I can't understand Smart Tool logic for midi editing. Note on is much more important than note off, it is important for every sound, and note off doesn't affect short sounds. But we are forced to draw note off every time, and have no tool or setting to draw note on. Most ridiculous it is in drum pane, where note off doesn't matter in 95% cases.

williamcopper
But entering notes in sonar, using a mouse, since x series takes about 3 times as long as it used to.

That's odd. I'm pretty sure that entering a 4/4 measure of notes still takes exactly two seconds at 120 BPM in Platinum, just as it did in S8. And that's constant, regardless of how many notes are in the measure. Maybe you need to increase your tempo...?
 
EDIT: Oh, I see, "using a mouse". Yeah, I find that painfully slow, too. Thank goodness for recording!

Ah, that's why midi drawing is so ugly, to stimulate users to do live recordings?

williamcopper
The draw tool, as currently implemented, is simply useless for speed unless the notes are all the same value, which in my music doesn't happen that often.   So I tend to use the Alt key...

Since most of the notes you want to enter aren't all the same "value" (I assume you mean duration), use the Smart Tool. Single-click, drag for duration. Short of SONAR psychically divining what you want, I can't think of a simpler way to enter notes of variable length then a single click and drag.
 
So what's your solution for a better way to enter notes of a variable length than single click+drag? I've asked you that in the past and you never answered, but maybe you've come up with an idea since then. If so, I'd like to hear it.

Adq
I can't understand Smart Tool logic for midi editing. Note on is much more important than note off, it is important for every sound, and note off doesn't affect short sounds. But we are forced to draw note off every time, and have no tool or setting to draw note on. Most ridiculous it is in drum pane, where note off doesn't matter in 95% cases.

You can't have a note on without a note off, it's part of the MIDI spec. Otherwise you'll get stuck notes. There are two ways to enter a note off. You can specify where it is by a drag to the desired note-off location after a single click, or have SONAR add a note-off automatically, without your having to do anything, by a single click with the Draw tool. This produces a note of a pre-defined duration.

williamcopper
And, as I ws getting back to work and using the Alt key, was reminded of this:  some wacko at CW decided that a good sequel to Alt-Click with the smart tool would be the scissors tool, so you can't adjust the end of a note with the smart tool without releasing Alt, then waving the mouse away from the note to get rid of the scissors, then reclicking the note to lengthen or move it. 

 
Well, think about it for a second.
 
 
If you want to adjust the end of the note, then why are you using the Alt key with the Smart tool? Just use the Smart Tool and click+drag.
 
Presumably most users are aware of the fact that click+drag is the way to create a note with a user-defined note-off. So why would they use the Draw tool? To create multiple notes with the same duration, either by a single click per note, or a click+drag to enter multiple notes with one motion.
 
When you create a note of a fixed length, the most likely operation you'd want to do next if it wasn't to enter another note would be to modify the duration of the note by cutting it, adjusting the end, or erasing the note. I believe Cakewalk rightly assumes that most users are smart enough to use the Smart tool if they want to enter a note with a variable duration. Therefore, if using the Draw tool to enter a note, it's unlikely you'd then want to adjust the note-off time - you would have just used the Smart tool in the first place. So, what are the most likely things you'd want to be able to access easily if you had the Alt key held down because you were using the Smart tool to draw a note of fixed duration? Split the note, or delete it. 
 
You complain that you have to click to drag the end when using the Alt key with the Smart tool. If you don't want to do that, use the Smart tool. If change your mind and realize you were using the Draw tool when you should have been using the Smat tool, you have a way to do that - lift your finger off the Alt key, then click and drag.
 
No matter what you do - click and drag, cut with the scissors, or delete - you're going to have to click. Otherwise SONAR won't know what it is you want to do.
 
I've taken the time to learn how to use the Smart tool in a facile and efficient way, and as a result, find it on balance much more efficient overall than the way things were done pre-X1. Obviously you don't, but if you actually want to effect change, it would be helpful if you could propose an actual alternative single-click note entry behavior so people could evaluate whether it was actually better. 

Most things I need to draw is drums and arpeggios, where duration is fixed. For other parts it might be easier to record and then to edit. Draw tool is completely useless, because you can't edit note after draw without switching to other tools.
And it doesn't give one simple behavior, that I desire. I need left click to put note, move it without releasing mouse button back or forward, and edit it after releasing . And maybe Alt+Click+Drag to alternatively draw notes with durations. And options to switch it, and edit mouse functions.

And what the reason to draw durations with click+drag in drum pane with show durations off? It just make random durations which is not visible.

Just few small improvements in core functionality could make Sonar so much better. There is similar theme on the forum started every month for last 5 years, more than 50 threads I guess. Some people are still on 8.5.3 just because of it. Some have left sonar because of anger that Smart Tool caused for them. It really make some people unhappy. It has nothing to do with learning how to use it. It is just against the logic in some use cases, and people who don't face it can't fully understand the issue. Imagine that you want to program drum machine or groovebox step-sequencer, but you can't just press button to put the note. But you have some choices: to double click it, to hold alt key on the computer keyboard, or switch drum machine in another mode, where you can put note, but can't delete it.
 

Adq
Most things I need to draw is drums and arpeggios, where duration is fixed.

 
Okay, so the Draw tool is ideal for that.
 

For other parts it might be easier to record and then to edit. Draw tool is completely useless, because you can't edit note after draw without switching to other tools. And it doesn't give one simple behavior, that I desire. I need left click to put note, move it without releasing mouse button back or forward, and edit it after releasing.

 
Why not just click where you want the note to start in the first place? And to show just how subjective some of these requests are, if that behavior was implemented, based on his comment about objecting to releasing the mouse prior to doing an edit operation, williamcopper would likely complain that this was a stupid workflow.
 

And maybe Alt+Click+Drag to alternatively draw notes with durations.

 
Instead of alt+click+drag to make the Draw tool act like the Smart tool, I think it would make more sense to use the Smart tool and make it act like a Draw tool by using the Alt key as needed. Or enter all your notes with the Draw tool, then switch to an Edit tool and edit them.