Old 08-18-2015, 12:42 AM   #1
pljones
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Default [Reaper 5] Custom Track Layouts

The new track layout options in Reaper 5 are very welcome, particularly for larger projects.

However, I was wondering if there is a way to customise them.

For example, I'd like a Mixer Panel Track Layout similar to Strip Meter Bridge but with FX/Enable as well.

Pointers to examples and explanations of how to do this in Reaper 5 would be great!
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Old 08-18-2015, 01:21 AM   #2
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Yes, layouts can be customised / added / removed etc.


It's all done by editing the rtconfig.txt file within the Theme file:
-- copy it, and rename the copy to a .zip file
-- unzip it all
-- make a back-up copy of the rtconfig.txt file
-- edit the rtconfig.txt file (it uses WALTER syntax)

The editing is the tricky bit - have a look at the WALTER Guide, available here:
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=69767

In v4 I found it easiest to copy an existing Layout, modify it and check the results in Reaper. For your case (and I have not looked at the v5 theme files at all), copy the "Strip Meter Bridge" mixer layout, find a mixer layout with the FX etc buttons in it, copy those lines into the new layout and change the positions of those buttons so that they fit.

But ... it takes longer to do than to say
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Old 08-18-2015, 11:13 AM   #3
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Thanks! That's a great starting point. I'll see what I can do .
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Old 08-18-2015, 11:59 AM   #4
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OK, the editing for the custom MCP layout itself was simple enough but I'm stumped getting it to use my layout. In fact, the "Default" I thought I was editing doesn't appear to be what I thought it was.

There's a "Preferences->Themes->Default" menu entry. ColorThemes has no "Default.ReaperThemeZip" (either in InstallData or under %APPDATA%).

If I take a copy of "Default_5.0.ReaperThemeZip" and edit that, I get a new entry under the Themes menu but it looks nothing like the 5.0 default theme...

I'm guessing this means I messed up somewhere and need to read some more about setting up a theme. I'll spend some more time looking into it..!
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...Playing fast around the drums is one thing. But to play with people for others, to listen to, that's something else. That's a whole other world.
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Old 08-30-2015, 03:07 AM   #5
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OK, I've spent some more time looking and had another go.

Simply taking a copy of the Default_5.0 theme and giving it a new name immediately seems to go wrong. The menu entry is there but the content is ignored - that is, when selected, Reaper does not look like Default_5.0 theme (I'm assuming/hoping that's what the Default menu entry uses).

There's clearly something fundamental I'm missing -- so I could do with a point to a short dummy's guide.
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Old 08-30-2015, 06:51 AM   #6
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let try it again:

1- find this file in your color themes folder: Default_5.0.ReaperThemeZip
2- copy and paste it to a new folder for working on it.
3- rename that file like so: Default_5.0.ReaperThemeZip.zip
---see the .zip added at the end? ---
4- use winrar or 7zip to now extract that zip file.
---you will get a folder of png files and the rtconfig file in that folder...
---and you will also get, outside that folder named .ReaperTheme file

5-make your mods to the folder of pngs as desired...
6-make the corresponding changes to the rtconfig.txt file

Now to do this work and be testing it at the same time, you will want to be able to load and run the theme you are working on...right?

My suggestion for doing that is to do a second install of reaper to a diff named folder and make it a portable install. That way you can have everything in that named portable folder.
In that folder, in the color themes folder, delete the default theme file and copy and paste the unzipped theme and it's folder to the color themes folder. Btw, you can rename those to whatever as long as the folder of pngs and the .ReaperTheme file have the same names.

Ok now work away...

when you are happy, you can select the folder of png's and the .ReaperTheme file and make them a zip file which should be like so:

My Great Thing.ReaperThemeZip.zip ...then remove the .zip from the end of the file name and use that.

Copy it to your normal reaper, color themes location and then you can delete the entire portable install folder.
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Old 08-31-2015, 09:57 AM   #7
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So I have no option but to replace the existing file? I can't create a new theme with a new name?
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...Playing fast around the drums is one thing. But to play with people for others, to listen to, that's something else. That's a whole other world.
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Old 08-31-2015, 10:55 AM   #8
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You certainly can. Just re-name your copy something else than Default_5.0.ReaperThemeZip and that will be a new theme with that name. Keep the .ReaperThemeZip extension in the new name though, otherwise it won't work.

Here's another guide by White Tie for the v5 theme editing:
http://www.houseofwhitetie.com/reape...dit_def_5.html
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Old 08-31-2015, 11:54 AM   #9
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OK, I've found the problem -- thanks for keeping me going!

The stupid error was letting 7-Zip compress the folder I'd extracted into -- thus introducing another folder level in the archive itself... effectively making it look as good as empty (nothing found where it was expected).
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Old 12-05-2018, 07:31 PM   #10
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Default Track Control Panel TCP customized Visible Midi Record Modes

Is there a way to make the track's Record: MIDI Overdub/Replace visually represented on the track panel?
I would like to see the Track Record Mode for my MIDI tracks whether I have them set to Replace or Overdub etc.
The reason is that I set up Custom Actions to enable Track Record MIDI Overdub and Track Record MIDI replace. The only problem is, when I hit the action keys, I have no visual feedback that I can tell which mode the track is in.
Thank you for taking time to reply.

Well after hours of searching. I found it. Thanks again to all who put great info on here. I found another tutorial by Kenny Gioia, and in this video he walked me through a WhiteTie tutorial on how to tweak a reaper theme. So yahoo. I got my custom layout.
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Last edited by birdbrain; 12-05-2018 at 10:17 PM. Reason: found the answer.
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