How to make Logic auto-select channel when external instrument is selected?

Question

I recently upgraded hardware and now have to upgrade the OS 9 software (MOTU FreeStyle) I've been using and join the 21st century. I asked a Guitar Center employee about what package to buy and stressed that I wanted the software to auto-select the midi channel since that was a major benefit (for me) in using FreeStyle. I was informed that all of the newer DAW software did this (which made sense to me, after all FreeStyle was already at least 10 years old, although no longer under development (hence OS 9.) Logic Express was specifically recommended.
Sadly, I don't see this capability in Logic Express. I don't understand why, if I have 15 instruments set up, and I select a new one, I have to manually look at each of the other instruments (assuming I don't have their channels memorized) and see what channels have been used so that I don't accidentally reuse the same one for the new instrument. Doesn't the computer already know what channels are unused??
In FreeStyle could have 25 instruments set up for a 16 channel keyboard, and as long as there was never more than 16 voices playing at any particular time, the software just managed the channels for me. I don't know what happens if you go over 16 for a 16 channel instrument, I don't think I ever did (I never had voices cut out anyway.)
Not to berate Logic Express, there's lots of cool stuff in it that I'm looking forward to exploring, and it sounds like you have to jump through hoops even to get MOTU's Digital Performer to emulate the same behavior and I suspect it's as much of a hassle to set it up as to just do it on the fly (from previous experience of "what a salesman says" vs. "what is real.") I'm just trying to figure out how to make the computer do the computer work so that I can do the music work.
I have lots of partial (and even some complete!) projects to port over and not nearly as much spare time as I'd like to spend playing. I'd rather spend my meager spare time composing, not fighting with the technology.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
-David

Answer 1

Hi bunker,
I can't test it at the moment but I think that can be achieved by slightly changing the code like so:
*<script type="text/javascript" src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.4.2.min.js"></script>*
*<script type="text/javascript">*
*$(document).ready(function(){*
*$("td.GFPFilter span input").focus(function(event){*
this.select();
this.value = '';
*</script>*
Also, if you found my posts helpful or correct could you apply those labels to the relevant posts?
Cheers,
J
Edited by: J Kremer on 20-Apr-2011 19:23
Edited by: J Kremer on 20-Apr-2011 19:30