I've always just used the notes grid in PRV which seems to work fine for me but just wondering what the drum pane can do that I don't know about.
Also I wonder why I don't see an existing drum track in that view (only the notes grid).
Okay, no more dumb questions (today).
Thanks very much,
Randy

The advantage is the labels on each note/drum.
 
You don't see a drum pane unless you load a drum map.

Gotcha, thanks Kev!

By default notes show in the PRV Note pane. Notes will only be display in the Note or Drum Grid pane, not both. Drum maps cause notes to display in the Drum Grid pane. Notes in the drum pane do not show duration. Instead every note use the same note icon.

scook
Notes in the drum pane do not show duration. Instead every note use the same note icon.

The icon is optional and I never use it.  I prefer to see durations as they are needed for open high-hat.

Another advantage is that you can solo/mute each drum. Also, because unnecessary lanes are deletable, I use drum maps for keyswitch notes (string/brass articulations, etc.) as well.

Another advantage is that you can solo/mute each drum.
 
I usually use the plugin gui to do that and like Kev I like to see a representation of the duration (ie open to close HH)
 
Also, because unnecessary lanes are deletable, I use drum maps for keyswitch notes (string/brass articulations, etc.) as well.
 
Can I get you to elaborate on this por favor?

It's easier for me to explain it using screenshots but unfortunately I'm not at home now. I'll do it tonight unless someone explains it before then. I also don't use the icon. Not for hihats but for the snare roll :-)

Brass, strings, choir, etc. patches in high-end libraries (Kontakt, Dim Pro, etc. and above) often include keyswitches (usually located in a very low and/or high octave) and you can change the patch's articulations by pressing/clicking one of these keys (sorry if you already know this :-) )
 
The screenshot below explains how I use a drum map in Sonar for easily editing notes for these keyswitches. (Larger image here: http://i.imgur.com/wFv3Dhd.png )
 

 
As shown in the image, I always create a separate track for keyswitch events and assign a drum map to it because:
 

• I can see (and edit) the keyswitch events as soon as I open the PRV, without having to scroll down
• the drum map shows the articulation names so I can easily identify which key is for which articulation, without having to open the plugin's GUI or play the keyboard to find it out
• I can prevent myself from mistakenly deleting the keyswitch events when I only want to delete musical data (because they are not in the same clip/track)

 
But it's just my workflow. Not for everyone, I guess. 
 
(I think Step Sequencer can do the same job)
 
Hope that helps

Wow, this will be very helpful for me, thank you...I use several plug-ins that use keyswitches (Cinematic Strings has 8 for articulations) and they are so low in the PRV they can be a bit of a pain to work with.
Is it okay to PM you if I need help whenever I get around to setting this up?
Thanks again,
Randy