Sonar's staff view has limits, but fortunately, those limits only impact how music is displayed, not how it is played back.  With that in mind, the staff view can be viewed as a MIDI editor, and if you know what you're doing, you can write complex music using it.  Here are some tips:

1.  If you want five 16th notes in the space of 4, (assuming your timebase is 480 ticks per quarter note) simply divide 480/5 to get 96 ticks per note. Enter the first note using step entry and change that value to 96, and have the step recorder advance the clock 96 ticks.  Do the same for the remaining notes in the group.  Will it look right?  No, it won't.  Will it play back accurately?  Yes, it will.  Now, if you import that file into Sibelius, you'll see it exactly as it should look:  5 16th notes with a 5 and a tuplet slur over all of them.  The same holds true for 7 eighth notes in the space of 2 quarters, etc.   Sonar can play back all of these complex note groupings accurately and correctly.  With detailed sequencing of attacks, releases, articulation and dynamics--and a good sound library--you can get those 5 sixteenths to sound natural, fluid and expressive, as though they just slid off the hands of a masterful player. 

2.  If your snap function seems funky, choose the dotted whole note (the largest note-value in the drop down list) and then click on a quarter, half or whole note.  This resets the snap function.  IN ORDER FOR THIS TO WORK, YOU MUST CHECK THE BOX IN THE DROP-DOWN NOTE-VALUE LIST THAT SAYS "LAST TOUCHED" (last option on drop-down menu)

3. You can have multiple staff view windows open at the same time.  This is a great feature for orchestral scores.  I usually have at least 4 docked staff views open and locked; winds, brass, percussion and strings, and then a 5th one that I use for different combinations of instruments.  If you use the staff view a lot, this is one of the best features of Sonar.  I think the limit on the number of staves in each window is 23 or so.  Finally, Sonar does not do well with screensets and the staff view, and/or my system has a graphics bug that many other systems don't.  If I change screensets to one that does not use staff view, and go back to staff view, the instruments on the right side (track pane) will be out of order.  My solution:  I don't use screensets very often.  I use hot keys to call up whatever window I need, i.e.  F2 event list, F3 meter, F4 tempo, F6 controllers., etc.

These symphonic movements were composed in Sonar, the midi file exported to Sibelius to create the score:  www.jerrygerber.com/symphony9.htm

Jerry
http://www.jerrygerber.com

  

Hey Jerry,  Thanks for the tips, I always look forward to your posts.
 
I have one question.  You have been saying this for years and I can't figure how you do it, or if I misunderstand.  How do you get multiple Staff views open?  I can get Multiples staffs in one view, but that would be really cool to be able to have multiple staff views docked.
 
Thanks!
 

Good tips. Thanks for sharing

Jimbo 88
Hey Jerry,  Thanks for the tips, I always look forward to your posts.
 
I have one question.  You have been saying this for years and I can't figure how you do it, or if I misunderstand.  How do you get multiple Staff views open?  I can get Multiples staffs in one view, but that would be really cool to be able to have multiple staff views docked.
 
Thanks!
 

Hi Jimbo,
 
Go to VIEWS and open the staff view and drag it to the dock.  After docking, lock it by right-clicking on the tab.  Now choose which staves you want to show in that tabbed view.  Then, go to VIEWS again and choose another staff view and dock that as well, and then lock it.  Choose which staves you want visible in that view also.   You can repeat this as often as you like (I usually don't have more than 5 staff views open at once, not sure if there is a limit other than screen real-estate).  If you use screensets often, remember that leaving the staff views and going to a screenshot without the staff view will cause the order of the instruments to get jumbled (the instruments in the track pane list to the right of the staves, not the order of the staves themselves).  This happens on my machine, perhaps there is a problem with the way Sonar communicates with my graphics card, may not be a program bug. 
 
J

Another tip: a bug will often prevent you from right-clicking a note to get the properties.  We have discovered that this is almost always when you are right-clicking the lowest note in your score.  The work-around is to put a very low note at the first of your score.  When you are finished, you can delete the note.  (Of course, if it is out of range of the instrument and keyswitches, you can just leave it there.)
 
This seems simple but many of us spent a combined total of many hours trying to click and edit notes in vain.
 
I do almost 100% of my arranging in staff view, so every shortcut is crucial and every problem is a nightmare.

konradh
Another tip: a bug will often prevent you from right-clicking a note to get the properties.  We have discovered that this is almost always when you are right-clicking the lowest note in your score.  The work-around is to put a very low note at the first of your score.  When you are finished, you can delete the note.  (Of course, if it is out of range of the instrument and keyswitches, you can just leave it there.)
 
This seems simple but many of us spent a combined total of many hours trying to click and edit notes in vain.
 
I do almost 100% of my arranging in staff view, so every shortcut is crucial and every problem is a nightmare.

 
Another workaround for this same issue as konradh describes is when you have a note on the bottom space of the staff or lower (treble clef=d4 or lower), click slightly to the left or to the right of the note, and that usually will open the properties dialogue box.  If that doesn't work, make the staves bigger, OR just use the Event Inspector (I always have mine on the control bar).  That way, you don't even have to bother clicking on a note, just select it (lasso it) and its properties will appear in the Event Inspector; from there you can make the changes you want.

Helpful thread, thanks!

very helpful - thanks!

I never thanked you Jerry for the tip you gave...locking the staff view and then opening up other staff views.  I have used that everyday the last couple of weeks...so hey THANKS!
 
and konradh great tip also!  I've been using your tip in reverse.  Chords on the top staff sometimes get hung up, so I put a real high note on the first beat.  Works so well.
 
Thanks guys!

Thanks all, will try!