Focus Point Tricks?

[adamt]

Is there a way to lock the Focus Point to a specific track?

I have been jumping between clips on different tracks and find the Focus Point always jumps to the last track i was on, so if i adjusted a clip on v1, then hit play, all the other clips on v2,v3 etc get ignored! Really annoying and time wasting.

Can i lock it to the top video track?

thanks

Adam

[ksirul]

Incredibly annoying.

[Grant.Kay]

Hi,

To navigate the different tracks, are you moving the focus point to the different tracks?

It only should switch tracks when you explicitly move it.

To keep the focus point on one place:  

----  Just place the focus point on any track, like the top track for example, and hold CONTROL and use the up and down arrow to navigate the clips on every track.

Hope this helps!

Regards

Grant

[adamt]

Hi Grant,

that is not how my Smoke is behaving. I have it set to use FCP7 Keyboard shortcuts - perhaps thats part of the problem?

If I select a timeline clip, the focus point remains where it was UNLESS I move the clip, then the focus point will snap to whatever video track the clip is on when I let go.  So if the clip is dragged to a lower video track, the Focus point drops down and when i hit play i dont see anything that was on the higher tracks without having to reset the Focus.

If i hit CTRL and either Up or Down arrow, the Macs Expose feature just reduces the screen into a window for navigating between apps and desktops!  

regards

Adam

[Grant.Kay]

Hi Adam,

The FCP profile is not the problem.

When moving segments around the sequence, the focus point will move to the track where you place the clip.  This is expected behaviour because the software is changing the editorial tabs (linked to the focus point) to set a designated track for the segment when you drag and drop.

With regards to navigating all the tracks, you probably need to go to the mac preferences and disable a few OS keyboard shortcuts to allow you navigate all the tracks regardless of the focus point's position.

Regards

Grant

[adamt]

Thanks Grant,

So there is no way to stop the Focus Point changing when repositioning clips?  

You can't tell it to always play the top most track unless directed otherwise?

Thats a pity, as its always been the fastest/easiest way i have found to re-order a timeline!

I have just mucked around with the Macs shortcuts, so hopefully i will be able to use the correct keys now! I forgot to check those, as its a newer OS on this mac than the one i was used to, and those shortcuts are new, so i didnt realise it wasnt an Autodesk thing!

adam

[ksirul]

I would love to know, what Mac OS shortcut disabling will allow moving clips around without the focus changing.  Either way, this should be a preference, whether to have foces stay where it is or move around.

KEN

[Grant.Kay]

Hi,

I said that the focus point moving is the intended behaviour and there is currently no way of changing it. I have already fed this back to the team.

Just to clear up the confusion, I was referring to the mac OS taking over the hotkey to navigate all the cuts on every track regardless of the focus point with CONTROL+UP or DOWN arrow.

You just need to disable the mac hotkeys for expose etc in the mac preferences menu.

Hope this helps!

Regards
Grant

[fred.warren]

One alternative you could try would be to set the top track (or any track or your choice) as the Secondary track and then set the Player to Display the Secondary track only.

That should help reproduce the workflow you are looking for.

fred

[ksirul]

How do you create a secondary track?

[fred.warren]

There are different ways to set a Secondary track

1. From the Interface: You can open the Player's Viewing settings panel from the Options menu select "Secondary Version" under the "Compare Mode / Stereo" section and set the Secondary track using the "Sec" numeric field.

2. Using the Pen / Mouse: You can click on an empty box within the Timeline Tracks user interface (where the Red P appears). You need to use the middle button of a mouse or a pen button when you click

3. Using the Keyboard: Look at the Shortcut Editor for an entry called "Secondary Video Version" to know what is the shortcut associated to that function in your profile. That shortcut can then be used for two different things. It will switch the Compare Mode to the Secondary Version option if you simply press the shortcut. It can also be used to set the Secondary Version if you enter a value in the Keyboard's keypad and then press the Secondary Video Version shortcut.

Please notice that it used to be impossible to have the Primary Track and Secondary Track on a same Version and this is why the shortcut workflow will not allow you to set a specific track.

fred

[adamt]

hi Fred,

i tried to attempt your suggestions, but I couldnt actually find any of the things you mentioned! I think i set a secondary track (it stuck an S in the little box), but then could not find anyway to set anything that would use this secondary...maybe its just me!

adam

[fred.warren]

In the Player view you should see a Options button on the right side (below the zoom factor field). Select "Show Viewing Settings" in that drop down menu. You should now a panel on the Right side of the Image in the Player and see a "Compare Mode / Stereo" section at the top left of the Panel. This is where the Primary and Secondary controls are.

fred

[adamt]

Thanks Warren.

[adamt]

hmmm...not as useful as i first thought. 

It seems that function is only available if working in single player mode.

I cannot get it to work in Src-Seq view mode.

adam

[fred.warren]

Hello Adam,

I forgot to mention you that problem. This is a known issue that we are planning to fix in a future release.

fred

[adamt]

at least its not me going mad , or suffering the usual newbie finger troubles!

adam