Device Details

Wouaa ! Very good idea !
I usually use Audiofinder to browse my samples that way (sorted with macos tags) but your patch is even faster !
I have small improvements to suggest :
- play~ is only plugged in volume left inlet at the moment
- maybe a "grab sample" would be nice, and the ability to click on the timeline (for long samples)
- I think it would be cool if the patch opened in a new window, to see it no matter which track you are on
Thanks again !

@vingtdeux Yeah, I forgot to fix the output routing. :) I also thought about the other improvements that you suggested especially the playhead, just have to figure out how to implement it. What version of macOS do you have? Would be good to know it it works correctly on >= 10.15 Catalina systems.

BTW I tried to use dedicated sample management apps like Audiofinder but then I realised that my preferred workflow is to work with raw filesystem hierarchy, instead of managing dedicated library where every file is kind of "floating in the void" until I provide some filter terms. I guess that having files organised in the tree hierarchy provides better overall picture. IMO, the best combination would be to have filesystem hierarchy but with fast tag search. Finder has built-in preview but is kinda slow to work with, on the other hand the "column" view mode is really great for fast switching between different sample packs etc.

Added option to float the patch in a new window. I couldn't find any working solution for true floating window that stays on the top of Live window so its usability is somehow limited. If anybody has working example of such feature, please share. @vingtdeux what do you mean by a "grab sample" feature?

@mwicat You were fast ! Yes I just tested it on Catalina 10.15.7 and no problem :)

I agree with you, for me Finder is the best way I found to manage my sample library with tags and saved searches. I then use Audiofinder in "Finder mode", it's cool but kind of slow. There is also Snapper, which is very fast but a bit buggy with large lists of samples.
That's why your FinderPreview is very promising !

small things to notice :
- the floating window should stay when you change track (with "window flags float, window exec" in the bpatcher)
- no playback when I change a sample with "Reverse" on

Wow this would be amazing for WINDOWS as well to put less strain on the ABLETON INDEX

@WHZLY well if somebody is willing to turn this code at https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20040720-00/?p=38393 into external object that will output currently selected file on bang then why not :D I don't have Windows machine at the moment, let alone a programming environment for this task. Would be rather easy for somebody experienced with programming externals though, given that WINAPI solution is already provided.

@vingtdeux fixed bugs. I believe floating "bpatcher" object is not really possible since only window created from "patcher" object is willing to obey window flags. I was curious how far I can hack around this though, so in the end I added "detach" toggle to open normal window from bpatcher and "float" toggle to open floating toolbox window (like Live plugins) from patcher. No free launch for you though.

Firstly, there are now two patchers - one in bpatcher and one in ordinary patcher coexisting. I'm not sure if this won't open a new can of worms, although I've taken some measures against it like activating monitoring from bpatcher deactivates monitoring in patcher to avoid having two PreviewFinders. :)

Secondly, floating window means that it will float on top of Live window but will disappear when focus goes to another process' window (like the Finder's one :D). This is the same issue that happens with every VST plugin in Live so I don't believe that it can be fixed. That is why I implemented both options to "detach" the device and to "float" it.

@mwicat well done :)
It works very well for me.

Hm, I'm on Catalina... GUI shows up blank for me except Float and Detach, neither of which seem to do anything, and previewing audio files in Finder doesn't seem to work.