[Rwp] OSARA key map

[Scott Chesworth]

Hey Brandon,

A few thoughts based on comments in the previous few emails:

With ReaAccess, left and right scrubs, CTRL+Left and CTRL+Right moves
to the previous or next item. It is my guess that this will probably
end up staying the same in OSARA because it seems logical enough, and
I can't really think why you'd struggle to remember that.

I'd vote no to bringing back the ReaAccess virtual view thingy unless
there's a demonstrable need, because it's better to use and evolve
with a program's native GUI wherever possible IMO. I'd go further and
vote not on your life to adding sound effects to OSARA. Having a
screen reader chattering away when I'm trying to listen to audio is
distracting enough, let alone extra beeps.

You might find the transition easier if you can put a lid on comparing
Reaper to Sonar or other DAWs. I know that's human nature to some
extent, especially when one is frustrated at a sudden lack of
productivity, but for better or worse, Reaper itself is a little
unusual. It just won't fit a lot of the navigation concepts you've
become accustomed to, and it's kinda not the job of an accessibility
addon to change that. I'm saying that from experience, as I never
managed to even slightly get to grips with Sonar when I tried, due to
me still really wanting to be using Pro Tools the way I knew how. By
the time I picked up Reaper, the accessibility of the DAW I knew best
had been at a standstill for so long that I'd stopped making
comparisons, and I found that learning it came easier. Reaper
certainly isn't a program that's easy to pick up and be making good
stuff happen in the first 5 minutes, so I believe it was less weight
on comparisons that did the trick here. Now that I can use both DAWs
fairly well, I split my time between them according to what suits the
project at hand, so the comparisons are helpful as a means of figuring
out where I can be most productive that day, but to start with they're
only gonna hold you back and leave you frustrated. Most stuff that's
truly powerful requires some investment, be it money or in this case
time. This is true in Reaper whether you're blind or sighted, so
again, I wouldn't want to water things down too much just to steel
away a few Sonar users. Looking at your keymap suggestions, your
preference for the grid matrix approach, your liking of beeps to
signify things, CakeTalking might be the most comfortable place for
you. There's nothing wrong with that man. They're all just tools at
the end of the day.

Hth take the edge off

Scott


On 2/23/15, Brandon Keith Biggs via RWP <rwp at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:
> Hello,
> Then you need to make it clear how to change the different items on the
> track by hand.
> I often can't remember what the key-stroke is for each item, so when I
> am in the application and I need a quick reminder I arrow to the element
> on the track and here is what my first inclination is to do:
> 1. press left and right arrow as that is what it is in Sonar.
> 2. press the applications key
> 3. press the alt button and look for a menu called "track" and arrow
> through that.
>
> If there is no way to arm, solo, mute or do all the track's items in any
> one of those 3 places, I start to get frustrated.
>
> If you are using left and right to move through the track, and you don't
> wish ctrl+left and right to move by larger increments, they could also
> move between items in a track.
> But some way, I need to see the items in a track with their keystrokes
> inside the program.
>
> The Ray access keystrokes are horrible because they are not logical for
> someone who is coming from other programs.
> Those who are using ray access know how to make their own key maps, so
> they should and probably will.
> I also could not figure out how to do a basic recording and editing
> using Ray Access, so I just gave up.
> In my opinion, the only thing good about Ray access is the simulation of
> the track items and the menus.
> thanks,
>
> Brandon Keith Biggs <http://www.brandonkeithbiggs.com/>
> On 2/23/2015 11:56 AM, James Teh via RWP wrote:
>> On 23/02/2015 8:47 PM, Brandon Keith Biggs via RWP wrote:
>>> left and right arrow is move through the different options on each
>>> track and make it loop with a sound beeping when you get back to the
>>> name field
>> I've been meaning to mention this before; thanks for reminding me! :)
>> In REAPER, left and right are assigned to move a small amount back or
>> forward. When stopped, they scrub. I would absolutely not want to see
>> this changed; IMO, being able to scrub so easily is one of the best
>> things about REAPER.
>>
>> It's also worth noting that REAPER doesn't really have a concept of
>> navigating between fields or options on a track. ReaAccess implemented
>> its own virtual mode for this, but it's entirely "fake". REAPER
>> actually sort of exposes track and envelope controls using
>> accessibility APIs, so once they fix the bugs (or we work around them
>> in screen readers), you'll be able to use your screen reader's object
>> navigation (or equivalent) functionality to move between these fields.
>> I think this is probably the better way forward for this functionality
>> in the longrun.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jamie
>>
>> --
>> James Teh
>> Email/MSN Messenger/Jabber:jamie at jantrid.net
>> Web site:http://www.jantrid.net/
>> Twitter: jcsteh
>>
>>
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>