I agree with your assessment that this would be a good thing, and don't believe it is currently possible to control. This is a thing that bugs me every session as well. I put it on my long list of "
things to improve is someone else doesn't get to it first".
For me, it's just a little time waster. Here's how my sessions typically start up.
I start up the scheduler repeating a job from last night to get more data:
- it slews to somewhere near the target and
- it then focuses (using whatever filter it used last, which is not the filter capture is planning on using next).
- it aligns, using some other filter (also last one used by align). It does appropriately move the focuser a little to compensate for the filter change before align starts.
- it starts up guiding (doesn't involve filters), then pauses guiding right away
- it starts up capture with a certain filter, likely not the one used in align, so capture initiates an "autofocus on filter change"
- focus runs using the filter capture wants
- capture and guide start up.
Clearly the 2 autofocus sessions are not needed. If the first AF and the align both used the same filter as capture wants, then the 2nd AF wouldn't happen. However, as the code stands, that capture session may not yet be started/loaded.
As to what you, Daniel, suggested:
the filter used for focusing and alignment be set to the current scheduled filter
At the startup, I don't know that there is a "current scheduled filter" defined. During the sequence, I believe Focus will do what you ask, but not Align.
But, I agree that if we knew what Capture will soon want (and we were OK with Align using that) then that would be the thing to use for Focus and Align.
Thanks for the suggestion!