Linked, grouped tracks: make new "link group/instance" when duplicating group

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When should tracks join a "link-instance"?

Manually: only when user chooses by selecting "link/unlink tracks"
1
33%
Automatically: when duplicating/copying tracks, duplicated tracks come in the same instance (as is now the case)
0
No votes
Consecutive: when duplicating/copying tracks, the new track(s) are put in a new instance
1
33%
Custom: new linking method "link track settings" where user can link-instance properties
1
33%
 
Total votes: 3

Oscard
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2012 8:20 pm

Linked, grouped tracks: make new "link group/instance" when duplicating group

Post by Oscard » Thu Jan 05, 2023 11:21 pm

Hi,

Since Live 11 has brought us linked tracks as well as take lanes, life's been easier, huray!
However using these features in depth has also caused me quite some trouble, multiple times.

The following recent recording session I did might be a clear illustration of what bothers me and I think could way more convenient if implemented slightly different, or ideally expanded to more customization.
I was multitracking solo viola for extra texture, so a lot of overdubbing, three channels per take (1/2 st, 3 mono, 4 mono). These tracks were put in a group and the individual tracks were linked (some basic on-the-spot editing was required and more convenient linking the tracks).

However, when duplicating such a group (saving time on routing, track names, etc.) the tracks in this new, duplicated group are still linked to the tracks in the previous group. Consequentially, when deleting the clips/takes on this duplicate group, I only figured out afterwards that all the clips and takes on the tracks of the first group had also been deleted (I had the original group collapsed). The newly recorded clips also were recorded on the previous clips, since they had also been armed simultaniously.

The linking feature is great, but the default behaviour of automatically linking duplicated tracks to the same "link group/instance" feels as a very trivial choice to me. I can imagine there are scenario's where this could be desired, however in multiple occasions this has resulted to me having to manually put all the recordings back into place, where it's sometimes unclear where one started to record, etc.. For me, having to manually unlink and then (re)link the duplicated tracks doesn't follow the organic, spontaneous workflow Live offers and can is counter-intuïtive in a creative (recording) workflow.

Summary regarding the feature request:
- Change default behaviour of duplicated linked clips to clips being seperately linked again, in their own "link group/instance"
- (opt.) Offer the choice of this behaviour with for ex. an "Options - duplicates retain links" menu item.
- (extra opt.) Offer an optional dialogue box with "link settings", like the "quantize settings". There, one could mark some basic track-link related checkboxes, like "I/O, editing, mixing". These settings would then affect only the selected linked tracks.
- (extra to the extra opt.) Add to this the elswhere requested hotkeys for track linking (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=246437&p=1806849&hi ... t#p1806849) in the same way "quantize settings" is also an optional dialogue box.

Cheers!

ps: I used the wording "group/instance" because the manual refers to "link instances", but "link groups" seems more clear in explaining.

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