i've been using Sonar 2 since whenever it was new (guessing it was new around year 2000/2001?) and i recently grabbed X3 Studio in the Steam Sale, and have been trying to set it up in a similar way to my old layout without much luck

questions:
old Sonar let me access the patch browser via right-click on the patch button for the current track in the track view - X3 apparently does not; it wants me to 'open' the track and use the sidebar patch button instead which i then need to close again when finished. is there any .ini tweak that would give it back to me on the track view button with right-mouse like i prefer? Yes i know i can access the patch 'list' from the patch button but that is useless to me because it only shows one bank at a time. Patch browser shows me everything, in whatever format i want. browser good. list bad.**

i was also able to re-order the widgets in v2, so i could have what i wanted in the track view and nothing else, but such tweaks no longer seem to work in X3. is there any way i can change the grey buttons? (channel, patch, bank, RSM, etc.)- re-colour them? re-size them? re-order them or remove one completely? (having the patch brower, plus the way i have set up my .ins files makes the Bank button redundant)**

bear in mind: i'm using Sonar only for midi, not for audio. in v2 i had the audio engine/timing master disabled, so none of the audio-specific fruity bits in X3 applies to my situation. i have dedicated hardware DAWs to handle the actual audio.

** my synths/modules have patches of any particular type scattered between banks, e.g. the search string 'Bass' in the patch browser will bring up entries in many banks. most of these are presets and are unable to be moved all into one bank. i *really really want* the patch browser accessible from the main track view window, like it used to be, without having to open extra sidebars and panels to do what i once used to do instantly

new vs. old: a pic of what i have now, and what i am used to (which i'm trying to resemble in X3)

Sidebar? If the is the Inspector you do not need to close it ever. The Patch Browser can be accessed by right clicking on the the patch widget in the the Inspector. Actually this has been the way to do this for a long time now. 
 
 
PS Try dealing with X3 on its own terms. Don't try to make it into Sonar 2. In the end you will be happier and so will Sonar. 
 
 

There are two ways to get to the patch browser, through the track inspector (keyboard shortcut I toggles the track inspector) or from a button in the dialog displayed using the Insert > Bank/Patch Change... menu option


 
It is possible to add a keyboard shortcut to invoke the Bank/Patch Change dialog. Here is an example binding the dialog to the letter U

 
Use the track control manager drop down and dialog to control what appears in the track strips. The dialog is the last option in the drop down. SHIFT+Left and Right Arrow keys step through the drop down settings

Sonar needs to get timing for MIDI which has to come from a clock in your PC's to maternal or other sound device.

I don't understand the rationale of using Sonar for MIDI and another DAW for audio.

The whole DAW thing has moved on considerably since Sonar 2. Perhaps you need to explain more to us about your setup and what you're trying to do so we can better help.

mudgel
Sonar needs to get timing for MIDI which has to come from a clock in your PC's to maternal or other sound device.
I don't understand the rationale of using Sonar for MIDI and another DAW for audio.
The whole DAW thing has moved on considerably since Sonar 2. Perhaps you need to explain more to us about your setup and what you're trying to do so we can better help.

yeah it gets its clock from my hardware DAWs via a MOTU 128. (but i run its internal clock while i'm writing the basic sequence)
the hardware DAWs win over Sonar as a DAW, mainly due to giving me 16 inputs available 24/7 which would be much harder to get working happily on my PC. that, and the trouble PC-based DAWs have given me in the past has led me to not trust them much. midi is a very light load that any PC can handle, and it works fine.
 

Sidebar? If the is the Inspector you do not need to close it ever. The Patch Browser can be accessed by right clicking on the the patch widget in the the Inspector.
Try dealing with X3 on its own terms. Don't try to make it into Sonar 2.

ah ok, Inspector is what i meant. i resent any part of the program that chews up large amounts of screen space to give me a function i already had without losing that space, i.e. right-mouse on the patch button now does *nothing* - it's not like it has been replaced by some new function, it has simply been removed for whatever reason and is now less functional than before as a result.
 
like Sonar 2, i simply want X3 to be 'easily usable' - making me open the inspector, choose a patch, then close the inspector and continue is much more longwinded than simply choosing a patch, which is what i used to do previously
 

It is possible to add a keyboard shortcut to invoke the Bank/Patch Change dialog.

that might be useful, thanks. i'll look into that.
----> edit: hmm not really. still 3 clicks to do what 1 did beforehand (if that sounds petty, often i am using my left hand to do a lot of this stuff. i am right-handed, my right hand is playing the synth whose patches i want to audition. and no unfortunately i can't swap pc/synths around)
 

Use the track control manager drop down and dialog to control what appears in the track strips.

already done that bit, check my screenshot. 'MIDI Normal' is a customised view. but the manager doesn't give much leeway other than show/hide
 
i'm guessing reconfiguring the grey button size/colour/placement is not possible then?

The Inspector will take up less space than what you have setup in the screen shot. You do not have to close the Inspector. All you need to show in the track header is the name. All the widgets for your MIDI track will be in the Inspector. Sonar 2 did not have an Inspector.
 
Do you have patch lists for all your hardware synths?

JohnDo you have patch lists for all your hardware synths?

do you mean instrument definitions? (.ins files) - yes i have all of those. it took me ages to get them all into shape - for two keyboards and three modules, there's about 3,500 patches between them all

You have them in Sonar? I have a similar setup and use the same master.ins file when in upgrade Sonar. The problem is that Sonar 2 had them in the Sonar directory in X3 they are in a different place. C:\Users\YOURNAME\Appdata\Roaming\Cakewalk\Sonar X3 Producer\ or for Sonar X3 Studio.
 
I just copy my old master.ins to the new location. This will have all you patch lists and you will be able to search them. 

yes me too - all my patches are present and visible in X3, although unfortunately X3 truncates the names in the track view (which was why i wanted to increase the length of the grey patch button)

If you want sympathy, I'm with you.  I upgraded from 2 to 3 and then 3 to 5 and each time felt Sonar improved.  This latest upgrade is making me think seriously of jumping ship.   The damn "inspector" has absolutely no value to me most of the time, but it still chews up a chunk of screen.    The word "multidock" takes up an entire line of real estate I could use elsewhere.  To change a value in the event list now takes mouse - keyboard enter - number enter when it used to take arrow key, number.      Etc etc.  I think the essential thing for us midi users is that the programmers are all about audio not midi.