Control Bar tips

Hey everyone,

I've seen some posts regarding some not being able to show the entire Control Bar and/or about the Control Bar being too big for their liking. I thought I could offer some tips to help out.

Now of course we'll be looking at the Control Bar as we go forward and striving to improve it and of course user feedback is a big part of this. But in the meantime, here are some things that might not have occurred to some of you yet and hopefully this post helps.

You may be surprised that you may be able to do without many of the CB modules quite nicely, especially by using the new Key Clusters and shortcut commands. You may also be surprised to learn that you might be able to hide the CB completely much of the time (explained at end of post) Let's take a look at each module individually.

Tools: Not really necessary to show as a floating version can be accessed instantly wherever your mouse cursor is by pressing "T" or by using your middle mouse button. Also the Tools can be accessed using from the Function keys starting at F5 respectively. They follow the exact order of the Tools themselves so remembering the shortcut is easy. So ask yourself, do I really need to display this module at all?

Snap: Probably important to keep. F12 turns Snap on and off but if you regularly change snap settings you'll probably want to keep this module visible.

Transport: Also probably important for many cases, but remember you can still see a time display over the Track Control Area and Space Bar starts and stops and metronome can be controlled completely with the "F3" Key Cluster.

Loop: The "L" Key Cluster controls loop so you may not need the module at all. Select an area and hit "Shift+L" and the loop area will be applied to that area. Simply hit "L" to turn loop on and off. Unless you need a text readout of the loop start and end times you probably don't need to see this module at all.

Mix: I think this one is useful to see and personally I would keep it visible.

ACT: If you don't use MIDI controllers then you can definitley hide this module. If you do use MIDI controllers it might be helpful to have it visible, but if all your controllers are dialed in and working properly (and you don't see yourself needing to make frequent changes) then you could probably hide this module if you find yourself space constrained.

Screensets: Screensets can be accessed by the qwerty keys 1-0, so the module is probably not necessary once you get your Screensets dialed in the way you like. It's also possible to copy Screensets using CTRL+1-0

Performance: This one is totally subjective. It's nice to have and you probably have room for it, but if your system is running smoothly and you're not hitting a wall or troubleshooting or benchmarking, it's arguably not necessary to have visible at all time.

Punch: Arguably not necessary as you can select any area in the timeline and right-click to set punch points. The punch markers can be adjusted by dragging them and record options (including punch options) can be accessed now by right-clicking on the record button in the transport. If you have room for it, great, but if not you can easily get along without it.

Select: Personally I don't use it, but for those of you that like to punch in your selections numerically it can be helpful/necessary.

Markers: Markers can now be dropped/added with the logical key command "M". They of course also show up visually in the timeline so they can be manipulated that way. If you are short of room, ask yourself if you really need the Markers Module.

Event: Depending on the type of work you do and/or how your work, this one can be handy for some people and completely unnecessary for others. Also, the new Inspector might give you enough information. YMMV on this one.

Sync: If you aren't syncing external video or audio gear this module isn't necessary.

No Control Bar at all?: "C" opens and closes the CB. In doing this over time, I've found that I often keep the CB closed much more than I would have previously thought. You have time display above the Track Control area when the CB is hidden and tools can be accessed wherever your mouse is via the pop-up tool HUD. Beyond this, as you can see from above, many of the controls are pretty simply accessed via the new key commands and clusters. So try it. Try just closing the CB while you are creating and see if it's really necessary for you to look at it all the time. The UI is super clean and even less distracting without it. Now of course there are times when you'll need it - perhaps when mixing or bouncing between tracking and mixing, etc. But you might find that hitting "C" is your friend and gains back valuable screen real-estate and makes for an even cleaner workspace without really sacrificing control.

Excellent post.  I've already eliminated a few boxes and this list gives me more to eliminate.

Thanks very much for taking the time Brandon, for I know you must be very busy.
Since you come on trips to Europe  for Sonar, then I have a question.
I have a PC running XP pro in French with an AZERTY keyboard and the short cuts are not the same as in QUERTY keyboard ex: Console view is alt+2 but on my keyboard it's alt+é.
Should I just learn them that way or is there a way to correct them ? or may be it's just the way it is.

PS: I use X1 in english.


awal

Scott Lee


Hi Braydon,

thanks for the tips. I know it will help allot of folks discovering the X1 features.

I have already binded all those commands to fimular  key clusters for a left handed user.

Im Always keeping the Control Bar off screen with one exception. Like allot of other sonar users have pointed out, we use the Event Inspector constantly. So what was a much easier process in 8.5, now has allot more steps in the process. I am constantly clicking on midi clips and changing VEL DUR values threw the event inspector, so that means hide/unhide control bar/extra clicks constantly. Not very efficient nor workflow friendly.

It would be nice to either see the modules "dockable", a much smaller slimline version of the Control Bar, or possibly a Event Inspector removed completely from the Control Bar section and possibly added to the "multidock gui tab" that is taking up room without function.

+1000
 

Another very helpful post about customizing X1.  Thanks for it, Brandon.

Randy B.

It would be nice to either see the modules "dockable",

 
Yes !!!!!!!  + 1000 

Mod Bod

bitman


I like the big fat CB. I have a big wide screen LCD and am get-ting old-er...

At 48, I appreciate not having to squint.
You at cake should give us 2 or maybe even 3 possible CB sizes.

I didn't want to be the first to admit that I was old say that I appreciated the fat Control Bar with the big icons too.

Yes Im getting old too uh, in that group also. And I do like the ability to press C and hide /show CB! That is an improvement!!

Mod Bod

I didn't want to be the first to admit that I was old say that I appreciated the fat Control Bar with the big icons too.

When you reach a certain age, you just realize that you don't need to prove your manhood by staring at tiny little text and buttons.

Nice ones, Brandon.  I'm sure over a little more time a lot of this stuff will become second nature.  But it is important to know "other ways" people do things.

@

thank you, very helpfull

I used to find it very useful up until Sonar8, the fact that one could use Tab and Shift-Tab to move between input fields while keying in values in the Event Inspector.

Now if for e.g. I want to change pitch and velocity of a note, I have to click in "Pitch:" and then click again in "Vel:".

I know it's a small thing, but in a day's work, it would save huge amounts of time if one could just hit Tab to move from one input field to the other.

  Thanks for the useful  tips,Brandon.