the effects window to the right effects. That breaks or slows down a bit the personal creative scripting process. Indeed we never were faster with any other tool, so in general the effect window works perfect with its features but to be as fast as my head we need a faster way to come to the right choices of effects which are in my mind.

 

I try to describe the process in my head and hope that this way it comes clear why i need shortcuts for it:

 

For example when i am in a design process for a pyro musical show. It starts with slow music and for example ground flares x from supplier A. I filter the effect window with a few steps to get to my choice. In the moment where i add the red ground flares i already know the next effect is the roman candle y from supplier B. Now i have to reset all filters and take new ones. And in the moment where i try to filter out the roman candles i already knows parallel that next i want the shell z from supplier C.

 

This process goes on and on and i think you notices that designers have complete combinations in his head before they add one effect of them.

When i am able to have free mapped shortcuts for different collections i will be able to come much faster to my ideas in the effect windows.

 

In my head there a minimum 20-30 nested combinations of filter sets which are ever the same and which i use nearly every show. Some of them more than once per show. Every combination takes a few clicks, a bit of concentration and a bit of time.

Important time and concentration which a designer wants to invest in the design process and not into the repeating work of setting the same filters again and again.

 

Of course we talking about a use where i dont work with shortcuts in my head. For this use you have to use programmable extra hardkeys or a streamdeck.

But with it and setting them up to my personal needs i am able to accelerate my process significantly.

 

Hope it gets a bit clear why i am so interested in more collections shortcuts.

 

[Will]

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When I read 20-30, that was a shocker!  I had been thinking 4 or 5, but after reading your explanation 20-30 makes perfect sense.  Your use case explanation is very compelling, and I would like to support it.

 

After giving this some thought, while writing this response, I think the best initial solution is to support 26 more collection keyboard shortcuts, using the two-key shortcuts that have the form,

 

Control+2 then Control+X

 

where X is any letter on the keyboard.

 

Would these two-key shortcuts be adequate for your use case?

 

The trick with keyboard shortcuts is that there aren’t enough keys on the keyboard.  The re-mapping project is a little ways off still, and there aren’t enough unused one key shortcuts available for your need.  The range of two-key shortcuts in the suggested form is ergonomically the best remaining range of shortcuts, in my opinion.  The “2” key placement on the keyboard can be reached with your left middle finger while holding your left pinky on the left control key, leaving your right hand to peck the second key with any finger while continuing to hold your left pinky down.  But this is just my opinion.  What is your opinion of the two key shortcuts?  Do you have any better ideas?

[Ulf Werner]

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Good to hear that my explanation works….. For me two-key shortcuts aren’t a problem because i am using a streamdeck to manage all of the shortcuts. I think for all who want to be most efficient there is no other way as using extra hardkeys to have acces to the big amount of valuable shortcuts of F3d.

But in the end for those who don’t have any possibility to program shortcut macros on extra keys your suggestion will also work and is definitely a better way as ever setting the same basic filters again and again. Maybe for some of the people it could be easier to keep shortcut in mind if its like a combination like SHIFT+ALT+X while x is any letter.

 

 

 

 

 

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