Qtractor 0.5.6 - The Golf Tango release!

Hi there,

Maybe some of you agree with me, that this has been the longest since last dot release and the new one with the least brand new features count being introduced. Aha no big deal I say, the uber-procrastinator is just roaring its ugly head once more, specially after a beloved summer vacation season. Whatever.

One of the interesting dots, if not the most, is that LV2 State Files interface implementation, once in a gruesome SNAFU support status, is now officially over. For the laymen it means that any files, referenced by those LV2 plug-ins which implement the LV2 State Files interface, will get righteously bundled into an archive/zip session file (suffix or extension .qtz), all other cases remain untouched. That should add up some notches on the session portability and archival ranks and purposes. Besides, LV2 1.0.0 compliance status is now closed business. I hope.

Moving on, slowly forward...

Release highlights:

• LV2 State Files support (NEW)
• Unused files clean-up removal (NEW)
• Edit/Insert empty range (NEW)
• MIME Document types and icons (NEW)
• French and Japanese translations (NEW)

Website:

Project page:

Downloads:

• source tarball:
  qtractor-0.5.6.tar.gz
• source package (openSUSE 12.2):
  qtractor-0.5.6-3.rncbc.suse122.src.rpm
• binary packages (openSUSE 12.2):
  qtractor-0.5.6-3.rncbc.suse122.i586.rpm
  qtractor-0.5.6-3.rncbc.suse122.x86_64.rpm
• quick start guide & user manual:
  qtractor-0.5.x-user-manual.pdf

Weblog (upstream support):

License:

Change-log:

• Day 1 post-release fix: LV2 plugins with a GTK GUI were not shown due to their respective widget (GdkWidget) being prematurely and unexpectedly destroyed when raised (via libsuil).
• The dedicated audio outputs setting for instrument plugins was not in effect as default global option for new MIDI tracks, now fixed, hopefully (thanks to danboid aka. Daniel MacDonald persistence).
• An immediate Files widget cleanup option is now made available, as to select and remove all unused file entries.
• MIDI track (un)solo/mute reset clip event sequence fixing; definite regression to MIDI track's occasional muting bug while clip editing and playback is rolling.
• Apologies due on this one: shift/ctrl keyboard modifiers are back in business to change MIDI events currently selected in one single step while on MIDI clip editor (aka. piano-roll). Sorry.
• Japanese (ja) translation added (by Takashi Sakamoto).
• General time-scale bar, beat and tempo rounding fixing.
• Keyboard shortcuts configuration (Help/Shortcuts...) now checks and warns for already assigned key sequences.
• The View/Snap menu is now listed as fully accessible actions, making each snap-per-beat setting assignable to a keyboard shortcut (after a feature request by danboid aka. Daniel MacDonald, thanks).
• Fixed MIDI resize tool, now applying symmetric proportional changes to pitch-bend event values [-8191, +8191].
• Fixed re-loading of LV2 Presets that are newly created/saved during current session; actually delete and remove a LV2 Preset if found in the file-system (as suggested by Jiri Prochaszka aka. Anchakor, thanks again).
• Preset drop-down list is now sorted, on plugin properties dialog.
• After a long absence, edit(blue) cursor vertical lines are back on the MIDI clip editor views (aka. piano-roll).
• LV2 1.0.0 compliance phase II: LV2 State Files support completed.
• Updated to newer LV2 External UI extension support (now maintained by Filipe Coelho aka. falktx).
• Brand new editing tool: empty range insertion, split/moving clips or events forward the specified edit-head/tail interval, defaults to next measure or bar (cf. menu Edit/Insert/Range, Track Range).
• Don't show the waiting cursor anymore when loading any plugins which might have a nice native editor (GUI) and options are set to show it.
• MIDI clip editor now hopefully rid of random but persistent muting, a slight regression to editing while playback is rolling.
• A MIDI file player's bug, evident while transport rolling in looped mode, has been fixed with yet another oneliner patch (kind by Jiri Prochaszka aka. Anchakor, thanks again).
• LV2 plugins with a Qt4 GUI (guess what or whom?) are now guaranteed to some reasonable window type like Qt::Widget but not Qt::Dialog nor Qt::Popup, preventing those from standing always on top while on some window managers or desktop environments (a simple addition by Jiri Prochaszka aka. Anchakor, thanks).
• MIME type icons support for session (*.qtr *.qtr), template (*.qtt) and zip/archive (*.qtz) are now being introduced.
• LV2 State Files feature support is shamelessly getting real trial, now letting files referenced in LV2 plugin states to be seamlessly included when saving to a zip/archive file bundle (.qtz suffix).
• Added some virtual destructor stubs to shut up gcc 4.7 warnings.
• Improved plugin state resilience, now finally with parameter name matching, specifically targeted on loading old sessions or plugin preset files (.qtx), preserving old saved plugin states as much as possible in face of rogue or discrete parameter index renumbering, due naturally on any plugin's life cycle ie. upgrades etc.;)
• Added some more snap-to-beat divisors (Beat/14, /21 and /28) due on feature request ticket, while dropping highest, probably useless one (Beat/128).
• New French (fr) translation added (by Yann Collette, thanks).
• Slight late optimization on vertical zebra/grid lines drawing.

Have fun!