Copy Regions Bug?

[nsmadsen]

Has anyone noticed how buggy the Copy Regions function is?! When doing sound design for a highly repetitive sound (i.e. a laser) I often make the sound once then use the ol' select, hit option to copy the region(s) to the next event. It works some of the time. The rest of the time it simply moves the selected region(s) instead of copying them. I know that I'm doing this right because the "+" icon appears on the hand the and "move regions" changes to "copy regions." It's highly annoying and slows down work flow.

[triplets]

I don't find it buggy.

You have to press down option before you drag the region.

Pilot error most of the time.

[nsmadsen]

Well, it's not pilot error in this instance. I do press down the option key before hand and I see the icons and wording change to Copy Regions. Then I move to the next desired spot and release. Sometimes it copies - other times it moves. If I wasn't seeing the "+" sign and the wording change to "copy regions" then I might agree with you. After all - at first I thought perhaps I wasn't being careful enough with the hot keys but since noticing it I've been very careful and observant.

[David Nahmani]

Then I move to the next desired spot and release. Sometimes it copies - other times it moves.

You have to release the mouse button before you release the option key.

 

To understand how it works, try this: click-hold the region, then press the option key: the help tag changes to "Copy Regions" and the hand gets the little + sign. Now continue holding the mouse button down but release the Option key: the help tag reverts to "Move regions" and the hand's little + sign disappears. You can press and release Option as many times as you want, and this behavior will continue: you can change your mind as many times as you want until you RELEASE the mouse button.

 

So in effect, in Logic, you can press option as many times as you want, it doesn't matter: the only thing that matters is that at the time you release the mouse button, option is depressed.

 

Hope that helps? Once understand how it works, copying, making aliases, etc.. will work consistently for you.

[nsmadsen]

Yes, I understand all of this. And this is exactly what I'm doing. I'm not pressing Option then letting it go then dragging the mouse. I'm holding down option (and I see the plus sign and the move regions info) the WHOLE time. Then I release the mouse and it moves the region instead of copying it.

[David Nahmani]

Yes, I understand all of this. And this is exactly what I'm doing. I'm not pressing Option then letting it go then dragging the mouse. I'm holding down option (and I see the plus sign and the move regions info) the WHOLE time. Then I release the mouse and it moves the region instead of copying it.

 

And at the time you release the mouse, you're still holding the Option key, only releasing it after you've released the mouse, correct? You don't mention at what time you release the option key.

 

The reason I insist is that in 12 years using Logic on many many different systems, and in 4 years teaching hundreds of students, I've never, ever seen Option-drag to make a copy fail. Not once. However I've seen many students fight with this as they believe they're releasing the Option key and the mouse "at the same time", when really 50% of the time they release the key before the mouse, and the other 50% the mouse before the key, which makes them think the behavior is buggy. Once they understand how to do it, they never have the problem again.

[nsmadsen]

I cannot say that I've been doing it 100% of the time but when I first noticed the oddity I started paying close attention to what my left hand was doing (with the Option key). And yes, to answer your question I wasn't releasing the Option key (to my knowledge) until after I had moved the regions and released the mouse.

 

I don't doubt your credentials or knowledge of the software. (I have your book after all! ) I'll keep an eye on it and see if perhaps I was unintentionally release the Option key early.

 

Thanks,

 

Nate

[David Nahmani]

I would recommend, from now on, keep paying attention every single time you do it, and exaggerate the operation: keep Option down for one more second after you release the mouse. See if the problem disappear. Then as you get more confident with the behavior of the software you can reduce the delay between releasing the mouse/the option key. To the point where someone sitting behind you would think you just released them at the same time - but YOU know you're not, you're releasing the Option key a few ms after the mouse.

 

If, however, you can reproduce the problem being 100% sure you were holding the Option key when you released the mouse, then you really have a problem with the software. But like I said I don't think that's the problem.

 

So anyway, keep trying and please let us know if you can make it work reliably 100% of the time after a while?

 

Best of luck.