Folder Magic: Fast project navigation with folder zoom

[FeedTheCat]

Hi guys,

I tend to organize my projects in folders, so I was looking for a quick way to show the content of any folder in a project.

At some point I wrote some simple scripts for this, like "Zoom to folder 1", "Zoom to folder 2" etc. It actually surprised me how useful these turned out to be. It's a really convenient way of navigating through a project. I have them mapped to 1,2,3 etc. on my keyboard now, instead of project markers.

I spent the last week polishing the scripts and packaging them in a little bundle called Folder Magic. Try them out! A few things worth mentioning:

• The scripts will emphasize tracks with visible items by default.
• You can easily tweak the factor of this "emphasis" and a few other settings in the dedicated settings script.
• All scripts can be double clicked, to further zoom in on visible items.

I also included a script that prompts for user input. Might be useful for people that have a lot of folders...
You can use it to search your project for a folder or a track by name or number. If you specify both a folder and a track, the script will search the given folder for the given track. If nothing is found (or if the input is empty) the script will zoom out to all tracks in the project.



And one last thing. The scripts derive their function from their name. You could create a custom action by RENAMING a copy of the script!

Valid name examples:

• FTC_FolderMagic - Folder 2.lua
• FTC_FolderMagic - Folder Drum Bus.lua
• FTC_FolderMagic - Track Reverb.lua
• FTC_FolderMagic - Folder Drum Bus Track 1.lua

Enjoy

You can find the scripts on my github or download them using ReaPack:

Copy and paste this link into: Extensions > ReaPack > Import a repository

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iliaspoulakis/Reaper-Tools/master/index.xml

Donation Link

[Skorobagatko]

Thanks for sharing, but I got this:

[FeedTheCat]

Ups, my bad Should work now, thx for trying!

[Win Conway]

These look brilliant, especially the renaming to match the users common naming conventions, will definitely be trying these.

[todoublez]

thank u for sharing yo creation sir
I'm wondering wat's the difference between TrackView and this Script?

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by todoublez

thank u for sharing yo creation sir
I'm wondering wat's the difference between TrackView and this Script?

I rarely use track views, but from what I understand you have to set them up manually and repeat this setup for every project.

In principle the script is quite similar, but you don't have to set up anything. In my projects the first folder will almost always be drums, so I know that when I hit 1 on my keyboard I will see the drums (in both mixer and arrange view).

[tapemelancholy]

Great job!
I'm wondering if it is possible to add action to go to next/prev folder instead of using folder numbers (for example to use arrows to zoom between different folders)?
Thanks!

[Coachz]

Can't snapshots do that ?

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by tapemelancholy

Great job!
I'm wondering if it is possible to add action to go to next/prev folder instead of using folder numbers (for example to use arrows to zoom between different folders)?
Thanks!

That's a neat idea! Should be possible. I'll look into it.

Originally Posted by Coachz

Can't snapshots do that ?

do what?

[Coachz]

Can't Snapchats save the state of hidden and visible folders so that you could have just a drum holder visible or just the guitar folder visible?

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by Coachz

Can't Snapchats save the state of hidden and visible folders so that you could have just a drum holder visible or just the guitar folder visible?

I actually can't get snapshots to work, but I think they're similar to track views? So you can save a state of which tracks are visible and then recall it?

I get that you could use snap shots to replicate something similar to what these scripts are doing, but I don't think it's really comparable. Just one example, if you save a track view of a folder and then add 5 new tracks to the folder, loading the track view won't show you the 5 new folders.

Folder Magic is meant to be a quick generic way of navigating through your folders. It can even emphasize more important tracks (you can make tracks that have items on them larger) and also further zoom in on them (see GIF)



If you take the time to logically organize your projects into folders, you might as well exploit this to quickly navigate through your projects. For me it has been a huge workflow improvement

[Coachz]

Cool, I'll have to give it a go because I use folders non stop. Can I show two or more folders at a time please because I always want my song structure track (verse/chorus) visible? Also what do you mean a script can be double clicked ?

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by Coachz

Cool, I'll have to give it a go because I use folders non stop. Can I show two or more folders at a time please because I always want my song structure track (verse/chorus) visible?

The structure track is interesting. What's wrong with regions? Is there a structure track above every folder?

Originally Posted by Coachz

Also what do you mean a script can be double clicked ?

You bind it to a hotkey in the actions list. If you click the hotkey fast twice in a row, it will behave differently than when you simply click it once.

[FeedTheCat]

Alright guys, new update:

• Added scrolling to tracks/folders
• Added actions for next/previous folder

You can now set the behavior in the settings with modes.
So for example it's possible to scroll to folder on single click, zoom to folder on double click.

Mode 1: Scroll
Mode 2: Scroll (first track with visible items)
Mode 3: Zoom
Mode 4: Zoom (first track with visible items)

[Coachz]

Originally Posted by FeedTheCat

The structure track is interesting. What's wrong with regions? Is there a structure track above every folder?

You bind it to a hotkey in the actions list. If you click the hotkey fast twice in a row, it will behave differently than when you simply click it once.

Regions are too small for musicians to see 10 feet away

[Coachz]

I love the idea but need persistent tracks if that is possible. If there is a way to modify the code to define a list of tracks by name (and their height) at the top of the code to persist then this code would be fantastic for me. It would really let me work easier. Thanks for the cool code. Don't forget to FeedTheCat :-)

example:
persistTracks = {^click, ^structure, drums}
persistTrackHeight = 50

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by Coachz

I love the idea but need persistent tracks if that is possible. If there is a way to modify the code to define a list of tracks by name (and their height) at the top of the code to persist then this code would be fantastic for me. It would really let me work easier. Thanks for the cool code. Don't forget to FeedTheCat :-)

[Coachz]

No sure why my pinned isn't showing up in view when I run the actions. Also some text is cut off in the settings window label for Treat root level tracks.

[FeedTheCat]

Wow, I just checked the script on Windows and I'm really surprised with the differences to Linux. I just pushed a small update which might solve the most obvious issues, but I'll have a closer look at Windows behavior tomorrow.

[FeedTheCat]

Ok, the latest update has some Windows optimizations. Seems like Windows updates the GUI more frequently than Linux, so the animation is a bit choppy. Wonder how it is on OSX.

@Coachz
You might want to set "Mode: Single click" to 3. Otherwise it will scroll, not zoom.

[Coachz]

Thanks for the update. It's working now though I see now that the 'persistent' track is being moved to other locations (not desireable because it changes its routing). The text is still cutoff in the settings dialog. The "Script: FTC_FolderMagic - All tracks & folders.lua" also moves the persistent track to the top which is not where it was.

What you've done is very cool and I hope I can get it into my workflow. Thanks for the nice scripts.

[hans]

This is great. I'm downloading and trying it out. Cheers.

[Thonex]

This looks great!! Folder power!!

Cheers,

Andrew K

[Jed9999]

Originally Posted by FeedTheCat

Hi there mate, howdy?
Sorry for being off topic, but how do you dim the colors on the tracks like this?!??
I got this rainbow of colors burning my eyes and it annoys me.
Thanks in advance!

Nice scripts by the way, loved the MIDI Editor Magic and will be using that one a lot!!!

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by Jed9999

Hi there mate, howdy?
Sorry for being off topic, but how do you dim the colors on the tracks like this?!??
I got this rainbow of colors burning my eyes and it annoys me.
Thanks in advance!

Nice scripts by the way, loved the MIDI Editor Magic and will be using that one a lot!!!

Howdy mate

It's not the default theme, but a variant of it. White Tie posted it here (2nd post of the thread)
If you like darker themes, be sure to also check out this theme I posted last week.

[Jed9999]

Originally Posted by FeedTheCat

Howdy mate

It's not the default theme, but a variant of it. White Tie posted it here (2nd post of the thread)
If you like darker themes, be sure to also check out this theme I posted last week.

Hi there!
Thanks for the response, i'll be looking into it right now! Really appreciate the help!
I already tried that Realogix you've mentioned yesterday, looks and feels amazing! But right now i want something more "flat" and that's exactly what the default theme is giving me, it's just the dumb saturation on channels that kills me =/
Also digging the mood and tones on the default theme you used on the MIDI Editor Magic post, looks sick! Care to share that one?!??

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by Jed9999

Also digging the mood and tones on the default theme you used on the MIDI Editor Magic post, looks sick! Care to share that one?!??

Sure, I'll post it this weekend

[dldave]

This looks like really slick stuff. I'm too much of a nubie to appreciate all of it. Maybe later. My current problem is this:
I think I've set things up correctly, but my tracks within folders aren't indented. Would be a lot easier to with if indented.

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by dldave

This looks like really slick stuff. I'm too much of a nubie to appreciate all of it. Maybe later. My current problem is this:
I think I've set things up correctly, but my tracks within folders aren't indented. Would be a lot easier to with if indented.

Are you using the default theme? You can adjust the indentation with the theme adjuster. (FOLDER INDENT on the left)

[dldave]

Thanks for the indent help. This is a really great app, but with so many options and new (to me) audio vocabulary, I'll be several weeks or months getting squared away.

And, while I'm here. How does one a)start a new thread, and b)post screen shots?

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by dldave

Thanks for the indent help. This is a really great app, but with so many options and new (to me) audio vocabulary, I'll be several weeks or months getting squared away.

And, while I'm here. How does one a)start a new thread, and b)post screen shots?

a) In each subforum there's a new thread button top left
b) For sharing screenshots I use imgur.com and put the copy the bbcode link into the post.

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by Jed9999

Also digging the mood and tones on the default theme you used on the MIDI Editor Magic post, looks sick! Care to share that one?!??

I just posted it, has changed a bit since the screenshots, but maybe you like it Here's the link

[Hipox]

Wow I wish I did a deeper research into this topic before I started programming my own project overview feature. It's genius!
Especially I love the fact your script keeps tracks with locked height in tact, that's what I was missing from all other scripts and had to do myself. But your works better and has possibilities I could only dream to implement.
For example the double click feature is so cool!

BTW. have you thought about a possibility to pin multiple tracks? One is nice, and as I think of it in the context of fixed item lanes, it is enough, but having choice to have more is always nice.

Thank you and donation on the way!

[FeedTheCat]

Originally Posted by Hipox

BTW. have you thought about a possibility to pin multiple tracks? One is nice, and as I think of it in the context of fixed item lanes, it is enough, but having choice to have more is always nice.

Glad you like it I think adding multiple pinned tracks wouldn't be an issue, I'll look into it when I find some time.

[Hipox]

Originally Posted by FeedTheCat

Glad you like it I think adding multiple pinned tracks wouldn't be an issue, I'll look into it when I find some time.

Thanks!