Posted
This update much improves usability and performance and fixes many bugs. We streamlined large portions of code to make Figure editing more intuitive and convenient and speed up overall UI performance especially on macOS.
The update took considerable effort to make, so we hope you enjoy it. As with all substantial rewrites there is a non-zero probability that there are hidden issues that did not occur during testing. If you are in the middle of a project, please finish it first. Otherwise, we are probably the fastest developers on the planet, able to respond with patches almost overnight.
Feature Enhancements:
- Graphics: Assign colors to instruments based on category, sound, device, track
- Editing: ESC key toggles between pointer tool and last used non-pointer tool
- Editing: Select, move and resize symbols immediately when using Line or Freehand tool
- Editing: Visualize the segment to be extended with SHIFT + Drawing
- Editing: Keyboard shortcuts for toolbar grid, symbol types
- UI: Improved menus for triplets, quintuplets, swings
Resolved Bugs:
- Graphics: Display looped and inherited data correctly in all views
- Keyboard: Phrase editor did not respond to toolbar commands
- Playback: Latencies should all be disabled while editing (caused dropped notes)
- Editing: Unable to move an object back to its original position
- Editing: Fixed a bug where mouse pointer was hovering off target
- Editing: Unable to extend a segment to the left with SHIFT + Drawing
- Editing: Frequent hit detection misses due to quantization
- Editing: Focus on symbol type command should take current selection as input
- Editing: Multi-selection does not play preview of all selected segments
- Editing: Some selections did not play a preview at all
- Editing: Mouse pointer hotspot for resizing should be centered
- Editing: Fixed a ton of minor issues (in the hope not to introduce new ones)
- Zooming: Zoom to selection toggle rounding error fixed
- Graphics: Fixed issues with Pause display
- Graphics: Fixed issues with parameter thumbnails
- Graphics: Fixed issues with thumbnail previews in Factories
- UI: Select All (tracks) was blocked in Overview
- Graphics: Fixed several minor annoyances
- UI: Mac menubar sometimes not showing arrange window after startup
- Help: Avoid replacing topic when user just clicked on an object
Other Changes:
- Audio Engine 5.3.1
- Audio Engine: Fixed issues with mute status at start when playing many instruments
- MacOS: Faster updating of menubar (improves overall performance)
- Help: Improved context-sensitive help for tools and selections
- Keyboard: Added missing shortcuts for interval symbols
- Graphics: Improved redraw, scroll and zoom performance
- Editing: Ability to edit symbols w/o selecting them first
- Editing: Retain or convert current selection after switching tools where possible
- Editing: Indicate a multiple selection with '...'
- Parameters: Streamlined template menus for Grid, Rhythm
- UI: Structure page toolbar should also have a zoom-to-fit button
- Graphics: More space for overview page
- Snippets: Pause should not be copied from arangement
Sa., 15.02.2025 - 17:59 Permalink
Editing
While you are drawing with the Line or Freehand tools, you can now select, move and resize Figure symbols immediately without switching to a pointer tool first. You can even edit symbols on other tracks without selecting that track. This is more intuitive and faster than before.
You can focus on a symbol type with F (keyboard). This highlights the type of your current selection (if there is one) or the type currently selected on the toolbar. Similarly there are new keyboard shortcuts to convert to that type, or select all symbols of that type.
When you extend a segment with the SHIFT key, the segment to be extended is now highlighted.
The ESC key toggles between the current tool and the last used pointer-like tool.
Auto-Coloring Instruments
In Preferences there's a new option to assign a color to new instruments automatically. With the menu Instrument >> Color you can assign colors to all selected instruments by track number, sound category, device or sound (select all instruments first).
Mo., 17.02.2025 - 16:37 Permalink
Thanks.
Crashes on Apple Silicon Macs with Sequoia. Up until now I was sure the AppKit uses the same API on all hardware and that we didn't need to test every release on all hardware versions separately. Yet another surprise from Apple.
As a temporary workaround I tried enabling local menus in Preferences, but that got me only so far. I am sorry but we need to fix this first. That may take a day or two.
Mi., 19.02.2025 - 23:45 Permalink
I have just updated from version 2.53 Build #15 to the new version 2.6.2b14 :(
The new version does not start and reports that there is no iLok activation.
My iLok dongle is fine and my other plugins that need the dongle work without problems.
I have now installed version 2.53 again and it works without problems.
Do., 20.02.2025 - 11:40 Permalink
Tested on Windows and iLok works as expected. Please check for License Manager updates.
Fr., 21.02.2025 - 19:55 Permalink
Synfire 2.6.2 Build #15
Features
- Graphics: Fixed sidebar for parameter value legend
- Graphics: Show piano roll stripes under Output, Morphing parameters & harmonizer
Other
- Graphics: Improved scaling of various parameter types
- Graphics: Pre-processed Figure shows in gray color despite being editable
- Graphics: Don't show background instruments in Overview, Output
- Graphics: Zoom tweaks and minor glitches
- UI: Idle and launcher menus often not responsive
Fr., 21.02.2025 - 21:59 Permalink
- Graphics: Show piano roll stripes under Output, Morphing parameters & harmonizer
Thank you very much indeed! This is indeed very helpful for me!
Some follow-up questions:
- It is currently not possible to show figures and the piano roll Output parameter at the same time (because the display would be very small, and scrolling is very hard to implement)?
- I set up shortcuts for switching between Figure and Output parameters (thanks for adding support for Output too), so that is some workaround I can live with, but I wanted to ask just in case ;-)
- Middle C is now C3 (i.e. the Yamaha convention), right?
Thanks again!