SilkTone
Location location location! So many of these issues come back to C3. I know I've been complaining endlessly about it, but if it was fixed many of these issues would just go away as it adds to the overall confusion right now.
 
At this point, I believe the issues that need to be fixed, from most to least important:

1. Allow per-product install locations.
2. Detect already installed products, whether they were manually installed in default or non-default locations. All this info is in the registry, why can't it pick it up?
3. Allow uninstalling of products. I used C3 to install D-Pro and Rapture, but wanted to uninstall them and install them manually somewhere not on my limited space C drive. To date, after asking multiple times in the forum, nobody can tell me how to uninstall Rapture and D-Pro. It can't be done from either C3 or Add/Remove Programs.
4. Show changes between updates.
5. Allow un-hiding of previously hidden products.
6. Allow the ability to select multiple products and have them all downloaded/installed in one go.

 
Other that that, I also find the update to be excellent, don't get me wrong.

What he wrote.
 
And put samples on a separate drive.
 
And,.... I should not have to download the tutorials again just to get the help files.
 
And,.... I should not have had to download all the DP samples again to get the DP changes.
 
And,... [your complaint goes here]...
 

 I am expecting that, at some point, during the next few months, the CCC will become all that it can be, including tracking ALL CW products, whenever and however installed, and updated.

ampfixer
I didn't see this release was floor sweepings, I said it could lead that way.

 
Actually, you didn't. You said: "Instead we're on a monthly release schedule now and that just encourages people to collect floor sweepings if they don't have something meaningful to deliver."
 
If you'd said "will just encourage," then I would have interpreted what you said as pertaining to the future, and that would have been the end of it. Using the present tense, especially after a string of negative comments devoted to the present release, with everything said before that in the present tense as well, led me to believe you were talking about the present.
 

The whole middle of your post is a fabrication so please lighten up and please don't put words in my mouth.

 
It was not a "fabrication," because they were words from MY mouth: "I would hardly call 126 IR impulses, 436 MB of loops (which I spent many, many hours editing and tweaking for proper stretching in both WAV and REX formats), an amp optimized for acoustic guitars, and all the other goodies as 'floor sweepings.' If you actually knew something about loops, and compared them to other commercially available loops, I highly doubt you would call them 'floor sweepings.'" That's how I feel, but of course you can call them anything you want.
 

How about every update attacks something from the problem reports forums, or generally moves the product down the field toward the goal.

 
Most of the bug fixes were in response to issues mentioned in the forum, and in my opinion, improving VocalSync, Mix Recall, DSD import/export, and fulfilling more of the potential of convolution reverb move the product further down the field. But that's just my opinion. 
 

I also think that the structure for installers and updates should be better organized. In particular, exclusive limited time member content should have its own installer, it should not be included in other installers.

I guess most of the confusion expressed in this thread is caused by including the Hardgroove content in the Anderton Collection (no idea how it will be handled next month to ensure only february members get it) and that the Sonar installer includes "UP1" in its file name (could be interpreted as an abbrev for update) even when it is a full installer.

Also, I agree that help files should be in the main installer or in a separate installer, but not bundled with the huge tutorials, which I probably would not download again even if they were updated. It would be even better, if CCC would use the full installer only for not yet installed items, but provide a smaller update installer for already installed products.

I hope the main focus for bonus content will be on generic items that are likely to be useful for a broad range of users. This is true for most content included in the B. update like reverb IRs, vocal and guitar effects, or the filter. I don't use loops, and loops are usually limited to a rather particular musical style, so that's not really interesting for me. However, content is always just "nice to have", because most long-time Sonar users probably already own almost anything they really need for their music. It is far more important to improve the main application to have a stable and easy to use DAW.

In general, I'm happy with the new update, the two most annoying things (the Kontakt bug and the PRV layout resetting itself) are fixed, so I will switch to the new Sonar now and benefit from all the new features and improvements.

BTW, Sonar installer always puts the Boost11 plugin into C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Vstplugins, not into the VST folder from the CCC configuration. Must be an installer issue.

Ya, it's all good, whatever. 

ralf
I also think that the structure for installers and updates should be better organized. In particular, exclusive limited time member content should have its own installer, it should not be included in other installers.

I'm thinking something like Waves installer - a tree of checkboxes.
And that one checkbox would be the chm helpfile - so you don't need to update the full tut stuff for that.

...For anyone doing "custom installs" by simply
manually moving files and editing in the Sonar/preferences/folder area only....
 
''1st  I want to pre-face myself:  
 
1.not a programmer, developer or retail seller.
2. just a musician, and long term user of
   Sonar very familiar with 'GOOGLE' who
   has blamed many a good product including Sonar for
   what turned out to be -pilot error-."
 
* -DAW FOR DUMMIES- # -000- *
"How to edit your system's global search variable."
 
1.Control panel ->
2.advanced system settings ->
3.Click the button "environment variables" ->
4.Scroll down to "path" under "system variables" and then ->
5.click the "edit" button ->
6.paste the addresses where you prefer installs/downloads/vst's/etc.
   to the end of the list separated by semi-colon(;), in quotes("") ->
7.click ok. ->
 
(...What this essentially does is to update your Windows 'system path' to include the folders you manually install applications into.)
This will ALMOST always lead to trouble-free custom installs when using an internet connected, all-in-one updater, IF it queries your O.S. for install paths prior to doing it's thing.
 
Many of you are simply complaining about a 'robot' installer's
in-ability to process information YOU HAVE FAILED TO GIVE.
 
IF YOU CUSTOMIZE AN INSTALL AND FAIL
TO INFORM THE WINDOWS O.S. THAT YOU MOVED THE PIECES,
NO 3RD PARTY UPDATER WILL SEE IT.
"make sure you are familiar with a software and
it's DEPENDANCIES  before blaming it for a perceived shortcoming."
 
Mel

OldTimerNewComer
''1st  I want to pre-face myself:  
 
1.not a programmer, developer or retail seller.

Ok... speaking as someone who IS a programmer/developer/etc, the idea of changing your system PATH variable to address installation problems is really not a good one.
 
All that the PATH variable does is specify where the operating system looks for files when a specific directory has not been provided. This will not help at all in 99% of cases because when an installer is performing its task it will have a pre-set directory that it wants to install into. It might read that directory from its own configuration, or it might read it from the registry (eg. if it detects a previous installation). What it won't do, is just attempt to open an old file and hope that it is found somewhere along the PATH.
 

IF YOU CUSTOMIZE AN INSTALL AND FAIL
TO INFORM THE WINDOWS O.S. THAT YOU MOVED THE PIECES,
NO 3RD PARTY UPDATER WILL SEE IT.

Ok... occasionally your little PATH hack will solve this particular problem. Some software, instead of providing what is called an absolute path (eg. LoadFile: "C:/cakewalk content/some_sample.wav") will perform a 2 part process (eg. SelectDirectory: "C:/cakewalk content/", LoadFile: "some_sample.wav"). In these situations - and only these situations! - it will successfully find "some_sample.wav" if you added its new directory to the PATH. Unfortunately it might also find some other file of the same name anywhere else on the PATH. That's another reason why you shouldn't do this. It will also not work if you haven't added every possible sub-directory to the PATH.
 
You're right that moving something after it was installed will usually break it. However, modifying the PATH is not always a sufficient fix, and sometimes can cause problems of its own.
 

Many of you are simply complaining about a 'robot' installer's
in-ability to process information YOU HAVE FAILED TO GIVE.

The proper place to enter this information is into the installer, which should ask for it. Alternatively, if it is installed in a location that is directly referred to by Sonar (eg. in the Folder Locations part of the Preferences), then all should be well. The OS doesn't need to be told and adding it to the PATH variable is the wrong thing to do, usually with no good effect.

Hi Folks,
 
Building C3 and the new delivery system was a large undertaking for Cakewalk. Not only was there all the back end infrastructure for membership, authorization and the e-store, it also required us to redo every single installer in the system to adapt to this. The ultimate goal is to have every installable component be atomic so that it can be  installed with minimal download size. However in the time we had it was simply impossible to meet that requirement. In the first cut the installers were reorganized to move all the non core components out of the main installer, but the sub content installer are not as granular as we would like them to be.
 
In a future phase we plan to improve on this and make it more granular and customizable. So if you have requests post them as feature requests...

Hello Noel,
 
So far with the update to Platinum (from Producer X3e) has been trouble free, the download was fast and easy. Everything opened and operate as they should, I like the new features. After updating to "Braintree" my first Crash was with Opening (or clicking on) a Midi track to delete or alter a note (s), and a window opened asking if I would send the failure to Cakewalk, which I did so others might not go through the same thing (or possible fix). I understand at this time a lot of "code" is being addressed, but I feel the Sonar program is a great tool, and I hope things get straighten out as I'm sure they will.

thanks Noël. That's the spirit in which I started this thread.