Question

With the growing popularity of small form factor keyboards such as the 60% mechanical and others, now would be a perfect time to modify the default shortcut schema found in Studio One.

Currently, the primary tracking control keys are found on the Numpad, However one of the primary features of most newer keyboards is the lack of a Numpad. The current placement of the control schema can increase the level of difficulty for both newer users and current users adopting newer hardware. This problem also affects the keyboard layouts currently found on most mobile devices such as laptops.

Here's a list of shortcut key changes I believe to be beneficial to newer / smaller form factor keyboards as well as mobile devices.

Backspace     Stop or Return to Zero. I prefer the behavior of Stop.
+    Playhead Fast Forward
-     Playhead Rewind
)     Goto Loop End
(     Goto Loop Start
*     Record
\     Loop

Effectively using the above symbols however bound to       backspace  =  -  0  9  8  \    Non Shifted 

 

This setup moves the primary control of the playhead into a linear field, making it easy to control and manipulate the workspace single-handedly.

Currently, the Top numb row has no default keys bound to the following keys.  =  -  0  9

While Backspace is currently bound to Delete, I believe repurposing this key wouldn't have a negative impact since all keyboards already have a dedicated delete key.

Also, while the * key is currently bound to the Listen function, I believe this function may better serve by giving up its binding to the Record function. The * symbol has been the flagship of the record function since the inception of DAWs.

If given the time, I hope that the development team trial the suggested changes. I believe you may find this more linear schema to feel not only more intuitive but also more compatible across a wide range of form factors as well as mobile platforms.

Answer 1

Your proposed changes would interfere with the keys I use for my custom shortcuts.

Personally, I choose laptops with 10-keys so they work efficiently with Pro Tools and Studio One shortcuts.

Is there a reason you don't just do the proposed re-mapping yourself?

Steven

Answer 2

I have personally re-mapped my keys as I have suggested.

The suggested changes are not for myself. The idea is that a lot of newer hardware lacks the 10-key. It feels counterintuitive to me to continue shipping a default layout that uses a keyset that is becoming less used over time.

I believe that the suggested change uses a keyset that is more universal than the Numpad / 10-key.

Imagine a new user adopts Studio One, during this adoption this user is watching a tutorial and is told to press any of the keys currently on the 10-key. Now imagine this user is on hardware lacking a 10-key.

I simply believe the suggestion provides a more universal alternative to the currently shipped layout.

Answer 3

Just to add my two pence - I can understand the need when a keyboard doesn't have a numeric keypad, but remapping keys can be done by the user very easily. Perhaps you could actually create the mapping file and allow people to import it - very easy to do.

But, I'd have thought the additional expense of anything from £15 up for a full-size wireless keyboard would be worth the added convenience of having the full range of shortcuts available.