Old annoyance, or maybe my process is wrong

Following your steps in my head, I think I've internalized this icky workflow over the years. Actually I think the problem you're talking about is just one manifestation of a larger issue. The problem is that there appear to be several degrees of "selected". I will always automatically re-select the target track when pasting a clip. (By clicking on the track number, nowhere else!) My advice is to just get used to the fact that it's never entirely clear what is ACTUALLY selected, nor is it clear when you paste something where it's actually going to end up.
 
Here's another flavor of a similar problem:
 
1. Select an entire track, beginning to end
2. Go to another track, and Paste.
The clips will actually be pasted starting at the CURRENT LOCATION OF THE SCRUBBER, regardless of where the beginning of the clips is at the source. So, if you want to simply move a clip to a different track, but in the same location in time, make damn sure your scrubber is sitting at the beginning of the source clip, cuz your paste is going wherever that scrubber is. And I would tell you to make sure your scrubber snaps to clip boundaries if you're going to do that, but that doesn't always work. The whole experience is a little nightmare.

slumbermachine
Thanks for the reply. Yes, if I select the track first, before editing, it works. I think the problem is, when I move the scrubber to a new location or zoom in/out somehow that selection is turning off.  I need a way to stay LOCKED IN to one track. It's not often I'm moving stuff in-between tracks, so re-selecting the track just interrupts my flow. mostly, if I want to edit something, I want to only edit it there alone.
 
Don't get me wrong, the extra selection click isn't my main complaint here, my main complaint is that if I get in a hurry and forget to reselect, I can paste to the wrong track and not find it until I hear some strange doubling in my song later on, potentially leading to a long process of rechecking the entire project for stray clips.

hmm... Moving the Now Time (which is what I think you mean by scrubber... unless maybe you are using the actual Scrub Tool which I never use and might be the problem) shouldn't be dropping your track selection. I just check it out by selecting a track, moving the Now Time (both by clicking somewhere else in the timeline to reset it and dragging the now time to a new location). My track selection stayed active.
 
Are you resetting the Now Time (scrubber) on the Timeline or in the Track View (where the clips are)? I disabled the ability to reset the Now Time in the Track View because it did too many wacky things. I always use the Timeline. Check that out if that's the case.
 
Also which version of Sonar are you on? Sorry if you've already mentione. I'm spaced out today (strange hurricaney vibe in the air where I'm at and had to deal with meat people this morning).
 
Cheers.

slumbermachine
Sorry, got the tool names wrong. When I say scrubber, I mean, moving the now time on the top of the track view.
 
So, a common method to copy loops for me:
1. Highlight the clip
2. Copy it
3. Select a new now time
4. Paste the clip (on that same track it came from).
 
and I'm on JP update. This issue has been years old now and I've posted it here a few times before. I just want like a master track selection control that can lock into a track until I manually select a different track. Zooming, changing now time, transport control changes (play, reset, stop), or clicking anywhere in the track shouldn't un-select it.
For an obscure reference, Sony Acid, always handled this perfectly. Luckily, Sonar blows it away in almost every other aspect.

 
Okay... I just did a few tests with and without Take Lanes open.
 
As I suspected if you select the track (so the track number turns blue) every thing you want to happen will happen.
 
So...
 
With Lanes Closed: Select the Track (so the track number turns blue) > Set Now Time to create Split (S) > Select desired section in Parent Track (click on the section... this selects the active clip in the close take lanes which is the ONLY thing that is selected) > Copy (using Ctrl C or Edit > Copy) > Reset now time > Paste (using Ctrl V or Edit > Paste). The clip section is pasted at the Now Time (and inside it's original Take Lane).
 
With Lanes Open: Well the exact same thing seems to happen.
 
I even clicked on another track in one of my tests to put a different track "In Focus" while the desired track remained selected. The exact same thing happened.
 
So just select the track you are working on BEFORE doing anything and go nuts. Should be fine. A bit of brainbending kerfutzery to keep track of Selected vs In Focus and whatnot but it works pretty much how I originally thought.
 
Cheers.

I can reproduce this. I think the issue is that there is a "current track" and a "selected track" (or tracks), and these don't have to be the same. It is possible to have one track selected, and another track as the current track. Selecting a track makes it the current track, but clicking on the track icon makes this track the new current track without changing the selected track.
 
Pasting a clip adds it to the current track, not the selected track. If the current track is a bus, it simply doesn't turn up.
 
Cheers, Peter.

I believe this is one of those goofy side effects of touch. Because of ten point touch, it is possible for a user to modify a track without putting it in focus.

From the point and click days, when touch wasn't a consideration, special functionality could be enabled around the user focus. The user could only focus on one thing at a time. So, what should the behavior be with ten mouse pointers? Ten finger touch?

Now, special functions related to the track in focus can occur on ten tracks at the same time? No. So, sonar has disconnected the track interaction from the setting of focus. They even added keyboard shortcuts to alter the focus.

In the short run, this causes a good amount of user confusion, especially because most users are not using touch yet.

Most of the heavy users have adapted to these changes, but I struggled to understand when they were first introduced. For example, you can modify an envelope on a track while the track in the track inspector maps to a different track. If you assume that sonar has switched the track inspector focus when you touched the other track, you could make a mistake like modifying the volume on a track you didn't mean to using the fader in the inspector.

The bakers have never confirmed what I am saying, but I have believed it to be true for years now .

While no one has confirmed, no one has denied either.