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v1.1 Beta: Improved Browsers

· 5 min read
Sam Windell
Sam Windell
Floe's creator

We've overhauled the browser panels for a more streamlined experience and expanded the documentation. Download the beta now and give us your feedback.

About the update​

Floe version 1.1 focuses on fixing the most common pain-points that users have reported:

  • The unintuitiveness of the presets, instruments, and impulse response browsers
  • Unclear documentation and installation instructions

We're happy to report that we've made significant improvements in both these areas, as detailed in the sections below.

Try it today​

These changes are available today as a beta version ahead of the stable version that will follow later. Give 1.1.0-beta.1 a try by downloading it from the Floe downloads page.

Read all about our beta testing process on the beta testing information page.

Please be aware that beta releases have a higher chance to contain bugs. They're not typically recommended for use in production projects. However, you can easily switch between stable and beta versions by installing the desired version over the top of your existing installation. Your settings, libraries, and presets will always be preserved.

We'd love your feedback​

Your input is crucial to help us refine these new features before the stable release. Here are some specific areas where your feedback would be especially valuable:

  • Load Floe and try to load a preset using the new browser - did this feel easier than before?
  • Try filtering the presets list to something specific (a preset bank, tag or folder) - did the behaviour of using the left panel to select filters and seeing the result on the right panel make sense?
  • Try to find multi-select filtering, either AND or OR modes - was it easy to find, and did it work as you expected?
  • Try navigating the browsers using only your keyboard - were you able to do everything you wanted?
  • Does the new feature to mark an item as a 'favourite' provide value to you?

Furthermore, it would be good to know if the 'uninstall' function for libraries and preset banks worked as expected for you.

We have a dedicated Github discussion where you can share your thoughts: Feedback for Floe 1.1.0-beta.1. Alternatively, you can reach out via email, social media, or FrozenPlain's forum.

What's new in 1.1.0-beta.1​

Browser overhaul​

The browsers for presets, instruments, and impulse responses have been redesigned for a much smoother and more intuitive experience.

See the new comprehensive usage page for the browsers that explains all the features in detail.

Before: Old browser UI

After: New browser UI

Key improvements include:

  • New 'cards' for sample libraries and preset banks. Cards show more information at a glance, they have unique visuals, and contain the associated folder hierarchy.
  • The default mode for filters is now single-select, simplifying the common case for most users. Multi-select mode for 'Match All' and 'Match Any' are still available via a menu, and now called 'OR' and 'AND' modes.
  • Selected filters now show as little pill-shaped tags above the results, making it easy to see and remove active filters.
  • Full keyboard navigation support: use arrow keys and enter, along with home, end, page up, and page down, CTRL/CMD + up/down to jump sections, and tab to shift focus between the filter area and results.
  • More compact layout overall. And for instruments, the separate tabs for Floe, Mirage or Waveforms have been combined into a single view.

Favourites​

The new browsers support favouriting presets, instruments, and impulse responses. Simply click on the star icon on any item, and then use the Favourites filter to quickly access your preferred items.

Uninstall libraries and presets​

You can now uninstall sample libraries and preset banks directly from within Floe. In the browsers, right-click on any library card or preset bank card to see the Uninstall option. For libraries, you can also uninstall them from the Info panel.

Our expanded uninstalling documentation explains the process in detail.

Other changes​

  • Bug fixes
  • Faster loading of audio data
  • Faster loading of background images
  • New concept of Preset Banks

See further details in the changelog.

Expanded documentation​

Along with the beta release, we've massively improved the documentation for Floe. We've filled in gaps and added new sections that guide you through key concepts alongside the existing reference material. These documentation improvements are often related to Floe's beta features and so are only visible in the Beta rather than Stable documentation (the dropdown in the top-right corner of the website).

Beta vs stable​

We have added infrastructure to release beta versions of Floe alongside stable releases:

  • On the website, there's now the ability to switch between stable and beta documentation using a dropdown in the top right corner.
  • There's a new option on Floe's preferences for Include beta version when checking for updates, which allows users to receive notifications about beta releases.
  • The beta testing information page has been expanded to explain all the details.