Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
•Use the Select submenu on the Edit menu.
The following options are available:
•Select all events on a track by right-clicking on it in the track list and selecting 
“Select All Events” from the context 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 80).
•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 navigation 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” option 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 computer 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 selected track, the first event/part will automatically be selected as 
well.
OptionDescription
AllSelects all events in the Project window.
NoneDeselects all events.
InvertInverts the selection – all selected events are deselected and all 
events that were not selected are selected 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 “Selecting notes” on 
page 494) and the Sample Editor (see “Using the Select menu” 
on page 335).
Select Controllers in 
Note RangeThis is available in the MIDI Editors (see “Selecting controllers 
within the note range” on page 495).
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.
Select EventThis is available in the Sample Editor (see “Window overview” on 
page 325).
Left/Right Selection 
Side to CursorThese two functions are only used for range selection editing 
(see 
“Creating a selection range” on page 80).
!Note that these functions work differently when the Range Selection tool is selected 
(see 
“Creating a selection range” on page 80). 
						

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
- 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 activated 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 editing, 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 selected, the cross-hair cursor 
appears when you start moving/copying a part/event, or when using the event trim 
handles.
•When the Object Selection tool, the Cut 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 
directly on an event to mute it.
Moving events
To move events in the Project window, use the following methods:
•Click and drag to a new position.
All selected events are moved, maintaining their relative positions. You can only 
drag events to tracks of the same type. If Snap is activated, this determines to 
which positions you can move the events (see 
“The Snap function” on page 52). 
Note also that you can restrict movement to be either horizontal or vertical only, by 
holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging.
•Select the event and edit the Start position in the info line.
•Use the “Move to” options on the Edit menu.
The following options are available:
!You will note that there is a slightly delayed response when you move an event by 
dragging. This helps you avoid accidentally moving events when you click on them in 
the Project window. You can adjust this delay with the Drag Delay setting in the 
Preferences dialog (Editing page).
OptionDescription
CursorMoves the selected event to the project cursor position. If there are 
several selected events on the same track, the first event will start at 
the cursor, and the following will be lined up end-to-start after the 
first one.
OriginMoves the selected events to their original positions, i. e. the 
positions at which they were originally recorded. 
						

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
•Use the Nudge buttons on the toolbar.
These move the selected events to the left or right. The amount of movement 
depends on the selected display format (see 
“The Project Setup dialog” on page 
62) and the value set on the Grid pop-up menu.
ÖThe Nudge buttons are not visible on the toolbar by default. You can decide which 
items are visible by right-clicking on the toolbar and activating the corresponding 
option on the context menu (see 
“The setup context menus” on page 700).
•Use the Up/Down key commands, found in the Nudge category in the Key 
Commands dialog.
These commands allow you to nudge one or more events (except folder parts) up 
or down to the nearest track.
Nudging up/down will not create new tracks: If there is no destination track that 
matches the track configuration of the nudged event, nothing happens.
Exceptions
•If you select events in Lane Display mode, these are moved to the upper or lower 
lane. 
•If you select MIDI events in the In-Place Editor, the MIDI events are nudged up or 
down. 
Duplicating events
Events can be duplicated in the following ways:
•Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the event to a new position.
If Snap is activated, this determines to which positions you can copy the events 
(see 
“The Snap function” on page 52). 
Front/BackThis function does not actually change the position of the events, but 
moves the selected events to the front or back, respectively. This is 
useful if you have overlapping events and want to see one that is 
partially obscured.
For audio events, this is an extra important feature, because only the 
visible sections of events will be played back. Moving an obscured 
audio event to front (or moving the obscuring event to back) will 
allow you to hear the whole event on playback.
Note that it is also possible to use the “To Front” function on the 
event context menu for this.
Option Description
!When the Range Selection tool is used, the Nudge buttons move the selection range 
(see “Moving and duplicating” on page 82).
!If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] as well, movement direction is restricted to either 
horizontal or vertical. That means if you drag an event vertically it cannot be moved 
horizontally at the same time. 
						

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
•Audio and MIDI parts can also be duplicated by clicking on the part, pressing 
[Alt]/[Option]-[Shift], and dragging.
This creates a shared copy of the part. If you edit the contents of a shared copy, all 
other shared copies of the same part are automatically edited in the same way.
Shared copies are indicated by an equal sign (=) in the top right corner. 
Note:
•When you duplicate audio events, the copies are always shared. This means that 
shared copies of audio events always refer to the same audio clip (see 
“Audio 
processing” on page 302).
•You can convert a shared copy to a real copy by selecting “Convert to Real Copy” 
from the Functions submenu on the Edit menu. This creates a new version of the 
clip (that can be edited independently) and adds this to the Pool. Note that no new 
files are created by this operation – for that you need to use the “Bounce 
Selection” function from the Audio menu (see 
“Exporting regions as audio files” on 
page 388).
•Selecting “Duplicate” from the Functions submenu on the Edit menu creates a 
copy of the selected event and places it directly after the original.
If several events are selected, all of these are copied “as one unit”, maintaining the 
relative distance between the events.
•Selecting “Repeat…” from the Functions submenu on the Edit menu opens a 
dialog, allowing you to create a number of copies (regular or shared) of the 
selected events.
This works just like the Duplicate function, but you can specify the number of 
copies.
•You can also perform the Repeat function by dragging: Select the events to 
repeat, press [Alt]/[Option], click the handle in the lower right corner of the last 
selected event and drag to the right.
The longer to the right you drag, the more copies are created (as shown by the 
tooltip).
•Selecting “Fill Loop” from the Functions submenu on the Edit menu creates a 
number of copies starting at the left locator and ending at the right locator.
The last copy is automatically shortened to end at the right locator position. 
						

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
Using Cut, Copy and, Paste
You can cut or copy selected events, and paste them in again, using the functions on 
the Edit menu.
•When you paste an audio event, it is inserted on the selected track, positioned so 
that its snap point is aligned with the cursor position.
If the selected track is of the wrong type, the event will be inserted on its original 
track. See 
“The Snap function” on page 52 for information about the snap point.
•If you use the “Paste at Origin” function on the Function submenu of the Edit 
menu, the event is pasted at its original position (the position from which you cut or 
copied it).
Renaming events
By default, audio events show the name of their clip, but you can enter a separate 
descriptive name for separate events if you like. This is done by selecting the event 
and typing in a new name in the “Description” field on the info line. 
•You can also give all events on a track the same name as the track by changing the 
track name, holding down a modifier key and pressing [Return].
See “Audio handling” on page 69.
Splitting events
You can split events in the Project window in the following ways:
•Click with the Cut tool on the event you want to split.
If Snap is activated, this determines the exact split position (see “The Snap 
function” on page 52). You can also split events by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and 
clicking with the Object Selection tool.
•Select “Split at Cursor” from the Edit menu, Functions submenu.
This splits the selected events at the position of the project cursor. If no events are 
selected, all events (on all tracks) that are intersected by the project cursor will be 
split.
•Select “Split Loop” from the Edit menu, Functions submenu.
This splits events on all tracks at the left and right locator positions.
ÖIf you split a MIDI part so that the split position intersects one or several MIDI notes, 
the result depends on the “Split MIDI Events” option in the Preferences dialog 
(Editing–MIDI page). If the option is activated, the intersected notes will be split 
(creating new notes at the beginning of the second part). If it is deactivated, the notes 
will remain in the first part, but “stick out” after the end of the part.
Gluing events together
You can glue events together using the Glue tool. There are three possibilities:
•Clicking on an event with the Glue tool glues it together with the next event on the 
track. The events do not have to touch one another.
The result is a part containing the two events, with one exception: If you first split 
an event and then glue the two sections together again (without moving or editing 
them first), they become a single event again.
•You can select several events on the same track and click on one of them with the 
Glue tool.
A single part is created. 
						

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
•When you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while clicking on an event with the Glue tool, 
this event will be glued together with all following events on this track.
You can change the default key command for this in the Preferences dialog 
(Editing–Tool Modifiers page).
Resizing events
Resizing events means to move their start or end positions individually. In Cubase, 
there are three modes for resizing:
To select one of the resizing modes, select the Object Selection tool and then click 
again on the Object Selection tool icon on the toolbar. This opens a pop-up menu 
from which you can select one of the options.
The toolbar icon indicates the resizing mode
The actual resizing is done by clicking and dragging the lower left or right corner of 
the event. If Snap is activated, the Snap value determines the resulting length (see 
“The Snap function” on page 52).
Normal sizing
Sizing moves 
contents
•If several events are selected, all will be resized in the same way.
•It is also possible to resize events by using the Trim buttons (located in the Nudge 
palette) on the toolbar.
This will move the start or end position of the selected event(s) by the amount set 
on the Grid Type pop-up menu. The sizing type currently selected applies to this 
method too, with the exception of “Sizing Applies Time Stretch” which is not 
possible with this method. You can also use key commands for this (by default, 
press [Ctrl]/[Command] and use the left and right arrow key).
Resizing modeDescription
Normal SizingThe contents of the event stay fixed, and the start or end point of 
the event is moved to “reveal” more or less of the contents.
Sizing Moves 
ContentsThe contents follow the moved start or end of the event (see the 
figure below).
Sizing Applies Time 
StretchThe contents will be time stretched to fit the new event length (see 
the separate section 
“Resizing events using time stretch” on page 
77). 
						

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
ÖNote that the Nudge palette is not visible on the toolbar by default. See “The setup 
context menus” on page 700 for instructions on how to show and hide items on the 
toolbar.
•You can also resize events with the Scrub tool.
For further information on the Scrub tool, see “Scrubbing audio” on page 70.
ÖWhen resizing events, any automation data will not be taken into account.
Resizing events using time stretch
If you want to resize a part and make its contents “fit” the new size, you should use this 
sizing mode. Proceed as follows:
1.Click the Object Selection tool on the toolbar and click again to select the “Sizing 
Applies Time Stretch” option from the pop-up menu.
2.Point close to the end point of the part you want to stretch.
3.Click and drag left or right.
When you move the mouse, a tooltip shows the current mouse position and length 
of the part. Note that the snap value applies, as with any part operation.
4.Release the mouse button.
The part is “stretched” or “compressed” to fit the new length.
•For MIDI parts, this means that the note events are stretched (moved and resized).
Controller data and Note Expression data will be stretched, too.
•For audio parts, this means that the events are moved, and that the referenced 
audio files are time stretched to fit the new length.
A dialog shows the progress of the time stretch operation.
ÖIn the Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page), you can adjust which algorithm is 
used for the time stretch algorithm. For more information about time stretch, see 
“Time 
Stretch” on page 312.
Sliding the contents of an event or part
You can move the contents of an event or part without changing its position in the 
Project window. By default, this is done by pressing [Alt]/[Option]-[Shift], clicking in 
the event or part and dragging to the left or right.
!When sliding the contents of an audio event, you cannot slide past the start or end of 
the actual audio clip. If the event plays the whole clip, you cannot slide the audio at all. 
						

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
Grouping events
Sometimes it is useful to treat several events as one unit. This can be done by 
grouping them: Select the events (on the same or different tracks) and select “Group” 
from the Edit menu.
Grouped events are indicated by a group icon on the right.
If you edit one of the grouped events in the Project window, all other events in the 
same group are affected too (if applicable). 
Group editing operations include:
- Selecting events.
- Moving and duplicating events.
- Resizing events.
- Adjusting fade-in and fade-out (audio events only, see “Creating fades” on page 
143).
- Splitting events (splitting one event will automatically split any other grouped 
events that are intersected by the split position).
- Locking events.
- Muting events.
- Deleting events.
Locking events
If you want to make sure that you do not edit or move an event by accident, you can 
lock it. Locking can affect one (or any combination) of the following properties:
•To specify which of these properties are affected by the Lock function, use the 
“Lock Event Attributes” pop-up menu in the Preferences dialog (Editing page).
•To lock events, select them and select “Lock…” from the Edit menu.
The events will be locked according to the options specified in the Preferences 
dialog.
Lock OptionsDescription
PositionIf this is locked, the event cannot be moved.
SizeIf this is locked, the event cannot be resized.
OtherIf this is locked, all other editing of the event is disabled. This includes 
adjusting the fades and event volume, processing, etc.
The padlock symbol indicates that one or more of the lock options are 
activated for the event. 
						

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Working with projectsEditing parts and events
•You can adjust the lock options for a locked event by selecting it and selecting 
“Lock…” from the Edit menu again.
This opens a dialog in which you can activate or deactivate the desired lock 
options.
•To unlock an event (turn off all lock options), select it and select “Unlock” from the 
Edit menu.
•It is also possible to lock a whole track, by clicking the padlock symbol in the track 
list or in the Inspector.
This disables all editing of all events on the track.
Muting events
To mute events in the Project window, proceed as follows:
•You can mute events by selecting them and selecting “Mute” from the Edit menu.
Similarly, you can unmute the selected events by selecting “Unmute” from the Edit 
menu.
•To mute or unmute a single event, click on it with the Mute tool.
•To mute or unmute several events, click in an empty area with the Mute tool and 
drag a selection rectangle around several events.
All selected events will be muted.
•You can also change the mute status of selected events by [Shift]-clicking them.
Muted events can be edited as usual (with the exception of adjusting fades), but are 
not played back.
Muted events are “grayed out”.
•You can also mute whole tracks by clicking the Mute (“M”) button in the track list, 
the Inspector or the MixConsole.
Clicking the Solo (“S”) button for a track mutes all other tracks. Note that there are 
two modes for the track solo function: 
 
If the “Enable Solo on Selected Track” option is activated in the Preferences 
dialog (Editing–Project
 & MixConsole page) and you have soloed a track, 
selecting another track in the track list will automatically solo that track instead – 
the solo state “moves” with the track selection.
 
If the option is not activated, the track you solo stays soloed, regardless of the 
selection.
Removing events
To remove an event from the Project window, use any of the following methods:
•Click on the event with the Erase tool.
Note that if you press [Alt]/[Option] while you click, all following events on the 
same track will be deleted, but not the event you clicked and all events before it.
•Select the event(s) and press [Backspace], or select “Delete” from the Edit menu. 
						

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Working with projectsRange editing
Creating new files from events
An audio event plays a section of an audio clip, which in turn refers to one or more 
audio files on the hard disk. However, in some situations you may want to create a 
new file that consists only of the section played by the event. This is done with the 
function “Bounce Selection” on the Audio menu:
1.Select one or several audio events.
2.Set up fade in, fade out and event volume (on the info line or using the volume 
handle) as desired.
These settings will be applied to the new file. For details on fades and event 
volume, see 
“Creating fades” on page 143. 
3.Select “Bounce Selection” from the Audio menu.
You are asked whether you want to replace the selected event or not.
•If you click “Replace”, a new file is created, containing only the audio in the original 
event. A clip for the new file is added to the Pool, and the original event is replaced 
by a new event playing the new clip.
•If you click “No”, a new file is created and a clip for the new file is added to the 
Pool.
The original event is not replaced.
You can also apply the Bounce Selection function to an audio part. In that case, the 
audio from all events in the part will be combined into a single audio file. If you choose 
“Replace” when asked, the part will be replaced with a single audio event playing a 
clip of the new file.
Range editing
Editing in the Project window is not necessarily restricted to handling whole events 
and parts. You can also work with selection ranges, which are independent from the 
event/part and track boundaries.
The Range Selection tool can also be used for comping. Furthermore you can define 
Edit groups with the range selection tool. These allow you to quickly group events and 
parts across multiple tracks without having to select all the events or parts (see 
“About Group Editing (Cubase only)” on page 99). 
Creating a selection range
To make a selection range, drag with the Range Selection tool.
When the Range Selection tool is selected, the Select submenu on the Edit menu has 
the following items for making selection ranges:
OptionDescription
AllMakes a selection that covers all tracks, from the start of the project 
to the end (as defined by the Length setting in the Project Setup 
dialog).
NoneRemoves the current selection range.
InvertOnly used for event selection (see “Selecting events” on page 70).
In LoopMakes a selection between the left and right locator, on all tracks.
From Start to CursorMakes a selection on all tracks, from the start of the project to the 
project cursor.