Hi I just started to use the Electra One and am very content with the device.
One thing which would improve the workflow would be to add a ‘double tab’ to switch a ‘preset page’.
Now I have to go to the ‘page selection’ page and select another page from there,
And I do not like to connect another controller to just be able to switch pages quickly when doing sound design.
An idea would be:
[SECTION 1] button to make the upper section of controls active, double tab will jump to the next page
[SECTION 3] button to make the bottom section of controls active, double tab will jump to the previous page
Or other then an external controller or ‘page selection’ page are there any other options to switch pages?
One other way to do it today is to long press the right side bottom button, which shows you all the preset pages at the bottom of the current screen. Then, touching on one of the 12 knobs will take you to that preset page. This way, you can switch from one page to another without having to navigate to page selection page. I agree that a quick double tap to jump to the next page is a nice addition. Not sure if double taps are recognizable in this button.
Indeed, that’s the method I use all the time. It’s very fast. The device is on my lefthand side; with my thumb I press the bottom button on the right side and with one of my other fingers I touch the knob of the page. But that’s working with pages within a preset. If you want to switch presets, then you have to do bottom right button and then middle button on the left and then touch the right knob for the preset you want. But I don’t think you want to switch presets, just pages, right @Flyweight ?
I am considering changing the “Page selection” screen at some point. It made perfect sense in the past there there was not this option to switch pages with the [MENU] + Pot touch combo. These days the page is kind of redundant to be. I am thinking about changing that into a page that could provide also a way to change presets. That would save that extra click.
I, as somebody who lived in the NL for ages, am happy to see a dutch electra group being formed here
Sudden thought when I was Ioading a preset. @martin, does the Electra LCD recognize swipes? If so, a right/left swipe can be used to move between pages, right? .
The issue here is that we are very spoiled with how mobile phones and tables are handling that. The swipe animation is an important part of the swipe. If the animation is missing or if it is not smooth it becomes confusing - you as a user do not know what is happening.
Electra can recognize swipes but I am kind of staying away from them for now. I am not saying it will never be done though. Personally my I kind of even prefer the combo of the Menu button and the knob touch for the fast Page browsing.
this sounds like an ideal candidate for some lua extension…
this requires a control being able to determine things like current page, number of pages, and then being able to switch pages.
users could then chose to implement back/forward, or even a bar/choice could switch pages.
we could share lua scripts/snippets on this forum.
I also see lua allowing users to try differ UI ‘prototypes’ and if they become popular with alot of users, could be considered for default inclusion
hopefully this approach, might avoid having lots of UI preferences switches to cope with different users ‘tastes’.
perhaps even the swipe could potentially be done with lua, if a ‘background’ component existed, where you could register handlers.
though, Im with @martin , alot of the touchscreen (particularly iOS) gestures work because they have very good feedback mechanisms, which make them feel ‘natural’
Ive a few devices, e.g. Remarkable, which don’t have this and feel a bit ‘meh’
I am aware that the UX of good swiping is a difficult one to achieve.
Having said that, I am also a huge fan of gestures as they feel very intuitive and can originate from multiple places, in contrast to buttons /arrows etc. So you don’t need to look at the device to be able to change a page. I am fully prepared to accept the “not so smartphone like” feedback for that
NO swipes please!! I hate it when you touch something on a screen to select it an than, for moving your finger to slow you change to another page.
What I would appreciate: The posibility to have a special category of pogrammable softcontrols like Pads and Lists just for internal navigation. So you can place a Pad with a page jump anywhere in your layout if you like or have always sitting a Dial with a list of all pages on the same position on all pages in your design. Its all about workflow and something like this seems pretty cool to adapt page navigation to any needs!
A silly idea: pressing two buttons simultaneously: left buttons to go left, right buttons to go right…
Pressing left middle and upper, brings you to the left side but in pages 1…6
Pressing left middle and lower brings you to the left as well but in the pages 7…12
Pressing left lower and upper is going left but within the array of pages you previously were.
@martin switching pages as is now is still not a smooth experience when editing sounds.
The 3 row select buttons on the left could do the trick.
top and bottom buttons to scroll up and down the current page,
if your at the bottom and you press the bottom button again you go to the next preset page.
if you are at the top, the top button again will get you to the previous page.
This would make the editing synth patches a much better experience.
The 2 buttons would scroll through control sets as well. This will make the middle button redundant,
Or create default LUA handlers to be called for each of the six buttons, like the patch.onRequest() for the PATCH REQUEST button. Then this can be configured by a patch as needed/useful.
I have been using Shankar’s method, but again reviving this thread because I wish there was some kind of “one button solution” to quickly changing pages on a preset. I have been updating my published presets to make them simpler and easier to use (for example, Minimode preset covers everything in 2 pages, TAL-J-8 is now down to 4 pages, with most important functions on the first two pages) and some means of rapid page switching would make the workflow even easier.
Maybe it’s just a matter of getting used to it? I find the method with the longer button press on the low right button and then touching the knob for the corresponding page very elegant and fast. I use it quit a lot. Especially when I work for a more prelonged time with one preset, muscle memory comes quite fast, even faster than I would have thought beforehand.
I think any alternatives might sacrificy screen space for the controls, that might get in the way of playability.
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