Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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The Project windowThe ruler
•The selection you make here affects the ruler, the info line and tooltip position 
values (which appear when you drag an event in the Project window).
You can also select independent formats for other rulers and position displays. 
•To set the display format globally (for all windows), use the primary display format 
pop-up on the Transport panel, or hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and select a 
display format in any ruler.
•If you use the “Timecode” or “User” options and the “Show Timecode Subframes” 
option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Transport page), the frames will also 
display subframes.
There are 80 subframes per frame.
Using multiple rulers – ruler tracks
As described above, the Cubase Project window contains a main ruler at the top of 
the event display, displaying the timeline from left to right.
If needed, you can have several rulers in the Project window, by adding ruler tracks to 
the project. Each ruler track contains an additional ruler.
•To add a ruler track, open the “Add Track” submenu from the Project menu and 
select “Ruler”.
A ruler track showing an additional ruler is added to the track list.
You can add any number of ruler tracks to a project, and position them as needed by 
dragging them up or down in the track list. Each of the rulers can show a separate 
display format.
•To select a display format for a ruler track, click on its name in the track list and 
select an option from the pop-up menu.
Note that ruler tracks are completely independent from the main event display ruler, as 
well as rulers and position displays in other windows. This means that:
- Each ruler track in a project can have its own display format.
- Ruler tracks are not affected by the display format setting in the Project Setup 
dialog (see 
“The Project Setup dialog” on page 62).
- Ruler tracks are not affected if you set the display format globally with the primary 
time display in the Transport panel.
ÖRuler tracks are affected by the “Show Timecode Subframes” option in the 
Preferences dialog (Transport page, see above).
Bars+Beats LinearWhen this is selected, the ruler will be linear relative to the meter 
position – bars and beats. This means that if there are tempo 
changes on the tempo track, there still will be the same distance 
between bars in Bars+Beats mode. If the ruler is set to a time-based 
mode, the distance between seconds will vary depending on the 
tempo changes.
Option Positions and lengths displayed as 
						

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The Project windowThe Snap function
The Snap function
The Snap function helps you to find exact positions when editing in the Project 
window. It does this by restricting horizontal movement and positioning to certain 
positions. Operations affected by Snap include moving, copying, drawing, sizing, 
splitting, range selection, etc.
•You turn Snap on or off by clicking the Snap icon on the toolbar.
When you are moving audio events with Snap activated, it is not necessarily the 
beginning of the event that is used as Snap position reference. Instead, each audio 
event has a snap point, which you can set to a relevant position in the audio (such as 
a downbeat, etc.).
The snap point is preferably set in the Sample Editor since it allows for a higher 
degree of precision (see 
“Adjusting the snap point” on page 334). However, you can 
also set the snap point directly in the Project window, in the following way:
1.Select an event.
2.Place the project cursor at the desired position within the selected audio event.
3.Open the Audio menu and select “Snap Point To Cursor”.
The snap point is set at the cursor position.
The snap point for an event is displayed as a vertical line in the Project window.
The Snap Type pop-up menu
To determine how the Snap function works, open the Snap Type pop-up menu and 
select one of the available options.
Grid
If you select this Snap type, the Snap positions are set with the Grid Type pop-up menu. 
The options depend on the display format selected for the ruler. For example, if the ruler 
is set to show bars and beats, the grid can be set to bars, beats, or the quantize value 
set with the selected quantize preset. If a time or frame-based ruler format is selected, 
the Grid Type pop-up menu contains time or frame-based grid options, etc.
When Seconds is selected as ruler format, the Grid Type pop-up menu contains time-based 
grid options. 
						

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The Project windowThe Snap function
Grid Relative
If you select this Snap type, events and parts will not be “magnetic” to the grid. 
Rather, the grid determines the step size for moving the events. This means that a 
moved event will keep its original position relative to the grid.
For example, if an event starts at the position 3.04.01 (one beat before bar 4), Snap is 
set to Grid Relative and the Grid Type pop-up menu is set to “Bar”, you can move the 
event in steps of one bar – to the positions 4.04.01, 5.04.01 and so on. The event will 
keep its relative position to the grid, i.
 e. stay one beat before the bar lines.
•This only applies when dragging existing events or parts – when you create new 
events or parts this snap type works like “Grid”.
Events
This grid type makes the start and end positions of other events and parts become 
“magnetic”. This means that if you drag an event to a position near the start or end of 
another event, it is automatically aligned with the start or end of the other event. For 
audio events, the position of the snap point is also magnetic (see 
“Adjusting the snap 
point” on page 334).
•Note that this includes marker events on the marker track.
This allows you to snap events to marker positions, and vice versa.
Shuffle
Shuffle is useful when you want to change the order of adjacent events. If you have 
two adjacent events and drag the first one to the right, past the second event, the two 
events will change places.
The same principle works when changing the order of more than two events:
Magnetic Cursor
This grid type lets the project cursor become “magnetic”. Dragging an event near the 
cursor causes the event to be aligned with the cursor position.
Grid + Cursor
This is a combination of “Grid” and “Magnetic Cursor”.
Events + Cursor
This is a combination of “Events” and “Magnetic Cursor”.
Events + Grid + Cursor
This is a combination of “Events”, “Grid” and “Magnetic Cursor”.
12345
5 2 4 3 1
Dragging event 2 past event 4…
…changes the order of events 2, 3 and 4. 
						

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The Project windowAuto-Scroll
Snap to Zero Crossing
When this option is activated on the toolbar, splitting and sizing of audio events is 
done at zero crossings (positions in the audio where the amplitude is zero). This helps 
you avoid pops and clicks which might otherwise be caused by sudden amplitude 
changes.
Auto-Scroll
When the Auto-Scroll option is activated, the waveform display will scroll during 
playback, keeping the project cursor visible in the window. You can find the Auto-
Scroll button on the toolbars of the Project window and all editors.
“Auto-Scroll” and “Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing” are activated.
•If the “Stationary Cursors” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Transport 
page), the project cursor will be positioned in the middle of the screen (if possible).
Suspending Auto-Scroll
When editing parts or events during playback with Auto-Scroll enabled, you may 
suddenly “lose sight” of the edited material as the display follows the project cursor.
If you do not want the Project window display to change when editing during 
playback, you can activate the “Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing” button. You will 
find this button right next to the Auto-Scroll button. When this option is enabled, auto-
scrolling is suspended as soon as you click anywhere in the event display during 
playback.
Proceed as follows:
1.Open a project that contains audio or MIDI parts/events.
2.Enable both the “Auto-Scroll” and the “Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing” 
buttons.
3.Start playback.
4.Edit an audio or MIDI part/event of your project (e. g. click and drag it to a different 
location on its track).
The Auto-Scroll button turns orange.
Auto-Scrolling is now suspended, i. e. when the project cursor moves to the right 
edge of the Project window, the display will not follow to keep the cursor visible.
As soon as playback stops or when you click the Auto-Scroll button again, Cubase 
will return to the normal Auto-Scroll behavior. 
						

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Working with projects
Creating new projects
The New Project command on the File menu allows you to create new projects, either 
as empty projects or based on a template. Depending on the settings on the General 
page in the Preferences dialog, either Steinberg Hub or the Project Assistant dialog 
opens.
Steinberg Hub
When you start Cubase or create new projects using the File menu, Steinberg Hub 
opens. Steinberg Hub keeps you up to date with the latest information and assists you 
with organizing your projects. Steinberg Hub shows two sections:
•The News and Tutorials section displays Steinberg news, tutorial videos as well as 
links to the user forum, downloads, and Knowledge Base. Ensure that you have an 
active internet connection to access this material.
•The Projects section lets you create new projects, which can either be empty or 
based on a template, and specify where to save the projects. It also allows you to 
access recently opened projects or projects that are stored in other locations. For 
further information about the individual functions, see the following sections.
ÖTo start Cubase or to create new projects without Steinberg Hub, you can deactivate 
the Use Steinberg Hub option on the General page in the Preferences dialog. This 
starts Cubase without opening a project and opens the Project Assistant when you 
create a new project using the File menu. You can still open Steinberg Hub through 
the Steinberg Hub menu.
Project Assistant
When you deactivate Steinberg Hub and create new projects, the Project Assistant 
dialog opens. This dialog offers the same functions as the Projects section in 
Steinberg Hub.
Category bar
Template list
Location options 
						

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Working with projectsCreating new projects
Opening recent projects
The Recent category in the category bar of the Projects section contains a list of 
recently opened projects. When you select an item in this category, the Create button 
changes to “Open”, allowing you to open the corresponding project. This list is similar 
to the list in the Recent Projects submenu of the File menu.
Choosing a template
In the category bar of the Projects section, the available factory templates are sorted 
into the predefined categories Recording, Production, Scoring, and Mastering. 
Furthermore, there is a More category which contains the default project template 
(see 
“Setting up a default template” on page 59) and all templates that are not 
assigned to any of the other categories.
When you click on one of the category items, the list below the category bar shows 
the available factory templates for this category that were installed with Cubase. Any 
new templates that you create (see 
“Save as Template” on page 58) are added at the 
top of the corresponding list for convenient access.
•To create an empty project that is not based on a template, select the “Empty” 
entry in the More category and click the Create button.
An empty project is also created if no template is selected in the currently shown 
category.
•You can rename or delete a template by right-clicking it in the list and selecting the 
corresponding option on the context menu.
•To open the folder in which the selected template is stored in the Windows 
Explorer/Mac OS Finder, right-click the template in the list and select “Show in 
Explorer” (Win) or “Reveal in Finder” (Mac).
Choosing a project location
The location options in the Projects section allow you to specify where the project is 
stored. 
•Select “Use default location” to create the project in the default project location 
(as shown in the path field), and click Create. 
In the “Project folder” field you can specify a name for the project folder. If you do 
not specify a project folder here, the project will reside in a folder named 
“Untitled”.
ÖTo change the default project location, simply click in the path field. A file dialog 
opens, allowing you to specify a new default location.
•Select “Prompt for project location” and click Continue to create the project in a 
different location.
In the dialog that appears, specify a location and a project folder.
Open Other
The “Open Other” button allows you to open any project file on your system. This is 
identical to using the Open command from the File menu, see below. 
						

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Working with projectsOpening projects
Opening projects
The “Open…” command on the File menu is used for opening saved project files.
If you open a project saved with a different program version that contains data for 
functions not available in your version, this data may be lost when saving the project 
with your version.
•Several projects can be open at the same time.
This is useful if you want to copy parts or entire sections from one project to 
another.
•If there is already an open project, you will be asked if you want to activate the new 
project.
•Click No to open the project inactive.
This significantly reduces load times, especially for large projects. 
•Click Activate to open and activate the new project.
The active project is indicated by the lit Activate Project button in the upper left 
corner of the Project window. To activate a different project, simply click its 
Activate Project button.
•You can also open project files by selecting an entry from the “Recent Projects” 
submenu of the File menu.
This submenu lists the projects you have recently worked with, with the most 
recent at the top of the list. When you create new projects, the Recent category in 
the Projects section of Steinberg Hub also displays a list of the recently opened 
projects. For further information, see 
“Creating new projects” on page 55.
•You can drag projects from the MediaBay into the Cubase application window 
(not into an existing Project window) to open them.
About the “Missing Ports” dialog
If you open a Cubase project created on a different system (other audio hardware), 
the program tries to find matching audio inputs and outputs for the i/o busses (this is 
one of the reasons why you should use descriptive, generic names for your input and 
output ports – see 
“Preparations” on page 28).
If the program cannot resolve all audio/MIDI inputs and outputs used in the project, a 
Missing Ports dialog will open. This allows you to manually re-route any ports 
specified in the project to ports available in your system.
Closing projects
The Close command on the File menu closes the active window. If a Project window 
is active, selecting this closes the corresponding project.
•If the project contains unsaved changes, you are asked whether you want to save 
it before closing.
If you select “Don’t Save” and have recorded or created new audio files since 
saving, you will be asked if you want to delete or keep these. 
						

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Working with projectsSaving projects
Saving projects
Save and Save As
The commands Save and Save As allow you to save the active project as a project file 
(file extension “.cpr”). The Save command stores the project under its current name 
and location, while Save As allows you to rename and/or relocate the file. If a project 
has not been saved yet or if it has not been changed since it was last saved, only Save 
As is available.
A word about file extensions
On Windows systems, file types are indicated by three letter file name extensions 
(such as *.cpr for Cubase project files).
On Mac OS X systems, it is not necessary to use file name extensions, 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 
activated, 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 default [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 
versions 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 
always listed on the Recent Projects submenu of the File menu for instant access (see 
also 
“Opening recent projects” on page 56).
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 in the New Preset section, 
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 Projects section (see 
“Creating new projects” 
on page 55) 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 Projects section.
3.Click OK to save the template.
!Generally, we recommend that you save project files in their project folders, to keep 
the projects as manageable as possible. 
						

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Working with projectsSaving projects
•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 709.
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. Proceed 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.
ÖIn the Projects section of Steinberg Hub, the default project template 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 saving, you will be asked 
whether you want to delete or keep these.
Auto Save
If you activate the Auto Save option in the Preferences dialog (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. 
						

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Working with projectsThe Archive and Backup functions
The Archive and Backup functions
Prepare Archive
The “Prepare Archive” function verifies that every clip referenced 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 copied 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 belonging 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 
necessary 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 untouched). When you 
back up a project, all media files (except those coming from VST Sound archives) can 
be included as a copy.
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.
!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.