Apparently, adjusting the background color of MIDI clips is no longer an option as of X3?
 
Phooey.

You can do it for existing clips*.
You can't do it for track defaults, or explicit tracks.
Phooey is right.
 
* select track so that all clips highlighted; inspector: clips; deleselect [ ] use track color; select back and fore color.
 

Hmm, I hadn't investigated this yet. If it is true then it is a step backwards!

Yes - I double-checked my Sonar X2 - which has MIDI background colors as choices.
X3 does not.
This is indeed a step backwards not just because it represents less choice, but because it makes MIDI data harder to see, and doesn't afford us a good way to differentiate the look of MIDI tracks just by glancing at them. I hope Cakewalk fixes this soon - afterall, not all of us are into the "Goth" everything-must-be dark gray/black look. Assigning colors to clips is WAY too cumbersome; we need the old systemic solution that the earlier version had.

send in the feature request

Color me confused...
 
<.<
 
>.>
 
... ahem. Anyway, maybe I'm misunderstanding. Can't you select the MIDI clips in question and then go to the Clip Inspector and alter the background color setting under Clip Properties?
 
Try this:

• Select a bunch of clips that you want to change the color of (right click lasso select or CTRL + click)
• Press SHIFT + I on your keyboard to open the Clip Inspector
• Under Clip Properties change the "Background" color
• Clear your selection and the clip background color should have changed

 
(Aside: I don't the MIDI background color settings in the Preferences menu in X2 actually worked. They were broken color options)

I don't have X3 yet but was told in another thread that the Inspector options for Background colors and "Use Track Colors" is no longer there.
Only Foreground colors remains.

They're there in Clip Properties. The confusion in the other thread is people probably looking at Track Properties and confusing the two.

No. This is a change from X2 to X3.
Open Preferences | Colors - look at "MIDI Tracks"
In X2, you can specify the MIDI Track Background colors; in X3, you can't.
Yes, you can go through 14 steps to assign colors to clips, or . . . we could just have it like before where you set it up once and then it is automatic all the time after that. Even if you do change clip colors manually, they will still change back if you ever "Bounce to Clips."
 
Aaargh.

"They're there in Clip Properties. The confusion in the other thread is people probably looking at Track Properties and confusing the two."
 
Right you are! http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/2900085