Ok, I decide to give ACT another try. Bought a Korg Nanocontroller 2. Using the Korg editor I program the nano to send out cc12-19 on the sliders. This is an exact match for the draw bars in VB3 which I am demoing.
    i load up an ACT control and try to map to the sliders in the generic ACT controller. No dice, it appears that I have to use the rotaries. Ok, seems to work with midi learn. Slider 1 controls  left most drawbar and the rest follow from left to right. Save the project. Reopen and now the sliders work from right to left! And I cannot map any button pushes either. This is very frustrating. Another half a day wasted. I believe that all the relevant check boxes are checked etc.
i try this out using Studio One V 2.6, works like a charm in 10 minutes.
i almost always record many VstI's one at a time as a performance and want to use my FC1010 and the Nanocontroller in real time.
any ideas that I can try?
thanks
 
 

ACT mapping:
http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,13.0.html
 
Why you get reversed mapping after reopening:
http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,5.0.html
 
Recent discussion what can go wrong:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3325516
 
If you still want to go standard way without my plug-in:
http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,107.0.html
 
Different route if you want record VB3 (and other instruments): do not use ACT! Use MIDI CC messages directly. That is the only way how to get the information recorded into MIDI clip (with ACT you can record Track automations only). VB3 support MIDI learn, many other VSTi also. In case something is fixed, you can remap CC in Sonar using MFX (for example "CC Map" from http://www.tencrazy.com/gadgets/mfx/)

scottfa
... follow from left to right. Save the project. Reopen and now the sliders work from right to left! And I cannot map any button pushes either. This is very frustrating.

This is a known and reported bug (myself and several others did report that into the problem tracker nirvana months ago).
 
With evey monthly update I look for fixes related to ACT, but there has not been a single one this year. So I dare to say ACT is dead and abandoned.
 
However, several of the bugs we see are simple save/restore problems: it works the first time mapped, but when project is closed it gets written wrongly to the config file, so that upon restart all is messed up. I realized that when "debugging" the config file trying to understand why old mappings coming from X1/X2 days work but those since the VST3 days don't ...
 
So if you really want to fix that yourself, you could. "All you need" is understand the xml file and create a proper mapping directly in the file and do not remap via Sonar anymore ... of course, this can no longer be called active controller technology (ACT) but it gets your control surface working ...
 
<<I actually started doing this myself about half way through i.e. load all settings from xml into a DB, but never got around to finish it i.e. reassign and write correct syntax because I was still hoping for the ACT fix with the monthly updates ... I might do it eventually but that you means investing about 2 days to got through all plugs and create the mapping externally >>

Thanks for the responses. ACT is very important to me. It almost caused me to jump ship. After all the hoopla about "bug fixes" and "give us a year to see how we do" I decided to reup for another year in the hopes of some improvement in this area. I mean, it has been broken for a very long time. I figured with the EDM crowd needing it that it would be a priority. Sadly, Drum Replacers, Style Dials, Start Screens have Cakewalk's attention.
i am trying to spend less time on tools, I don't want to edit files etc! 
I have another 3 months or so before my yearly membership runs out. If I can I will wait for then to see some improvement. If none, then I  will be forced to change DAWs.

scottfa
i am trying to spend less time on tools, I don't want to edit files etc! 

I do not understand why you use Sonar (or any other DAW), it is all about using "tools" to edit (audio/MIDI) files
And in area of live playing there are better DAWs than Sonar, Sonar best sides are in other areas.
 
ACT is forking fine, once setup correctly. You try to use 2 devices, Behringer and Korg, producers of which have never bothered to look in Sonar direction. Are you expecting everything should magically work out of the box?  And about 10 minutes for Studio One... I can setup both in Sonar within 10 minutes. Till that is VST3, I can even do the mapping with ACT Learn. But sure, graphical editor (ACT Editor) is more convenient. XML editing is normally faster (at least for people which use text editors most of the time).
 
So, if you just need working system, there is a way. Less than "a half a day" long. If you want it better, please explain how (except VST3 bug). May be CW (or someone else) implement it.
 

With evey monthly update I look for fixes related to ACT, but there has not been a single one this year. So I dare to say ACT is dead and abandoned.

May be next year

Are you putting the NanoKontrol in the correct operating mode?
Per the Korg instructions, there's a specific operating mode it needs to be in, which involves certain keys being pressed on the NanoKontrol when it is first plugged in, when used with Sonar...

I'm not a huge fan of ACT, but I've made my peace with it by deciding what I wanted out of it and...uh...ACTing accordingly :) (FYI I always have found the Korg Nano controllers problematic to set up with SONAR, other controllers are easier for some reason.)
 
What I mean by that is I'm not really interested in mapping every control to a parameter and setting that up permanently. I've tried that approach with various controllers and various programs, and it always seemed like more trouble than it was worth. What I really needed was the ability to do quick assignments for adding expressiveness while playing a part, so I came up with an easier way to use ACT that works well for me. 
 
BTW Azslow3's controller plug-in is outstanding and comprehensive. In my ideal world, Cakewalk would take it, simplify it somewhat, and wrap a super-simple UI around it. Problem solved.

Rivers88: yes I know about the modes. I do not want it to control the transport so CC mode is what I am using, thanks for the suggestion though.
Azlow3: frankly I am getting tired of reading comments imply that users are lazy or whatever. You don't know me or how much effort  I have put into this project. I have used Cakewalk since before it supported audio and came on floppy disks. I don't expect it to work in 10 minutes but I expect it to work. No file corruption on saving, no dinking around on file structures etc. I have just decided after all these years that this is a priority for me. Enough of a priority that when another DAW can be set up in 10 minutes I have to compare that with Sonar. Thank you for the suggestions though and pointing me to those other threads.
    I can get it to work using midi omni so maybe using a separate midi track is the best option.
    A suggestion: the other DAW can start out with a "blank slate" where you create the control by moving it. You have 8 sliders, you end up with 8 controls. Easy and intuative. Also they connect the control with the VST by simply picking the control, moving slider and linking them. Simple, easy to understand and fast. No editing of files.
    If Cakewalk wants to  new users I don't think manipulating a with text editor is a workable approach
 

Mr Anderton:
thanks for the info. It was actually an old Sound on Sound article that I used to get this to work initially. I don't know about the Korgs being problematic. The nanocontroller2 is pretty dead simple with their editor software. It is really just putting out CC messages.
i have thought about the Azlow3 application, but frankly I am weighing putting the time into that or investing the time really learning another DAW. I currently own two other DAWs and can at least record in both so I won't start from ground zero.
i want Sonar to be my DAW, but I just going to pragmatic about it. I want to spend my time playing instruments via VSTIs. After twenty years as an Applications Engineer and then 15 years teaching Mathematics, I want to look at less technical ways of expression.
i will look at your article. Thanks for all the info over the years!
 

scottfa
I don't know about the Korgs being problematic. The nanocontroller2 is pretty dead simple with their editor software. It is really just putting out CC messages.

 
It was always the USB and driver elements that were a problem for me. I could usually get it working but could never remember quite how I did it...