Macos X Renoise Window Management?

Hello,

I switched from Windows 7 to MacOS X lately and I’m experiencing some kind of problem.
Seems to be a Macos X only issue with the active windows.

details:
MacosX 10.6.4
Renoise 2.6 beta6 (same problem with 2.5 final)

So, if I load a VST/AU instrument and open the external view of this intrument I have
to make the Renoise window active again to play the choosen sound from the VST/AU.
The “enable keyboard” option does not change anything to this problem. So I’m not
able to browse sounds and preview play them, without activating the Renoise window
everytime. Am I doing something wrong?

Greets,
Sascha

I have the same setup as you and it works like it always have for me.

If I have the “enable keyboard” unchecked I can play the sound with either the VST/AU or Renoise active. But if I check it I have to make the VST/AU-window active in order to play the sound. I get no sound if have Renoise in the background (VST/AU or sample). Makes sence since the focus is not on Renoise anymore. This is with the keyboard.

On the other hand, with my MIDI-keyboard I can play the sound even with Renoise in the background.

Not much help for you, but just thought I’d let you know how it works for me.

Hello,

I tested it again. I can only play notes with the keyboard with active Renoise
window (enable keyboard in VST/AU unchecked). Strange… very strange.

Greets,
Sascha

So I was playing arround a bit, but its still the same. Sometimes I can switch presets
in the VST/AU and play directly… sometimes I have to make Renoise window active
everytime I switch a preset. In my opinion there is something wrong with it, I have
never experienced these kind of problems in the Renoise Windows 64 bit version.
And there is no difference between different kind of VSTs! I tried The Grand 3 and
some Native Instruments synth… its always the same.

EDIT: So, something more information. As soon as I start to change parameters
in the VST/AU it stops playing the sound. So it stop playing when I activate the
VST/AU window.

EDIT2: Works perfectly with my external Midi Controller… so its seems to be a
keyboard only problem. :)

Greets,
Sascha

i have this problem too on mac. its pretty annoying as theres no quick way to audition new sounds as you keep having to make renoise active to hear anything!

Unfortunately we found no reliable way to prevent plugin windows from stealing the focus on OSX. On Linux its not implemented at all. At some time we’ll look again into this, but for now we unfortunately have to live with this.

Main problem is that such a thing (not giving the plugin the focus) is not part of the official VST/AU plugin API. So we have to hack around to try to make this happen.

my understanding is that it’s the windowing methods/API in Mac OS. Mac OS has always had a very fussy object focus issue, historically. ie: no accept first click… etc.

Erm, I have had this focus problem for ages and it drove me fucking nuts. Then I solved it:

USE RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON ON VSTs. Seems to do exactly what the left mouse button does, but it doesn’t steal focus.

EDIT: one or two buttons in some vsts (i.e. TAL noisemaker’s chorus toggle switch will shift focus even with right click, but 90% of the problem is fixed by using the right mouse button)

I just kinda got used to it.
I noticed it also depends on the VST. F.e. Absynth 5 Demo proved to be unusable for me, because every click within the editor, drove the keyboard focus away. But with Gladiator, Vanguard and others everything’s normal.