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Click in arrange window to move playhead


Raw Dog

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This topic was talked about in this thread: viewtopic.php?t=41278

 

However, I don't think it was posted here in the suggestions section, so I am posting about this topic here.

 

I would like it to be possible to click in the arrange window to move the playhead to that position. It wouldn't be suitable for this function to be available by clicking without pressing any modifier keys, so I suggest making this function available by using command-click. Currently command-click is used for the secondary tool, so that would have to be converted to something else, maybe command-shift-click.

 

This improvement would make my workflow so much easier. Currently, when I am doing a lot of editing with the cursor in the arrange window, I have to move the cursor all the way up to the bar ruler, which is not very big, in order to click to move the playhead. This is really annoying.

 

I understand that there are other ways of moving the playhead, including:

- Click and drag the playhead itself.

- Rewind or move forward by division, bar or 8 bars.

- Go to selection start or end.

- Go to last locate position.

- Play from left window edge.

- Make a marquee selection, then go to marquee start.

- Go to left or right locator.

- Scrub rewind or forward.

- Go to position.

- Go to previous or next marker.

- Go to marker number

 

These tools are great and I use them a lot. However, none of them would satisfy me as much as a "Click in arrange window to move playhead" function.

 

Of all the things I would like to be improved about Logic Pro, this is top of my list.

 

P.S. I posted this suggestion to Apple's Logic Pro feedback page.

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The main difference would come in when I want to move the playhead while logic is already playing. Using the marquee method, I would have to do three things: command-click to make a marquee selection, then space to stop, then space to play from the marquee position. If I were able to command-click anywhere in the arrange window to move the playhead to that position, I would only have to do one thing: command-click to move the playhead.

 

Also, if you make a marquee selection, all future times you press play will cause logic to play from that marquee selection. If I had made a marquee selection and I wanted to press stop and then play from the current playhead position, I would first have to either press command-shift-A to deselect the marquee or click anywhere in the arrange area to get rid of the marquee.

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I've realised another reason why it's annoying to have to use the marquee method to move the playhead.

 

When recording vocals, I like to record 5 takes so that I can take the best take for each part of the song. For each 3 - 4 seconds or so of the song, I click each take in succession, then I can press undo or redo to quickly switch between each take for that part of the song. After each time I press undo or redo to switch to the next take, while playback is still on, I click in the bar ruler to move the playhead back to just before the part of the song I'm focused on so that I can hear the next take. If I were to move the playhead by making a marquee selection and pressing the space bar, I would have to make a marquee selection each time I click the next take. If I make one marquee selection, it won't stay there if I press undo or redo to switch to the next take. I therefore would have to make 5 separate marquee selections. If I could move the playhead by command-clicking in the arrange area, I would still have to click once for each of the 5 takes, but I wouldn't have to press the space bar at all, let alone twice. So, again, the main difference is that I wouldn't have to press the space bar.

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  • 6 years later...
  • 1 year later...

Shift + clicking will move the play head, but you MUST click an empty space in the arrange window. I prefer to enable Marquee tool click zones:

Logic Pro > Preferences > General > Editing (tab) > Marquee Tool Click Zones (checked)

Now, clicking/dragging the bottom half of a track or region makes a Marquee selection. You should see a vertical line on the track, or a highlighted area if you click and drag. If you hover and you will see the pointer become a cross (Marquee tool). 

Next: right click (or control click) the play button in the transport, and make sure "Play From Marquee Selection) is checked. 

Now when you click the bottom of any track, regardless of whether or not there is a region in it, the play head will start from where you clicked.

Another advantage of using this method is the increased zooming accuracy. Making a Marquee selection forces Logic to zoom in/out on the place you clicked. I like using alt + shift + scroll so I don't have to move my right hand off of the mouse. However, this holds true if you zoom using the track pad or cmd + arrows.
 

Here are the disadvantages/things to get used to:
1. You have to deselect the track (click the top half), or make a new marquee selection, to allow the playhead to start from a different position. Inevitably, you will start playback from the same spot like 6 times in a row by accident.
2. Double clicking splits the region, but that's one reason they made cmd + z.
3.  This doesn't work when clicking in an empty space where there are no tracks because there is nothing for the Marquee tool to select. This is when I use shift + click.
4. Selecting entire regions and clicking and dragging to move regions takes some getting used to. Eventually your brain will default to clicking the tops of regions. 

I know this is an essay of a post, but as someone who learned production in Pro Tools, this is something that has frustrated me about Logic for years (especially zooming). That said, I will take all of the disadvantages of this method over having to click the tiny ruler every time I want to playback from a new spot. This method has probably saved weeks of my life. Hope it helps y'all!

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  • 2 months later...
On 12/3/2022 at 11:56 PM, Mitchell K said:

Shift + clicking will move the play head, but you MUST click an empty space in the arrange window. I prefer to enable Marquee tool click zones:

Logic Pro > Preferences > General > Editing (tab) > Marquee Tool Click Zones (checked)

Now, clicking/dragging the bottom half of a track or region makes a Marquee selection. You should see a vertical line on the track, or a highlighted area if you click and drag. If you hover and you will see the pointer become a cross (Marquee tool). 

Next: right click (or control click) the play button in the transport, and make sure "Play From Marquee Selection) is checked. 

Now when you click the bottom of any track, regardless of whether or not there is a region in it, the play head will start from where you clicked.

Another advantage of using this method is the increased zooming accuracy. Making a Marquee selection forces Logic to zoom in/out on the place you clicked. I like using alt + shift + scroll so I don't have to move my right hand off of the mouse. However, this holds true if you zoom using the track pad or cmd + arrows.
 

Here are the disadvantages/things to get used to:
1. You have to deselect the track (click the top half), or make a new marquee selection, to allow the playhead to start from a different position. Inevitably, you will start playback from the same spot like 6 times in a row by accident.
2. Double clicking splits the region, but that's one reason they made cmd + z.
3.  This doesn't work when clicking in an empty space where there are no tracks because there is nothing for the Marquee tool to select. This is when I use shift + click.
4. Selecting entire regions and clicking and dragging to move regions takes some getting used to. Eventually your brain will default to clicking the tops of regions. 

I know this is an essay of a post, but as someone who learned production in Pro Tools, this is something that has frustrated me about Logic for years (especially zooming). That said, I will take all of the disadvantages of this method over having to click the tiny ruler every time I want to playback from a new spot. This method has probably saved weeks of my life. Hope it helps y'all!

Thank you for these fantastic tips!

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