Old 06-20-2018, 10:06 PM   #1
CDS
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Default ToolBars

The tool bars have always been like a mystery to me.
1. I tried using the Icons that came with reaper but the images did not mean anything to me.

2. I downloaded a bunch of icons, about 600. These left me where I was with the original Icons, did not say what there function was by briefly glancing at them.

3. So giving up on the Icons I just use text instead but even the large buttons don't give enough room for a real meaningful description.

For the most part tool bars go unused wasting space on the screen.

After not much luck with the tool bars.
I started using Mouse Modifiers and Radial that I access by right click the track in track view or mixer view then automation and automation preferences or using the two buttons on the left side of my mouse.
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Old 06-21-2018, 10:16 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CDS View Post
The tool bars have always been like a mystery to me.
1. I tried using the Icons that came with reaper but the images did not mean anything to me.

2. I downloaded a bunch of icons, about 600. These left me where I was with the original Icons, did not say what there function was by briefly glancing at them.

3. So giving up on the Icons I just use text instead but even the large buttons don't give enough room for a real meaningful description.

For the most part tool bars go unused wasting space on the screen.

After not much luck with the tool bars.
I started using Mouse Modifiers and Radial that I access by right click the track in track view or mixer view then automation and automation preferences or using the two buttons on the left side of my mouse.
I think if you made your own icons, they would have more meaning to you. The icons I make are rather ugly but tell
me exactly what they do. My icons also take far less space as you can see in the picture below that shows my main
Midi Editor toolbar.

When I have the need for several actions pertaining to the same thing, I'll use a header on the top, as you can see
with the CC toobar for adjusting CCs up or down, and the velocity that does the same with velocities.



This is my latest toolbar that I made for my Steel Guitar. If I click on one of the colored notes, it will draw in
that particular note at the cursor, as well as give it a velocity. For example, if I clicked on the green G#3 in
the top row, it will put in a G#3 note at the cursor with a velocity of 122. This Steel Guitar is one I created in
Kontakt and each colored row represents one of 10 strings on the Steel, each string has it's own velocity range.

The numbers on the left, are velocities I can click on to change the velocity of any selected note. The black velocities
represent the string plucked by a steel finger pick, the blue ones are picked with a plastic thumb pick.


Last edited by Tod; 06-21-2018 at 10:22 AM.
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Old 06-21-2018, 06:44 PM   #3
CDS
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tod View Post
I think if you made your own icons, they would have more meaning to you. The icons I make are rather ugly but tell
me exactly what they do. My icons also take far less space as you can see in the picture below that shows my main
Midi Editor toolbar.

When I have the need for several actions pertaining to the same thing, I'll use a header on the top, as you can see
with the CC toobar for adjusting CCs up or down, and the velocity that does the same with velocities.



This is my latest toolbar that I made for my Steel Guitar. If I click on one of the colored notes, it will draw in
that particular note at the cursor, as well as give it a velocity. For example, if I clicked on the green G#3 in
the top row, it will put in a G#3 note at the cursor with a velocity of 122. This Steel Guitar is one I created in
Kontakt and each colored row represents one of 10 strings on the Steel, each string has it's own velocity range.

The numbers on the left, are velocities I can click on to change the velocity of any selected note. The black velocities
represent the string plucked by a steel finger pick, the blue ones are picked with a plastic thumb pick.

I tried once and gave up after 10 minutes, I read some documents about the subject, making every thing in triplicate seems like a pain, just for a toggle function.
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Old 06-22-2018, 08:09 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CDS View Post
I tried once and gave up after 10 minutes, I read some documents about the subject, making every thing in triplicate seems like a pain, just for a toggle function.
Actually it's not just for the toggle actions.

1st image: The one you see all the time.
2nd image: What you see when you hoover your mouse over it.
3rd image: Whats seen when you click on it. It's only momentary unless it's a toggle action.

Notice the yellow "A4" in the STeel Guitar toolbar. I didn't realize it, but my mouse was
hovering over it when I took the snapshot.

Once you get the hang of it they're very simple to make.
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Old 06-22-2018, 05:32 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tod View Post
Actually it's not just for the toggle actions.

1st image: The one you see all the time.
2nd image: What you see when you hoover your mouse over it.
3rd image: Whats seen when you click on it. It's only momentary unless it's a toggle action.

Notice the yellow "A4" in the STeel Guitar toolbar. I didn't realize it, but my mouse was
hovering over it when I took the snapshot.

Once you get the hang of it they're very simple to make.
I did a test Icon by looking at your sample but it displays as a almost square Icon like the Icons that come with reaper. The size of the test one was 24 x 30 for all three elements / sections.
Attached Images
File Type: png toolbar_blank2.png (3.3 KB, 170 views)
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Last edited by CDS; 06-22-2018 at 05:42 PM.
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Old 06-22-2018, 06:48 PM   #6
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I did a test Icon by looking at your sample but it displays as a almost square Icon like the Icons that come with reaper. The size of the test one was 24 x 30 for all three elements / sections.
Hi CDS, I'm not sure of your 24x30, I'm assuming you mean pixels.

When I measure your icon, I get 6x27 pixels, however you have a thick border which I didn't include. I'm talking about the way you should see it in Reaper. Also if you're using the icon in a horizontal toolbar, you'll want to keep the height consistent with the other icons in the toolbar.

I took out the borders and changed the colors slightly, download this icon and check it out.

Download it here;
https://stash.reaper.fm/33833/CDS%20...%20border..png

It looks like this:


EDIT: I don't mean you shouldn't have any borders, but take into account, your boarders are part of the icon.
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Old 06-22-2018, 11:01 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tod View Post
Hi CDS, I'm not sure of your 24x30, I'm assuming you mean pixels.

When I measure your icon, I get 6x27 pixels, however you have a thick border which I didn't include. I'm talking about the way you should see it in Reaper. Also if you're using the icon in a horizontal toolbar, you'll want to keep the height consistent with the other icons in the toolbar.

I took out the borders and changed the colors slightly, download this icon and check it out.

Download it here;
https://stash.reaper.fm/33833/CDS%20...%20border..png

It looks like this:


EDIT: I don't mean you shouldn't have any borders, but take into account, your boarders are part of the icon.


I just don't see why it does not work as I want. I can make it taller shorter it always ends up as a almost square Icon when it is installed in the toolbar folder.
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Old 06-23-2018, 07:23 AM   #8
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hey CDS I understand your pain... hahaha I make a lot of custom toolbar icons for my own use and one area of those is exactly for the reaper limits of text icons... [we have asked for 3x and 4x wide text icons since dbl wide is not enough, but don't get them ..yet]

so I make my own as png files using photoshop

IF you have a version of photoshop on hand I could send you a template to use for making text icons...

here is one example of what I do...

https://imgur.com/a/hIUHZof

FYI basically what you do is create a png file or if in photoshop, create a new file that is
30 pixels high by some multiple of 90 pixels wide... so I use 270 px wide which is three panels of 90 px each

as Tod pointed out, a toolbar icon is three panels, one that shows always, one that shows when you roll over with mouse, and one that shows
when you clk on it...
you can just have the same panel for all three is you don't want to see any diff when you roll over or clk on it
you can make them as wide as you want but multiples of 30 px seem to work the best

the next problem is using some font that shows nicely at the sizes you decide on.
I like to use simple text fonts and I like them mostly to be white text over my own color background.
White text, at small sizes can get hard to see [for my old eyes] so one trick I use is just to make a copy
of the text layers [just duplicate layer] and that pumps the white a lot stronger.

So in photoshop you can make a template with your own colors and fonts, etc. and then just dupe layers
and change the text for each one to your desires and save out the one you want as a .png file with
an appropriate name and add that to your reaper toolbar icons folder.

One big warning... when adding those triple [or larger icons] to a toolbar, the preview in
reaper will not show them as they really are... so give them names that make sense to you and then
you can use the filter to get the one you want... such as this:

xxx_toolbar_icon_midi_script_whatever.png
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Old 06-23-2018, 10:23 AM   #9
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I just don't see why it does not work as I want. I can make it taller shorter it always ends up as a almost square Icon when it is installed in the toolbar folder.
Hi agian CDS, the icon you had should work, but since you posted it with a total black background I couldn't
tell what your border actually was. Or did you not even have a border? You can't totally separate the 3 icons.

Did the little icon I gave you not work?

Quote:
Originally Posted by hopi View Post
One big warning... when adding those triple [or larger icons] to a toolbar, the preview in
reaper will not show them as they really are... so give them names that make sense to you and then
you can use the filter to get the one you want... such as this:

xxx_toolbar_icon_midi_script_whatever.png
I agree with what hopi says.

And yes, I think the name is very important to make sure your icons are separate from the Reaper icons. I like
to use z_icon, zz_icon, and zzz_icon, depending on the size.
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Old 06-23-2018, 12:37 PM   #10
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has it been said:

the standard reaper icons are 30 px high and 90 px wide.. and that 90 is used as 3 30 px 'panels' ...

so though it's not a hard fast rule, it's good to think in multiples of the standard size... multiples or divisions
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Old 06-23-2018, 02:28 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hopi View Post
has it been said:

the standard reaper icons are 30 px high and 90 px wide.. and that 90 is used as 3 30 px 'panels' ...

so though it's not a hard fast rule, it's good to think in multiples of the standard size... multiples or divisions
I seem to have gotten it to work, I have it set to 45 of x 45 px.
So its 45 px divided 3?
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Old 06-23-2018, 03:10 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hopi View Post
has it been said:

the standard reaper icons are 30 px high and 90 px wide.. and that 90 is used as 3 30 px 'panels' ...

so though it's not a hard fast rule, it's good to think in multiples of the standard size... multiples or divisions
Hi hopi, yeah, I've seen something like that mentioned before but in all honesty, I've never paid
attention to any relative multiples or standard sizes. The main thing I try to maintain is the
height on horizontal toolbars, and the width on vertical toolbars.

Otherwise, as you can see in the toolbars I show above, anything goes.

My main concern it to get as many actions/icons on each toolbar that I can, within reason of course.
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Old 06-23-2018, 03:37 PM   #13
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Tod, buddy.... "within reason" does not apply to what you have going with your toolbars... not even nearby... hahahahaha

god forbid you ever get bigger monitors and have more room to add to the toolbars!
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Old 06-23-2018, 03:57 PM   #14
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Tod, buddy.... "within reason" does not apply to what you have going with your toolbars... not even nearby... hahahahaha

god forbid you ever get bigger monitors and have more room to add to the toolbars!
Ha ha, I'm thinking of getting a bigger monitor, but it won't change much if I
keep the same aspect ratio. Oh. but then I could go back and make all my current
icons smaller. Ha, with all the icons I've got, I don't think that's going to
happen.
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Old 06-23-2018, 06:40 PM   #15
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yeah I mean a higher rez monitor as well as bigger in physical size... so you could have dbl the screen real estate....

just think of the toolbars you'd have room for!
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