More than 50% of my production time is spent on Volume Automation, Partial Regeneration, and MultiRiffs in the Audio Edit Window.
I wonder if there's a way I can create a customized interface layout and save it for everyday use.
According to the images attached, I'd like to shorten the height for both the Chord Sheet and the Mixer window, so I could have space to insert a Movable Audio Edit window at the bottom of the screen.
Adjust Size Is it possible to change the window size for Panel 2 and Panel 3, and in the meanwhile have them still attached to Panel 1?
Scroll Bar When Panel 3 is shortened, can it have a scroll bar on the right, just like panel 2, so it can be scrolled up and down to view all tracks?
Snap to Edge Panel 4 is a floating window. Is there a way to have its edges perfectly snapped/aligned to edges of the screen?
Dark Theme I know in the preference/display menu I can change colors of the chord sheet, but is there any pre-made dark theme preset I can select to instantly change the chord sheet to black and the chord symbols to white?
View as Mono In the audio edit window, stereo waveform is displayed as left and right tracks. Is there a way to turn this off, so the stereo waveform is displayed the same as mono waveform, make it less distracting and easier to see?
Second Monitor Is it possible to have Panel 2 and Panel 3 displayed in a secondary monitor, but keep Panel 1 and Panel 4 displayed in the main monitor?
Save Session After the customization, is there a way to save the session, so that in the future, when the software is launched, it always goes to the same interface layout?
A Canadian music producer, singer songwriter, composer, and professional guitarist.
MusicVillian, Some customization is available but, I don't think to the extent you desire.
Are you aware BiaB has two GUIs (PG Music calls them screen modes)? You can switch between the normal and minimal screen modes by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T or by selecting a screen mode button located next to the DAW button in the DropZone (top, left side of the screen). The mixer can be moved, resized or not displayed. The mixer can even be moved to a second monitor but the move does not persist between sessions. There maybe other customization's I'm not aware of.
This is just one layout example, you can have others. You can run this script from the little GUI above or with a hot key. It's set to a 1920x1080 screen, for dual monitors just set larger coordinates. The mixer needs to be free and not docked as I can't see a shortcut to un-dock. If you need the script to un-dock it will need click coordinates. Download https://www.autohotkey.com/ install set the AutoHotkey.exe to run as admin (this will allow it to access Biab if it's set to run as admin). Copy code and save to my script.ahk, double click to run, or as mentioned you can include it in the GUI above or add a hot key to the script.
Right click Save Link/Target As BB Quick Menu & Mixer.ahk The taskbar is set to auto hide, if yours is not set to auto hide then you need to change the height of the audio edit and mixer. To edit go down the script to Layout1: or Layout2: or Layout3: You can add more layouts.
Attached picture is exactly what I want to achieve.
I did some experiments today and can confirm, BiaB doesn't allow panels to be docked using built-in features. I've been dealing with Adobe product for ages, and every single one of Adobe software can easily have panels docked anywhere as wish.
Also, in the waveform edit view, there is no way to display stereo track in a single row like a mono track.
mosocity's approach of using AutoHotkey's scripting to arrange panels is inspiring, it is truly a way of "Reverse to Revolutionize". I already have a third party snapping software installed called WinSplit Revolution, and I will use it to arrange and snap panels in BiaB, make the waveform panel always shown.
A Canadian music producer, singer songwriter, composer, and professional guitarist.
If you are going to use BiaB you will need to become a big fan of "BB & The Workarounds" as I'm usually the one the has to come up with workarounds BiaB is awesome how it can stitch sections together musically, it just falls short in the workflow compared to what can be done with those sections in a DAW. The way to solve the issue is: 1. Put a lot, lot more work into Biab (years ) 2. Get the BBPlugin working fast with Alt+F8 and without creating gigs of wav files. (could of been done by now) 3. Give the BiaB track data txt that will load all the tracks instantly into Reaper. (could of been done by now)
The only stereo files that display as mono are the overheads and room tracks in the Mutitrack drums.
<< Attached picture is exactly what I want to achieve. >>
It seems BIAB can do this now and have multiple docked screens. I may be missing something. I'll be glad to provide loading instructions if the images I've attached are what you're trying to get.
<< Attached picture is exactly what I want to achieve. >>
It seems BIAB can do this now and have multiple docked screens. I may be missing something. I'll be glad to provide loading instructions if the images I've attached are what you're trying to get.
Unless I'm mistaken, those aren't docked, they're floating windows placed on top of each other, i.e., the other panels don't shrink and allow the additional panel to share the space within the parent window.
I think the only window which docks like that is the mixer window, which can be docked and un-docked with the icon in its top-right corner.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
<< Unless I'm mistaken, those aren't docked, they're floating windows placed on top of each other, i.e., the other panels don't shrink and allow the additional panel to share the space within the parent window. I think the only window which docks like that is the mixer window, which can be docked and un-docked with the icon in its top-right corner. >>
You're correct. They're movable windows that aren't docked so they can be saved and reopened in new projects. But, from MusicVillain's statement in his initial post, it was unclear to me if he was aware at the time the Audio Edit Window is a movable window.
I wasn't sure if MusicVillain constructed his screen shot in BIAB or used the third party snapping software "WinSplit Revolution" he has installed.
My point intended is that BIAB can construct that exact screen layout he wants to display without a third party plug-in or auto hot-key scripting.
All of the external programs and screen shots mentioned may infer to many that BIAB doesn't presently have this feature and no workarounds are necessary. The thread's confusing.
A bit ... there's lots of it. Docking wasn't originally mentioned but came up later from when Musocity used the term. There's perhaps an ambiguity about what docking means. Please accept my apologies if you felt I was at odds.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
No Gordon, no offense taken at all. I think your point is spot on. The windows would need to dock in order to always open as a saved template. I think that's the ultimate outcome desired.
But replicating the Screen shot with the Mixer and Audio Edit window displayed 'as if' they were docked can be done today and is a feature. BIAB can "create a customized interface layout" and the original topic question is how to do it in BIAB.
The thread had drifted a little off topic. Musocity's demonstrations and images are relative, good alternatives, and possible future developments to improve the GUI. Maybe less confusing if they're mentioned as alternatives here and then post the greater explanation and details in the Wish List Forum.
"My point intended is that BIAB can construct that exact screen layout he wants to display without a third party plug-in or auto hot-key scripting. " You can manually move windows around, that goes without saying. I think if you used other apps this is the norm they dock, so you look for that when you use Biab. But to change layouts with one click with one little always on top box that helps BiaB to do so many things easily would have to be a no brainer for $0 and not waiting years for functions to be implemented. By his posts I think MV looks for the function he's used to in other audio apps but can't find them. Do PG ever look for things in BiaB that other apps have ? Do PG staff sit down and and actually do work in other DAW's to compare workflow. PG has so many staff compared to Reaper(2) and RapidComposer(1) but these give regular fixes, updates and improvements. You can't remain isolated and out of touch with other audio apps users use. So many of these missing things have been in other apps for over 20 years. For example non destructive editing, 24bit 48khz audio samples, vst sync, crossplatforms released at the same time. These are just industry standard things. Sorry I might gone on a bit but they are just recurring issues, please try not to take offense from it but look at it as free powerful advice that does not have to be paid for, I maybe brash but I care. I really don't do it for "ME", I have Track Injector I can do anything with that. I have seen the Win forum usage drop right off in the past few years, maybe from covid or retirement as most would have been older users ? As stated we don't want to see it go down like IBM or Kodak
<< By his posts I think MV looks for the function he's used to in other audio apps but can't find them. >>
Exactly. That was the point of my post. To tell him and others BIAB can do "Attached picture is exactly what I want to achieve."
Nothing more. I apologize if anyone thought I was upset about it.
<< Sorry I might gone on a bit but they are just recurring issues, please try not to take offense from it but look at it as free powerful advice that does not have to be paid for, I maybe brash but I care. I really don't do it for "ME",..." >>
I wasn't offended or put off by your posts. A large amount of what I've figured out about BIAB has come from your posts, images and expert advice. In this particular post, some things were a bit confusing, including my post phrasing about docking versus movable.
The original post title inquired how to create a Customized Interface Layout in Band in a Box? I agree there are many recurring issues but the topic had drifted a little off the specific BIAB technique question and could be confusing to some. I appreciate all that you contribute and was attempting to inform that BIAB can produce the desired screen. I agree that other software may have DAW features not found in BIAB, but that doesn't always mean that BIAB can't actually do that process. Don't overlook that PG Music does regular fixes, updates and improvements. Last year there were more than a few updates released. PG Music releases a major upgrade release yearly. Studio One is only at version 6. I agree with you and hope BIAB doesn't decline. I will say that although the Forum usage may be down, the number of registered users has steadily increased in the years I've been here.
After thoroughly reading through you guys' discussion, I still have one question unsolved.
Quote:
Unless I'm mistaken, those aren't docked, they're floating windows placed on top of each other...
Docking vs Floating My goal is to achieve docking without the need of external programs or scripting.
The problem with floating is, if you work on a full song with lots of chords in many rows, when you scroll down the chord sheet to the bottom, the lower part of the chord sheet is being covered by the floating waveform window, and you can't see your stuff.
Docking would not have this problem. But you can't do docking within BiaB.
A Canadian music producer, singer songwriter, composer, and professional guitarist.
You're correct. However, in the example posted, regardless the number of chords and many rows, floating windows don't present a problem with the example layout desired. Yes, the Audio Edit Window covers the bottom of the Chord Sheet, but scrolling the Chord Sheet reveals the lower chords and they can be seen clearly. The idea for docking the windows is a
For now I will just use a temporary solution of putting the movable audio edit window to a secondary monitor. Dockability will be a desirable feature in the future.
A Canadian music producer, singer songwriter, composer, and professional guitarist.
At the end of the day you can wish and hope then wait that one year it may be implemented, or make do or do workarounds.
This is not using the Track Injector GUI, you can just use 2 scripts in Reaper to get a track by sections instantly into Reaper, 1 will insert a new track then transfer selected BiaB track 2 will insert section riff of selected BiaB track into current track
You can set these to hot keys. All the issues you keep running into in Biab you would be better to play around with Reaper as I can't script it with FL Studio. Being able to do it all in a good DAW is what you really need for the work you do. There is no rendering to consolidated wav files that you need to wait for like the BBPlugin.
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BiaB is awesome how it can stitch sections together musically, it just falls short in the workflow compared to what can be done with those sections in a DAW. 
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