sharke
I think part of the problem is that people don't even look at the export presets

Possibly another part of the problem is that people are lazy. It took me ten minutes to nuke the existing presets I didn't need, and create presets that covered every export situation I encounter on a regular basis. I haven't had to think about exporting since spending those 10 minutes unless I need to do something that's really off the wall...in which case I'm glad all those check boxes exist.
 
Hmm...sounds like Tip of the Week fodder...

if cakewalk want to keep the new users they attract, then these kind of default (lazy) settings should maybe given the once over

pwalpwal
if cakewalk want to keep the new users they attract, then these kind of default (lazy) settings should maybe given the once over

And the should also make the dialog box Help button neon red, glowing, and twice the size of all other buttons. Otherwise how will people know that if you don’t check the Track Automation box, “any volume and pan automation, including initial volume and pan settings, is ignored when creating the new file(s). The amplitude of the raw data in the tracks is used, and the pan is C, or centered.”
 
This is incredibly useful when exporting raw files for remixes. I wonder how many people even know this option exists?

Anderton

pwalpwal
if cakewalk want to keep the new users they attract, then these kind of default (lazy) settings should maybe given the once over

And the should also make the dialog box Help button neon red, glowing, and twice the size of all other buttons. Otherwise how will people know that if you don’t check the Track Automation box, “any volume and pan automation, including initial volume and pan settings, is ignored when creating the new file(s). The amplitude of the raw data in the tracks is used, and the pan is C, or centered.”
 
This is incredibly useful when exporting raw files for remixes. I wonder how many people even know this option exists?

good idea, like a "tutorial mode" quite common in games

dcumpian
False. As long as you mute or archive any tracks you do not want to hear, select <none>, then "What You Hear" will export exactly that, including reverb tails.

That is not what my testing shows. When I select nothing and use What You See preset, I get the tail stuck onto the BEGINNING of the WAV file -- believe it or not. Following that tail is an extra 5 seconds of silence that is beyond any of the clips.  I do not believe it is safe to use the "select nothing" mode.  The only time I have consistently obtained reliable results is when I carefully select every track and carefully set the exact beginning and end on the ruler.
 
I should point out that in this case, the clips are narrowed down (using the split command and cropping) from a continuous 60 minutes of program, so maybe that somehow accounts for the "tail-sounding thing" that is inserted at the beginning of the exported file.  When I play the material in real time, it is definitely silent at the beginning of the clips.
 
This is the problem.  The EXPORT behavior is all over the map.  It may be adequately predictable for some of you.  For me, it seems mostly random and a continuous source of frustration, and clearly I am not alone in this experience.
 
 

cparmerlee

dcumpian
False. As long as you mute or archive any tracks you do not want to hear, select <none>, then "What You Hear" will export exactly that, including reverb tails.

That is not what my testing shows. When I select nothing and use What You See preset, I get the tail stuck onto the BEGINNING of the WAV file -- believe it or not. Following that tail is an extra 5 seconds of silence that is beyond any of the clips.  I do not believe it is safe to use the "select nothing" mode.  The only time I have consistently obtained reliable results is when I carefully select every track and carefully set the exact beginning and end on the ruler.
 
I should point out that in this case, the clips are narrowed down (using the split command and cropping) from a continuous 60 minutes of program, so maybe that somehow accounts for the "tail-sounding thing" that is inserted at the beginning of the exported file.  When I play the material in real time, it is definitely silent at the beginning of the clips.
 
This is the problem.  The EXPORT behavior is all over the map.  It may be adequately predictable for some of you.  For me, it seems mostly random and a continuous source of frustration, and clearly I am not alone in this experience.
 
 

There is a setting in Preferences that is causing the tail to be stored in the buffer and it ends up in front of the export. Enable "Play effect tails after stopping" and the problem will go away.
 
Regards,
Dan

I have used SPLAT for years and am a lifer. I've got the color scheme dialed in nicely for me and I love the mix recall option. 
However, the way I work these days is right when I am starting to mix, I find I need to make a change to the source like bring the bass up or apply better EQ to something. SOP's project lets me drill right into the song, make the change, and then update the mix all live. That is an incredible feature and really helps me.
I also can edit audio clips much faster in SOP. 
SPLAT is better with memory management IMO but that has not hurt me at all. 
I use them both and am glad they are in my toolbox.
 

Chandler
I agree with the complaints about Sonar's export. I've been burned by that too. I export my song and shut down Sonar. I put the song in my iPhone and as I'm walking down the street I realize it only exported the bass. This has happened multiple times.

The export should select all tracks automatically and go to the last note and then add 3 or 4 sec. That should be the default and other things like individual track export or partial track export should be advanced options. This IMO would be a big workflow improvement and would get rid of a lot of frustration.

 
Don't select anything and let the default settings that everything will be exported.

Rimshot
I have used SPLAT for years and am a lifer. I've got the color scheme dialed in nicely for me and I love the mix recall option. 
However, the way I work these days is right when I am starting to mix, I find I need to make a change to the source like bring the bass up or apply better EQ to something. SOP's project lets me drill right into the song, make the change, and then update the mix all live. That is an incredible feature and really helps me.
I also can edit audio clips much faster in SOP. 
SPLAT is better with memory management IMO but that has not hurt me at all. 
I use them both and am glad they are in my toolbox.
 

Did you mean to say, "However, the way I work these days is right when I am starting to master, ..." ?
I have to say that the mastering process in SO3 is superb.  As are the VCA and Folder implementations.
 
OTOH, the GUI is what the GUI is.  You can change colors, but panel locations are what they are with no option for rearranging things.  You can detach, but you can't rearrange panels in the application window.  Bummer.

I'm reading all these complaints about export and scratching my head. I totally agree with Atsuko. 
Way back in Guitar studio day's someone here said "use Select none, not select all"  
I have never changed the export options, They seem pre set to work properly version after version for me.   I will change the default 32 to 16 for CD's and that's it. 
I of course I have always been aware of checking that little "play the tails" box too. Seems that must be the default or possibly Sonar remembers that for me when I update.  
 
I have never, ever had an export not play exactly like what it was supposed to sound like in 10 years. 
 
And I would never dream of releasing a song without proofing it first.