Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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CustomizingUsing the Setup options
If presets are available, they can be selected on the lower half of the menu.
The info line 
setup context 
menu
The Setup dialogs
If you select “Setup…” from the setup context menus, the Setup dialog opens. This 
allows you to specify which elements are visible/hidden and to set the order of the 
elements. You can also save and recall setup presets in this dialog.
The dialog is divided into two sections. The left section displays the currently visible 
items and the right section displays the currently hidden items.
•You can change the current show/hide status by selecting items in one section 
and then use the arrow buttons in the middle of the dialog to move them to the 
other section.
Changes are applied directly.
•By selecting items in the “Visible Items” list and using the Move Up and Move 
Down buttons, you can reorder the items list.
Changes are applied directly. To undo all changes and revert to the standard 
layout, select “Default” on the setup context menu. 
						

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CustomizingCustomizing track controls
•If you click the Save button (disk icon) in the Presets section, a dialog opens, 
allowing you to name the current configuration and save it as a preset.
•To remove a preset, select it on the presets pop-up menu and click the trash icon.
•Saved configurations are available for selection from the Presets pop-up menu in 
the Setup dialog or directly from the setup context menu.
Customizing track controls
For each track type you can configure which track controls are shown in the track list. 
You can also specify the order of controls and group controls so that they are always 
shown adjacent to each other. This is done using the Track Controls Settings dialog.
Opening the Track Controls Settings dialog
There are two ways to open the dialog:
•Right-click a track in the track list and select “Track Controls Settings…” from the 
context menu.
•Click the arrow in the bottom right corner of the track list and select “Track 
Controls Settings…”. 
						

							703
CustomizingCustomizing track controls
Setting the track type
The settings made in the Track Controls Settings dialog apply to the selected track 
type, which is shown in the menu display in the top left corner of the dialog.
•To change the track type, click the arrow to the right in the menu display and select 
a track type from the pop-up menu.
All settings made in the dialog will apply to all tracks (current and subsequent) of 
the selected type.
ÖAlways make sure that you have selected the desired track type when editing the track 
controls!
Removing, adding, and moving track controls
The dialog is divided into two sections. The left section displays controls currently 
visible in the track list, and the right section displays the controls currently hidden.
•You can hide controls from the track list by selecting them in the list to the left and 
clicking the Remove button. To show hidden elements, select them in the list to the 
right and click the Add button.
Click OK to apply the changes.
ÖAll controls can be removed except the Mute and Solo buttons.
•By selecting controls in the “Visible Controls” list and using the Move Up and 
Move Down buttons, you can change the order of the list.
Click OK to apply the changes.
Grouping track controls
If you resize the track list, the position of the controls will change dynamically to 
accommodate as many controls as possible in the available space (given that Wrap 
Controls is activated – see below). By grouping several track controls you ensure that 
they are always positioned side by side in the track list. 
To group controls, proceed as follows:
1.Make sure that you have selected the correct track type.
2.In the “Visible Controls” section, select at least two controls.
You can only group controls that are adjacent to each other in the list. To group 
controls that are currently not adjacent in the list, use the Move Up/Down buttons 
first.
3.Click Group.
A number is displayed in the Group column for the grouped controls. The first 
group created has the number 1, the second 2, and so on.
4.Click OK.
The controls are now grouped. 
						

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CustomizingAppearance
•You can ungroup controls by using the Ungroup button. Please note that this will 
remove the selected element and the elements below it in the list from this group. 
To remove an entire group, select the first (topmost) element belonging to this 
group and click the Ungroup button.
About Wrap Controls
This is activated by default. Wrap Controls allows the controls to be dynamically 
repositioned when resizing the track list. That is, as many controls as possible will be 
displayed depending on the current size of the track list.
If you deactivate Wrap Controls, the positions of the controls are fixed, regardless of 
the size of the track list. In this mode, you may have to resize the tracks vertically (by 
dragging the dividers between them) to display all the controls.
About the Length column
The Length column in the Visible Controls list allows you to set the maximum length 
for certain text fields, e.
 g. Name. To change the setting, click on the number in the 
Length column and type in a new value.
Resetting track list settings
You have two possibilities to reset the settings:
•Click Reset to restore all default track controls settings for the selected track type.
•Click Reset All to restore all default track controls settings for all track types.
Saving presets
You can save track controls settings as presets for later recall:
1.Click on the Save button (the “+” sign) to the right of the Presets pop-up menu.
A dialog opens, asking you to type in a name for the preset.
2.Click OK to save the settings as a preset.
Saved presets are available for selection from the Presets pop-up menu and from 
the pop-up menu in the top left corner of the track list.
•To remove a preset, select it in the Track Controls Settings dialog and click the 
Delete button (the “-” sign).
ÖCubase comes with a number of Track Controls Settings presets available.
Appearance
In the Preferences dialog, the appearance of Cubase can be changed in the 
Appearance and in the Metering category. The following settings are available:
Appearance–General 
The controls on this page affect the appearance of the windows that surround the 
controls and workspaces in Cubase. 
•Color Intensity determines how rich the background colors are, from gray to blue. 
•Color Lightness lightens or darkens the background.
•The Color Tone slider changes the background color.
•Button Brightness can be used to separately lighten or darken the buttons. 
						

							705
CustomizingAppearance
Appearance–Work Area 
The work areas in Cubase are those places where the actual data are displayed such 
as the Project window event display. In these areas, there are items such as vertical 
and horizontal grid lines that can be altered in intensity by the controls found on this 
page.
MixConsole Fader Colors
This page lets you define the colors for the level faders of the available channel types 
in the MixConsole.
Metering–Appearance
Cubase allows for precise color assignment of level meter values. On the Metering–
Appearance page you can specify colors for quick identification of what levels are 
being reached. 
You can adjust the colors for the Channel Meter or the Master Meter. For the Master 
Meter you can only make changes for the Digital Scale scaling mode. Changes take 
effect when you click Apply or OK.
To adjust the levels and colors, activate the Channel Meter or Master Meter option 
and proceed as follows:
•To specify the level for a color change, double-click a handle to the right of the 
meter scale and enter the level (dB) value.
 
Note that for dB values less than zero, you must add a minus sign before the 
entered number.
 
You can also click a handle and drag it to a specific level. Press [Shift] for more 
accurate positioning. Alternatively, you can nudge with the Arrow Up/Down keys. 
Press [Shift] for faster positioning.
•To assign a color, click the upper or lower part of a handle so that a black frame is 
shown, and use the hue and saturation controls on the right. The box below the 
controls shows a preview of the selected color.
 
Selecting the same color for the upper and lower part of the handle results in a 
meter that changes its colors gradually, while separate colors indicate level 
changes even more precisely. 
						

							706
CustomizingApplying colors in the Project window
•To add more color handles, click the Add button, or [Alt]/[Option]-click at a level 
position to the right of the meter scale. Each new handle is automatically 
associated with a default color.
•To remove a handle, select the handle and click the Remove button, or 
[Ctrl]/[Command]-click the handle.
Applying colors in the Project window
You can use color scheming for an easier overview of tracks and events in the Project 
window. Colors can be applied individually to tracks and events/parts. If you color a 
track, the corresponding events and parts are displayed in the same color. However, 
you can also color events and parts differently, “overriding” the applied track color.
In the following sections you will learn how to set up preferences to color tracks 
automatically, how to color parts or events manually, how to determine whether you 
want to color the events themselves or their background, and how to customize the 
color palette for selecting colors.
Applying track colors automatically
In the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & MixConsole page), you can find the 
“Auto Track Color Mode” option.
This offers you several options for automatically assigning colors to tracks that are 
added to the project. The following options are available:
OptionEffect
Use Default Event 
ColorThe default color (gray) is assigned. 
Use Previous Track 
ColorAnalyzes the color of the selected track and uses the same color for 
the new track.
Use Previous Track 
Color +1Analyzes the color of the selected track and uses the color that 
comes next in the color palette for the new track.
Use Last Applied 
ColorUses the color that is selected in the Select Colors pop-up menu.
Use Random Track 
ColorUses the color palette as a basis to assign track colors randomly. 
						

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CustomizingApplying colors in the Project window
Coloring tracks, parts, or events manually
You can color each track, part, or event in the Project window individually by using the 
Select Colors pop-up menu on the toolbar.
About the Select Colors pop-up menu
1.In the Project window, select the item that you want to color.
You can select tracks, parts, or events.
2.On the toolbar, open the “Select Colors” pop-up menu and select a color.
If parts or events are selected, the color is applied to these parts and events. To 
change the color of a track, no events or parts must be selected on that track.
ÖWhen you change the color of a track, the new color will be used for all events on the 
track and for the corresponding channel in the MixConsole. However, if you have 
assigned a different color to individual parts or events, these will not follow color 
changes of the track any longer.
•To reset the color of a track, part, or event, select the corresponding item and 
choose the “Default Color” option from the “Select Colors” pop-up menu.
About the Similar Tracks options
You can use the selected color of one track to colorize other tracks of the same type 
(e.
 g. all audio tracks). 
Set up the desired color for a track of a certain track type and right-click this track in 
the track list to open a context menu. Depending on your settings and selections you 
can choose one of the following options:
•Use Color for Similar Tracks
When you select this, all tracks of the same type get the same color. 
•Use Color for Similar Selected Tracks
Use this to apply the same color to tracks within a selection. The color of the 
topmost track in the selection is then applied to other tracks of the same type 
within the selection. 
						

							708
CustomizingApplying colors in the Project window
The Project Colors dialog
In the Project Colors dialog you can select a different set of colors for items in the 
Project window. 
To open the Project Colors dialog, open the Select Colors pop-up menu on the 
toolbar and choose “Select Colors…”.
Adding and editing individual colors
In the Project Colors dialog, you can fully customize the color palette. To add new 
colors to the color palette, proceed as follows:
1.Add a new color by clicking the Insert New Color button.
2.In the Project Colors section, click the newly created color field to activate the new 
color for editing.
3.Use the Standard Colors or Modify Color sections to specify a new color. 
To do this, pick a different color from the color palette, drag the cursor in the color 
circle, move the handle in the color meter, or enter new RGB values as well as 
values for hue, saturation, and luminosity manually.
4.Click the Apply button. 
The color setting is applied to the selected color field in the Project Colors section. 
ÖEvery color in the Project Colors section can be edited this way.
Setting intensity and brightness
To increase or decrease the intensity and the brightness of all colors, use the 
corresponding buttons in the Project Colors section.
Remove Selected Color Insert New Color
Increase/decrease intensity for all colors
Increase/decrease brightness for all colors 
						

							709
CustomizingWhere are the settings stored?
Saving and resetting color settings 
•To return to your project colors, click the “Reset To Current Project Defaults” 
button.
•To save the current set as default, click the “Save Current Set as Program 
Defaults” button.
•To apply the default set, click the “Load Program Defaults to Current Set” button.
•To return to Cubase’s standard color palette, click the “Reset Current Set to 
Factory Settings” button.
Where are the settings stored?
As you have seen, there are a large number of ways in which you can customize 
Cubase. While some of the settings you make are stored with each project, others are 
stored in separate preference files.
If you need to transfer your projects to another computer (e. g. in another studio), you 
can bring all your settings along by copying the desired preference files and installing 
them on the other computer.
ÖIt is a good idea to make a backup copy of your preference files once you have set 
things up the way you want! This way, if another Cubase user wants to use his or her 
personal settings when working on your computer, you can restore your own 
preferences afterwards.
•On Windows systems, preference files are stored in the following location: 
“\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Steinberg\\”.
On the Start menu, you will find a shortcut to this folder for easy access.
•On Mac OS X systems, preference files are stored in the following location: 
“/Library/Preferences//” under your home directory.
The full path is: “/Users//Library/Preferences//”.
ÖThe RAMpresets.xml file, which contains various presets settings (see below), is 
saved when exiting the program. 
ÖProgram functions (e. g. crossfade) or configurations (e. g. panels) not used in the 
project will not be stored.
Some of the preferences are not stored in the default preferences folder. A list can be 
found in the Steinberg Knowledge Base.
To open the Knowledge Base, browse to the Steinberg web site, click “Support” and 
choose “Knowledge Base” in the list on the left.
Disabling the Preferences 
Sometimes you might experience odd program behaviour that can be due to 
inconsistent preferences settings. In such a case, you should save your project and 
relaunch Cubase. You can disable or delete the current preferences settings, and 
load the factory defaults instead.
Proceed as follows:
1.Quit Cubase.
2.Launch Cubase, and when the splash screen appears, hold down [Shift]-
[Ctrl]/[Command]-[Alt]/[Option].
Reset Current Set to Factory 
Settings Save Current Set as Program Defaults
Load Program Defaults to Current Set 
						

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CustomizingWhere are the settings stored?
3.Select one of the following options in the dialog that appears:
OptionDescription
Use current 
program 
preferencesOpens the program with the current preference settings.
Disable program 
preferencesDisables the current preferences, and opens the program with the 
factory default settings instead.
Delete program 
preferencesDeletes the preferences and opens the program with the factory 
default settings instead. This process cannot be undone. Note 
that this affects all versions of Cubase installed on your computer.