VKMAST ... You're very kind to have replied so effectively. I mainly wanted to say thanks, but also hope it didn't sound as though my opinion was the only one that counts. As you explained how SCS may have had Touch-enabled screens in mind, this helped the new large icons to make perfect sense.

However, just my opinion again ... Unless there are new functions requiring two-handed control that cannot be accomplished using a conventional mouse, a touch-type display thus far seems like something I'd have little use for. I suppose it depends on how someone prefers to interact with the software.

Thanks again!

Tony M.

Tony,
I agree entirely on the touch screens as such. I was probably the last one around here to get a touch screen phone :) Your opinions are perfectly valid. Thank you :)

I was searching for this today as I couldn't remember after getting it to work on my other machine.

There is a "simple edit mode" and "advanced edit mode". Advanced mode allows you to adjust the size of the timelines vs the preview screen like the older versions.

For the life of me I can't find how I got those two buttons to show up on the line below Project Edit View etc.... though.

In any case if you search for Advanced Edit Mode you can work MS13 just like the older versions.

Cheers,
Pete

Pete,
you're right of course and I believe most of us have found the Simple and Advanced Edit buttons on the Main Toolbar by now.
The OP had different problems like icons and other display elements though.

Has anyone actually tried any serious editing with a touch screen? I cant imagine doing anything but the most simple things without a mouse AND keyboard shortcuts.

Any news concerning this issue? I just upgraded to version 13, and the UI with huge icons and lots of empty space is indeed horrible. Especially the text below the icons is superfluous and distracting.

Also, I don't see a full-screen mode like in other applications, which gets rid of the Windows title bar.

On a 16:9 14" HD+ laptop screen, Movie Studio Platinum 13 is hurting my eyes: There is almost no space left for content.

Seen no news so far. I agree the text below the icons seems unnecessary (for no touch-screen users at least) when you get to see the text if you hover your mouse over icons. I also agree that with a small screen the new GUI can be a nuisance. Try to customize your layout as c3hammer suggests until they do something about this.

It seems Sony have gone the way of Apple, Microsoft etc etc etc etc. Put out software, ignore ALL complaints from customers and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

If you don't like the software offerings then you have to switch - or stick with the version you have already . . . that hurts the supplier, so hopefully they may address user-complaints. and suggestions... but try as I might I'm never able to discover if anyone's suggestion is now incorporated. ( Of course Co's can include fake names as is the case with much consumer advertising,,,).

Icons and Screens.
When I buy a 19" screen I expect a 19" picture - I don't want Microsoft, or Ubuntu to grab a thin strip at the top for their branding - and another at the bottom to start the PC . . . that is all nonsense as I can move the mouse to the extremes and expect that ribbon to appear.
The same issue applies to Movie Studio windows -
Take a look at the Preview window in v12 ( and similar in v10), where the actual screen area is cluttered by icon for "Properties" and the Start/Play buttons . . . when we have ( or should have...Sony please note) a keyboard that provides the Transport controls. The Screen should dispense with clutter that can be accessed elsewhere.
That's the only way to make a 19" screen-buyer happy.

Oh and please don't suggest that beginners would never get their PC to start, since for the first dozen Boots, the PC can boot to a helpful menu that allows them to get started. Win 8 is a nightmare of different size blocks all shouting to be useful and achieving little. The text is miniscule so you have to decipher the pictures...is this progress, NO.
-The alphabet was invented because ICONs only convey a very few ideas, Road-signs show where they help - and where they don't.

This FORUM is no better.... let me demonstrate...
Currently this EDIT screen is 2.25" high compared with the actual LCD's 10.25"
that is a huge level of visual inefficiency, making it difficult for many folks with impaired vision to get on with work.

SMS - brilliant idea.
I have complained to Sony many times about the tiny text in SMS "Show Me How" tutorials - what a brilliant idea, lost through making the text so small - sure it's probably a Microsoft feature which programmers must follow, but then surely someone has the ability to rewrite the routine so the text/box can be significantly bigger? When you move the mouse to perform the action - move the text box away from the region for action - simples!
If Microsoft really wanted to improve the Keyboard ( beyond the original), they could include a magnify button for whichever part you include in a box, drawn with the mouse. The Win-Magnify feature is v.difficult to enjoy.

Touch Screens:
Win8 and I guess SMS v13 were attempting to attract the new fad of Touch-Screens on mobile devices where there is no room for a full-size mech-keyboard. Sadly as others have experienced touch-control is not really good enough for precise Edits ( As things stand) and grubby fingermarks on your monitor is not a good idea.
There are many areas where Sony could improve the interface and moving things isn't one of them...unless as I suggested they are taken away to make the action area larger.

It's a pity no-one with clout ( Like SONY) makes a USB accessory keyboard which can have alternative face-plates ( cardboard?) which can act as transport controls and perform some basic Edit features - by using programmable LEDS underneath the keys can be colour-coded, or Flash when two options exist, etc. We all know these LEDS are very cheap - it just needs someone like SONY to make a Mindset-leap.
( It could even be a USB touch-panel, couldn't it? )
Sales of Consoles:-
( I suspect this would have zero effect on Game-consoles sales, in case you're worried)

SMS Text
+++This is an area I hate.
If you are trying to match a font ( say to something like a chocolate-bar, or letterhead, etc. ), the SMS text feature is a long draw-out disaster zone. (v12 specifically)
You cannot copy/paste - this is available on the most basic of wp software.
The long list of Fonts is tedious to say the least, when all I use regularly will be Arial and Times Roman ( These being the classic sans and serif - maybe Five user-chosen fonts should be in their own zone!).
When I type a word in the Text Frame why can't I run through the potential Fonts until the right font comes into vies, using the letters I have?
-This is necessary as some Fonts only have Caps, & may lose the dash and Pound or Dollar signs and so on. Also H and T are often specific in Lower-case
+++If Sony wants an alternative sort - I'll be happy to oblige.

For school physics use it would be nice to have a far-easier means of finding the right SYMBOLS - these might feature next to the ( above) five User-fonts box.

these are a typographical nightmare and I suspect SONY could sell a dedicated software package ( like they do with Sound Forge, DVDA, etc.)
... called "POSITORY" - from the word Compositor = the person that made up lead-type prior to printing. , . they knew their trade backwards (literally!).

.....Expect the above to appear again, if nothing changes....

I do hope v14 reverts to the established convention for keyboards and strip-out those unnecessary bits.

>>>I have complained to Sony many times...---<<<
Have you complained to Sony/SCS or only here? We're not Sony.
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/suggestions

I agree that we all need a good Editor.

I had Windows 8 with Vegas Movie Studio 11.0 and it displayed properly. When I wiped the HDD I had to go back to Windows 7 and the progam displayed everything way too big (like the project/edit/view/etc line across the top was half cut off). Here's what I did to fix it:

Start Menu > Sony > Vegas Movie Studio, right click the program and go to properties > click the Compatibility tab > check "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and choose your operating system in the drop-down menu (I don't actually know if you need to this step) > then check " Disable display scaling on high DPI settings"

That worked for me

Just upgraded from 12 to 13 and, like everyone else here, found the larger icons, toolbars unwieldy with no way to change size and eliminate the labels. Every version before this gave users this option as well as the ability to customize which icons showed and where. I don't like that you need to manually switch tools between edit and fade when one tool did both jobs before. I don't like that the ripple and snap icons are hidden in a dropdown menu.

They could've added these options in the advanced mode. Also, it could actually be in the "hidden" options (hold SHIFT while clicking Options > Preferences and a new tab labeled "Internal" appears amongst the other tabs). There are a ton of extra "expert" settings there but the functions of many of them are not obvious or intuitive.