sharke
Having to specify clip background color per clip is totally lame.

 
Indeed, it would be if that was the way it worked. But you can specify background (and/or foreground) color for an individual clip, selected clips, or the entire track. To do the entire track:
 
1. In track view, click the Track number in the track header. This selects all the track's clips.
2. Choose the Inspector's Clip tab.
3. Choose your background and/or foreground color.
 
If only certain clips are selected, only those clips will be colored.

rbowser
What do you guys do with the automation envelopes which are dark against the dark clips?  They're really hard to see until you click Automation in the track header - Seems weird you have to make two menu dives just to see what you should always be able to see, even when the Automation data doesn't have focus for editing.  I looked for a way to change the color of those envelopes when they're not in focus, but couldn't find a choice for that.
 
Randy B.

If I have enough envelopes I will use automation lanes for visual purposes.  Otherwise, if you hold the Shift key down, hovering over envelopes will trigger a flyover letting you know what it is. 
 

rbowser
What do you guys do with the automation envelopes which are dark against the dark clips?  They're really hard to see until you click Automation in the track header [snip] I looked for a way to change the color of those envelopes when they're not in focus, but couldn't find a choice for that.
 
Randy B.

I'm pretty sure that was a conscious design decision due to the complaints from people who used lots of automation, and found it difficult to see what was going on, let alone adjust the envelopes without adjusting other envelopes. Hence the automation edit filter, to highlight a particular automation curve and lock editing to it (as well as automation lanes, so you could edit clips and edit automation at the same time).
 
As you noted you can still see envelopes without automation selected in the edit filter, but they envelopes are dark, more for reference, and difficult to see against dark clip colors.
 
I think your idea of being able to enable or disable envelope colors on the main clip view when not in focus is probably the best way to solve three distinct use cases:
 

• Being able to see and lock to an individual type of automation (edit filter)
• Having a reference that doesn't distract from clip editing (dark reference automation curves)
• Having a reference that shows all the envelopes so you can see the relationship among them, even when not in focus (your suggestion for enabling colors)

 
I recommend putting in a feature request if this is something you think would be really useful to a broad base of users.

I'm also disappointed in the limitations with color customization. I've used Sonar for long before they even called it Sonar. Years ago they had about 30 or more color presets that you could try until you found what you wanted. It seems to me that at minimum there should be some user color files that we could upload and everyone could download and try. X1 was far better than X3 in the clip pane as far as color options.

gmp
 
I'm also disappointed in the limitations with color customization. I've used Sonar for long before they even called it Sonar. Years ago they had about 30 or more color presets that you could try until you found what you wanted. It seems to me that at minimum there should be some user color files that we could upload and everyone could download and try. X1 was far better than X3 in the clip pane as far as color options.

It does really come down to how you do things, but X1 &2 looked pretty stark (if not ugly) to anyone who was used to their layouts in 8.5.   I still use Duckbar, but as to X3 I don't think the limitations are that bad, at least for me, so I'm happy now.
 
But I started pretty early with CW too, and I miss some of the dramatic contrasts I was used to.
 
 
 
 
    

declan

gmp
 
I'm also disappointed in the limitations with color customization. I've used Sonar for long before they even called it Sonar. Years ago they had about 30 or more color presets that you could try until you found what you wanted. It seems to me that at minimum there should be some user color files that we could upload and everyone could download and try. X1 was far better than X3 in the clip pane as far as color options.

It does really come down to how you do things, but X1 &2 looked pretty stark (if not ugly) to anyone who was used to their layouts in 8.5.   I still use Duckbar, but as to X3 I don't think the limitations are that bad, at least for me, so I'm happy now.
 
But I started pretty early with CW too, and I miss some of the dramatic contrasts I was used to.
 
 
 
 
    

Actually I just now upgraded from 8.53 to X3. For a long time I had driver problems with my sound card and Win 7. It took years to get that resolved. I had tried X1, but it also had bugs and problems that made it not work with Win 7 or XP. I was disillusioned with some of the lost features and skipped X2. Yet I did work out the color scheme with X1, but it didn't import into X3 correctly. It did fine for the Track pane, but didn't make any changes to the clip pane. I suppose either this is a bug or they made big changes to eh X3 clip pane colors where the X1 color settings won't import.
 
When I was trying to get X1 to work I did try the Sonar Mods Duckbar and used it. I recently visited their website and saw no mention of X3, so I was leery. So do you use their X2 version? No problems or instability? So are you happy now, because you're still using Duckbar with X3 or is it not needed now?

Jlien X

sharke
Having to specify clip background color per clip is totally lame.

 
The option to specify the default clip background color for the track shouldn't have been removed (I personally don't need it, though).
 

sharke
I can't imagine anyone wanting different colored clips in the same track. I think all clip backgrounds should be the same as the track color by default, with the option to change that per track.
As much as I think Sonar looks head and shoulders above other DAWs in many ways (especially the console view with the ProChannel), I do feel a little jealous when I see the clip panes of DAW's like ProTools, Abelton and Cubase. If the color customization of tracks is an organizational advantage (which it is otherwise they wouldn't have implemented it) then surely the same applies to the clips pane. Having all clip backgrounds the same as the track colors (or whatever color you like) would be an enormous visual help for me and I'm sure lots of others. I really don't know why they took this out in X3. I'm not about to start coloring clip backgrounds individually, it's just too much of a hassle.

 
I have to disagree. I think the new implementation in X3 is VERY logical and more beneficial (at least for users like me who mostly record MIDI). First, it's very likely that users color-code track strips by instrument type. For example, I use red for all guitar tracks, green for the bass, etc. This easily tells you which instrument you're are editing, because the colored track strips are always visible in the Track view. How about when you do multi-track editing in the Piano Roll view? Wouldn't you want the colors of the note events match those of the instrument colors you specified in the Track view? This is why it's very logical to link the colors between the track strip, clip foreground and the note events. In addition, do you use linked clips? I use a LOT. I have several different groups of linked clips in a single track and the easiest and most efficient way to distinguish between the groups are to give each group a different clip background color. And the clips with the default black color indicate that they are not linked to any clip in the track. This is why I think it makes sense to adopt black for a default clip background color. The screenshot below explains everything.

 
PT, Live and Cubase might be able to the same thing (I know S1 and DP can't), but at least in X3 it only takes two clicks to change the color of the strip, clip foreground and note events at once, and this is probably one of my top 5 reasons I want to keep using Sonar as my main DAW.

Good suggestions. I'm going to look into your methods more and see what I can do also. You make some good points. Thanks for sharing them.

Anderton...As you noted you can still see envelopes without automation selected in the edit filter, but they envelopes are dark, more for reference, and difficult to see against dark clip colors...I recommend putting in a feature request if this is something you think would be really useful to a broad base of users...

Thanks for the reply, Craig - Any observations I'm currently making are as someone struggling to adapt to X3 after years of using pre-X versions of Cakewalk.  There's much to re-learn and get used to.   Just as when I attempted to make X1 my new DAW, but couldn't do it, and went back to 8.5, - I still have that whining wish that not quite so many things had been changed when Cakewalk went "X."
 
With regard to automation envelopes, I'm still just so accustomed to seeing them plainly at all times no matter what kind of editing I'm doing.  In 8.5 I might be working on one track, but at a glance could see where the volume envelope on another track could use some adjusting.  With the handy "E" shortcut, I could toggle between clip selection or envelope selection, make that quick change and adjust the envelope, then go back to regular selection.  That was a basic part of my work flow that I took for granted.  But now, since the volume envelopes are barely visible (and volume envelopes are primarily all I have on a track) I can't get a visual of how all envelopes are working together without doing all that menu diving, choosing what I want to see - Lots of extra clips for what previously required no clicks.
 
And so on.  I'm just getting used to X3.  I'm sure I'll be well-adjusted eventually!
 
Randy

My biggest color issue is..... When a track is selected, the entire header should change color, not just the little background section behind the track name. This was the case up through 8.5. From a distance, when selecting a track by touching a fader on my control surface, it's very difficult to see.

gmp
 
When I was trying to get X1 to work I did try the Sonar Mods Duckbar and used it. I recently visited their website and saw no mention of X3, so I was leery. So do you use their X2 version? No problems or instability? So are you happy now, because you're still using Duckbar with X3 or is it not needed now?

 
Duckbar works fine with X3 and I still use it.