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IDProjectCategoryView StatusLast Update
0001849OpenMPTFeature Requestpublic2025-03-27 08:21
ReporterRazi Assigned To 
PrioritylowSeverityminorReproducibilityalways
Status newResolutionopen 
Platformx64OSWindowsOS Version10
Product VersionOpenMPT 1.31.13.00 / libopenmpt 0.7.12 (upgrade first) 
Summary0001849: Hex instrument numbers
Description

I've been debating whenever to make this or not to make this.

I know what I am asking of is an extremely big thing, this wouldn't be easy to do at all and would likely require a lot of time to implement.

TagsNo tags attached.
Has the bug occurred in previous versions?
Tested code revision (in case you know it)

Activities

Saga Musix

Saga Musix

2024-12-22 11:49

administrator   ~0006273

To quickly summarize from 0001798 what the challenges are: For this to be useful, this can't just be about the pattern editor column itself (hence I changed the title). This feature would have to change the instrument number representation everywhere in the program: Tree view, instrument editor, note properties dialog, find / replace, comments tab. And since the instrument column may also contain plugin indices (for PC events), this would probably also imply that plugin indices need to be hex as well, which would add even more places to this list.

Razi

Razi

2025-03-26 13:06

reporter   ~0006334

Sorry for late reply, but does it truly have to be everywhere? Can't it just be in the sections that people are most likely to see?

Saga Musix

Saga Musix

2025-03-26 22:34

administrator   ~0006335

Of course I could do half-arsed solution. But this is something that matters to me: I don't do that. Because in the end a half-arsed solution almost always means this:

  • I have to spend more time on questions why things are inconsistent or don't work as expected
  • Fully implementing the feature one day will take more time when incomplete support has to be reworked.

There's no such thing as "sections people are most likely to see". Everyone sees something different, and everyone will spot the inconsistency in a different place. There would be questions such as "I want to automate a parameter of plugin 13 but if I enter PCs 13 into the pattern editor, a different plugin is automated". And it would get even worse if only half of the places where the plugin number are shown are updated to respect this setting.

In the end, the most important thing remains: An instrument number is just an identifier. I can see why you'd want to enter hexadecimal volumes because there really is a difference to that. But where's the difference in decimal instrument identifiers? You could write an XM file in FT2 where after every 10th instrument there are 6 empty instrument slots and you would end up with "decimal-looking" instrument numbers even in FT2. Most of the time you don't even have to enter instrument numbers: You browse your instrument list, pick an instrument and now all numbers are entered automatically next to each note. Whether they show up as "16" or "10" doesn't matter.

I see no value in spending hours on implementing something that in this case doesn't even have cosmetic value, as far as I'm concerned.

Razi

Razi

2025-03-27 08:21

reporter   ~0006336

Okay, I understand.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
2024-12-22 11:43 Razi New Issue
2024-12-22 11:47 Saga Musix Summary Hex instrument column => Hex instrument numbers
2024-12-22 11:49 Saga Musix Note Added: 0006273
2025-03-26 13:06 Razi Note Added: 0006334
2025-03-26 22:34 Saga Musix Note Added: 0006335
2025-03-27 08:21 Razi Note Added: 0006336