notation editor is too bad and hard to work on

Unfortunately the notation editor in Sonar is well known to be terrible.  With a bit of luck it'll be getting re-worked soon, but no promises as the Bakers don't seem to want to talk about it.
 
Your best bet for editing is the piano roll view.

Granted that the notation editor is pretty primitive, if your notes are jumping "erratically" when you try to change the duration, you probably need to change your snap to settings.

If you export from Guitar Pro be aware that the midi export is broken and the note durations will be wrong especially when a note is held over measure boundaries. You'll have to bring up the parts and fix them in the piano roll after importing them.

I use the Staff View (notation) about 90% of the time.  It does need improvement, but it works fine for me for writing and arranging.
 
My biggest complaint is that it does not know how to notate swing time (that is, 4/4 with triplet 8ths—or 12/8 counted in 4/4, depending on how you look at it).  It notates triplets, but only if they are all in the same staff and it has no idea how to notate a quarter followed by an eighth in triple/swing time.

No, its not that bad.  I've written and produced over 32 symphonic movements using the staff view,  anyone who says its unusable is wrong.  Using keybindings to choose which note-value you want to enter really speeds things up a lot.  There are a few bugs with the SNAP function (the staff view snap function is independent of the universal snap function on the control bar) but completely usable.  It does need improvement but it gets the job done if you're willing to invest the time to learn it well.
 
JG
www.jerrygerber.com

Anderton

jsg
it gets the job done if you're willing to invest the time to learn it well.

 
What is this "learning" of which you speak? Do you think this concept is something that would benefit software users in general? 
 

Hi Craig,
 
Perhaps "learning" isn't the best term.  I meant that with practice, the notation editor is a breeze to use. It gets faster as you repeat the same steps over and over.  Keybinding all note values helps.   I am not saying the staff view can't be improved, I've been writing to CW for many years about it, but my comments always seem to fall on deaf ears.  I even got a call from CW a number of years ago asking me specifically how the staff view can be improved and I offered some suggestions, none of which were implemented.  
 
The problems I am currently experiencing intermittently with the notation editor is the snap-to functions get weird sometimes.  The workaround is to choose the largest note value, the dotted whole (I've keybinded this to the TAB key so its very quick to do) and then click on a whole note or half note in the score.  This "resets" the snap function.  The other issue is clicking on the notes that are on ledger lines below the staff, you have to click just to the left or the right of the note instead of directly on the note head as is the case with notes in the staff.
 
Of course the longstanding issues of properly notating tied and dotted triplets and 64th notes is annoying, but remember, the MIDI playback of these note values is flawless, it's only the display of these notes that is incorrect.  Since I export my compositions into Sibelius to create the actual score, this doesn't stop me from making the music I want to make.  Bugs and criticism aside, the staff view is perfectly usable.  My music is often complex, orchestral, and contrapuntal, so using music notation is really the only option, you just can't control voice leading and contrapuntal movement with the PRV.  
 
If you take some time to listen to www.jerrygerber.com/symphony9.htm you'll see immediately why my statement that the staff view is completely usable is true.   The staff view is not as good as it should be, nor is it as bad as some people like to make it out to be.  The truth is somewhere in the middle.
 
I'd still like to talk with you about the idea of doing a workshop on Sonar together if you're open to the idea.
 
Jerry

Up until Sonar 8.5 the notation tool allowed pretty fast midi data input, note entry per se was actually faster than the other dedicated notation packages I've used. From X1, however, the functions were re-keyed and a lot of the speed was lost. This seemed to be at the expense of more emphasis on allowing the creation of printable notation, which to me (and, from comments on here, quite a few others) was not necessary or desirable for a notation tool in DAW, and should be left to the Sibelius and Finale type packages.

It's still a vital part of Sonar for me though, and not just for input/editing. One advantage not mentioned above is that even if you just play ideas into a sketch project from a MIDI keyboard, you have the assurance of knowing that you will automatically be leaving behind a notated record of what you did if you come back to it weeks or months later. It won't be printable but that doesn't matter, it could easily be notated elsewhere if readable parts were needed.

With development of touch screen.... I would have thought it would have been sensible to bring back traditional note value icons  so people could "draw" in the notes..

Anderton

jsg
it gets the job done if you're willing to invest the time to learn it well.

 
What is this "learning" of which you speak? Do you think this concept is something that would benefit software users in general? 
 

Learning:
 
I was also thinking tonight while sequencing that learning how to relax the hands when using the mouse and computer keyboard in the staff view is essential, no less essential than when playing a musical instrument.  A mouse alone, true, is not an expressive device, but the computer is an expressive and sensitive musical instrument with great timbral and dynamic range, so relax your hands , this will help facilitate using the staff view.  Whether you invent music in the staff view and input with a mouse or whether you play it in, either way you still have a lot of mouse moves and keyboard moves to make.  Ergonomics of body position and posture has an influence on our work habits and how quickly and how deeply we learn from our creative activity.
 
JG