Sample preview for lib.fileselect (FEATURE)

[hallmar]

I was thinking that a sample preview feature for lib.fileselect would be a great addition to a lot of scripts. Especially Timber.

My idea of the process workflow would be:

-open load file with lib.fileselect
-turn E3(Or E1?) clockwise to initiate sample preview
-turn E3(Or E1?) counterclockwise to stop sample preview
-everything else as is, K2 to select sample, K3 to cancel
-Might be cool to have a "turn Ex to preview" in the upper right corner

As far as the max length goes of sample preview I think 20 to 30 seconds should be enough?
For what I'm doing musically I'd be fine with just previewing longer samples in Matron and just being able to preview shorter samples(under 20 seconds maybe) in Norns. But that's just for my purposes.

See this thread if you want to see the Lines thread that prompted me to post this feature request:
https://llllllll.co/t/norns-sample-load-workflow-improvement/27296/18

[tehn]

I could see adding a preview feature--- it'd need to use the TAPE playback, and I'm not entirely sure about the state of the current TAPE API.

• E3 is good for start/stop.
• be sure to stop on selection or exit
• there's no reason to limit the sample time
• please, no "turn E3 to preview" text, which breaks the UI pattern of the system
• if TAPE is already being used upon entering fileselect, preview functions should be disabled

And then thinking out loud: there are some possible issues with levels, ie, TAPE could be turned all the way down, or routed through reverb. I'm not sure it makes sense to save/set/restore levels/routing upon entering/exiting fileselect (that is, again, if TAPE is not being used on entry)

All this said, I'm not sure if your proposal was to add a matron-based separate file player (which is more ambitious, but would have more flexibility of course.)

[hallmar]

• ok no problem with the "turn E3 to preview" text, when you mention it, it clearly doesn't make sense in regards to the UI pattern
• super happy about sample time

My proposal is agnostic to which method to choose though, my mention of Matron is only there because there is already a feature in Matron that allows you to preview samples via Matron at norns.local.