Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

191
Automation
The Automation panel
The Automation panel is a floating window, similar to the 
Mixer and Transport panel. You can leave it open while 
you work – the Project window will always have the focus.
To open the Automation panel, open the Project menu and 
select the Automation Panel option or click the Automa-
tion Panel button on the Project window toolbar.
The Automation panel gives you access to all automation 
options in Cubase. By default, all sections are displayed.
You can change the...

192
Automation
Touch
Typically, you would use Touch mode in situations where 
you want to make a change lasting only a few seconds to 
an already set up parameter.
As the name implies, Touch will write automation data only 
for as long as you actually touch a parameter control – 
punch-out occurs as soon as you release the control.
After punch-out, the control will return to the previously 
set value. The Return Time setting (see “Return Time” on 
page 195) determines how long it takes for the parameter...

193
Automation
Now, re-touch the fader and move it towards the original 
value. As soon as you cross the original curve, punch-out 
occurs automatically.
Automation mode: Cross-Over
Trim
This is described in the section “Trim” on page 193.
The Read/Write buttons in the Mode section
At the bottom of the Mode section, you find two Read and 
two Write buttons. These are used to globally enable or 
disable the Read and Write buttons on all tracks.
The All Automation to Read/Write buttons in the Mode section...

194
Automation
The Suspend options
The parameters or parameter groups selected here are 
excluded from the reading or writing of automation data – 
giving you full manual control of these parameters. 
ÖNote that the Others options refer to all parameters 
not covered by any of the options Volume, Pan, Mute, EQ, 
Sends or Inserts.
Suspending Write
Imagine the following situation: To help you concentrate 
while working on a particular track, you mute several other 
tracks. However, because automation Write...

195
Automation
The Settings section
In the Settings section of the Automation panel you will 
find a number of global options and commands.
The Functions pop-up menu
At the top of the Settings section, you will find the Func-
tions pop-up menu, which contains a number of global 
commands affecting automation.
ÖYou can always undo these actions!
Delete All Automation in Project
This global command will remove all automation data from 
your project. Use this option with great caution, otherwise 
you may...

196
Automation
The Options pop-up menu
Show Data on Tracks
When this option is activated, audio waveforms or MIDI 
events will be displayed not only on the audio or MIDI 
tracks, but also on the corresponding automation tracks.
ÖNote that this depends on two options in the Prefe-
rences dialog: The events will be displayed only when the 
option “Show waveforms” (Event Display–Audio) is en-
abled and when “Part Data Mode” (Event Display–MIDI) is 
set to an option other than “No data”.
Allow Continue...

197
Automation
Opening automation tracks 
Every track has a number of automation tracks, each 
showing one automation parameter.
For audio, Instrument, group channel, MIDI and FX chan-
nel tracks, there are two ways you can open an automa-
tion track for the channel:
By right-clicking the track in the Track list and selecting 
“Show Automation” from the context menu.
By clicking along the left edge of the track in the Track 
list. (Also, when you position the mouse pointer over the 
lower left corner of...

198
Automation
4.Select a parameter from the list and click OK.
The parameter will then replace the current parameter in the automation 
track.
ÖNote that the “replacing” of the parameter displayed in 
the automation track is completely non-destructive. 
If the automation track contained any automation data for the parameter 
you just replaced, this data will still be there, although it will not be visible 
after you replaced the parameter. If you click in the parameter display you 
can switch back to...

199
Automation
Muting automation tracks
You can mute individual automation tracks by clicking their 
Mute buttons in the Track list. Unlike the Read (R) button, 
which will activate or deactivate Read mode for all auto-
mation tracks of a track, the Mute button allows you to turn 
off automation for a single parameter.
The “Automation follows Events” setting
If you activate “Automation follows Events” on the Edit 
menu (or in the Preferences–Editing page), automation 
events will automatically follow...

200
Automation
About the static value line
When you open an automation track for a parameter for the 
first time, it does not contain any automation events (unless 
you have previously adjusted that parameter with write au-
tomation activated), and this is reflected in the event display 
as a straight horizontal black line, the “static value” line. This 
line represents the current parameter setting.
If you have manually added any automation events or 
used write automation for the corresponding...