Don’t see how it’s far out to use preview when the question was “working with automation” !
Automation is supposed to be used with a control surface in my opinion, as it’s designed for it.
Mouse IS a workaround, actually, for those who don’t have control surfaces… IMHO of course.
But that’s why I was asking if the idea was to use automation via all the regular modes from automation panel or simple mouse-keyboard automation drawing.
Anyway, I think there are indeed lots of options to choose from.