Feature Proposal: Vertical Cast Preset Bar (Left of Gutter)

[hneal98]

Feature Proposal: Vertical Cast Preset Bar (Left of Gutter)

Summary

Add a vertical Cast button bar that displays the project’s presets (up to 15), sorted alphabetically, as colored buttons. This allows users to see the available cast at a glance and select the active preset with one click. A compact N / E / S / D management row beneath the bar will handle preset creation, editing, saving, and deletion — replacing the right‑side preset dropdown.

Motivation

• The current preset dropdown hides the available cast and slows switching.
• The gutter already shows who is speaking; the cast bar shows who can speak.
• Switching presets becomes dramatically faster with visible buttons.
• Most narration projects use a small cast (often 1–2 voices for long stretches; rarely more than ~15).

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Proposed UI

Layout

[ Cast Column ] [ Gutter Column ] [ Editor ]

Column Headers

• Cast — above cast button bar
• Gutter — above gutter markers
• “Current Chunk Editor” shifts slightly upward to align the header row.

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Cast Buttons

• Styled like gutter markers: preset color background + high‑contrast white text.
• Alphabetical order.
• Maximum: 15 presets.
• Click → sets active preset (same as current dropdown).
• Selected state visually distinct.
• Tooltip: full preset name (and optionally voice ID).

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Management Row (N / E / S / D)

[ N ] [ E ] [ S ] [ D ]

Button	Color	Tooltip	Action
N	Blue	New preset	Create a new preset seeded from current voice settings.
E	Amber	Edit preset	Load selected preset into voice controls.
S	Green	Save preset	Update selected preset or create new.
D	Red	Delete preset	Confirm, then remove selected preset.

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Voice Settings & Save Behavior

• Right panel continues to control voice, rate, pitch, volume.
• These values are saved into the selected preset when pressing S.
• N seeds a new preset from current voice settings.
• If no preset is selected:
  • E and D disabled.
  • S optionally limited to “create new”.

Preset color is fixed at creation.

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Right Panel Changes

• Keep: Voice / Rate / Pitch / Volume controls.
• Remove: Preset dropdown + Save/Delete buttons.

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Behavior Summary

Action	Result
Click cast button	Sets active preset; becomes target for E/S/D
N	New preset from current voice settings
E	Load selected preset into voice controls
S	Update selected preset or create new
D	Delete selected preset
Load project/chunk	Cast bar rebuilds (alphabetical, ≤15)
Add/rename/delete preset	Cast bar updates

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Roles

• Cast bar → who’s available + preset management
• Gutter → who’s speaking on this line
• Voice panel → live voice settings saved into presets via S

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Technical Notes

Likely files involved:

• MainWindow.xaml — cast column, headers, button list, N/E/S/D row
• MainWindow.xaml.cs — selection logic, handlers, refresh on collection changes
• Preset.cs — name + color binding
• PresetGutter.cs — if active preset must sync with gutter
• Project/chunk JSON load path — cast bar uses same preset list as dropdown

Bind cast bar to sorted preset collection (max 15).

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Acceptance Criteria

• Cast bar appears left of gutter with headers.
• Buttons use preset color + high‑contrast text; alphabetical; max 15.
• Clicking a button selects active preset; selection is visually clear.
• N/E/S/D row implemented with correct colors and tooltips.
• Save dialog unchanged; persists voice/rate/pitch/volume.
• Bar updates on project load and preset changes.
• Right‑side preset dropdown + Save/Delete removed.
• Voice controls remain unchanged.
• No recoloring after creation.

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Out of Scope

• Recoloring presets after creation
• Drag‑and‑drop reordering
• Showing more than 15 presets
• Changing gutter marker format or meaning

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Design Intent (One Line)

Gutter = who’s on this line; Cast = who’s in the story; N/E/S/D = manage the cast; voice sliders define what Save writes into the selected (or new) preset.