Maybe I’m missing something basic, but I think file and directory navigation could be improved. Two things that would help (unless there’es a way to do this and I’m just not aware of them):
It would be nice to be able to navigate directories and files by typing - e.g. “g” goes to “g”, “ga” goes to driectory or files starting with “ga”, etc.
Often I want navigate directories while the focus is in the frame of the file list. I use the command-left/right a lot to jump in and out of directories from within the file window, but I don’t think you can jump up/down directories. It would be nice to have a mappable shortcut for moving up/down directories.
If you type in your phrase in the search field on top of the file-browser, your listed options narrow down to your phrase, that would at least speed up your listing of your desired object.
For changing the folder you are browsing you might like to use Tab/Shift+Tab to get you in and out of the folder section of the disk browser. Then you can use Left/Right to close/open them and navigate to a different location maybe easier than Ctrl/Cmd+Left/Right.
@vV Interesting, I’ve either forgotten about that search button or just now discovered it! Problems with it - tabbing to it should work the same way as tabbing to the search in track DSPs. What I do there is I alt-tab to the selection window, then shift-tab to get the focus into the search box. This doesn’t work for the search in the file menu and as far as I can tell there’s no way to get to it via the keyboard. It feels awkwardly asymmetric because I can tab out of the search box, but there’s nothing I can do to get back into it.
@kazacore: To me the command-left/right is more immediate. Consider if the focus is in the file pane and I want to go 1 up:
Option 1:
alt-shift-tab (focus to directories pane)
navigate up 1 directory
alt-tab (focus to files pane)
select and open file
I don’t know where you got Alt+Shift+Tab from but that’s neither here nor there…
Wasn’t it you who said there isn’t a shortcut to navigate up a level of the directory? And here you are saying that is exactly what Ctrl+Up does! And on testing it does seem to pretty much (I was thinking it more expanded/collapsed the tree view to the left of the file view.) Still for moving to more remote parts of your filesystem Ctrl+Tab and then just using Arrows might be easier…
Or if you mean a directory above or below the current one, which I guess makes more sense…
Option 1:
Shift+Tab
Down
Tab
Browse to file
Enter
Option 2:
Ctrl+Left
Down multiple time (minimum 3, maximum the amount of folder you have in your directory. Always a single press on the other method!)
Enter
Brose to file
Enter
So in what way is it more key presses? Nearly every time it will be less! Plus to me it’s less confusing as you can see the tree you are navigating through, rather than it expanding and collapsing as you move.
I think there’s some ambiguity here because I’m referring to mac keyboard shortcuts and I’m also not being clear enough on what I mean by “up” and “down”
At least on the OSX version, there is a keyboard shortcut for going into and out of directories (for me, it’s mapped to command-left and command-right). This is usually more efficient to use than switching between the directory/file panel. There isn’t a shortcut for navigating up and down directories at the same depth. So if I have a separate dir for kicks and hihats, that means I need to switch to the directory panel to go from one to the other. The latter is what I’m talking about that’s missing…