PLEA: Store Multiple Folder Bookmarks

[craftycurate]

I see there are other threads about file management. In a thread some months back where I posed this problem, Bart said (if I recall correctly) he felt that the A|B shortcut system was adequate. I have to make my plea again that it is really not adequate at all.

For one, A and B can represent any folders and there is no way to know which folders they represent without clicking on them. Also, they cannot be set to particular folders and "frozen". When navigating to a different folder, whichever bookmark is selected, either A or B, will be updated to that folder. So it really isn't a bookmark at all. A bookmark is supposed to stay where it is so I can return to it.

I need quick access to many different folders containing various media, organised in a way I find logical. I would have thought that fast file access was vital in the heat of the creative moment.

I don't see why it would be a problem to add a customisable bookmarks menu, in the same style as the Browser window in Ableton Live, or why the A|B system is considered adequate. I'd like to browse to a folder, and then click "Add this folder to bookmarks" at the top of the menu or similar.

So could this feature PLEASE be reconsidered for inclusion in a forthcoming update? It would make a great deal of difference.

If other users feel the same, could you please leave a comment? I'm interested to know whether others have thought of this too.

Cheers
Richard

[John McGeoch]

Yes, currently a faddle , even a few proper `bookmarks` that can be quickly set and one active `not set` file requester would be heaps better ....

[sleepytom]

i don't really see the issue here - I just use finder / explorer to locate clips and drag them into resolume.

i would rather see development time spent of dealing with more important issues than file management which TBH can be easily solved by using your operating system file management tools.

Creating a media library management software is a massive task and not something that the resolume team have the resources to manage. If you can't make do with the finder / explorer solution then maybe try a dedicated app such as adobe bridge - this has everything you could want including metadata searching, clip ratings, preview, thumbnails etc etc and you can simply drag clips from bridge directly into clip slots in resolume.

[craftycurate]

What I'm suggesting is a simple addition to the GUI - the ability to add bookmarks to the File Browser.

[Joris]

I'll be glad to put in a feature request for adding bookmarks. Although a lot can be said for Sleepytom's approach as well. The whole architecture of Explorer/Finder is meant to make it easy for you to find items. The architecture of Resolume is meant for playing back clips and applying effects. But nonetheless, thanks for bringing it up, and we'll have another think about it

[craftycurate]

I'll be glad to put in a feature request for adding bookmarks. Although a lot can be said for Sleepytom's approach as well. The whole architecture of Explorer/Finder is meant to make it easy for you to find items. The architecture of Resolume is meant for playing back clips and applying effects. But nonetheless, thanks for bringing it up, and we'll have another think about it

OK great ... I appreciate that Resolume is about playing back clips - that's why I bought it Which is why I'm proposing a simple workflow enhancement, not a huge feature which will duplicate existing OS functionality.

Thanks
Richard

[sleepytom]

What I'm suggesting is a simple addition to the GUI - the ability to add bookmarks to the File Browser.

just adding bookmarks might sound simple to you, however nothing is simple, gui changes are always more complex than you'd imagine. How many bookmarks should you be able to have (whatever number you pic someone will say its not enough) Is there any point in having unlimited bookmarks? you just end up with a huge list which defeats the object of having the bookmarks in the first place. Bookmarks could only ever point to folders anyway at which point why not just change your folder structure?

So we see that as soon as you think about the details the idea of a simple change goes out of the window! Media management is a huge task which is why there are dedicated apps for it. I used to think that media management should be built into VJ apps, now having used Adobe Bridge for a while I realise that media management can be done better by a standalone app as you want things like metadata searching and quick preview that are too complex to implement within a VJ software

there are loads of ideas about how things could be changed / improved across many different parts of the app. IMHO The file management requests should be seen as low priority , as there are simple and reasonable workarounds using the tools that come with your computer and / or 3rd party media management tools.

[craftycurate]

I'm a software engineer with much experience of GUI design and user interfaces so I know about how complex things can be.

However, by instinct, this is unlikely to be a complex change. Most likely the developers will be using existing libraries with a whole range of ready-made functions for doing this. There is already a mechanism to add certain default folders to the folders menu. There is already a mechanism for updating A and B as the user navigates around. So all necessary mechanisms have already been put to use.

So on the contrary, the idea doesn't go out the window at all. Far from it.

The potential complexity of the menu that users build up is purely down to how users use it - this has no bearing whatsoever on the value of the feature or on the decision to include it. By your logic we shouldn't include decks either because users might make them too big! That is a usage issue, not a development one.

I'm proposing something MUCH simpler than the cumbersome mechanism of using media management apps. Just a little tweak to the file menu.

We're not going to agree on this clearly, but that's OK - I have my workflow and you have yours

[sleepytom]

really there isn't anything cumbersome about using an app like bridge. With a bit of time invested in tagging your clips you end up with a system which is far more powerful than any folder based system. If you want to find the black and white dancing girl clips you just type B+W dance girl into the bridge search and get an instant grid of thumbnails which have all you B+W girl dancing clips - regardless of where they are located in folder structure. This method is great because it doesn't depend on remembering what clips you have or where they are located, folders + bookmarks might seem like an OK way to organise a few hundred clips, but by the time you've got thousands or tens of thousands of clips it just isn't practical.