Improved Search Info

infuzion · 13 Feb 2008

If you're looking at modules, you can enter dates, versions, etc into the HelpText. It would be handy if Primitives had version number, since things can change so much.

theun · 13 Feb 2008

aliasant wrote: I search for Sin. Result is 9 different things.

I tried this and found 25 primitives and modules 😉 .

There is a workaround as long as modules are concerned. If you go to the program files/outsim/synthmaker/modules directory you'll find the individual .hom files and are able to check at least the date of creation. Probably I'm telling you nothing new and I will admit immediately that this is a cumbersome solution, but it helped me out a few times.

I 'll try to explain my own working method.

First, it's nice if you can find something by searching, but if you use something rather often it's better to know where it is. If you're working as a cook in a restaurant you'll work a bit quicker if you know by head where to find your knives, etc. At a certain moment I found it took me too much time searching for a specific primitive or module. So I decided to spend some hours playing with the group filters (and the component reference). After having done that I understand much better the reasoning behind this group structure. And it became much easier for me to find a component.

Whenever I decide to save one of my own modules I try to give it a name that makes sense e.g. "distortion module (stereo)" and add a date. Sometimes I make several updated versions in a row on the same date, in that case I add even subversion numbers. And later on when the final version of the module is ready some clean up should be done (one of my weak points, resulting now in 25 matches for "sin").

Further I do not like to mix up the "official" SM primitives and modules with my own, or with stuff I took from forum or wiki. And I try to not change anything in those groups, to be more or less sure, that I have the actual versions of the basic SM modules in my folders.

So I added some xtra groups in which I save "non-official" modules. I made about 9 xtra groups to be able to split (this part of) the toolbox up in parts that work for me: GUI elements, DSP elements, workflow stuff, etc.

Further, I think it's a good idea to be a bit restrictive on saving modules to the toolbox. It is not necessary to store everything that may be of some use later as module in the toolbox, why not keep it in an "osm" archive somewhere on your disc?

I mean the more we store, the more difficult it becomes to find the few goodies we need.

Well, this is something that I apparently struggle with, myself!

regards