Anderton
 
If you don’t have Bluetooth you can buy an optional Bluetooth USB dongle for $15.

• To audition a slice prior to dragging it into something, click the slice to select it, and then hit Shift + Space Bar.
• If you encounter clicks at the beginning and/or end of slices due to cutting on non-zero crossings, no problem. Select all the slices, and add a very short (a few milliseconds) fade time to the beginning and end of one slice—all selected slices will now have short fade times.

ljb500
if you download uvi workstation (which is free) it will map the slices of an acid loop straight to the keyboard, also
 
if you have battery you can load the acid loop straight in and it will map the slices straight to the pads.
 
alternatively you could also use the tx16 sampler (which is also free) and drag your loop in, set hit points and select map slices to the keyboard to play out the slices.
 
no need to be tabbing, splitting, dragging each individual slice to each individual pad in session drummer or matrix view if you use any of the above.

Anderton

ljb500
if you download uvi workstation (which is free) it will map the slices of an acid loop straight to the keyboard, also
 
if you have battery you can load the acid loop straight in and it will map the slices straight to the pads.
 
alternatively you could also use the tx16 sampler (which is also free) and drag your loop in, set hit points and select map slices to the keyboard to play out the slices.
 
no need to be tabbing, splitting, dragging each individual slice to each individual pad in session drummer or matrix view if you use any of the above.

Okay, but you're missing the point. I have Battery (I wrote the manual for it), and know how to do automatic mapping. But I don't WANT slices mapped automatically to a keyboard or drum pads, particularly because I know how to create Acid loops that can stretch over a very wide range compared to many commercial libraries. This involves putting in extra transient markers in ways that I've discussed previously. Ultimately it takes me much more time to fix "automatic" mappings in order to turn them into something useful, as opposed to just getting it right at the source.
 
For example with a sustained sound that has transient markers in the middle to prevent "wobble" when stretching, there's no way automatic mapping will preserve the sustain. So after doing your "automatic" assignment you have to go to the source file, open it in your DAW, isolate the sustained section, cut it, delete the spurious clips that spilled over to other pads, then replace the first slice with the file you just created.
 
Using the method described in the tip, you can see in the Loop Construction view exactly where the slices fall, define the slices exactly as you want, and audition an individual slice easily before deciding whether to drag it into a pad. Furthermore, with SONAR's loop construction window, you can alter the gain, pitch, and panning of individual slices prior to slicing up the file. With some playback instruments you can do this at the pad itself, but it's better to make these changes in the context of hearing them with their associated slices, rather than creating a sequence to play back your pads, then going into each pad and making the adjustments after the fact.
 
Yet another advantage is that by working on the file itself in Track View, you can eliminate clicks from non-zero crossings simply and quickly. There's no need to set attack or decay times for individual pads.
 
The easiest way to do something is not always the best way. I'm sure there are many SONAR users reading this who have wanted to be able to exert far greater control over handling slices and assignments than the options you've mentioned, and now they can.