Steinberg Cubase 4 Operation Manual

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The Project Logical Editor
Selecting a preset
To understand the Project Logical Editor, it might be a good 
idea to start by exploring the included presets. These are 
found on the Presets pop-up menu at the bottom of the 
window, to the right.
To load a preset, select it from the Presets pop-up menu.
The window will show the settings stored in the preset. As the preset is 
not applied to the elements yet, you can load different presets just to 
study them without affecting any elements. You can also edit the preset 
before applying it.
To apply the loaded preset (i.e. to perform the opera-
tions defined in the Project Logical Editor), click Do It.
ÖYou can also open the Edit menu and select Presets di-
rectly from the “Process Project Logical Editor” submenu.
This allows you to apply a preset directly, without having to open the 
Project Logical Editor.
For information on how to create and handle your own 
presets, see “Working with presets” on page 389.
Setting up filter conditions
General procedure
The upper list is where you set up the filter conditions, de-
termining which elements to find. The list contains one or 
several conditions, each on a separate line.
ÖIf you want to start from scratch (as opposed to basing 
your settings on an existing preset), you may want to ini-
tialize the settings by selecting the Init option from the 
Presets pop-up menu.
To add a new line (condition), click the Add Line button 
to the right.
The new line is added at the bottom of the list. If there are many lines, you 
may need to use the scrollbar to the right to view them.
To remove a line, select it and click the Delete Line but-
ton to the right.You set up a filter condition line by clicking in the columns 
and selecting options from the pop-up menus that appear. 
Here is a brief description of the columns:
Below, the different Filter Targets (and their corresponding 
Condition and Parameter options) are described in more 
detail.
Column Description
Left bracket This is used for “bracketing” several lines together when 
creating conditions with multiple lines and the boolean 
operators And/Or. See “Combining multiple condition li-
nes” on page 386.
Filter Target Here you select which property to look for when finding 
elements. Your choice here affects the available options 
in the other columns as well, see below!
Condition This determines how the Project Logical Editor should 
compare the property in the Filter Target column to the 
values in the Parameter columns (see the separate table 
below). The available options depend on the Filter Target 
setting.
Parameter 1 Here you set which value the element properties should 
be compared to (depending on the Filter Target). 
For example, if the Filter Target is “Position” and Condi-
tion is “Equal”, the Project Logical Editor will look for all 
elements starting at the position you specify in the Pa-
rameter 1 column.
Parameter 2 This column is only used if you have selected one of the 
“Range” options in the Condition column. Typically, this 
allows you to find all elements with values inside (or out-
side) the range between Parameter 1 and Parameter 2.
Bar Range This column is only used if the Filter Target is “Position” 
and one of the “Bar Range” options is selected in the 
Condition column. In these cases, you use the Bar Range 
column to specify “zones” within each bar (allowing you 
to find e.g. all elements on or around the first beat of ev-
ery bar). See “Searching for elements at certain positi-
ons” on page 384.
Right bracket This is used for “bracketing” several lines together. See 
“Combining multiple condition lines” on page 386.
bool This allows you to insert the boolean operators And/Or, 
when creating conditions with multiple lines. See “Com-
bining multiple condition lines” on page 386. 
						

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The Project Logical Editor
Searching for Media types
1.Select Media Type in the Filter Target pop-up menu.
This allows you to find elements of certain types of media only. 
2.Open the pop-up menu in the Parameter 1 column 
and select the desired option.
When the Filter Target is set to Media type, the pop-up menu lists the 
available media types. The following table lists what will be found:
3.Open the pop-up menu in the Condition column and 
select the desired condition. 
For media types, the following options are available:
If, e.g. you have set up the Project Logical Editor like this…
…the Project Logical Editor will find all Marker events and 
tracks in the project.
Searching for Container types
1.Select Container Type in the Filter Target pop-up menu.
This allows you to find parts, events or tracks. 
2.Open the pop-up menu in the Parameter 1 column 
and select the desired option.
When the Filter Target is set to Container type, the pop-up menu lists the 
available container types. The following table lists what will be found:
3.Open the pop-up menu in the Condition column and 
select the desired condition. 
For container types, the following options are available:
If, e.g. you have set up the Project Logical Editor like this…
…the Project Logical Editor will find all Folder tracks in the 
project.
This Filter Target is very powerful in combination with the 
Media type Filter Target:
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all MIDI and Instrument parts in 
the project. Media Type Description
Audio If no container type is specified, this finds audio events, 
audio parts and audio tracks.
MIDI If no container type is specified, this finds MIDI parts and 
MIDI tracks.
Automation If no container type is specified, this finds automation 
events and automation tracks.
Marker If no container type is specified, this finds marker events 
and marker tracks.
Transpose If no container type is specified, this finds transpose 
events and transpose tracks.
Arranger If no container type is specified, this finds Arranger 
events and Arranger tracks.
Condition Description
Equal …finds the Media Type set up in the Parameter 1 column.
All Types …finds all Media Types.
Container Type Description
Folder Track This finds all folder tracks, included FX Channel and 
Group Channel folders.
Track This finds all kinds of tracks.
Part This finds audio, MIDI and Instrument parts. Folder 
parts will not be found.
Event This finds automation points, markers, audio events, 
arranger events and transpose events.
Condition Description
Equal …finds the Container Type set up in the Parameter 1 col-
umn.
All Types …finds all Container Types. 
						

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The Project Logical Editor
Combining Media type and Container type
The combination of the Filter Targets Media type and Con-
tainer represents a versatile tool for logical operations:
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all Automation tracks (not 
events) in the project whose name contains vol.
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all MIDI and Instrument parts 
(not tracks) in the project that are muted.
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all MIDI and Instrument parts 
(not tracks) or all audio events (not parts or tracks) in the project that 
are muted.
Searching for Names
1.Select Name on the Filter Target pop-up menu.
2.Enter the desired name, or a part of a name in the Pa-
rameter 1 column.
3.Open the pop-up menu in the Condition column and 
select the desired condition.
For names, the following options are available:
If, e.g. you have set up the Project Logical Editor like this…
…the Project Logical Editor will find all tracks in the 
project whose name contains “voc”.
ÖTo take maximum advantage of this feature, we recom-
mend you to use a standard nomenclature in your projects 
(Drums, Perc, Voc, etc.). 
Condition Description
Equal …is the exact same string as set up in the Parameter 1 
column.
Contains …contains the set string. 
						

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The Project Logical Editor
Searching for elements at certain positions
1.Select Position in the Filter Target pop-up menu.
This allows you to find elements starting at certain positions, either rela-
tive to the start of the project or within each bar.
2.Open the pop-up menu in the Condition column and 
select the desired condition. 
For positions, the following options are available: 
If you select any condition other than the Range, Bar 
Range, Cursor, Loop or Cycle options, you set up a spe-
cific position (in bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks) in 
the Parameter 1 column. Note that the position for Bar 
Range is measured in ticks related to the start of the bar. 
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all elements at the position 
5.1.1. in the project.
If you select Inside Range or Outside Range in the Con-
dition column, you set the start position of the range in the 
Parameter 1 column and the end position in the Parameter 
2 column.
The Project Logical Editor will then find all elements inside or outside this 
position range.
If you select one of the Bar Range options in the Condi-
tion column, the Bar Range column will show a graphic bar 
display. You specify the range within the bar by clicking and 
dragging in the bar display (the specified Bar Range is indi-
cated in blue).
The Project Logical Editor will then find all elements starting inside or 
outside this Bar Range, in all bars (within the current selection).
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find elements starting around the 
second beat in each bar. Condition Description
Equal …has the exact same value as set up in the Parameter 1 
column.
Unequal …has any value other than the one set up in the Parame-
ter 1 column.
Bigger …has a value higher than the one set up in the 
Parameter 1 column.
Bigger or Equal …has a value that is the same as or higher than the one 
set up in the Parameter 1 column.
Less …has a value lower than the one set up in the 
Parameter 1 column.
Less or Equal …has a value that is the same as or lower than the one 
set up in the Parameter 1 column.
Inside Range …has a value that is between the values set up in the Pa-
rameter 1 and Parameter 2 columns. Note that Parameter 
1 should be the lower value and Parameter 2 the higher.
Outside Range …has a value that is not between the values set up in the 
Parameter 1 and Parameter 2 columns.
Inside Bar 
Range…is within the “zone” set up in the Bar Range column, in 
each bar within the current selection.
Outside Bar 
Range…is outside the “zone” set up in the Bar Range column, 
in each bar within the current selection.
Before Cursor …is before the song Project position.
Beyond Cursor …is after the song Project position.
Inside Track 
Loop…is inside the set track loop (see “The independent track 
loop function” on page 267).
Inside Cycle …is inside the set cycle.
Exactly match-
ing Cycle…exactly matches the set cycle. 
						

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The Project Logical Editor
Searching for elements of certain lengths
1.Select Length in the Filter Target pop-up menu.
This allows you to find elements of a certain length only. The Length pa-
rameter is interpreted via the time base setting of the tracks, i.e. in ticks 
(musical) or ms (time), except for audio parts or events: these are always 
measured in samples.
2.Open the pop-up menu in the Condition column and 
select the desired condition. 
For lengths, the following options are available:
If you select any condition other than the Range options, 
you set up a specific position in the Parameter 1 column.
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all audio parts and events in 
the project with a length smaller than 200 samples.
Searching for properties
1.Select Property on the Filter Target pop-up menu.
2.Open the pop-up menu in the Condition column and 
select the desired condition. 
When the Property option is selected, the Condition column has two op-
tions: “Property is set” and “Property is not set”. 
3.Open the pop-up menu in the Parameter 1 column 
and select the desired option.
This sets which property will be searched. The options are “Event is 
muted” and “Event is selected”. 
ÖNote that “event” in this context refers to all the Project 
window elements that can be modified, e.g. MIDI parts, 
Audio events and parts, Transpose parts, Arranger parts, 
automation events.
Two examples:
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all muted MIDI and Instrument 
parts.
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all elements that are selected 
but not muted. Condition Description
Equal …has the exact same value as set up in the Parameter 1 
column.
Unequal …has any value other than the one set up in the Parame-
ter 1 column.
Bigger …has a value higher than the one set up in the 
Parameter 1 column.
Bigger or Equal …has a value that is the same as or higher than the one 
set up in the Parameter 1 column.
Less …has a value lower than the one set up in the 
Parameter 1 column.
Less or Equal …has a value that is the same as or lower than the one 
set up in the Parameter 1 column.
Inside Range …has a value that is between the values set up in the Pa-
rameter 1 and Parameter 2 columns. Note that Parameter 
1 should be the lower value and Parameter 2 the higher.
Outside Range …has a value that is not between the values set up in the 
Parameter 1 and Parameter 2 columns. 
						

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The Project Logical Editor
Combining multiple condition lines
As described above, you can add condition lines by click-
ing the Add Line button to the right of the list. The result of 
combining condition lines depends on the boolean And/
Or operators and the brackets.
The bool column
By clicking in the “bool” column to the right in the list, you 
can select a boolean operator: “And” or “Or”. A boolean 
operator combines two condition lines and determines the 
result in the following way:
ÖIf two condition lines are combined with a boolean And, 
both conditions must be fulfilled for an element to be found.
The Project Logical Editor will only find MIDI Tracks.
ÖIf two condition lines are combined with a boolean Or, 
one of the conditions (or both) must be fulfilled for an ele-
ment to be found.
The Project Logical Editor will find all parts or events that match exactly 
the cycle.
Using brackets
The bracket (parenthesis) columns let you enclose two or 
more condition lines, dividing the conditional expression 
into smaller units. This is only relevant when you have 
three or more condition lines and want to use the boolean 
Or operator. This is how it works:
ÖWithout brackets, the conditional expressions are 
evaluated according to their order in the list.
Here, the Project Logical Editor will find all audio parts and events 
whose name contains perc as well as other parts and events (e.g. MIDI 
parts) whose name contains drums.
Maybe you wanted to find all Audio parts and events that 
either had the name perc or the name drums (but no other 
parts or events named drums)? Then you need to add 
some brackets:
Here, all audio parts or events will be found whose name contains perc 
or drums. The rule behind this is:
ÖExpressions within brackets are evaluated first.
If there are several layers of brackets, these are evaluated “from the inside 
out”, starting with the innermost brackets.
You add brackets by clicking in the bracket columns and 
selecting an option. Up to triple brackets can be selected.
Editing filter conditions as text
You can also edit filter conditions as text. This works just 
like in the Logical Editor for MIDI, see “Editing filter condi-
tions as text” on page 374.
!When you add a new condition line, the boolean set-
ting defaults to And. Therefore, if all you want to do is 
set up two or more conditions that all must be met 
for an element to be found, you don’t have to think 
about the boolean column – just add the required 
lines and make the usual filter settings. 
						

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The Project Logical Editor
Selecting a function
The pop-up menu in the top left corner of the Project Log-
ical Editor is where you select the function – the basic 
type of editing to be performed. When you select an op-
tion from the pop-up menu, the field to the right displays a 
comment, making it easier to see what the function does.
The available options are:
Delete
Deletes all elements found by the Project Logical Editor.
ÖWhen you delete automation tracks and undo this op-
eration by selecting Undo from the Edit menu, the automa-
tion tracks will be restored, but the tracks will be closed.
Transform
Changes one or several aspects of the found elements. 
You set up exactly what should be changed in the action 
list, see below.
Select 
This will simply select all found elements, highlighting 
them for further work in the Project window.
Specifying actions
The lower list in the Project Logical Editor window is the 
action list. This is where you specify any changes that 
should be made to the found elements, relevant for the 
function type Transform.
You can perform two different kinds of actions: track-based 
actions (such as Track Operation, Name) and event-based 
actions (such as Position, Length, Name). There are also 
actions that only take effect on automation data (Trim).
The handling of the action list is similar to the filter condi-
tion list, but without the brackets and booleans. You sim-
ply add lines by clicking the Add Line button to the right, 
and fill out the columns as required. To remove a superflu-
ous action line, select it and click the Delete Line button.
Action Target
This is where you select the property that should be 
changed. The Operations determine what to do with the 
Action Target. Below, all available operations are listed:
Position
Adjusting this value will move the elements:
Operation Description
Add Adds the value specified in the Parameter 1 column to the 
Position.
Subtract Subtracts the value specified in the Parameter 1 column 
from the Position.
Multiply by Multiplies the Position value with the value specified in the 
Parameter 1 column.
Divide by Divides the Position value by the value specified in the Para-
meter 1 column.
Round by This “rounds” the Position value using the value specified in 
the Parameter 1 column. In other words, the Position value is 
changed to the closest value that can be divided by the Pa-
rameter 1 value.
For example, if the Position value is 17 and Parameter 1 is 5, 
the result of rounding will be 15 (the closest value that can 
be divided by 5). Another word for this type of operation 
would be “quantizing”, and it’s actually possible to use it for 
this, by specifying a quantize value with Parameter 1 (in ticks, 
with 480 ticks per quarter note). 
						

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The Project Logical Editor
Length
Lets you resize the elements. This parameter is interpreted 
via the time base setting of the tracks, i.e. in ticks (musical) 
or ms (time):
Track Operation
This lets you change the track status.
Name
This lets you rename the found elements. 
Trim
This Action Target is used for automation only and lets you 
trim the found elements.
Applying the defined actions
Once you have set up filter conditions, selected a function 
and set the required actions (or loaded a preset), you ap-
ply the actions defined with the Project Logical Editor by 
clicking the Do It button.
Project Logical Editor operations can be undone just like 
any other editing.
Set Relative 
Random 
Values 
betweenThis will add a random value to the current Position value. 
The added random value will be within the range specified 
with Parameter 1 and 2. Note that these can be set to nega-
tive values.
For example, if you set Parameter 1 to -20 and Parameter 2 
to +20, the original Position value will get a random variation, 
never exceeding ±20.
Set to fixed 
valueThis sets the Position to the value specified in the Parameter 
1 column.
Operation Description
Add Adds the value specified in the Parameter 1 column to the 
Length.
Subtract Subtracts the value specified in the Parameter 1 column 
from the Length.
Multiply by Multiplies the Length value with the value specified in the 
Parameter 1 column.
Divide by Divides the Length value by the value specified in the Para-
meter 1 column.
Round by This “rounds” the Length value using the value specified in 
the Parameter 1 column. In other words, the Length value is 
changed to the closest value that can be divided by the Pa-
rameter 1 value.
Set to fixed 
valueThis sets the Length to the value specified in the Parameter 
1 column.
Set Random 
Values
betweenThis will add a random value to the current length. The 
added random value will be within the range specified with 
Parameter 1 and 2.  Operation Description
Operation Description
Folder Opens, closes or toggles folders.
Record Enables, disables or toggles the record enable status.
Monitor Enables, disables or toggles the monitor status.
Solo Enables, disables or toggles the solo status.
Mute Enables, disables or toggles the mute status.
Operation Description
Replace Replaces names by the string specified under Parameter 1.
Append Names will be appended with the string specified under Pa-
rameter 1.
Prepend The name will be prepended with the string specified under 
Parameter 1.
Generate 
NameThe name will be replaced by the string specified under Pa-
rameter 1 followed by the number set with Parameter 2. The 
number will be increased by 1 for every found element. 
Replace 
Search 
StringYou can specify a search string under Parameter 1 that 
should be replaced by the string specified under Parameter 2.
Operation Description
Multiply by Multiplies the Trim value with the value specified in the 
Parameter 1 column.
Divide by Divides the Trim value by the value specified in the Para-
meter 1 column. 
						

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The Project Logical Editor
Working with presets
The Presets section in the bottom right section of the win-
dow allows you to load, store and manage Project Logical 
Editor presets. A preset contains all settings in the window, 
which means you can simply load a preset and click Do It.
ÖTo load a preset, select it from the Presets menu.
Storing your own settings as a preset
If you have made Project Logical Editor settings that you 
want to use again, you can store them as a preset:
1.You can enter some explanatory text in the Comment 
field.
An extra description of the preset can be useful, especially if the settings 
are complex.
2.Click the Store button in the Presets section.
A dialog for specifying a name for the new preset is displayed.
3.Enter a name for the preset and click OK.
The preset is stored.
ÖTo remove a preset, load it and click the Remove but-
ton.
Organizing and sharing presets
The Project Logical Editor presets are stored within the ap-
plication folder in the Presets\Logical Edit Project subfolder 
(see also “Where are the settings stored?” on page 473). 
While these files cannot be edited manually, you can reor-
ganize them (e.g. putting them in subfolders) like any files.
This also makes it easy to share presets with other Cu-
base users, by transferring the individual preset files.
ÖThe list of presets is read each time the Project Logi-
cal Editor is opened.
Setting up key commands for your presets
If you have stored Project Logical Editor presets, you can 
set up key commands for them:
1.Pull down the File menu and select “Key Commands…”.
The Key Commands dialog appears.
2.Use the list in the Commands column to navigate to 
the category “Process Project Logical Editor” and click 
the plus-sign to display the items in the folder.
3.In the list, select the item to which you wish to assign a 
key command, click in the “Type in Key” field and enter a 
new key command.
4.Click the Assign button above the field.
The new key command appears in the Keys List.
5.Click OK to exit the dialog.
For more information on Key Commands, see the chapter 
“Key commands” on page 475. 
						

							30
Working with System Exclusive
messages