I think the Tempo View is the least advanced feature in Sonar (X3e, anyway, don't know about newer versions). So much so that even though my big piece is going to have a lot of ritards and fermatas and tempo changes, but I'm going to wait until the whole thing is composed (~45 minutes length) before even spending any time on them. You can't drag on the timeline to zoom in and out; any tempo changes you insert mid piece will change the tempo for the rest of the piece unless another tempo change occurs. Tempo changes always obey snap settings, which when you think about it makes no sense at all; there is no ability to simply pause the music, necessitating bizarre little tiny measures be inserted. Long ago I tried that 'conductor' function to set tempos, but it was difficult to use and too limiting, it never stuck for me.
 
The main frustration I have is that if I decide to insert or delete a few measures somewhere, I will move the notes over, but the tempo markings don't also move. This seems so stubbornly unmusical I just don't understand how Cakewalk has let this go for so long. Is there any way to tell Sonar that the tempo changes belong to musical material, and not to a specific bar? I mean, it seems obvious, but Sonar doesn't work that way. Completely baffling.
 
On a related note, I have for years built ritards painstakingly by drawing steep lines in the tempo view, but a) it takes forever, and b) I usually don't end up entirely satisfied. How does anyone else handle this?

I have to say that the tempo view is one of my least favorite aspects of Sonar at this time.  I have even noticed strange things happen, visually not audibly, around areas where there are tempo changes.
 
However, as far as drawing steep lines you can select the line tool, rather then the smart tool, to draw straight lines and that is quicker than trying to draw them free hand or beat by beat.  For ritards or fermatas I sometimes will put in an additional measure with the desired number of beats to get the time I want without doing any tempo changes.

reginaldStjohn
For ritards or fermatas I sometimes will put in an additional measure with the desired number of beats to get the time I want without doing any tempo changes.

Exactly. They shouldn't be making us do that.

I often do sequences that require smooth tempo changes (Eg, a slow down as the end of a measure approaches) .  I just draw them freehand with snap turned off (Press n while in Tempo view)

If I need to copy and paste, I make sure tempo events are selected on both dialog boxes.

I'd love to see the whole Tempo Map given a major overhaul. Both functionality and usability. Along with more arrangement tools and ripple editing, these could really improve my workflow with Sonar as a compositional tool

promidi
I often do sequences that require smooth tempo changes (Eg, a slow down as the end of a measure approaches) .  I just draw them freehand with snap turned off (Press n while in Tempo view)

If I need to copy and paste, I make sure tempo events are selected on both dialog boxes.

I generally recommend against that. Musically there is no use in having tempo changes in between notes, and having dozens of intermediate tempo changes can cause problems with tempo-synced plugins among other things. It's better to enable snap at the resolution of the smallest note duration in the section. Better yet, record a part that has the feel you want, and use tab to transients/notes and Set Measure/Beat At Now to have SONAR calculate the tempos to fit the music for you.

jkoseattle
... any tempo changes you insert mid piece will change the tempo for the rest of the piece unless another tempo change occurs. Tempo changes always obey snap settings, which when you think about it makes no sense at all; there is no ability to simply pause the music, necessitating bizarre little tiny measures be inserted.
....
This seems so stubbornly unmusical I just don't understand how Cakewalk has let this go for so long. Is there any way to tell Sonar that the tempo changes belong to musical material, and not to a specific bar? I mean, it seems obvious, but Sonar doesn't work that way.

Not to be insulting, but to me his suggests a basic misunderstanding of how tempo and musical events are related. Music defines timing, and timing defines bars/beats. The two are inextricably linked. If you need a pause between the last note of one measure and the start of another measure, there's no need to insert an empty measure. Just lower the tempo at the last note and return the tempo to 'normal' at the start of the next one. The length of the last note(s) should be made to fit the lower tempo rather than having a tempo change occur "in mid air" so to speak. And of course you have to end a section at one tempo with a change to another tempo. How else would you define where the differing tempo section ends?

Tempo map is awesome and can be used to realize even the most complex task. I insert and delete measures all the time with very complex tempo maps. I'll describe how to from X1 so it might vary. To insert measures and have the tempo slide over, you must place the now bar where you want to insert time, go to Project, Insert time/measures. Where it says Slide, make sure you tick all boxes (events in tracks, markers, meters,key, tempo changes), click the amount of measures or time, hit ok. You will see the tempo map slide over to make room. 😄 To delete, just highlight the measures or time on the timeline, Edit, Delete, then again Tick all these boxes (events, track bus automation, tempo changes, meter/key changes, Markers, and Delete Hole, shift by measure if it's a whole measure) Then your tempos during that section will be gone too. To keep your tempo curves the same but speed up or slow down every tempo change, use, Process, Fit to Time, Modify By changing tempo map, For faster overall, set the New Thru to an earlier time, for a slower overall, set the New Thru to a later time. For very fine ritards and such, just turn snap off F12, and sometimes you may need to zoom in or out on the tempo map to reach slower or faster speeds. I use the tempo list, say if I've Tempo Mapped a cover song and then want to straighten out their tempo by highlighting all but the first tempo then changing that one to my desired tempo. Sometime I map out 3 tempo maps of three version of a cover and then match pitches and tempos, either a new fresh tempo, or the map from my favorite one. Sometimes I map a tempo map to a cover song and then adjust the whole thing up or down using Fit to time. If I can help, let me know! 😄

brundlefly
 
If you need a pause between the last note of one measure and the start of another measure, there's no need to insert an empty measure. Just lower the tempo at the last note and return the tempo to 'normal' at the start of the next one. 

I'm not at my studio so this is from memory:  I used to do the "lower the tempo" trick as described but a friend showed me his trick, which is changing the time signature for a measure.  For example, if the signature is 4/4 and you want a one beat rest, try a 1/4 time signature for a measure (I believe that's how we did it) and it was pretty cool because you didn't lose the feel of the original tempo.
 
YMMV 

Hey Cakewalk, while you're overhauling the temp view, can we have a temp averager tool?
 
I record my song free style with a guitar then use melodyne and sonar's tempo detection trick / feature to make a tempo map of what I played. It annoys me when - oops I slowed down pretty much right there and have to hand correct it. A tempo averager with a window like velocity scale would be welcome here where I could say no faster than x and no slower than y - now go adjust the map for me. Call it a suck reducer if ya want, I don't care. :-)