Loss of MIDI Controller "Focus" in X2

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dmbaer
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2012/11/23 17:58:19 (permalink)

Loss of MIDI Controller "Focus" in X2

First, I apologize if this has been discussed.  I couln'd think of any appropriate search terms to see if a previous thread existed.
 
X2 is doing something that X1 demonstrably does not.  Say you've got X2 up and set up so that a soft synth plays when you play notes on your MIDI controller.  Now launch another application (like the task manager).  That application has (QWERTY) keyboard focus.  But play a note on the MIDI controller and nothing happens.  Switch keyboard focus back to Sonar and sound resumes and MIDI input is once again recognized.
 
This isn't a showstopper but it's mildly annoying most of the time and very annoying when the application is something like the Focusrite VRM controller.
 
Is there some setting I can alter to restore the expected behavior?
 
Thanks.
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    brundlefly
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    Re:Loss of MIDI Controller "Focus" in X2 2012/11/23 19:04:12 (permalink)
    As mentioned in this thread:

    http://forum.cakewalk.com...?m=2450062&mpage=1

    I've had inconsistent behavior with this over several versions and two interfaces. Right now, SONAR X2 continues to let me play soft synths and echo audio input no matter how I change focus to another app. So it seems to depend on configuration or hardware somehow. This is with MOTU 2408 and MIDI Express XT interfaces.

    I've had the issue you describe in the past with my old E-MU 1820m, but I always attributed it to loss of audio output rather than MIDI control because, as the OP of the other thread mentioned, input echoed audio would go silent too.

    SONAR Platinum x64, 2x MOTU 2408/PCIe-424  (24-bit, 48kHz)
    Win10, I7-6700K @ 4.0GHz, 24GB DDR4, 2TB HDD, 32GB SSD Cache, GeForce GTX 750Ti, 2x 24" 16:10 IPS Monitors
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    dmbaer
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    Re:Loss of MIDI Controller "Focus" in X2 2012/11/24 14:57:02 (permalink)
    Thanks.  It probably won't do any good, but I think I'll log a bug report on this.
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    dmbaer
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    Re:Loss of MIDI Controller "Focus" in X2 2012/11/24 18:57:58 (permalink)
    By the way, you're right about it not being just MIDI input being ignored.  Both MIDI input and sound output are lost.
     
    I recall reading about an option ... maybe in Sonar, maybe elsewhere ... that specifies sharing the sound capabilities with other applications.  Does that ring a bell, and could that be something I should look into?
     
    Thanks.
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    brundlefly
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    Re:Loss of MIDI Controller "Focus" in X2 2012/11/25 02:02:16 (permalink)
    Yes, it's under Preferences > Audio > Playback and Recording. But I didn't find that it had any impact on this issue either way. I don't have it checked now.

    SONAR Platinum x64, 2x MOTU 2408/PCIe-424  (24-bit, 48kHz)
    Win10, I7-6700K @ 4.0GHz, 24GB DDR4, 2TB HDD, 32GB SSD Cache, GeForce GTX 750Ti, 2x 24" 16:10 IPS Monitors
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    dmbaer
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    Re:Loss of MIDI Controller "Focus" in X2 2013/01/13 16:09:23 (permalink)
    brundlefly


    Yes, it's under Preferences > Audio > Playback and Recording. But I didn't find that it had any impact on this issue either way. I don't have it checked now.

    Well, it turns out it does have an impact, at least on my system.  Without thinking about it too hard, it seems reasonable that the proper setting for keeping "focus" sould be to have share drivers enabled.  But upon a little more thoughtful analysis, it of course is just the opposite.  Don't share the drivers.  When Sonar looses focus it retains "ownership" of the sound drivers and both recognizes MIDI input and sends audio to the sound card.
     
    I thought I had it set properly (share drivers) so I didn't even bother to test the alternate setting.  But another recent thread on this subject stated to do just the opposite, so I tried that and my problem is solved.
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