Old 03-29-2011, 09:54 PM   #1
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Default Plugins Always On Top

Can we please have this back in V4? Pretty please?
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Old 03-29-2011, 10:44 PM   #2
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Isn't that what the pin above beside the close button is for? Just tested in alpha 60 and its working for me.
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Old 03-29-2011, 10:52 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eyes View Post
Isn't that what the pin above beside the close button is for? Just tested in alpha 60 and its working for me.
The pin keeps a single window on top, but if you close that window and reopen it, it doesnt stay pinned. You also have to pin every single plugin window individually.

I use a single monitor with the TCP and MCP windows separate (ctrl M to switch between). When I open a plugin window it is on top, if I click the mix window to make an adjustment it gets hidden behind.

Plugin windows should have the option of always being on top without the need to pin.
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Old 03-29-2011, 11:10 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdutaillis View Post
The pin keeps a single window on top, but if you close that window and reopen it, it doesnt stay pinned. You also have to pin every single plugin window individually.

I use a single monitor with the TCP and MCP windows separate (ctrl M to switch between). When I open a plugin window it is on top, if I click the mix window to make an adjustment it gets hidden behind.

Plugin windows should have the option of always being on top without the need to pin.
Ah ok. Sorry, I misunderstood.
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Old 03-29-2011, 11:12 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eyes View Post
Ah ok. Sorry, I misunderstood.
You are forgiven.
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Old 03-30-2011, 03:09 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdutaillis View Post
The pin keeps a single window on top, but if you close that window and reopen it, it doesnt stay pinned. You also have to pin every single plugin window individually.

I use a single monitor with the TCP and MCP windows separate (ctrl M to switch between). When I open a plugin window it is on top, if I click the mix window to make an adjustment it gets hidden behind.

Plugin windows should have the option of always being on top without the need to pin.
We should have this ability as an option. I use dual screens most of the time and don't need it. But when I go single screen on my Macbook Pro (running W7 64) having the plugins stay on top would be of great benefit.

--Bill
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Old 03-30-2011, 04:01 AM   #7
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Here's another thread of discussion about this topic:

http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=76935

Basically I proposed a third state for the pin, which keeps the pinned window always behind other windows. I guess this would do the trick too, for people using floating mixers.
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Old 03-30-2011, 04:33 AM   #8
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a preference to open all plugin windows with the "on top" pin enabled by default?
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Old 03-31-2011, 04:05 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Subz View Post
a preference to open all plugin windows with the "on top" pin enabled by default?
That would work perfectly!
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Old 04-01-2011, 02:36 AM   #10
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Right now, "On Top" means on top of everything, including non-Reaper windows (any system or other program window).

I would much rather see "On Top" mean any Reaper related window, not unrelated windows. When you click on a non-Reaper window, it should be on top. When you click back to any Reaper related window, the previous Reaper window hierarchy displays.

--Bill
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Old 04-01-2011, 03:20 AM   #11
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What he said
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Old 04-01-2011, 08:49 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bblue View Post
I would much rather see "On Top" mean any Reaper related window, not unrelated windows. When you click on a non-Reaper window, it should be on top. When you click back to any Reaper related window, the previous Reaper window hierarchy displays.
Just to make sure, but I'm pretty sure you meant that when clicked on a non-Reaper window, that one should be on top...and I would agree too.

Last edited by xpander; 04-01-2011 at 09:28 AM.
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Old 04-01-2011, 10:13 AM   #13
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yes

The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 5 characters.

how about Y Y E E S S

Quote:
Originally Posted by xpander View Post
Just to make sure, but I'm pretty sure you meant that when clicked on a non-Reaper window, that one should be on top...and I would agree too.
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Old 04-01-2011, 07:27 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bblue View Post
Right now, "On Top" means on top of everything, including non-Reaper windows (any system or other program window).

I would much rather see "On Top" mean any Reaper related window, not unrelated windows. When you click on a non-Reaper window, it should be on top. When you click back to any Reaper related window, the previous Reaper window hierarchy displays.

--Bill
+ 1 from me on this too.
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Old 04-01-2011, 08:51 PM   #15
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who is gonna be on top is always the question, isn't it?
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Old 04-02-2011, 03:25 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xpander View Post
Just to make sure, but I'm pretty sure you meant that when clicked on a non-Reaper window, that one should be on top...and I would agree too.
You bet!

--Bill
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Old 04-03-2011, 07:02 AM   #17
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pin is not working for me, i just UNPINNED two fx and when i click on the track, the fx do not go in the background as I would expect. Also using shup and gadwin screenshot apps, the pins do not show up but they are clicked into the setting where the pin looks like a top hat with not point

http://img861.**************/img861/3...2mydesktop.png

https://i.imgur.com/okIBx.jpg
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Old 04-05-2011, 02:31 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bblue View Post
Right now, "On Top" means on top of everything, including non-Reaper windows (any system or other program window).

I would much rather see "On Top" mean any Reaper related window, not unrelated windows. When you click on a non-Reaper window, it should be on top. When you click back to any Reaper related window, the previous Reaper window hierarchy displays.

--Bill
+1 to that behavior
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Old 04-10-2011, 05:44 PM   #19
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BUMP!

Please
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Old 06-29-2011, 07:31 AM   #20
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BUMP :-O

Maybe I missed some explanation, but whyyyyy do we have to pin every plug-in manually every time we open it?? It's so insanely irritating. What's the big deal with getting this to work like every other DAW does it?

This manual pinning is so clunky

sorry for the downer, but it just is ... I don't understand

at the very least a previously pinned plug-in should remain so after being closed and reopened

or the "pin mixer to desktop" idea ... it baffles me that this seems to have been difficult to sort out?

Last edited by timlloyd; 06-29-2011 at 08:06 AM.
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Old 06-29-2011, 07:45 AM   #21
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it seems to be one of those things like "arranging icons in a vertical toolbar" that simply don't work, need fixing and for some reason are not getting attention in build after build.

I really hope the devs DO focus on these issues because the DAW is a sum of it's parts and when things like this detract from workflow it really makes the DAW less.
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Old 06-29-2011, 08:05 AM   #22
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It really does ... I just had to check something in Logic, and was like "holy **** it works!!" :-/ ... I miss it, it's basic functionality which is just broken and has been patched up and seemingly forgotten about.
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Old 06-29-2011, 08:28 AM   #23
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I'm glad others are still really craving this as well. It's such an annoying workflow killer.
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Old 08-22-2011, 05:38 PM   #24
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BUMP!!!
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Old 08-22-2011, 06:16 PM   #25
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there are several ideas suggested here and I approve of all of them.

The more window management options the better.

Furthermore, how about an option to ignore plugin windows when changing screensets. I just got in the habit of using screensets but the plugin windows close when you change sets. (maybe that's already the solution?)
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Old 08-22-2011, 06:19 PM   #26
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Yup. I'm definitely on this too..

The plugins on-top feature was perhaps the most wished thing for me in Reaper 4. And, for sure, there it was - finally!

However... Current implementation of it is rather sad. I mean..

In order to get it to work properly at least these issues must be addressed first:

1) Implement an automatical always-on-top feature for floating FX. We shouldn't really have to click that pin every time we open a floating FX instance. This renders the whole always-on-top function rather useless. Infact, it just forces you to click more! Currently it's more efficient to not to use that darn pin at all and just "double click" inserts as we're used with Reaper 3 (first to close it from under the mixer and then re-open it again on top of it).

2) Ok, you've pinned something - lets say a 2BUSS compressor - on top. Ok, so far so good. However (at least here) every new plugin opens at the location of this pinned plugin, and even underneath it (since the darn plugin is on-top and the new one is not)! This is a REAL pain, especially if you've stationed the pinned plugin to, lets say, on another screen or something. In effect, this renders even this usage of on-top feature quite useless.

3) The on-top plugins are too "on-top". Lets say I have pinned a large plugin on-top, like a Kontakt 4, and it gives me an error message... there is no way I could click the error window away due to Kontakt 4 being always on top of everything - even on top of that error message! And since that error messages "steals" the focus of whole Reaper automatically, there is no other option left but to commit an ALT+F4 or similar procedure.

4) The whole on-top thingy is generally somewhat buggy. E.g. Float a mixer. Open a plugin (floating FX) and pin it on-top. Ok, so far all good. Now pin the floating mixer too (it gets on top of everything, wich is ok I guess, working as intended?). However now un-pin the mixer and.. for starters it stays still on-top (pinned plugin stays under the now un-pinned mixer). Even more disturbing is the fact that even thought the plugin is still pinned on-top you can swap wich one is actually on top by swapping focus between the plugin and the mixer - even when the plugin is pinned and the mixer is not.

I really wish these issues get addressed soonish or the whole on-top functionality is quite useless - at least here.

Last edited by Kainz; 08-22-2011 at 06:25 PM.
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Old 08-22-2011, 06:25 PM   #27
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Quote:
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2) Ok, you've pinned something - lets say a 2BUSS compressor - on top. Ok so far so good. However (at least here) every new plugin opens at the location of this pinned plugins, and even underneath it (since the darn plugin is on-top and the new one is not)! This is a REAL pain, especially if you've stationed the pinned plugin to, lets say, on another screen or something. Renders even this usage of on-top quite useless.
Yes, this really is infuriating. It injects an otherwise enjoyable mixing sesh with little bouts of despair ... shoulders sag ... eyes frown ... the mind exhales a sigh of *why*?
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Old 08-22-2011, 11:49 PM   #28
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Glad this is still alive and kicking!

If REAPER had this feature and pre-fader metering I think it would be 100% perfect for me. It's the only two things I want!

They were/are both promised on the tracker for Version 4 as well!
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Old 09-07-2011, 12:18 PM   #29
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It's aliiIIIIIIveeeeEEEEE!!!!
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Old 09-07-2011, 01:16 PM   #30
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Hmm, I'm not sure I understand this thread, can we explain?
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Old 09-07-2011, 01:26 PM   #31
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With an undocked mixer, currently:

1) If we depress the pin on a plug-in window, it pins to the top. However, if it's closed and then opened again, it's unpinned. This means that we have to keep clicking the pin button over and over and over ... during a project, which gets tiresome.

2) The main issue (as I see it) with plug-ins and the whole pinning-to-top fiasco, is that when using an undocked mixer, they always fall behind it unless the pin button is clicked. As mentioned above, this has to be done every time a plug-in is opened, and whenever a track's (or item's) fx chain window is opened.

So, the most logical solution to this problem imo, is to change the behaviour of the mixer window so that it always comes directly above the main arrange/edit window in the global z-order. That way, pinning isn't necessary anywhere near as often - the plug-in vs mixer issue just sorts itself out.

How about an "inverse pin" button on the mixer window that "pins it to bottom".

And also, rather importantly, windows should remember their pin status.

That about sums it up I think
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Old 09-07-2011, 01:38 PM   #32
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I think this is a way to summarize it:

1) Bridged plug-ins should be always on top a.k.a "pinned by default".
2) Pinned windows (including FXs) should be always on top (coming from point 1)
3) Windows should preserve their "pinned" status even after closing/reopening them
4) People want to avoid, by all means, having plug-ins behind the mixer (if the mixer is not pinned)
5) Extra dialog should be respected, e.g: pin a centered window, go to file and quit REAPER... nothing happens... well, it does, the thing is the "Save current project before quitting?" dialog is behind the pinned plug-in and you won't ever notice it after trying to quit REAPER like 10 times lol)


Shortest version ever: pin by default and put on top once you click on it BUT if the user "unpins" it then just put it on the background again.

[EDIT] @tim: we shouldn't really post the same thing twice... let's exchange pms before posting from now on to avoid glitches in the Matrix
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Old 09-07-2011, 01:40 PM   #33
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Yep, that last bit (shortest version ever) would be utterly lovely

..\..\\gLiTcH616%-1!42@£e@42

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Old 09-07-2011, 02:27 PM   #34
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Maybe an option/preference like this : "default pin status for FX windows is pinned" could be a good starting point ... This would make the pin feature much more efficient.

I don't want to pin every plug ins, but I do want every plug in to be pinned.
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Old 09-07-2011, 08:20 PM   #35
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Thanks for chiming in Justin!

I think this would be the perfect solution:

"default pin status for FX windows is pinned"

But what Mercado and Tim suggested sums it up nicely as well!

These points particularly are important:

"3) Windows should preserve their "pinned" status even after closing/reopening them

5) Extra dialog should be respected, e.g: pin a centered window, go to file and quit REAPER..."
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Old 09-10-2011, 08:02 AM   #36
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This is in fact how it's handled in Protools for plugin windows. The basic windows that take up the most space(usually) are the edit and mix windows. They are always at the back, no matter what you do. Nothing can be shoved behind them.

All the other windows always stay on top of those basic windows. So this kind of prioritization has been done, for good reasons as the gentlemen here have stated so well.
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Old 09-10-2011, 08:32 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airon View Post
This is in fact how it's handled in Protools for plugin windows. The basic windows that take up the most space(usually) are the edit and mix windows. They are always at the back, no matter what you do. Nothing can be shoved behind them.

All the other windows always stay on top of those basic windows. So this kind of prioritization has been done, for good reasons as the gentlemen here have stated so well.
^^^ +1
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Old 09-28-2011, 07:55 PM   #38
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Since don't know how long, I finally used a two monitor setup. I thought I have a bug in my hands since the plugin windows focus differently on the mixer window than on the main window.

I find this issue pretty urgent and overdue. In my mind the simpliest solution:

Mixer window always stays behind plugin windows (and dialogues).
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Old 09-29-2011, 09:54 AM   #39
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Quote:
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I find this issue pretty urgent and overdue. In my mind the simpliest solution:

Mixer window always stays behind plugin windows (and dialogues).
This guys is right!!
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Old 09-29-2011, 10:42 AM   #40
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Quote:
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This guys is right!!
This guy is right too!
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