• SONAR
  • Sonar is great, but Cakewalk Commander is still rudimentary and inept as on the first day!
2016/03/16 19:48:59
n13L5
1) if your internet ever cuts out, It just dies in a fire, can't do a thing, even if you have your complete set of downloads.
 
2) "Install All" does not install all.  It installs all of some small subsection, meaning you still have to baby sit installations for hours!
 
3) Even when "verbose install" is turned off, it'll not only throw little dialogs up in the center of the screen, where YOU are trying to do something else, like some work...  it'll also every so often have a box where you must click "OK" for it to even continue. And of all the little boxes, those are the ones that don't force focus, but sit behind whatever software you're using.  So "Commander" just sits there silently, while you think its taking care of business.
 
4) given this needlessly lengthy process, Its really bad, that it again waits for you to click proceed, before it goes through checking again and again and again if there's been any new updates after every single component installation.
Guys, you're not coming up with new updates on an hourly basis, so can we stop this nonsense?
 
5) I don't know if there's going to be a single Cakewalk Customer that is going to watch this entire process without trying to do something productive with their time. So we move the Cakewalk Commander window to one side of the screen, where we can see it but where it doesn't disturb our work.  And what happens every time Commander finishes checking for updates?  It automatically and annoyingly centers itself in the screen, so we have to move it out of the way again every time.
 
6) It doesn't think I own ZT3A 2, possibly because I bought that on Steam. Can you make it recognize our software no matter where it was bought, please?
 
How can the same company who makes the greatly streamlined Sonar UI produce an installer like this?
It doesn't even deserve the name "assistant", calling it "commander" is preposterous.  It commands nothing, its just primitive and the opposite of practical too many details.  Even the launcher/patcher of Star Citizen's early alpha beats it. 
 
A one star Chinese hand-vacuum from Amazon with 2 minute battery life would be less annoying.
 
Calling any program like this "commander" is like a misleading mission statement.  If it was called "Cakewalk Butler" then the programmers would have the right idea about how it should work in their minds from the start: an obsequious servant program aiming to please by doing its thing unobtrusively.
 
I'm sorry to pan your installer, but can you please just fix and streamline it before I pull all my hair out?
 
 
How about this for an incentive: If you fix it, I'll renew my subscription  :P
 
 
 
I had to install all my Cakewalk stuff 3 times recently, because first my SSD died from one year of disuse while I was traveling.
 
After I installed everything, I foolhardily accepted Microsoft's offer to upgrade my system to Windows 10. Aside from annoyingly hiding many settings in the bowels of Windows, Windows 10 also broke my Sonar installation, so I installed it again.
 
Then I started to notice severe issues with Firefox and its extensions, that quit working under Windows 10. After spending about a week trying to clear up the issues, I found it to be impossible, and since I need both browser and add-ons in order to do my work, I had had little choice but to revert back to Windows 8.1.  Surprise, this move required yet another new install of Sonar and all its adjuncts, not to mention all those huge XLN drumkits and keyboard things...
 
 
 
2016/03/16 20:08:12
John
Some of it is due I think because CW wanted to have as much flexibility in how users can install Sonar as possible. Many DL the various parts and install them themselves. Command Center is not for everyone. For me for example it works fine. For others its too confining for them. CW had to balance various interests of its users against ease of use. I think they did a good job. Yet there is still room for improvement.  
2016/03/16 22:35:16
RSMCGUITAR
Many of the problems you're talking about have more to do with Windows, IMO.
Also... It's called Cakewalk Command Centre not Cakewalk Commander.... Though that might be a cool mascot
2016/03/16 22:46:26
Geo524
I agree. CCC is prehistoric. Man it kills me that it it continuly runs through all your programs after an update. I'd like to see it work similar to XLN's Audio Online Installer. Painless. That said I love Sonar!! 
2016/03/17 04:21:48
Tom Riggs
If you are running the current version of CCC it only checks for updates once every 24 hours. At least it does for me. 
 
The only real issue I have with the CCC is #1 on your list. My internet can be very flaky at times so I no longer use CCC to download the files. I download manually and place them in the CCC download directory, then run CCC for the install so it can check verify the file and activate things.
 
 
2016/03/17 09:22:57
bandso
I also think that the "Update All" button/link should actually install the entire update. If I'm reading those two words wrong then my apologies, but I do think I've read them correctly and understand their meaning.
2016/03/17 10:28:38
fireberd
"Update All" means, to me, "update all".  But that is not what happens in the CCC.
 
2016/03/17 11:28:53
scook
Tom Riggs
If you are running the current version of CCC it only checks for updates once every 24 hours. At least it does for me.

This is controlled by the "Min Update Interval (hrs)" on the Options tab of the C3 settings page.
2016/03/17 12:16:15
tenfoot
Geo524
I agree. CCC is prehistoric. Man it kills me that it it continuly runs through all your programs after an update.




I don't use CCC much as I install manually, but I did notice when I tried it that changing the setting SCook mentions above (Min Update Interval) stops this from happening.
2016/03/17 13:00:19
bapu
n13L5
How about this for an incentive: If you fix it, I'll renew my subscription  :P

Calling that incentive is preposterous.
© 2026 APG vNext Commercial Version 5.1

Use My Existing Forum Account

Use My Social Media Account