Better envelope management
Nested track folders
Highlight selected track in track view AND console view.

If you copy or cut something, it automatically selects that track and that is what track the paste occurs on instead of the copy and pray method that presently exists. Shift-Click working like every other piece of Windows software.

"...If you copy or cut something, it automatically selects that track..."

Did that get messed up in Sonar 8.5?  I'm still using 8.3.1 and that's exactly how copying and pasting works, in fact that's the way it's always worked for me with completely Zero confusion.  You select a clip, that track is automatically selected.  And that's the track where the paste will go unless you choose a different destination track.  -

Randy B.

10Ten

From my experience it was messed up in Sonar 1. Every time I copy something it tries to paste to a random track and that wouldn't be so bad if once I changed it in the paste dialog it stayed that way.

I do remember you mentioning before it doesn't work for you.  If I knew what it is that I do differently, I would pass it on since it consistently works perfectly for me and always has.  There's clearly something different in the way we do C&P - have no idea what it is.

Randy B.

Make sure that the track where you want to paste content to is selected before pasting, OR you could select the destination track in the Paste dialog window.

HTH

Jose7822


Make sure that the track where you want to paste content to is selected before pasting, OR you could select the destination track in the Paste dialog window.

HTH

Yeah, that covers it.  I always use the dialogue box which pops up when you use Ctrl+V, on the left hand side Destination>Starting Track - then there's a drop down with all the tracks in the project.

Directly clicking a clip always automatically selects the track it's in.  More often, I'm making a time line selection which may involve parts of several clips.  When doing that, I just need to make sure I select just one track before using Ctrl+A, otherwise if data is selected from more than one track at a time, that adds an unintentional track to the copy and of course then that will get pasted into the project to a track the same interval from the destination track.  It's easy enough to avoid that.

Randy B.

rbowser

10Ten

Jose7822


Make sure that the track where you want to paste content to is selected before pasting, OR you could select the destination track in the Paste dialog window.

HTH

Work flow killers. What I am talking about is copying a clip and pasting on the same track. This should be the default action for copy and paste.

--That is the default action for C&P.  You copy a clip, if you don't choose another destination, it's pasted to the same track.--

Randy B.

Sorry, but it isn't. I've done it 50 times today and a million times over the last 10 years and it has never done that.

I REPRODUCED THE ERROR!--

This was really bugging me - why this basic function would be experienced so consistently differently by two people.

So I went back to Sonar and clicked and clicked again, trying things out more.

The reason I don't ever have this problem of clips not pasting to the original track automatically is because 99% of the time I make my selection in the time line, then click the track I want to copy a portion of.  It's extremely rare for me to want to copy just one clip.  And it's also rare for me to want a clip to go to the same track, so I'm always using the pop-up dialogue to select my destination track.

But when directly selecting just a single clip, without making the selection in the time line, the clip will get pasted to whatever the Last track was that I selected, even if it's not currently the selected/focused track.

So there it was, I saw it for the first time.  A track can be highlighted in its header, and the clip is selected, but if I happened to have selected another track previously, it will go to that last track selected.

Which means the solution is to not only click the clip, but also click the track header so That track is the last one selected.

Whew!--I see now.  - That scenario is something that never comes up in my work flow, and that's why I hadn't seen it before.

I don't know if that will help you, since you want as smooth a work flow as possible, and this involves one more click - in the track header.  But at least it insures that you will paste to the same track when that's what you want to do.

Randy B.

Jon Con


tonight I've been going through some projects for a friend that were done on 7PE and 8PE and it just reminded me of a feature I kinda miss now. Is there anyway of bringing back the enable/disable snap grid button that was present in the corner of the track view ruler? I know it was taken off when audio snap 2 was implemented but it was really useful for me

I know there is another way of enabling/disabling it but it's not as easy as being able to toggle a button on the track view.

Don't you just hit the "N" to do that?

+1

Yeah "N" only makes it snap to an invisible grid. Not productive (as i have to check what it's gonna snap to without just seeing it visually). Once "N"/"snap to grid" button is toggled ON, ***ideally***  the gird should display by default...which it doesn't. This really needs to be fixed. And is standard with most other DAWs (if not all).

Also I'd always recommend suggesting an features you like the sound of to cakewalk via the feature request form

http://www.cakewalk.com/S...atureRequest.asp 

A release date!

Hi Randy,

I can't rightfully remember with 8.3.1, but with 8.5 for sure you need to do the <7-step procedure on a new project (once the first piece of audio is recorded), only then does the visual grid come on/off with N or the button as expected.

Just to clarify, snap to grid does work when that button is pressed. But there are no visuals. For me that makes things quite awkward as I mix in a lot of my own loops of varying lengths, slice and dice, and can't see what I'm snapping to visually. (dragging loops from various segments of various tracks back and forth was quite quick in v8....but as is now...I have to zoom in and double check, etc between sessions/songs) ...with the only thing saving me from going crazy is the once off ~7-step procedure after i record some audio....Even if everything was 100% midi, I still have to record some audio to get the visual grid working.

Jon Con


I'm thinking someone will probably come up with this at some point soon as its getting nearer update time so here's what I'd like to see in the next vesion of Sonar, I've submitted these quite a few times in the past but this is a list of what I'd like to see in the future, I have no doubt the new version is undergoing beta at the moment, it really was to pass the time this evening. 

• GUI update - i'd be quite happy with a large transport at the top of the screen that was customisable, basically less buttons, les clutter, less like windows 95, I mean even microsoft office has had a revamp.
• Be able to match the clip track to the mixer colour - Can be done in reaper and protools, logic makes the background colour of the text on the mixer the same colour and even that helps. Technically it can be done in sonar if you wanted to import a specific colour as a bitmap image on a track icon but would take more time that its really worth. Below is an example of reaper and the track colours

• Varispeed - Been playing with it in logic recently, simple to use and setup, done straight from the transport bar, would be a nice feature, I know audio snap can do a workaround where you're able to slow the track down by bpm and then speed the track back up, but its not as simple as typing -10% +20% etc.
• More extensive grouping - I want to be able to assign a track to a group set so that it controls a multiple set of different buttons (for example, be able toggle record enable grouped tracks, enable input echo on/off, edit clips that were recorded at the same time, enable volume fades in one go etc) but only have to assign the track to the group with one button, than assign each individual button to a seperate group. I like how I'm currently able to automatically group recorded clips togther to edit afterwards but if I'm recording live musicians I have to manually remove the seperate instruments and then regroup the clips, I'm looking to improve my workflow so that the clips are automtaically grouped correctly and I don't have to manually change this after recording as I've started doing a lot of recording.  This is something I feel we're behind on against other DAWs.
• Implement something like channel tools on all stereo tracks - 2 pans to be able to control the width, have left and right phase invert or even just a graph visual like the eq on all tracks that when double clicked, would open the channel tools plugin from the mixer/ track inspector view.
• More options on segmented meters and fader styles - I'm currently using the gel faders, I love them, I love how we're able to setup colour schemes for sonar but I'd love it if we were able to customise Sonar more easily by giving us an option to import fader sets, meter styles more easily like we do with track templates, colour schemes, key sets. Hell let us skin it, we already know there are some talented guys on this forum that could make sonar look amazing.
• Have the option to record audio to 2 hard drives or spread the load between 2. Larger audio projects I'm running seem to have more problems load
• Be able to name mono track inputs seperately from stereo inputs. An example for me is that in my system, channel 13 on my soundcard is fed by my SPL Channel One and on channel 14 I have a Focusrite Voicemaster Pro. This comes up in Sonar as 
  • "Left SPL Channel One - Voicemaster Pro".  and
  • "Right SPL Channel One - Voice Master Pro"

Personally I understand whats going on but from time to time I have people come in and help out and it would be much easier to explain to them that I want them to select the SPL Channel one input for my track than to say "I want the one that says Left SPL Channel One - Voicemaster Pro". Small niggle but its alot easier to understand. If I was able to name mono tracks it would then come up as.

• SPL Channel One
• VoiceMaster Pro

Its easier to explain to other people, the description for each channel takes up less space when scrolling for the channel you want. Then you could also enable and disable stereo channels as you wanted.

• Project tabs - I'm mainly recording bands, most of the time they're putting down more than one song. just being able to switch between songs from the current view could save time. 
• Plugin Chains - basically be able to Right click the FX bin, have the options 
  • Audio FX     >
  • Soft Synths >
  • Plugin Chain >

Then if there was an option to then save plug ins as they appeared in the FX bin as a chain it could save time when setting projects up or just adding to a track on the fly afterwards. Main issue always is saving time.

I've been using Sonar in some form or another for the past 5/6 years now and get on with it like a house on fire, these requests would just make my life a little bit easier, quicker and more efficient. I'd really like to see what other people would like to see for future versions of Sonar.
--------------------------
As always there are some really good suggestions on this thread, why not submit the ones you want to see in future versions of Sonar using the feature request form

http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/FeatureRequest.asp

please keep them coming though

I also had a convo about this with a friend the other night!

I moved to sonar from pro tools I am very ew to recording but got my self a pro tools rig 003 protools 8 etc (BAD MOVE) nothing was stable spent more time fixing than recording;(

Sooooooooooo

I got all of it sent back to the shop includeing the computer they built for me!

I built my own computer with better specs but same brand names as what he big companys are doing
I bought a VS700 and sonar 8.5 producer! Its the best thing I could have done

Anyway as I was saying john was saying about the colours ? I tottaly agree I have a thing about loking at meeters and seeing green in to yellow then red for nooooooo dont have it here :P For me if its green I am safe at a quick glance that is but remember I am a noob to all this.

I asked him If sonar had and different skins as such to make it look slightly differnet you know brighten it up a bit etc . I was told no not that he knows of ;(

I dont care as its still an awesome program but would be nice to see pro tools and reeper are both nice to look at as you will see from Jon's screen print. I would very very much like to see the clip meeters in colour and I hope we do see this.

Also the double panner Idea like what was in protools would rock my socks!

I will have a think about what else a noob like me would like to see as Ive only been home recording for about a month or 2 now :)

Norrie