Auto select the click where the Edit line stands

[Dufusyte]

Is there a setting to automatically "Select" the clip that is currently active on the timeline? For example, you are playing through your project, and as the current edit line moves from clip to clip, each clip becomes the Selected clip. This allows you to perform operations on the currently playing clip without having to manually click on it to Select it.

This would be useful because, otherwise, as I am playing through the project, if I see something I want to change (which is naturally the clip through which the Edit line is currently passing), I always have to click to Select that clip. Since it is common (self evident, even) that I would like to select the clip where the edit line currently stands, it would be nice to have a setting whereby it is Selected automatically.

For example again, if I see a clip playing and I want to change the Out Point, I would like to be able to just hit "O" as the show plays, and it would set the out point for the slip that was currently playing. But no - as things currently are - I must click on the clip in the timeline to make it active, which seems a step that should be able to be avoided.

Now is where you tell me that there is no such setting to auto-select the clip which is currently playing, and it will never be implemented.

[SBowie]

Interesting thought, but what would happen in the case of a multi-layer section of the clip - say quad Pips?

[Dufusyte]

I would suggest that the Auto-Select select all non-overlay clips where the Edit line stands.

Naturally this will not suit everyones preference for every situation, but it would be a great help for many situations, and I think it would be a reasonable and very helpful implementation. For cases where this setting does not suit the user, users will turn off the auto-Select feature and work with SE as it currently works.

I mean, if you want to be overly fancy, you can have a drop down with these items:

- AutoSelect clips at Edit Line: Disabled
- AutoSelect clips at Edit Line: Select all clips including overlays
- AutoSelect clips at Edit Line: Select all non overlay clips
- AutoSelect clips at Edit Line: Select only topmost clip on timeline

But I know the larger the implementation, the less likely it would be implemented at all.

For me, I am using it for basic scrubbing; I drop the clips on the timeline and play through them setting In's, Out's, and Razoring etc. All this can be done from the keyboard shortcuts; however it is not possible to Select using the keyboard (unless I am missing something, selecting a clip entails clicking on it with the mouse). In my scenario of basic scrubbing, which seems like a very common case to me, it would be helpful to have even just a rudimentary implementation of AutoSelect. A rudimentary implementation would be easier to implement, and provide 90% of the benefit. To cover the additional 10% of tricky cases would require an disproportionately large investment in develpment, for reduced return on development effort. So I would prudently recommend a rudimentary implementation. The spectre of a complex implementation is unnecessary, unless the goal is to spook implementation from the start.

[SBowie]

A 'razor cut ALL at PROJECT markers' in the ToolShed would be a handy thing, in somewhat related vein.

[ted]

Now is where you tell me that there is no such setting to auto-select the clip which is currently playing, and it will never be implemented.

Maybe it's that you're from NJ, but is that how you always ask for help or features to be implemented? :D
It does sound like a cool feature, but as Steve said, there are so many variables it could be tricky to implement without everyone needing it to be implemented in a different way,

[SBowie]

All this can be done from the keyboard shortcuts; however it is not possible to Select using the keyboard (unless I am missing something, selecting a clip entails clicking on it with the mouse).I have to apologize. I only skimmed your longer post above, and missed this line. This is incorrect, and perhaps you will be a little happier to discover you can step through the clips on the timeline using the up/down arrow keys.

[Dufusyte]

as Steve said, there are so many variables it could be tricky to implement without everyone needing it to be implemented in a different way,
Oh, ok. In this case then let's not implement it.

[SBowie]

Not to speak for him, but I don't think Ted is saying "let's not implement it." I think he's pointing out that something seemingly simple can turn out more complicated than expected, even as your own second post in this thread takes into account.

My own first thought was similar, as you've seen. That is, that your original suggestion - while interesting - is not quite as simple as it seems at first. For example, quite a few people (who do not use Bob's excellent multicam plugin) use temporary PiP overlays to chop up multicam sessions (there are convenient presets for this purpose in the ToolShed.) Changes could potentially be troublesome ... or not. Certainly there would be ways to work around problems, and you've suggested some. Still, it is very likely there are other common (or less common) workflow routines that could be impacted. Implementing most suggestions safely thus involves a good deal of thought about ramifications, then coding, then testing.

Judging by your added remarks, surely you realize all of this ... that many changes seem trivial but really are not on closer examination. This being so, why not just make the suggestion ('I think this would be a great idea, what do you think?') rather than starting out with an underlying negativity ("Now is where you tell me that there is no such setting to auto-select the clip which is currently playing, and it will never be implemented" and "The spectre of a complex implementation is unnecessary, unless the goal is to spook implementation from the start.") This clearly implies from the get-go that you expect your suggestion to be taken lightly, and excuses to be given rather than consideration (not that anyone here is in a decision making capacity anyway.)


So ... just a friendly hint: everyone welcomes suggestions, especially well-founded and reasonable ones. Human nature being what it is, however, the welcome mat sometimes seem to shrink a little bit when a recent arrival (in a group that has largely been hanging together for many years) offers suggestions - however worthy - that seem to infer a cynical undertone.

[Dufusyte]

I used to be a nice guy. Back in July I posted a very reasonable, very detailed, very polite message about SpeedEdit vis a vis Windows Interface Standards (http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71192).

That post received a chilling silence for four months until it fell off the first page of the forum and was happily sinking into oblivion.

Then I became bitter to see if the bitter tact provokes more response than the polite tact. I am happy to report that the new tact has been much more successful.

I am trying to make SE a better product, and trying to find the best way to do so.

[SBowie]

I'm sure you still are ... interesting experiment:

I've never been a fan of the 'squeaky wheel' approach. To me, it is just a shrill noise. It tends to make the person posting seem arrogant and rudely dismissive of those with another view, and easily leads to useless flame wars. It can even alienate some who might otherwise be allies. Some favour the argument that "I am shrieking at you because I care!" Try that on your family over Thanksgiving dinner ....

In such an atmosphere, it becomes difficult to differentiate between important suggestions and trivia (because they all screech alike.) Further, I think more can be accomplished with mutual respect, and can point to the adoption of many, many of my own suggestions in various bits of software over time to prove the point. IMHO, acrimony merely wastes time better spent on actually doing something.

This, however, is all merely my personal opinion, offered for whatever little it may be worth. YMMV. However, it would be a mistake to conclude that you alone are 'trying to make SE a better product', or that those who ask questions or even object are not. And btw, I am not suggesting your tone has reached 'shrieking' levels ... just chatting broadly about technique.

[ted]

It's easy to mis-read a persons intent on-line. That's why I "smiled" at you to show how it sounded to me, and obviously others. I was trying to give you a pass and let ya know there is a bigger picture then just your need. (JMHO).

But since you say you intentionally tried to sound this way, maybe that's why your introduction post didn't get attention???

I said I like the idea, but simply how would you implement this.
Most of my productions have dozens of overlays under the video?
What about sub-projects?
Would a trigger delay be needed for reaction time?
et., etc, etc.

I'm simply pointing out that it isn't as easy as it sounds. Implementing ANY feature, needs to take many factors and users into consideration.
Before intentionally insulting someone, think outside your own personal needs. Or not.

[KiloWatkins]

Markers are a great way to do what your wanting. Select all and there is just no way to NOT use a mouse or kybd. But you can, just name the marker to what that video will need to edit.

Please remember. SE is ongoing and getting new features as they are requested. Attention to features most asked for.

I've been reading your postings, and really like your ideas. It is such a turn off, not really you, when postings say they will not use SE or bash a NEW product, being enjoyed by 100's or 1000's. New users of Newtek products tend to make things harder, from not knowing, there are more than 1 way to do the same thing in most cases. It really is a workflow issue.

Have a nice "T"day

POV

[Dufusyte]

Markers are a great way to do what your wanting. Select all and there is just no way to NOT use a mouse or kybd. But you can, just name the marker to what that video will need to edit.
KiloWatkins, thank you for your helpful post. I am not sure I understand what you are describing. Could you describe the steps in a little more detail?

Step One: Dufusyte has a rough cut of his project on the timeline, and he is going to play through it and fine tune the In's and Out's. At this stage, it is a simple project with only one layer.

Dufusyte's dream is to press Space to play, and hit "I"s and "O"s to trim his clips as they play, along with the occasional "J" to get to just the right spot. But nobody wanted to implement even a rudimentary version of AutoSelect at Edit Line, :cry: because, it was too complex, and it was Dufusyte who requested it, and nobody likes him anyway.

So Dufusyte was rudely awakened from his dream and returned to face the hard facts of reality, namely: Dufusyte has to click each clip to manually Select it before he can hit any I or O. This is to remind SE that, yes, the operation should be performed on the clip which is currently playing, i.e., the clip where the Edit Line stands.

To me the biggest hinderance to the workflow is the requirement to manually select each clip before being able to perform an operation on it.

Now, if I understand your suggestion, Dufusyte should set a marker "M" at...his favorite In and Out points for each clip and then...select all...and?

Help me here.

Select all Markers, Perform Razor Cut at all Markers. ..this leaves me with the additional tedium of going back through everything and actually deleting the sections that I do not want.

Is this workflow superior to Dufusyte's dream of an AutoSelect at EditLine feature, where Dufusyte just plays through his clips, tapping Ins and Outs, and ends up with a nicely scrubbed timeline of clips?

Or have I not understood correctly?

[Dufusyte]

Meanwhile on the implementation front, instead of an AutoSelect, it would be sufficient to have a shortcut Key which "Selects Clip at Edit Line." For example, press F12 and it selects all the clips where the edit line lies (yes, all clips all layers, just to make it as easy to implement as possible). This way, users can press a Key instead of having to precision click with a Mouse on a clip in the timeline in order to Select it. Keys are easier to hit than maneuvering a mouse to a precise position (when you do it a thousand times a day, it adds up).

And, since this handy feature would apparently wreak havoc in everyone elses projects, it could be an undocumented shortcut key, which does not appear in the Printable Shortcut list, nor in the documentation (in the finest SE tradition).

[ScorpioProd]

Being curious, are there any other NLEs that do implement this?

I know I can't do this in Vegas, and I don't believe I've seen it in FCP or EDIUS either, but I'm not fluent in those latter two.

[SBowie]

But nobody wanted to implement even a rudimentary version of AutoSelect at Edit Line, because, it was too complex, and it was Dufusyte who requested it, and nobody likes him anyway.You know, that's almost enough to get me to stop reading right there ... but I persevered, and will add one more remark.

press F12 and it selects all the clips where the edit line lies (yes, all clips all layers, just to make it as easy to implement as possible)You can kinda-sorta do this now, except other 'convenience factors' bust it a bit.

When all timeline items are selected (CTRL+a), hitting "c" cuts through all of them ... so in theory you could work your way through cutting at will, then (with ripple on) remove the pre-in and post-out bits and you're done. (Of course in reality it wouldn't ever be that easy.)

But, cutting de-selects some clips in the process (that's the convenience factor I was referring to ... some find this aspect handy.) Still, if you hit CTRL+a all items are again re-selected - so you actually can hit CTRL+a, spacebar to play, c to cut, then CTRL+a again, rinse and repeat ... all on the fly. Not as handy, but slightly interesting in context.

[rs402931]

I'm thinking maybe a new feature request for Forums.......Ignore button for those with "ATTITUDES".

Happy Thanksgiving to all !!!!!

Bob S

[KiloWatkins]

Use those arrow keys to select, use the bottom left sliders to set the I/O's.

It is up to you to find a workflow.

TakeCare

[Dufusyte]

I'm thinking maybe a new feature request for Forums.......Ignore button for those with "ATTITUDES".
There is indeed an ignore feature. Click the item "User CP" at the top left of the forum page, and then in your User Control Panel page you will see at the bottom left an item "Buddy / Ignore" where you can choose to ignore posts by any members whom you would like to ignore.

Meanwhile, regarding "Step through Clips" by using the Up Down arrows, I was happy to see that it does indeed Select the various clips sequentially, which will certainly be useful in some situations. On the down side, it also stepped through the Audio portion of the clip, which means it takes two presses of the arrow to move from one video to the next (because it selects the audio in between). Moreover, for the discussion at hand, it would not be a suitable solution, because Dufusyte would be playing through his timeline via the Spacebar, letting any number of clips roll by before he spotted a clip that needed attention, at which point he would like to perform the operation without manually needing to select the current clip (which is the discussion) and an arrow key at that point would not be helpful, because the actual Selected clip might be several clips back, and to advance to the current clip via arrow keys would require some unknown number of presses of the arrow key, which is a far cry from Dufusyte Dream Workflow.

I will be releasing my own documentation, entitled "Users Guide to Understanding Dufusyte," and as a sneak preview I share this section:

"In addition to providing helpful technical suggestions, Dufusyte frequently entertains his readers with a subtle mixture of frank realism and playful irony. To assist readers in identifying the latter, Dufusyte customarily sets his playful comments in a smaller type size. This indicates the text is to be taken in jest. But remember, there is truth in jest!

Meanwhile, to make my dreams come true, I am working on a macro script that clicks on the Timeline tab to make sure Timeline is active, then hits "=" to center the EditLine at the center of the screen, then executes a mouse-click (an automated mouse click, not a manual mouse click) at the center of the screen where the current clip is located, to Select it. By binding the macro to F12, it will help make editing a little dreamy. So far it is working, though it requires a one second delay before executing the mouse click(s), which throws off the timing a bit. Still, it is better than nothing. ...maybe throw Ctrl-LeftArrow in there to compensate for the delay...

:sleeping: <--- Dufusyte in a dream state

[Dufusyte]

Being curious, are there any other NLEs that do implement this?
That's the beauty of this - that it can be a new innovative workflow which Newtek can be the first to implement. They can trumpet it in their press release, and have some smart looking chap demonstrate it at all the conventions, and patent it so every other NLE has to pay licensing fees to copy it. Newtek stands to make a fortune.

while Dufusyte dies penniless, and on everyone's ignore list.

[ted]

Dufus, you brought up another issue re: your dream key command. Do you want the Video selected only or audio as well? So many variables to what sounded so simple.

But I commend you for doing what many whiners never do. Buid the perfect script how you want it, then sell it to others and if it's good, it will sell and help many people. If not, at least you'll get something no other editor or edit system has. Life will be good.

[SBowie]

To assist readers in identifying the latter, Dufusyte customarily sets his playful comments in a smaller type size. This indicates the text is to be taken in jest. But remember, there is truth in jest!That's very helpful because as we all know, everyone loves a smart .... errrr.... aleck. :)