Steinberg Cubase 6 Manual

							51
Working with projects
A word about file extensions
Under Windows, file types are indicated by three letter file 
name extensions (such as *.cpr for Cubase project files). 
Under Mac OS X, it is not necessary to use file name ex-
tensions, since the file types are stored internally in the 
files. However, if you want your Cubase projects to be 
compatible with both platforms, make sure that the “Use 
File Extension in File Dialog” option is activated in the 
Preferences dialog (General page). When this is acti
-
vated, the proper file name extension is automatically 
added when you save a file.
Save New Version
This function is only available as a key command, by de-
fault [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Alt]/[Option]-[S]. When you use 
this function, an identical, new project file is being created 
and activated. 
The new file will get the same name as the original project, 
but with an incremental number attached. For example, if 
your project is called “My Project”, you will get new ver
-
sions called “My Project-01”, “My Project-02”, and so on.
Save New Version is useful if you are experimenting with 
edits and arrangements and want to be able to go back to 
a previous version at any time. The newest versions are al
-
ways listed on the Recent Projects submenu of the File 
menu for instant access (see also 
“Opening recent proj-
ects” on page 49).
Save as Template
This function allows you to save the current project as a 
template. When you create a new project, the available 
templates are listed, allowing you to base the new project 
on a template.
Proceed as follows:
1.Set up a project.
2.Select “Save As Template…” from the File menu and 
enter a name for the new project template.
•In the Attribute Inspector section you can assign the 
template to one of the four template categories shown in 
the Project Assistant dialog (see 
“Creating new projects” 
on page 49) and/or enter a description for the template.
Simply select a category value from the Template Category pop-up 
menu and/or enter a description in the Content Summary field. 
ÖIf you do not choose a Template Category attribute, 
the new template will be shown in the More category in 
the Project Assistant dialog.
3.Click OK to save the template.
•Templates can contain clips and events just like regular 
projects.
If this is not what you want, make sure to remove all clips from the Pool 
before you save the project as a template.
Templates are always stored in the Templates folder, see 
“Where are the settings stored?” on page 539. 
Setting up a default template
If you always want the same default project to open when 
you launch Cubase, you can save a default template. Pro
-
ceed as follows:
1.Set up a project.
2.Select “Save As Template…” from the File menu and 
save the project template with the name “default”.
3.Open the Preferences dialog and select the General 
page.
4.Open the “On Startup” pop-up menu and select 
“Open ‘Default’ Template”.
The next time you launch Cubase, the default template will 
automatically be opened. For details on the other Startup 
options, see 
“Startup Options” on page 54.
ÖIn the Project Assistant dialog, the default project tem-
plate is found in the More category.
Reverting to the last saved version
If you select “Revert” from the File menu, you will be asked 
whether you really want to revert to the last saved version 
of the project. If you click “Revert”, all changes you have 
made since saving will be discarded.
If you have recorded or created new audio files since sav-
ing, you will be asked whether you want to delete or keep 
these. 
						

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Working with projects
Auto Save
If you activate the Auto Save option in the Preferences dia-
log (General page), Cubase will automatically save backup 
copies of all open projects with unsaved changes.
These backup copies are named “-xx.bak”, 
where xx is an incremental number. Unsaved projects are 
backed up in a similar way as “UntitledX-xx.bak”, with X 
being the incremental number for unsaved projects. All 
backup files are saved in the project folder. 
•Use the “Auto Save Interval” setting to specify the time 
intervals in which a backup copy will be created.
•Use the “Maximum Backup Files” option to specify how 
many backup files will be created with the Auto Save 
function.
When the maximum number of backup files is reached, the existing files 
will be overwritten (starting with the oldest file). 
ÖWith this option only the project files themselves will 
be backed up. If you want to include the files from the Pool 
and save your project in a different location, you need to 
use the “Back up Project” function.
The Archive and Backup functions
Prepare Archive
The “Prepare Archive” function verifies that every clip ref-
erenced in the project is located in the same folder, and 
takes actions if that is not the case:
•Any files that are located outside the current project 
folder will be copied into it.
Please note that audio files residing within the project folder are not cop-
ied to the audio folder. Therefore, you have to copy them there manually 
before backing up the audio folder or save them separately during 
backup, see below.
•If any processing has been applied, you will be asked 
whether you want to Freeze Edits.
If you do this, you do not have to archive the Edits folder. Everything be-longing to the project will be contained in the project file and the Audio 
folder.
Once you have performed a Prepare Archive operation, 
you can use the “Back Up Project” function to create a 
backup of the project file, containing copies of all neces
-
sary media files (with the exception of VST Sound content, 
see below).
It is not necessary to archive the Images folder, since 
these images can be recreated by Cubase. You may also 
find a file with the extension “.csh” in the project folder. 
This contains image information for edited clips and other 
data that can be recreated, so it can safely be deleted.
Back up Project
This function is very useful if you want to create a backup 
copy of a project for your archive. It can also be used to 
prepare projects for delivery so that they only contain the 
necessary work data (while leaving the original project un
-
touched). When you back up a project, all media files (ex-
cept those coming from VST Sound archives) can be 
included as a copy.
!Video clips are always referenced and not stored in 
the project folder.
!VST Sound content provided by Steinberg is copy-
protected and will not be included in the backup 
project. If you want to use a backup copy of a project 
using such data on a different computer, make sure 
that the corresponding content is also available on 
that computer. 
						

							53
Working with projects
1.Select “Back up Project…” from the File menu. 
A file dialog opens in which you can choose an existing empty folder or 
create a new folder to save the project.
2.Click OK.
The “Back up Project Options” dialog opens.
This dialog contains the following options:
3.Make the desired settings.
4.Click OK. 
A copy of the project is saved in the new folder. The original project is 
not affected.
Cleanup
The Cleanup function on the File menu helps you to save 
hard disk space by locating and – if you like – deleting un
-
used audio files in the project folders on your disk.
1.Select “Cleanup…” from the File menu.
If there are any open projects, an alert shows. Clicking “Close” closes all 
open projects and brings up the dialog “Cleanup Cubase Project Folders”.
2.To restrict the Cleanup function to a certain folder, 
click the “Search Folder” button and select the folder.
The default setting is that the Cleanup function is applied to all folders on 
all hard disks. Only select a specific folder if you are certain it does not 
contain audio files used in other projects (outside the folder), see below. 
You can reset the function to search all folders by opening the “Search 
Folder” dialog again and clicking “Cancel”.
3.Click the Start button.
Cubase will now scan the selected folder (or all hard disks) for Cubase 
project folders and check for audio and image files (in the Audio, Edits 
and Images subfolders) that are not used by any project. The found files 
are listed in the dialog.
4.When the scan is complete, you can select files by 
clicking in the list.
Use [Ctrl]/[Command]-click to select several files, and [Shift]-click to se-
lect a range of files. You can also click the Select All button to select all 
files in the list.
In the following situations, the Cleanup function will list 
files that are not unused:
• If you have moved or renamed files or folders (without updat-
ing the project files to use the new paths), there is no way for 
Cubase to know that these files are used in a project. 
• If you perform the Cleanup function on a folder in which there 
are audio files belonging to other projects (outside the folder), 
these files will be considered “unused”.
•Also, make sure that you do not delete any files used in 
other applications, or files that you generally want to keep!
However, you can always safely delete image files since 
these can be reconstructed by the program, if necessary.
5.Delete any files you do not want to keep by selecting 
them and clicking Delete.
6.Close the dialog by clicking the Close button.
OptionDescription
Project NameEnter a project name if you want to change it from the de-fault (the current name of the project).
Keep Current 
Project ActiveWhen this option is activated, the current project will still 
be the active project after clicking OK. If you wish to switch 
to the new backup project instead, deactivate this option.
Minimize Audio 
FilesIf this is activated, only the audio file portions that are actu-ally used in the project will be included. This can significan-tly reduce the size of the project folder (if you are using 
small sections of large files), but it also means you cannot 
use other portions of the audio files if you continue working 
with the project in its new folder.
Freeze EditsThis will perform a Freeze Edits operation, making all pro-cessing and applied effects permanent to each clip in the 
Pool, see “Freeze Edits” on page 255.
Remove 
Unused FilesWhen this is activated, only files in the Pool that are actu-ally used in the project will be stored in the new folder.
Do Not Back 
up VideoWhen this is activated, any video clips on the video track 
or in the Pool of the current project will not be included in 
the backup project. 
						

							54
Working with projects
Startup Options
The “On Startup” pop-up menu in the Preferences dialog 
(General page) allows you to specify what happens when 
you launch Cubase. 
The following options are available:
The Project Setup dialog
General settings for the project are made in the Project 
Setup dialog. This is opened by selecting “Project 
Setup…” from the Project menu.
ÖIf the “Run Setup on Create New Project” option is ac-
tivated in the Preferences dialog (General page), the Pro-
ject Setup dialog will open automatically when you create 
a new project. 
The following settings are available in the Project Setup 
dialog:
OptionDescription
Do NothingCubase launches without opening a project.
Open Last 
ProjectThe last saved project is opened on launch.
Open ‘Default’ 
TemplateThe default template is opened, see “Setting up a de-fault template” on page 51.
Show Open 
Options DialogThe Open dialog opens on launch, allowing you to man-ually locate and open the desired project.
Show Project 
AssistantThe Project Assistant dialog opens on launch, allowing 
you to open a recently opened project or to create a 
new project from one of the templates (see 
“Creating new projects” on page 49).
SettingDescription
AuthorHere you can add a name that will be written as the project 
author into the iXML chunk when exporting audio files with 
the corresponding option activated (see 
“AIFF files” on page 489). The default setting for this can be set in the Preferences dialog (General–Personalization page).
CompanyHere you can add a name that will be written as the com-pany name into the iXML chunk when exporting audio files 
with the corresponding option activated (see “AIFF files” on page 489). The default setting for this can be set in the Preferences dialog (General–Personalization page). 
						

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Working with projects
StartThe start time of the project. Allows you to have the project 
start at another time than zero. Also used for setting the 
sync start position when synchronizing Cubase to external 
devices (see the chapter 
“Synchronization” on page 493). The format of this value is always in timecode. When you 
change this setting you will be asked whether you want to 
keep the project content at its timecode positions. “Yes” 
means that all events will stay at their original timecode po
-sitions – i. e. they will be moved in relation to the start of the 
project. “No” means that all events keep their position rela-tive to the project start. 
LengthThe length of the project.
Frame Rate This setting determines both the timecode standard and 
frame rate for the project, see the section “Timecode standards” on page 495. The frame rate of a video file used in a project should match the frame rate set for a 
project. The “Get From Video” button allows you to set 
the project frame rate to the frame rate of an imported 
video file, see the section 
“Adopting the video frame rate” on page 512. When synchronizing Cubase to an external device, make sure that this setting corresponds to the 
frame rate of any incoming timecode. However, there 
might be situations where perfect synchronization does 
not matter to you and you do not want to change the proj
-ect frame rate. In this case, the frame rate mismatch will 
be indicated on the Transport panel in the Sync section.
Display FormatThis is the global display format used for all rulers and po-sition displays in the program, except ruler tracks (see “Ruler tracks” on page 41). However, you can make inde-pendent display format selections for the individual rulers 
and displays if you like.
For descriptions of the different display format options, 
see “The ruler” on page 44.
Display OffsetOffsets the time positions displayed in the ruler, etc., al-lowing you to compensate for the Start position setting. 
Typically, if you synchronize Cubase to an external source 
starting at a frame other than zero, you set the Start posi
-tion to this value. However, if you still want the display in 
Cubase to start at zero, set the Display Offset to the 
same value.
Bar OffsetThis works just like “Display Offset” described above, in 
that it offsets the time positions in the ruler by a number 
of bars, allowing you to compensate for the Start position 
setting. The difference is that Bar Offset is only used 
when the “Bars+Beats” display format is selected (see 
“The ruler” on page 44).
Setting Description
Sample RateThe sample rate at which Cubase records and plays au-dio. The order of the menu items depends on the sample 
rates available for your audio hardware. Supported set-tings are displayed in the upper part of the menu, non-
supported settings are displayed in the lower part. Re-garding the sample rate, there are two possible scenar-ios: Either your audio hardware generates the audio clock 
signals itself or it is clocked externally, i. e. receives sig-nals from an external sample clock source (see “If your hardware setup is based on an external clock source” on page 18). If the sample rate is generated internally, the following ap-plies: When you select a sample rate non-supported by 
your audio hardware (from the lower part of the menu), it 
is highlighted in a different color and the corresponding 
tooltip shows a warning. In this case you must set a dif
-ferent sample rate to make your audio files play back 
properly. When you specify a project sample rate that 
your audio hardware supports but which is different from 
the current audio hardware sample rate, and you confirm 
your settings by clicking OK, the sample rate setting of 
the audio hardware is automatically changed to the proj
-ect sample rate. 
Bit Resolution/
Record File 
TypeWhen you record audio in Cubase, the files that are cre-ated will be of this resolution and file type, see “Selecting a recording file format” on page 92.
Stereo Pan 
LawDecides whether panning uses power compensation or 
not, see “About the “Stereo Pan Law” setting” on page 157.
!While most Project Setup settings can be changed 
at any time, you should set the sample rate directly 
after creating a new project! If you change the sam
-
ple rate at a later stage, you must convert all audio 
files in the project to the new sample rate to make 
them play back properly.
Setting Description 
						

							56
Working with projects
Zoom and view options
Zooming in the Project window is done according to the 
standard zoom techniques, with the following special notes:
•When you are using the Zoom tool (magnifying glass), 
the result depends on the “Zoom Tool Standard Mode: 
Horizontal Zooming Only” option in the Preferences dialog 
(Editing–Tools page).
If this is activated and you drag a selection rectangle with the Zoom tool, 
the window will only be zoomed horizontally (track height will not change). 
If the option is off, the window will be zoomed both horizontally and verti
-
cally.
•When using the vertical zoom sliders, the tracks are 
scaled relatively. 
In other words, if you have made any individual track height adjustments 
(see below), the relative height differences are maintained.
You find the following options are available on the Zoom 
submenu on the Edit menu:
•If the “Zoom while Locating in Time Scale” option is ac-
tivated in the Preferences dialog (Transport page), you 
can also zoom by clicking in the ruler and dragging up or 
down with the mouse button pressed.
Drag up to zoom out; drag down to zoom in.
•You can zoom the contents of parts and events verti-
cally, using the waveform zoom slider in the top right cor-
ner of the event display.
This is useful when viewing quiet audio passages.
•If you activate the option Quick Zoom in the Preferences 
dialog (Editing page), the contents of parts and events will 
not be continuously redrawn when you zoom manually.
Instead, the contents are redrawn once you have stopped changing the 
zoom – activate this if screen redraws are slow on your system.
Zoom presets and cycle markers
The pop-up menu to the left of the horizontal zoom control 
allows you to select, create and organize zoom presets. 
These are useful if you want to toggle between different 
zoom settings (e.
 g. one where the whole project is dis-
played in the project window and another with a high 
zoom factor for detailed editing). With this pop-up menu, 
you can also zoom in on the area between cycle markers 
in the project.
OptionDescription
Zoom InZooms in one step, centering on the project cursor.
Zoom OutZooms out one step, centering on the project cursor.
Zoom FullZooms out so that the whole project is visible. “The 
whole project” means the timeline from the project 
start to the length set in the Project Setup dialog (see 
above).
Zoom to SelectionZooms in horizontally and vertically so that the current 
selection fills the screen.
Zoom to Selec-tion (Horiz)Zooms in horizontally so that the current selection fills 
the screen.
Zoom to EventThis option is available only in the Sample Editor (see “Zooming” on page 266).
Zoom In VerticallyZooms in one step vertically.
Zoom Out 
VerticallyZooms out one step vertically.
Zoom In TracksZooms in on the selected track(s) one step vertically.
Zoom Out TracksZooms out the selected track(s) one step vertically.
Zoom Selected 
Tracks This zooms in vertically on the selected track(s) and 
minimizes the height of all other tracks.
Undo/Redo 
ZoomThese options allow you to undo/redo the last zoom 
operation.
!To get an approximate reading on the level of the au-
dio events by viewing the waveforms, make sure this 
slider is all the way down. Otherwise, zoomed wave-
forms may be mistaken for clipped audio.
Click here…
…to open the context 
menu. 
						

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Working with projects
The upper part of the menu lists the zoom presets:
•To store the current zoom setting as a preset, select 
Add from the pop-up menu.
A dialog opens, allowing you to type in a name for the preset.
•To select and apply a preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu.
•The “Zoom Full” preset is always available. Selecting 
this option zooms out so that the whole project is visible. 
“The whole project” means the timeline from the project 
start to the length set in the Project Setup dialog (see 
“The Project Setup dialog” on page 54).
•If you want to delete a preset, select “Organize…” from 
the pop-up menu.
In the dialog that opens, select the preset in the list and click the Delete 
button. The preset is removed from the list.
•If you want to rename a preset, select “Organize…” 
from the pop-up menu.
In the dialog that opens, select the desired preset in the list and click the 
Rename button. A second dialog opens, allowing you to type in a new 
name for the preset. Click OK to close the dialogs.
The middle part of the pop-up menu lists any cycle mark-
ers you have added to the project:
•If you select a cycle marker from this menu, the event 
display is zoomed in to encompass the marker area.
•You cannot edit the cycle markers in this pop-up menu. 
For information on editing markers, see 
“The Marker win-
dow” on page 139.
The Zoom history
Cubase maintains a history of recent zoom stages, allow-
ing you to undo and redo zoom operations. This way you 
can zoom in several steps and then easily go back to the 
zoom stage at which you started.
There are two ways to invoke Undo Zoom and Redo 
Zoom:
•Use the items on the Zoom submenu on the Edit menu.
You can also assign key commands for these.
•Double-click with the Zoom tool (magnifying glass) to 
Undo Zoom.
Press [Alt]/[Option] and double-click to Redo Zoom.
Adjusting how parts and events are shown
The Preferences on the File menu (the Cubase menu, un-
der Mac OS X) contains several settings for customizing 
the display in the Project window.
The Event Display page contains common settings for all 
track types:
The Event Display–Audio page contains settings for audio 
events:
The Event Display–MIDI page contains settings for MIDI 
parts:
!Zoom presets are global for all projects, i. e. they are 
available in all projects you open or create.
!Only the cycle markers you create in the current proj-
ect are available on the menu.
OptionDescription
Show Event 
NamesDetermines whether the names of parts and events are 
shown in the Project window.
Show Data on 
Small Track 
HeightsIf this is activated, the contents of events and parts will be 
shown, even if the height of a track is very small.
OptionDescription
Interpolate 
Audio ImagesIf the option is deactivated, single sample values are drawn 
as “steps”. If the option is activated they are interpolated to 
form “curves”.
Show Event 
Volume Curves 
AlwaysIf this is activated the “volume curves” created with the 
volume and fade handles are always shown – if not, the 
curves are only shown for selected events.
Show 
WaveformsDetermines whether audio waveforms are shown at all.
Background 
Color 
ModulationWhen this is activated, the backgrounds of audio wave-forms are displayed in a different way, reflecting the 
waveform dynamics. This is especially useful to get an 
overview when working with small track heights.
OptionDescription
Default Edit 
ActionDetermines which editor is opened when you double-
click a MIDI part, or select it and press [Ctrl]/[Com-mand]-[E]. Note that this setting is overridden for tracks 
with drum maps if the “Edit as Drums when Drum Map is 
assigned” option (see below) is activated.
Part Data  ModeDetermines if and how events in MIDI parts are shown in 
the Project window: as lines, as score notes, as drum 
notes, or as blocks. If “No Data” is selected, events will 
not be shown at all. Note that this setting is overridden for 
tracks with drum maps if the “Edit as Drums when Drum 
Map is assigned” option (see below) is activated.
Show 
ControllersGoverns whether non-note events (controllers, etc.) are 
shown in MIDI parts in the Project window. 
						

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Working with projects
Audio handling
When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand 
how audio is handled in Cubase:
When you edit or process audio in the Project window, 
you always work with an audio clip that is automatically 
created on import or during recording. This audio clip re
-
fers to an audio file on the hard disk that itself remains un-
touched. This means, that audio editing and processing is 
“non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo 
changes or revert to the original versions.
An audio clip does not necessarily refer to just one origi-
nal audio file! If you apply some processing to a specific 
section of an audio clip, for example, this will create a new 
audio file containing only this section. The processing will 
then be applied to the new audio file only, leaving the orig
-
inal audio file unchanged. Finally, the audio clip is auto-
matically adjusted, so that it refers both to the original file 
and to the new, processed file. During playback, the pro
-
gram will switch between the original file and the pro-
cessed file at the correct positions. You will hear this as a 
single recording, with processing applied to one section 
only. This feature makes it possible to undo processing at 
a later stage, and to apply different processing to different 
audio clips that refer to the same original file.
An audio event is the object that you place on a time po-
sition in Cubase. If you make copies of an audio event and 
move them to different positions in the project, they will 
still all refer to the same audio clip. Furthermore, each au
-
dio event has an Offset value and a Length value. These 
determine at which positions in the clip the event will start 
and end, i.
 e. which section of the audio clip will be played 
back by the audio event. For example, if you resize the au
-
dio event, you will just change its start and/or end position 
in the audio clip – the clip itself will not be affected.
An audio region is a section within a clip with a length 
value, a start time, and a snap point. Audio regions are 
shown in the Pool and are best created and edited in the 
Sample Editor. 
ÖIf you want to use one audio file in different contexts, 
or if you want to create several loops from one audio file, 
convert the corresponding regions of the audio clip to 
events and bounce them into separate audio files. This is 
necessary since different events that refer to the same clip 
access the same clip information.
Auditioning audio parts and events
Audio parts and events can be auditioned in the Project 
window with the Play tool:
1.Select the Play tool.
2.Click where you want playback to start, and keep the 
mouse button pressed.
Only the track on which you click is played back, starting at the click posi-tion. 
3.Release the mouse button to stop playback.
Edit as Drums 
when Drum 
Map is 
assignedIf this is activated, parts on MIDI tracks with drum maps 
assigned will be shown with drum note symbols in the 
Project window. Also, the parts will automatically open in 
the Drum Editor when double-clicked (overriding the De
-fault Edit Action setting above).
Note Name 
StyleDetermines how MIDI note names (pitches) are dis-played in editors, etc.
Option Description
!When auditioning, audio will be routed directly to the 
Control Room (Cubase only), if the Control Room is 
activated. When the Control Room is deactivated, 
the audio will be routed to the default output bus, 
bypassing the audio channel’s settings, effects and 
EQs. In Cubase Artist, the Main Mix bus is always 
used for monitoring.  
						

							59
Working with projects
Scrubbing audio
The Scrub tool allows you to locate positions in the audio 
part or event by playing back, forwards or backwards, at 
any speed:
1.Select the Play tool and click a second time on the 
icon.
A pop-up menu opens.
2.Select “Scrub”.
3.Click at the desired position of your audio event or 
part and keep the mouse button pressed.
The project cursor moves to the position where you click. The mouse 
pointer is not visible anymore.
4.Drag to the left or right.
The project cursor moves correspondingly and the audio is played back. 
The speed and thus the pitch of the playback depend on how fast you 
move the mouse.
You can adjust the volume of the Scrub function in the 
Preferences dialog (Transport–Scrub page).
ÖWhen scrubbing with the mouse, insert effects are al-
ways bypassed.
ÖIt is also possible to “scrub” all audio and video tracks 
of your project with the Jog wheel and Shuttle Speed con
-
trol on the Transport panel see “Playing back with the 
shuttle speed control” on page 85.
Scrubbing can be quite a burden on your system. If play-
back problems occur, try deactivating the “Use High 
Quality Scrub Mode” option in the Preferences dialog 
(Transport–Scrub page). The resampling quality will then 
be lower, but scrubbing will be less demanding on the 
processor. This can be useful when scrubbing in large 
projects.
Editing parts and events
This section describes techniques for editing in the Proj-
ect window. If not explicitly stated, all descriptions apply 
to both events and parts, even though we use the term 
“event” for convenience.
ÖWhen you are using the tools for editing, you can in 
many cases get additional functions by pressing modifier 
keys (e.
 g. pressing [Alt]/[Option] and dragging with the 
Arrow tool creates a copy of the dragged event). 
On the following pages, the default modifier keys are de-
scribed – you can customize these in the Preferences dia-
log (Editing–Tool Modifiers page), see “Setting up tool 
modifier keys” on page 545.
Selecting events
Selecting events is done using any of the following 
methods:
•Use the Arrow tool.
The standard selection techniques apply.
•Use the Select submenu on the Edit menu.
The options are:
OptionDescription
AllSelects all events in the Project window.
NoneDeselects all events.
InvertInverts the selection – all selected events are dese-lected and all events that were not selected are se-lected instead.
In LoopSelects all events that are partly or wholly between 
the left and right locator.
From Start to 
CursorSelects all events that begin to the left of the project 
cursor.
From Cursor to 
EndSelects all events that end to the right of the project 
cursor.
Equal PitchThese are available in the MIDI Editors (see “Select-ing notes” on page 383) and the Sample Editor (see “Using the Select menu” on page 269).
Select Controllers 
in Note RangeThis is available in the MIDI Editors (see “Selecting controllers within the note range” on page 384).
All on Selected 
TracksSelects all events on the selected track.
Events under 
CursorAutomatically selects all events on the selected 
track(s) that are “touched” by the project cursor. 
						

							60
Working with projects
•Select all events on a track by right-clicking on it in the 
track list and selecting “Select All Events” from the con
-
text menu.
•It is also possible to select ranges, regardless of the 
event and track boundaries.
This is done using the Range Selection tool (see “Range editing” on page 66).
•Use the arrow keys on the computer keyboard to select 
the closest event to the left, right, above, or below.
If you press [Shift] and use the arrow keys, the current selection will be 
kept, allowing you to select several events.
By default, tracks are selected with the up/down arrow keys 
on the computer keyboard. Therefore using these to select 
events, too, can be confusing. If you want to use the naviga
-
tion controls for track selection only (a most vital operation 
in both editing and mixing), you can activate the “Use Up/
Down Navigation Commands for selecting Tracks only” op
-
tion in the Preferences dialog (Editing page). The following 
applies:
• When this option is deactivated and no event/part is selected 
in the Project window, the up/down arrow keys on the com
-
puter keyboard are used to step through the tracks in the track 
list.
• When this option is deactivated and an event/part is selected 
in the Project window, the up/down arrow keys still step 
through the tracks in the track list – but on the currently se
-
lected track, the first event/part will automatically be selected 
as well.
• When this option is activated, the up/down arrow keys are 
only used to change the track selection – the current event/
part selection in the Project window will not be altered.
•If the “Auto Select Events under Cursor” option is acti-
vated in the Preferences dialog (Editing page), all events 
on the selected track(s) that are “touched” by the project 
cursor are automatically selected.
This can be helpful when rearranging your project, because it allows you 
to select whole sections (on all tracks) by selecting all tracks and moving 
the project cursor.
Using the cross hair cursor
Also in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page), you 
can find the Cross Hair Cursor section. When enabled, a 
cross hair cursor is displayed when working in the Project 
window and in the editors, facilitating navigation and edit
-
ing, especially when arranging large projects. You can set 
up the colors for the line and the mask of the cross hair 
cursor, and define its width. The cross hair cursor works 
as follows:
•When the Selection tool (or one of its subtools) is se-
lected, the cross hair cursor appears when you start mov-
ing/copying a part/event, or when using the event trim 
handles.
•When the Pencil tool, the Scissors tool, or any other 
tool that makes use of this function is selected, the cross 
hair cursor appears as soon as you move the mouse over 
the event display.
•The cross hair cursor is only available for tools where 
such a function is of any use. The Mute tool, for example, 
does not use a cross hair cursor, as you have to click di
-
rectly on an event to mute it.
Select EventThis is available in the Sample Editor (see “Window overview” on page 262).
Left/Right Selec-tion Side to CursorThese two functions are only used for range selection 
editing (see “Creating a selection range” on page 66).
!Note that these functions work differently when the 
Range Selection tool is selected (see 
“Creating a 
selection range” on page 66).
Option Description