Its sort of an odd duck the idea of this thread. We're talking about a DAW a creative tool. Its used for the creation of various media for various use. I am one that has often thanked a user for finding a bug and reporting it.  I do not recall anyone going out of their way scouring the forum for bug reports even ones that are no longer bugs simply to bolster their case against the DAW in question.
 
The energy used could have been focused on learning it and working with it instead of finding old bugs from times past that have no merit now. Even if they did one has to wonder why? To what end? Does the OP believe that CW will see the light and revert back to a version that hasn't been made for years? Is it to better the current version? Or is it the inability to adopt new, and for most, very productive ways to do things? Is this thread to inform the membership of long standing bugs or is it a way to avoid buckling down and put the work into finding the best way to proceed with using the DAW?
 
I ask these questions to help me understand why the thread was posted in the first place. The initial questions were answered back on the first page. What is going on here and why is it so long a thread?
 
   

Tripecac
Okay, specific problems which are plaguing me:
 
Here is the most annoying new bug caused by Sonar Platinum:
1) http://forum.cakewalk.com...-Premium-m3357021.aspx
 
Here are some of the annoying glitches/limitations introduced in Sonar X1/2/3 and still present:
2) http://forum.cakewalk.com/Note-Properties-How-to-view-them-in-the-Piano-Roll-View-m2687513.aspx
3) http://forum.cakewalk.com/Adjusting-Key-for-multiple-tracks-m2330322.aspx
4) shift-right click in track view doesn't always toggle between envelopes and clips  (sometimes it gets ignored)
 
Here are some limitations which have been around forever:
5) http://forum.cakewalk.com...to-Preset-m697992.aspx
6) http://forum.cakewalk.com/Can-you-insert-new-track-into-existing-track-folder-m2103971.aspx (posted by someone else, but I am annoyed by this problem too)
 
Each of the above glitches/limitations annoys me on regular basis.  There are other, "little" annoyances, and the abandonment of CAL and Studioware development, but those don't bother me as frequently.  The above 6 are the most annoying, because they waste my time each time I use Sonar.
 

Clicking through these complaints it seems that most are not bugs so much as the way Sonar now works not suiting your particular workflow habits, some of which are over ten years old. I had habitual working practice's in older versions of Sonar too; the smart tool right click that you mention is a good example. I would say that annoyed me for a day or two, then I had a new habit, which I now much prefer. 
 
I understand that some people are not fond of change and choose to continue using a version of sonar that they are famiiar with very productively. It just seems to me  a strange thing to upgrade to a new version of something and complain because things are different, then set out to discourage others from trying it.

tenfoot
I understand that some people are not fond of change and choose to continue using a version of sonar that they are famiiar with very productively. It just seems to me  a strange thing to upgrade to a new version of something and complain because things are different, then set out to discourage others from trying it.

I'm surprised more people don't avail themselves of trying the demo versions of programs.

I ask these questions to help me understand why the thread was posted in the first place. The initial questions were answered back on the first page. What is going on here and why is it so long a thread?

It is long because people keep posting to it.
 
I didn't intend for the topic to get this long and yacky.  I was just trying to post a quick follow-up to my own initial questions (quoted below) in case someone with the same mindset/concerns as me was looking for "tie-breaker" advice:

Does the new version of Sonar significantly improve the UI for those of us who are mostly dealing with soft synths?

My answer: No.

Does it increase the customizability?

My answer: No.

Does it give us back some of the control that X1/2/3 took away from us?

My answer: No.

Does it improve your overall workflow/efficiency?

My answer: No.

Or does it just add more "stuff"?

My answer: Stuff.
 
I didn't expect, or want, other people to "clutter up" the topic with their arguments about how accurately my EXPERIENCE with Sonar aligns with their own. 
 
Of course, for people who love the new Sonar and want to see it continue along the lines it's going, it's naturally in their best interest for the company to earn as much money as possible.  And the way they can do that is by finding "naysayer" topics like this one and cluttering them up to the point where they're just noise.
 
And, indeed, this topic is just noise right now.  The Sonar fanboys ruined it.  They can pat themselves on the back.  Clap.  Clap.  Clap.
 
The Cakewalk forums weren't like this 10 years ago.  And Sonar wasn't like this 10 years ago.  And Cakewalk wasn't like this 10 years ago.  Times change, but my music making habits and preferences apparently don't.  I'm still annoyed by the same limitations, still hoping that Cakewalk will some day fix "my" issues, still wishing that Sonar would change for me rather than vice versa.
 
So, re-read the topic title:

   Soooo...... Anything new and improved for those of us still using X3 (and missing 8.5.3)?
 
Obviously, I was trying to limit the conversation in this topic to people who were still using X3 and missing 8.5.3.  Unfortunately, a lot of unlikeminded people decided to crash the party.  It was kind of rude of them, if you ask me.
 
But maybe they see the forums as "their party", and my topic was an unwelcome guest.
 
People get territorial, even over bits and bytes.

That is why this topic is so long.

There's definitely a lot of unnecessary posturing on both sides here. I can understand where you feel not enough has improved for you to justify the upgrade. You're free not to. I also appreciate you pointing out and describing bugs or things you'd like to see differently. But you posed the question on an internet forum and you can't complain if not everyone comes to the same conclusion as you. Everybody's workflow is different. For ME, lots has improved.

First your post above is right on the edge of being in violation of the CoC. It implies I asked those questions when I didn't except for the very first one.
 
Sonar Platinum offers far more than 8.5 did in every area of the program. MIDI has been improved with many bugs fixed and the PRV is now far more usable then it was before with the ability to zoom in more then was possible before. Its also easier to use with the new tools within it. You can't have used Platinum and not noticed these very important improvements.
 
Even the long neglected Staff view has had some fixes and improvements.
 
 

Tripecac
I didn't expect, or want, other people to "clutter up" the topic with their arguments about how accurately my EXPERIENCE with Sonar aligns with their own. 

 
Well, you should have called dibs on having the last word. 
 

Tripecac
Of course, for people who love the new Sonar and want to see it continue along the lines it's going, it's naturally in their best interest for the company to earn as much money as possible.  And the way they can do that is by finding "naysayer" topics like this one and cluttering them up to the point where they're just noise.
 
And, indeed, this topic is just noise right now.  The Sonar fanboys ruined it.  They can pat themselves on the back.  Clap.  Clap.  Clap.

 
So it's not that folks genuinely disagree with your premise, it's a conspiracy to help Cakewalk rake in the dough. Gotcha.
 
People are going to disagree with any premise you stake out on the internet, and they usually don't have secret agendas for doing so. They will mostly just disagree with you.
 

Tripecac
The Cakewalk forums weren't like this 10 years ago.  And Sonar wasn't like this 10 years ago.  And Cakewalk wasn't like this 10 years ago.  Times change, but my music making habits and preferences apparently don't.  I'm still annoyed by the same limitations, still hoping that Cakewalk will some day fix "my" issues, still wishing that Sonar would change for me rather than vice versa.

 
The entire planet and everything on it wasn't like this ten years ago. As you say, times do change. Bugs are bugs and agitating for getting them fixed is one sure way to help improve things and I applaud that effort. But don't expect a massive cry of hurrahs when you're trying to rally support for rolling the clock back ten years to a look and a way of working that pretty much the entire software industry has abandoned. 

 

Tripecac
So, re-read the topic title:

  Soooo...... Anything new and improved for those of us still using X3 (and missing 8.5.3)?
 
Obviously, I was trying to limit the conversation in this topic to people who were still using X3 and missing 8.5.3.  Unfortunately, a lot of unlikeminded people decided to crash the party.  It was kind of rude of them, if you ask me.
 
But maybe they see the forums as "their party", and my topic was an unwelcome guest.
 
People get territorial, even over bits and bytes.

That is why this topic is so long.

So you claim this thread as your territory and them complain when others get territorial? 
 
You were on much firmer ground when you spent time detailing the issues you experience in SPlat. It's not too late for you to reclaim that high ground, though. Why don't you spend some time sharing with us a forward-looking perspective on how the features you're having troubles with might be improved? I am assuming here that improving things is what you're really after, right?

Tripecac
I didn't expect, or want, other people to "clutter up" the topic with their arguments about how accurately my EXPERIENCE with Sonar aligns with their own. 
 
The Sonar fanboys ruined it.  They can pat themselves on the back.  Clap.  Clap.  Clap.
 
Obviously, I was trying to limit the conversation in this topic to people who were still using X3 and missing 8.5.3.  Unfortunately, a lot of unlikeminded people decided to crash the party.  It was kind of rude of them, if you ask me.
 

So you want opinions as long as they match your own? A public internet forum may not be the place for you. People tend to clutter this place up with all kinds of pesky new ideas and perspectives.
 
Still, at least you didn't lower yourself to petulant attacks on the forum.
 
 

John, sorry if the format of that post implied I was answering your questions; I was answering my own.  I have edited the post to make that clear.
 
LOOK GUYS... I wanted to restrict the discussion to those people who were also missing 8.5.3.  I wanted to find out if Sonar Platinum gave us "old schoolers" enough flexibility to get certain features to work more like Sonar 8.5.3 than X1/X2/X3.  I DID NOT want to hear from any of the people who prefer X1/2/3 to 8.5.3.  Yet, those people kept on (and keep on) butting in. 
 
I have heard it all before: newer is better, changes are "improvements", and it is we who need to change to suit Sonar, and not vice versa.  Okay, fine guys, that is your opinion.  But it's not mine.
 
I don't agree with the pro-Xers, and I don't want to hear from those people in this topic.  I want to hear from people like me, who are wishing Sonar would move in the direction of being more customisable, more scriptable, and more personalisable, which seemed like a direction Sonar could have been heading, BEFORE the X series came out, and, for me, X and Premium seem to be moving in the "wrong direction". 
 
If you don't share the "wrong direction" viewpoint, then clearly you are not someone who is "missing 8.5.3", and IMO shouldn't really be posting in this topic.  Isn't your time best spent elsewhere?
 
If someone had posted a topic saying "Sooo... any good candidates for those of us who still undecided [and missing Perot]", do you really think the opinions of fervent democrats or republicans would be welcome in that topic?  Of course not.
 
Can you guys please try to understand and respect my intentions here?  I was trying to talk to people LIKE ME, who preferred 8.5.3 to X, and were wondering if Platinum could be used to bring back some of the 8.5.3 "feel".  I thought this was pretty clear by the topic title, and the content of the original post.
 
Was I not clear?

This discussion is so long in the tooth that it ought to be getting dentures by now ;)