[linux-audio-dev] Knobs / widget design

[Dave Robillard]

On Wed, 2004-06-09 at 19:23, Tim Hockin wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 09, 2004 at 07:04:58PM -0400, Dave Robillard wrote:
> > - Left button to turn knob (radially)
> 
> Left button to turn knob linearly up/down.
> Ctrl-Left to fine adjust 1/10th scale or whatever.
> 
> 
> How about velocity sensitive knobs like OhmForce plugs use.  Uggh.

Okay, (combining your post with my last one on the same subject...) how
about this:

I think radial adjustment is the clearest, most obvious way for a knob
to move.. it is a knob after all.  A newbie sitting down at the machine
isn't going to try to drag it vertically, they're going to try to "turn"
it like a real knob (UI people have some term for things that don't act
how they look, but I can't remember what it is.. it's bad design
though).

But I can also definitely see reasons for linear adjustment (ie
adjusting with your eyes closed)

How about radial being the default (as it's clearer and the most
obvious, as well as being good for coarse adjustments), then hold ctrl
to fine adjust linearly.

Of course, this is leaving out linear coarse adjustment, but can we
really come up with a way of having all of them?  Yet another hotkey :/ 
We could have left/right be coarse and up/down be fine.. it seems pretty
arbitrary but the more I think of it the more I think it wouldn't be
that bad.  Confusing newbs isn't an issue if it's hidden under a
hotkey... thoughts on this?

I really do think radial should be the left-button default though, it's
just what a knob visually suggest it should do.  If linear should be the
default, the widget itself should be a fader IMHO.  Think of the poor
newbs! :)

-DR-