General Ui Improvements

Seen many people posting edited UI and examples of how features could actually look when implemented. Thought it would be good to start a thread just focusing on the UI. I will be making some sceens myself as i have a few ideas of improvements that i would like.

  1. The sample list/Disk browser, Could be availabe on the side same as Adv Edit. Since lists usually tend to be quite long. Much more space needed in the vertical direction i think :P

  2. Minimizable tracks. Some songs of mine have way too many tracks and note columns and moving around the patterns is usually hell. I get confused at times, and would love to have minimized tracks, and they could possibly expand automaticly when selected. (optional)

  3. Same as above but moving automation to a kind of sub track on the side along the track. To me it doesnt feel natural having horizontal automation in the bottom of the window, I would like to see it close to the track and vertical exactly as the tracks.

  4. There’s lot’s of room in the Inst. Edit window. There’s just the keyboard and a lot of space. This space could be used more wisely to have A bigger disk browser, and Sample window. And plenty of room for more features. If it got cramped there coudl be tabs within the Inst. Edit. like (Envelopes, Browser etc)

A few mockups discussed in old threads:

Full size Browser and instrument/plugin editor in middle-view.

And
Extended Instrument list and Renoise device list.

About the automation in pattern editor. This has been discussed a few times before.
There is even some code for it somewhere I think. But it’s not there yet.
It’s hard to say if/when it will be there.
Personally I think that would be just great to have. But at the same time I would never get rid of the horizontal one.
The advantage to have a separate horizontal window is that you can have independent zoom levels on the automation window and the pattern editor. Also this window could later be used to other graphical view as well, like all sort of clips (audio, note, automation clips etc).
You can then also use this window in other parts of Renoise, not just with the pattern editor. Like in a arranger window, instrument window, pianoroll or when browsing clips in a list etc etc.

But all in all I’m very much in favor off more graphical things in the pattern editor.
But we need to take a careful approach to all this, and not just throw in things before there is a more detailed plan over the whole concept.

Ahh Nice examples of what i was meaning =) I’ll do some examples myself… when i have some spare time =)

I really hope there will be some of these improvements in the near future. So that’s why i started this thread, maybe more people have ideas of how it could look and be done. Give some ideas to the developers.

Excellent ideas Psyj!

I would love something like that.

I have to say, you have had some excellent ideas about improvements to Renoise that I have seen. Keep up the good work!