Usability of Knobs
Posted: 07 Feb 2013 18:17
I've had a number of projects where my first thought for a particular control was to use knobs, but then I quickly switched to Fader/Slider after being annoyed at how they work, and I'm wondering if other people feel the same way about them.
My problem is that the gesture that it requires to go from 0 to 1 is clunky. I realize that this mimics what would be done with a physical knob, but it means that covering the full range by tracing a circle takes a lot of time. It can be a little easier by dragging up, then right, then down, but that's still a whole lot more work than a fader.
I've tried workarounds similar to http://liine.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=613, which work, but would it make more sense to have a mode for knobs where once pressed, movement up (or right) increases the value and movement down (or left) decreases the value. Velocity sensitivity would be a nice plus for this as well.
My problem is that the gesture that it requires to go from 0 to 1 is clunky. I realize that this mimics what would be done with a physical knob, but it means that covering the full range by tracing a circle takes a lot of time. It can be a little easier by dragging up, then right, then down, but that's still a whole lot more work than a fader.
I've tried workarounds similar to http://liine.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=613, which work, but would it make more sense to have a mode for knobs where once pressed, movement up (or right) increases the value and movement down (or left) decreases the value. Velocity sensitivity would be a nice plus for this as well.