I’m presently still using WavePad version 3.x. So this is to answer a question that should behoove the NCH bean counters to ask: “Why don’t you upgrade to the new version of WavePad?”
Answer : The way the screen scrolls like a merry-go-round gives me a migraine that lasts for days.
There are many possible solutions. The simplest solution, since they already have the code for it, would be for the WavePad developers to include a “classic screen scroll” option that would work like WavePad 3.x and prior versions. The old code was at least tolerable because you could click the zoom-in then zoom-out buttons to center the screen and get rid of the merry-go-round effect. While not optimal, I’ve nevertheless quietly used this method for years without complaining about the cludginess of it. But in the present 4.x version, this is no longer a workable solution.
If the WavePad developers want to improve over both the classic screen scroll and the current merry-go-round nightmare scroll, then I think the best method would be to borrow the metaphor of scrolling a document a page at a time. When you page scroll a document, the screen page smoothly scrolls a whole page at a time. So, in WavePad, when the cursor reaches the end of the screen, WavePad should smoothly scroll forward an entire screen (or page, as it were), and the cursor should then be at the beginning of the new screen page. The Masters version could also include the option to assign keys, such as the page-up and page-down keys, to manually scroll through an audio file a page at a time (at least when the file is paused/stopped). It would also be nice to be able to assign key combinations (such as the control + page-up and the control + page-down keys) to manually scroll forward and backward a half-screen page at a time.
I recognize that there will probably be some who actually like the way that version 4.x presently scrolls, so my suggestion is to offer the different scrolling methods as an option that can be selected in the Masters edition, just as the color scheme can now be selected. Speaking directly to the NCH bean counters for a moment, I’d like to suggest that these personalization options are, in my opinion, what makes the WavePad Masters edition worth paying for to those of us for whom the basic version is otherwise all that is really needed. The Ford Model T concept of one size and color fits all only worked for Ford so long as it was the only game in town. But WavePad is not the only game in town. So it’s worth repeating: Personalization is worth paying for.
I’d be interested in hearing opinions, and hopefully some support from the other one or two WavePad forum users out there, for NCH to offer an alternative scrolling method of some sort to the current merry-go-round scroll. NCH is not likely to invest in any changes unless there is a show of hands, so if you don't like the merry-go-round scroll, or if you would like to see some other scrolling options, please say so.