http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=39232

:)

I find the idea useful, but not the way you suppose to implement it. Unlike FL Reaper has seperate colors for odd/even tracks, so that would mean 4 additional entries:

- Main bar background (odd main bars, odd track numbers)
- Main bar background (even main bars, odd track numbers)
- Main bar background (odd main bars, even track numbers)
- Main bar background (even main bars, even track numbers)

I somehow don't like that. At the expense of total customization I would rather go with something like:

- Brightness offset on even bar counts

Which would simply apply this offset to the colors you choose for odd/even tracks.

Additional thought: Seeing your pic, FL seems to adjust color alternation depending on the horizontal zoom level. So strictly speaking this is not a coloring of odd/even bars at all, but groups (in your pic) of 4 bars with one color and the next 4 bars with the other color.
I assume this grouping changes according to the zoom level, so there is always a reasonable spaced color alternation.

How does this work with time signature changes?

How about (to start with?) a Preference to use either alternate track colours or alternate 4-bar-duration colours?

As in:
[img]http://img32.**************/img32/1333/r305dstracks05.png[/img]

And it's always every 4-bars, regardless of time signature changes.

What Darkstar says makes a lot sense to me.

For drum editing, it is best imo to have every other bar be a diff color.

True. Maybe making the distance of color change user selectable.

DarkStar, that's smart :) I like the way you smuggled in horizontal track divider lines (http://forum.cockos.com/project.php?issueid=65) seemlessly into your mockup.

EDIT: But I agree that 4 bar groups are not always the optimum. I'd prefer a zoom dependent automatic adjust by far.

If we can optionally have horizontal grid lines (separating each track)... then, alternate bar shading makes a lot of sense. Like in DarkStar's mockup. I don't get the meaning of a fixed 4-bar shading, but this can be user customizable and all is well.

There is a (different but) related FR that complements this one very well:

http://forum.cockos.com/project.php?issueid=169

:-D

I'd really like to see vertical alternating background colours, too. Personally I'd like it configurable to: musical measure, or any other amount of time that the timeline can display. I'd have it as a constant at any zoom level at present.

(Though it might be good to have an option at some point to make it jump to different measure-lengths at different zoom levels. Imagine a config table like this: zoom level 1=4 bars; zoom level 2=4 bars; zoom level 3=4 bars; zoom level 4=2 bars; zoom level 5=2 bars; zoom level 6=1 bar; etc.)

I did say "to start with" - so that the good guys would implement it :).

There's some good follow-on ideas coming up too.

[Now I'm off to smuggle something else in - a la Long John Silver]

Good posts everyone

it also work like this in the piano roll.

I will point that out in my piano roll video.
I will show how easy it is to jump between the bars, much more pleasant for your eyes/brain to catch the right spot for the right note :)

Great idea, using the existing two colours in a different placement scheme !!

More about the focusing of such a grid system can be found in this thread (+ video):

A VIDEO presentation of a powerful grid system in the piano roll.

I like this, but feel it should change when time signatures change.

for automatic adjustable grid you have the grids themself...

The color separation should represent a full "pattern" (patterns-main stages), this help you to know where you stand...usually when you zoom-in in reaper, you don't know where you are...you lose perspective.

The idea of the colors is to give you a logical perspective which the grid lines can't give you.

maybe it is possible to let the user choose between "permanent, automatic" (+ it will allow the user to set size of it in case that he set it to permanent.).

i suggest you to see this:
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=39375 VIDEO INCLUDED...(this will give you a great point of view about the whole thing and much more...)

Me too.

me too :)

wondering, why no one mentioned that,
but this FR must apply first of all
to the midi editors, as that the place to make beats.

mentioned here..."main request: Octave and Color separation":
http://forum.cockos.com/project.php?issueid=577