I have always been able to select volume or pan etc. and use the + and - keys to adjust. Now, suddenly, if I do that, a small fader pops up and it only controls the main Windows speaker volume!!
If I hold ctrl key it works normally!! What happened? Any ideas? Could I have accidentally reset something with some strange key combination or what? I am stumped. This happened in the middle of a session and I have no idea what's going on.

Do you have a "Fn" or similar key (usually on laptop) thatyou might have pressed?

rodreb
I have always been able to select volume or pan etc. and use the + and - keys to adjust. Now, suddenly, if I do that, a small fader pops up and it only controls the main Windows speaker volume!!
If I hold ctrl key it works normally!! What happened? Any ideas? Could I have accidentally reset something with some strange key combination or what? I am stumped. This happened in the middle of a session and I have no idea what's going on.

Rod,
  As a sanity check, I tested Sonar X3e and SONAR Platinum "Allston" Build 21.0.1.254.
 
It seems that the +/- key behavior in Track View changed with the first release of Platinum.  The +/- keys in the Console View have not changed and still continue to function as before.
 
Hope this helps,
-- Ron

SquireBum: You are correct! It does still work in the console view! Why would they have changed this? Seems counter intuitive to me. I am not impressed or amused. Ha ha!

rodreb
I have always been able to select volume or pan etc. and use the + and - keys to adjust. Now, suddenly, if I do that, a small fader pops up and it only controls the main Windows speaker volume!!
If I hold ctrl key it works normally!! What happened? Any ideas? Could I have accidentally reset something with some strange key combination or what? I am stumped. This happened in the middle of a session and I have no idea what's going on.

What version of SONAR are you running 2016.12 is fine here.
A lot of laptops put speaker volume doubling on various keys including some that use the numpad.
Laptops also different in terms of default handling whether pressing the key does the special thing or holding Fn + key does the special thing.  So maybe that got changed?

How can this be odd? I've been using this feature for more than a year with WASAPI drivers and do find it convenient. Well, at least it's not something new. 

I had this issue back in October when I posted this: http://forum.cakewalk.com/Using-plus-and-minus-to-adjust-volume-and-pan-Did-something-change-m3506338.aspx
 
I never solved this, but then my C drive crashed and I got a clean install of Windows 10 with my new SSD.  Afterward, it quit happening, and I'm able to use my +/- keys again for volume and pan.  So, I'm guessing if you're using W10, perhaps it's related to one of their updates?

Soundwise
How can this be odd? I've been using this feature for more than a year with WASAPI drivers and do find it convenient. Well, at least it's not something new. 

It is odd because the +/- keys used to modify the selected control in Track View, not adjust the Windows volume.  If you use the +/- keys in the Console View, they work as expected and adjust the selected control.
 
-- Ron

I'm not using a laptop. I am using Win 10. This behavior just changed recently. I am using the latest version of Platinum.