Simplified GUI

Hi all
 
I'm completely new to Sonar - my friend moved to Apple and their products and gave me his 8.5 license.  To date I've only really used Mixcraft and, to some extent, Reaper.
 
My problem is that I'm finding it really hard to find my way around Sonar.  The GUI seems alot more cluttered and disorganised than those I'm used to.  I wanted to know if there is a mode which simplifies the GUI and makes it a little more user friendly for a new user?
 
Thanks!
 
Bean

I'm completely new to Sonar - my friend moved to Apple and their products and gave me his 8.5 license.  To date I've only really used Mixcraft and, to some extent, Reaper.

You cannot transer a sonar licence. Your using an illegal copy

But you could try contacting Cakewalk.  They may possibly agree to reassign the licence to you.  It's their call.

does a mod exist to simplify the GUI?

Yeah, it's called X1. 


But seriously, the button bars in 8.5 are customizable (right-click for the option), and there are tabs at the bottom of the track header area that allow you to customize what controls (a.k.a. widgets) appear in the headers. You can strip it down about as much as you want.

brundlefly



But seriously, the button bars in 8.5 are customizable (right-click for the option), and there are tabs at the bottom of the track header area that allow you to customize what controls (a.k.a. widgets) appear in the headers. You can strip it down about as much as you want.

I was aware that Sonar is meant to be very configurable - hence my question about the mod.  I thought that someone may have already put together a config setting that mirrored the layout of other DAWs, perhaps ones which are a little more intuitive.
 
As for X1 - it's a possibility but money is tight and I'm hardly stretching the boundaries of 8.5 yet.  And with a 1500 page manual, it could take a while!!  (Now I recall why I liked Mixcraft :)!)
So, it's looking like no mods exist and I may have to do this alone - is that right? 

I was aware that Sonar is meant to be very configurable - hence my question about the mod.  I thought that someone may have already put together a config setting that mirrored the layout of other DAWs, perhaps ones which are a little more intuitive.

Maybe because I've been using it for so long, but I find the Sonar interface very intuitive for a complex program with many features and functions. 


It has MIDI tracks for recording and editing MIDI and Audio tracks for recording and editing audio, and a console (mixer) for adding effects and mixing your masterpiece. What could be simpler? Underneath that is a lot of stuff, but you just have to take it one step at a time. I've tried several other programs, like Presonus Studio One and Kontakt and I don't find them at all intuitive.