Steinberg Cubase Essential 4 Operation Manual

							21
The Project window
When several elements are selected
If you have several elements selected, the info line will 
show information about the first item in the selection. The 
values will be shown in yellow to indicate that several ele-
ments are selected.
If you edit a value on the info line, the value change is 
applied to all selected elements, relatively to the current 
values. 
If you have two audio events selected and the first is one bar long and 
the other two bars long, the info line shows the length of the first event 
(one bar). If you now edit this value to 3 bars in the info line, the other 
event will be resized by the same amount – and will thus be 4 bars long.
If you press [Ctrl]/[Command] and edit on the info line, 
the values will be absolute instead. In our example above, 
both events would be resized to 3 bars. Note that [Ctrl]/
[Command] is the default modifier key for this – you can 
change this in the Preferences (Editing–Tool Modifiers 
page, under the Info Line category).
Editing Transpose and Velocity for MIDI parts
When one or several MIDI parts are selected, the info line 
contains Transpose and Velocity fields.
Adjusting the Transpose field transposes the selected 
parts in semitone steps.
Note that this transposition doesn’t change the actual notes in the part – 
it’s just a “play parameter”, affecting the notes on playback. The transpo-
sition you specify for a part on the info line is added to the transposition 
set for the whole track.
Adjusting the Velocity field shifts the velocity for the se-
lected parts – the value you specify is added to the veloci-
ties of the notes in the parts.
Again, this velocity shift only affects the notes on playback, and again, 
the value you specify is added to the Vel.Shift. value set for the whole 
MIDI track in the Inspector.
Getting on-the-fly info with the Arrow tool
If the option “Select Tool: Show Extra Info” is activated in 
the Preferences (Editing–Tools page), a tool tip will be 
shown for the Arrow tool, displaying information depending 
on where you point it. For example, in the Project window 
event display, the tool will show the current pointer position 
and the name of the track and event you’re pointing at.
The ruler
The ruler at the top of the event display shows the time-
line. Initially, the Project window ruler uses the display for-
mat specified in the Project Setup dialog (see “The 
Project Setup dialog” on page 22), as do all other rulers 
and position displays in the project. However, you can se-
lect an independent display format for the ruler by clicking 
the arrow button to the right of it and selecting an option 
from the pop-up menu that appears (you can also bring up 
this pop-up menu by right-clicking anywhere in the ruler).
The selection you make here affects the ruler, the info 
line and tool tip 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 for-
mat in any ruler.
If you use the “Timecode” option and the option “Show 
Timecode Subframes” is activated in the Preferences 
(Transport page), the frames will also display subframes.
There are 80 subframes per frame.
Option Positions and lengths displayed as
Bars+Beats Bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks. By default there 
are 120 ticks per sixteenth note.
Seconds Hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds.
Timecode This format displays hours, minutes, seconds and frames. 
The number of frames per second (fps) is set in the 
Project Setup dialog (see “The Project Setup dialog” on 
page 22). You can choose between 24, 25, 29.97 and 
30 fps or 29.97 and 30 dfps (“drop frame”).
Samples Samples.
Time Linear When this is selected, the ruler will be linear relative to 
time. This means that if there are tempo changes on the 
Tempo track, the distance between the bars will vary in 
Bars+Beats mode.
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 dis-
tance between seconds will vary depending on the 
tempo changes. 
						

							22
The Project window
Operations
Creating a new project
You create a new project in the following way:
1.Select “New Project” from the File menu.
A dialog appears, listing a number of project templates, including any 
custom templates you may have created (see “Save as Template” on 
page 305). 
2.Select a template and click OK.
A file dialog appears, allowing you to specify a location for the project 
folder. This will contain all files related to the project. 
3.Select an existing folder or type the name of a new 
one. Click OK.
A Project window appears. The new project will be based on the selected 
template, and include tracks, events and settings from the template.
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.The following settings are available in the Project Setup 
dialog:
Setting Description
Start The start time of the project. Allows you to have the 
project start at another time than zero. Also used for set-
ting the sync start position when synchronizing Cubase 
Essential to external devices (see “Setting up Cubase 
Essential for external sync to timecode” on page 283). 
When you change this setting you will be asked whether 
you want to keep the project content at its timecode po-
sitions. “Yes” means that all events will stay at their origi-
nal timecode positions – i.e. they will be moved in relation 
to the start of the project. “No” means that all events keep 
their position relative to the project start.
Length The length of the project.
Frame Rate Used when synchronizing Cubase Essential with external 
equipment. If Cubase Essential is slave, this value is au-
tomatically set to the frame rate of the incoming sync sig-
nal. If Cubase Essential is the master, this determines the 
frame rate of the sent sync signal. See “Setting the Frame 
Rate” on page 281.
Display Format This is the global display format used for all rulers and 
position displays in the program. However, you can make 
independent 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 21.
Display Offset Offsets the time positions displayed in the ruler etc., al-
lowing you to compensate for the Start position setting. 
Typically, if you synchronize Cubase Essential to an ex-
ternal source starting at a frame other than zero, you set 
the Start position to this value. However, if you still want 
the display in Cubase Essential to start at zero, set the 
Display Offset to the same value too.
Sample Rate The sample rate at which Cubase Essential records and 
plays audio.
Record Format/ 
File TypeWhen you record audio in Cubase Essential, the files that 
are created will be of this resolution and file type. See 
“Selecting a recording file format” on page 50.
Stereo Pan Law Decides whether panning should use power compensa-
tion or not (see “About the “Stereo Pan Law” Preference 
(audio channels only)” on page 94).
!While most Project Setup settings can be changed at 
any time, you should select a sample rate once and for 
all when starting with a new project! All audio files 
must be of this sample rate to play back correctly. 
						

							23
The Project window
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 option “Zoom Tool Standard 
Mode: Horizontal Zooming Only” in the Preferences (Edit-
ing–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 option “Zoom while Locating in Time Scale” is ac-
tivated in the Preferences (Transport page), you can also 
zoom by clicking in the main 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 Prefer-
ences (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.
Resizing tracks in the Track list
You can change the height of an individual track by 
clicking on its lower border in the Track list and dragging 
up or down.
To change the height of all tracks simultaneously, hold down [Ctrl]/
[Command] and resize one of the tracks in this way. If “Snap Track 
Heights” is activated on the Track scale pop-up (see below), the track 
height will change in fixed increments when you resize it.
You can also change the width of the Track list area, by 
dragging the border between the Track list and the event 
display.
By default, the controls shown for tracks in the Track list 
will adapt to the track size. This means that when resizing 
a track’s height or width the controls will be placed where 
they best “fit in”.
If you prefer to have the controls in fixed positions, you can deactivate the 
option “Wrap Controls” in the Track Controls settings dialog (see “Cus-
tomizing track controls” on page 315).
You can decide for each track type what controls 
should be shown in the Track list – see “Customizing 
track controls” on page 315.
Option Description
Zoom In Zooms in one step, centering on the project cursor.
Zoom Out Zooms out one step, centering on the project cursor.
Zoom  Full 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 above).
Zoom to 
SelectionZooms in horizontally and vertically so that the current se-
lection fills the screen.
Zoom to 
Selection 
(Horiz)Zooms in horizontally so that the current selection fills the 
screen.
Zoom to Event This option is available only in the Sample Editor (see 
“Zooming” on page 154).
Zoom In 
VerticalZooms in one step vertically.
Zoom Out 
VerticalZooms 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 min-
imizes the height of all other tracks.
!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.
!This behavior is different when “Enlarge Selected 
Track” is activated on the Edit menu (see below). 
						

							24
The Project window
You can use the Track scale pop-up (opened by clicking 
the arrow button above the vertical zoom control) to set the 
number of tracks to view in the current Project window.
The track height will be adjusted to show only the number of tracks spec-
ified on the pop-up menu. By selecting “Zoom N Tracks” from the pop-
up you can manually set the number of tracks to fit in the current Project 
window.
The Enlarge Selected Track option
When this option is activated on the Edit menu (or in the 
Preferences, Editing–Project & Mixer page), the selected 
track is enlarged automatically. This is useful if you are 
stepping through the tracks in the track list, to check or 
edit the settings. The tracks will revert to the size they had 
before when they are deselected. You can adjust the size 
directly in the Track list if the default enlargement factor 
does not suit you. 
While this is the program behavior you will want in most 
cases, it may be a disadvantage when changing the track 
height you started out with for one or more tracks (i.e. their 
“original” height, before “Enlarge Selected Track” was ac-
tivated). As soon as you try to resize a track, it is selected 
and automatically enlarged. Instead of turning off “Enlarge 
Selected Track”, resizing the desired track(s) and the acti-
vating “Enlarge Selected Track” again, you can resize a 
track in the Track list without selecting it.
Proceed as follows:
1.Move the mouse pointer over the lower border of the 
(unselected) track you want to resize.
The mouse pointer turns into a divider symbol.
2.Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the lower border of 
the track until it reaches the desired height.
Now, when you select this track, (and “Enlarge Selected Track” is acti-
vated), it will be enlarged. It will revert to the changed size, when you se-
lect a different track.
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.
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 appears, 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 22).
If you want to delete a preset, select “Organize…” from 
the pop-up menu.
In the dialog that appears, select the preset in the list and click the De-
lete button. The preset is removed from the list.
Click here…
…to open the context menu. 
						

							25
The Project window
If you want to rename a preset, select “Organize…” 
from the pop-up menu.
In the dialog that appears, 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 lists any cycle markers you 
have added in the project:
If you select a cycle marker from this menu, the event 
display is zoomed in to encompass the marker area (see 
“Zooming to cycle markers” on page 84).
You cannot edit the cycle markers in this pop-up menu. 
For information on editing markers, see “The Marker win-
dow” on page 82.
Adjusting how parts and events are shown
The Preferences on the File menu (the Cubase Essential 
menu, under Mac OS X) contains several settings for cus-
tomizing 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 
project are available on the menu.
Option Description
Colorize Event 
BackgroundDetermines whether the backgrounds or “contents” (wave-
forms, etc.) of parts and events will be colorized. See 
“Handling tracks” on page 26.
Show Event 
NamesDetermines whether the names of parts and events should 
be shown in the Project window.
Transparent 
EventsWhen this is activated, events and parts will be transparent, 
showing the waveforms and MIDI events only.
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.
Option Description
Interpolate 
Audio ImagesIf the option is deactivated, single sample values are 
drawn as “steps”. If the option is activated they are inter-
polated to form “curves”.
Wave Image 
StyleDetermines whether audio waveforms should be dis-
played as solid images, frames or “inverted” images 
(solid+frame). This selection affects all waveform images 
in the Project window, Sample Editor and Audio Part Ed-
itor.
Note that the “Framed” and “Solid and Framed” styles 
are more demanding for the computer. If the system feels 
slower in these modes, please switch back to “Solid” 
wave image style.
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.
Fade Handles 
always on topWhen this option is activated, the fade handles stay at 
the top of the event, and vertical help lines indicate the 
exact end or start points of fades.
Thick Fade 
LinesIf this option is activated, the fade lines and volume 
curves are thicker, increasing their visibility.
Show 
WaveformsDetermines whether audio waveforms should be shown 
at all.
Background 
Color 
ModulationWhen this is activated, the backgrounds of audio wave-
forms are displayed in a different way, reflecting the wave-
form dynamics. This is especially useful to get an overview 
when working with small track heights.
Option Description
Default Edit 
ActionDetermines which editor should be opened when you 
double-click a MIDI part or select it and press [Ctrl]/
[Command]-[E]: the Key, List, Drum or Score editor. Note 
that this setting is overridden for tracks with drum maps if 
the option “Edit as Drums when Drum Map is assigned” 
(see below) is activated
Part Data 
ModeDetermines if and how events in MIDI parts should be 
shown in the Project window: as score notes, as drum 
notes or as lines. 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 option “Edit as Drums when 
Drum Map is assigned” (see below) is activated.
Show 
ControllersGoverns whether non-note events (controllers, etc.) 
should be shown in MIDI parts in the Project window.
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) should be 
displayed in editors, etc. 
						

							26
The Project window
The Event Display–Video page contains settings for video 
events:
Handling tracks
To add a track to the project, select “Add Track” from the 
Project menu and select a track type from the submenu 
that appears. The new track is added below the currently 
selected track in the Track list.
The items on the “Add Track” submenu are also avail-
able on the Quick menu.
This is accessed by right-clicking in the Track list.
If you select Audio, MIDI, Group Channel or Instrument 
from the Add Track submenu, a dialog opens, allowing 
you to insert several tracks in one go.
Just enter the desired number of tracks in the value field.
For audio and group channel tracks, the channel config-
uration – mono or stereo – can be set in the Configuration 
pop-up.
The Browse Sounds option in the Add Track dialog is 
described in the chapter “Track Presets” on page 195.
In the Preferences (Editing–Project & Mixer page, you 
can find the option “Auto Track Color Mode”.
This offers you several options for automatically assigning colors to 
tracks that are added to the project.
Once you have created tracks, you can manipulate and re-
arrange them in various ways:
To rename a track, double-click in the name field and 
type in a new name.
If you hold down any modifier key when pressing [Return] to close the 
name field, all events on the track will get the name you entered.
To select a track, click on it in the Track list.
A selected track is indicated by a light gray color in the Track list.
It is possible to select several tracks by pressing [Ctrl]/[Command] and 
clicking on them. [Shift]-click to select a continuous range of tracks.
To move a track, click and drag it up or down in the list.
To duplicate a track, complete with all contents and 
channel settings, right-click in the Track list and select 
“Duplicate tracks” from the context menu, or select “Dupli-
cate tracks” from the Project menu.
The duplicated track will appear below the original track.
You can select a default color for a track by activating 
“Show Track Colors” above the Track list and selecting a 
color from the Color pop-up menu on the toolbar. This 
color will be used for all events on the track and will also 
be shown in the Mixer. You can override the default track 
color for individual events and parts by using the Color 
tool or the Color Selector pop-up menu.
The option “Colorize Event Background” in the Preferences dialog (Event 
Display page) determines whether the backgrounds or waveforms of 
events will be colorized.
To remove a track, right-click on it in the Track list and 
select “Remove Selected Tracks” from the context menu.
You can also remove multiple selected tracks, by selecting “Remove Se-
lected Tracks” either from the Project menu or from the context menu. 
To change the track height of an individual track, click 
on its lower border in the Track list and drag up or down, 
see “Resizing tracks in the Track list” on page 23.
Option Description
Show Video 
ThumbnailsWhen this is activated, thumbnail frames of the video 
contents are shown on the Video track.
Video Cache 
SizeThis determines how much memory is available for video 
thumbnails. If you have long video clips and/or work with 
a large zoom factor (so that a lot of frames are shown in 
the thumbnails), you may have to raise this value.
This track is selected. 
						

							27
The Project window
ÖNote that you can also automatically enlarge the se-
lected track, see “The Enlarge Selected Track option” on 
page 24.
Disabling audio tracks
Audio tracks can be disabled by selecting “Disable Track” 
from the Track list context menu. Disabling a track is simi-
lar to muting it (see “Muting events” on page 34), since a 
disabled track will not be played back. However, disabling 
a track not only “zeroes” the output volume from the track, 
but actually shuts down all disk activity for it. See “About 
track disable/enable” on page 45 for more information.
Adding events to a track
There are a number of ways to add events to a track:
By recording (see “Basic recording methods” on page 
48).
This is possible for audio and MIDI tracks.
By selecting “Audio File…” or “Video File…” from the 
Import submenu on the File menu.
This opens a file dialog, allowing you to locate the file you wish to import. 
When you import a file this way, a clip is created for the file and an event 
that plays the whole clip is inserted on the selected track, at the position 
of the project cursor.
You can also import MIDI files by using the Import submenu, but this 
works in a slightly different way (see “Exporting and importing standard 
MIDI files” on page 310).
By grabbing audio CD tracks and converting them to au-
dio files (see “Importing audio CD tracks” on page 307).
By using Copy and Paste on the Edit menu.
This allows you to copy all kinds of events between projects. You can 
also copy events within the project, from the Audio Part Editor or Sample 
Editor.
By drawing.
Some types of events (markers and automation events) can be drawn di-
rectly into the Project window. For audio and MIDI tracks, you can draw 
parts (see “Creating parts” on page 28).
By dragging files and dropping them on the track at the 
desired position.
You can create events by dragging and dropping from the following lo-
cations:
 The desktop.
 The MediaBay.

 The “Find media” dialog. The Project window of another open project.
 The Audio Part Editor of any open project.
 The Sample Editor of any open project – press [Ctrl]/[Com-
mand] and drag to create an event of the current selection.
While you drag the clip in the Project window, its position will be indi-
cated by a marker line and a numerical position box. See also “By using 
drag and drop” on page 175.
Audio file import options
When you are importing audio files there are a number of 
options concerning how the files should be treated by Cu-
base Essential: 
 You can choose to copy the file into the audio folder of the 
project and have the project make reference to the copied file 
rather than the original file. This helps you keep your project 
“self-contained”.
 Furthermore, you may want all files in the project to have the 
same sample rate and sample size (resolution).
The Preferences (Editing–Audio page) contains a setting 
that lets you decide which options, if any, to use. Select 
the desired option on the “On Import Audio Files” pop-up:
Open Options Dialog.
An Options dialog appears when you import, allowing you to select 
whether you want to copy the files to the Audio folder and/or convert them 
to the project settings. Note:
– When importing a single file of a format other than the project settings, 
you can specify which properties (sample rate and/or resolution) should be 
changed.
– When importing multiple files at the same time, you can select to convert 
the imported files automatically if necessary, i.e. if the sample rate is differ-
ent than the project’s or the resolution is lower than the project setting. 
						

							28
The Project window
Use Settings.
No Options dialog will appear when you import. Instead, you can choose 
to make any of the options below the pop-up the standard action(s). Ac-
tivate any number of the following options to have them performed auto-
matically each time you import audio files:
Creating parts
Parts are containers for MIDI or audio events. If you record 
MIDI, a MIDI part is automatically created, containing the 
recorded events. You can also create empty audio or MIDI 
parts and later add events to them. 
There are two ways to do this:
Draw a part on a MIDI or audio track with the Pencil tool.
You can also draw parts by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and using the Arrow 
tool.
Double-click with the Arrow tool on a MIDI or audio 
track, between the left and right locator.
To add events to a MIDI part, you use the tools and func-
tions in a MIDI editor (see “The Key Editor – Overview” on 
page 227). Adding events to audio parts is done in the 
Audio Part Editor (see “Window overview” on page 167) 
by pasting or by using drag and drop.
You can also gather existing audio events into a part, by 
using the “Events to Part” function on the Audio menu.
This creates an audio part containing all selected audio events on the 
same track. To remove the part and make the events appear as indepen-
dent objects on the track again, select the part and use the “Dissolve 
Part” function on the Audio menu.
Auditioning audio parts and events
Audio parts and events can be auditioned in the Project 
window with the Speaker tool:
1.Select the Play tool.
Note that the Play tool and the Scrub tool share the same tool button. If 
the tool icon on the toolbar doesn’t show a speaker symbol, first click on 
the icon to select it, then click again and select “Play” from the pop-up 
menu that appears.
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 po-
sition. 
3.Release the mouse button to stop playback.
Scrubbing
The Scrub tool allows you to locate positions in the audio 
by playing back, forwards or backwards, at any speed:
1.Select the Scrub tool.
Note that the Play tool and the Scrub tool share the same tool button. If 
the tool icon on the toolbar doesn’t show a “scrub symbol”, first click on 
the icon to select it, then click again and select “Scrub” from the pop-up 
menu that appears.
2.Click at the desired position and keep the mouse but-
ton pressed.
The project cursor is moved to the position at which you click.
3.Drag to the left or right.
The project cursor follows the mouse pointer and the audio is played back. 
The speed and pitch of the playback depend on how fast you move the 
pointer.
You can adjust the responsiveness of the Scrub function 
in the Preferences (Transport–Scrub page).
Option Description
Copy Files to 
Working 
DirectoryIf files are not already in the project’s audio folder they are 
copied there before being imported.
Convert and 
Copy to Project 
If NeededIf files are not already in the project’s audio folder they are 
copied there before being imported. Furthermore, if the 
files have a different sample rate or a lower resolution 
than the project settings, they are automatically con-
verted.!When auditioning, the Main Mix bus is used. 
						

							29
The Project window
Note that scrubbing can be quite a burden on your sys-
tem. To avoid playback problems, you will find the “CPU 
Saving Scrub Mode” option in the Preferences (Trans-
port–Scrub page).
When you activate this option, scrubbing will be less demanding on the 
processor. This can be very useful when scrubbing in a large project, 
where the “normal” scrub behavior leads to processing overloads. When 
“CPU Saving Scrub Mode” is activated, the effects are disabled for 
scrubbing and the resampling quality is lower.
Editing parts and events
This section describes techniques for editing in the Project 
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 described – you 
can customize these in the Preferences (Editing–Tool Modifiers page), 
see “Setting up tool modifier keys” on page 326.
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:
Select all events on a track by right-clicking in its Track 
list and selecting “Select All Events” from the pop-up 
menu that appears.
You can also use the arrow keys on the computer key-
board 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.
If the option “Auto Select Events under Cursor” is acti-
vated in the Preferences (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, since it allows you to 
select whole sections (on all tracks) by selecting all tracks and moving 
the project cursor.
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 
35).
Note that in the Preferences (Editing page), you can 
find the option “Use Up/Down Navigation Commands for 
selecting Tracks only”.
By default, tracks are selected with the up/down arrow keys on the com-
puter keyboard. However, these are also used for selecting events (see 
above) which can lead to confusing results in some cases. Since track se-
lection is a most vital operation in both editing and mixing, you have the op-
tion to use the navigation controls for track selection only. 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 – just as you would expect this to work.
 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. If this 
is not the desired behavior, you have to activate “Use Up/Down 
Navigation Commands for selecting Tracks only”.
 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.
Option Description
All Selects all events in the Project window.
None Deselects all events.
In Loop Selects 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.
All on Selected 
TracksSelects all events on the selected track.
Select Event This is available in the Sample Editor (see “Window 
overview” on page 151).
Left/Right Selection 
Side to CursorThese two functions are only used for range selection 
editing (see “Creating a selection range” on page 35).
!Note that these functions work differently when the 
Range Selection tool is selected (see “Creating a 
selection range” on page 35). 
						

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The Project window
Also in the Preferences (Editing–Tools page), you can 
find the Cross Hair Cursor options section.
This allows you to display a cross hair cursor when working in the Project 
window and editors, facilitating navigation and editing, especially when 
arranging in 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 Pencil tool, the Scissors tool or any other tool that 
makes use of this function is selected, the cross hair cursor ap-
pears 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 will be 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 “Snap” on 
page 38).
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” functions on the Edit menu.
The following functions are available:
Use the Nudge buttons in the toolbar.
These move the selected events to the left or right. The amount of move-
ment depends on the selected display format (see “The Project Setup di-
alog” on page 22) and the value set on the Grid pop-up menu.
Here, clicking this button will move the event 2 frames to the right.
ÖThe Nudge buttons are not visible in the toolbar by de-
fault. 
You can decide which items should be visible by right-clicking in the 
toolbar and checking them in the pop-up menu that appears. See “The 
Setup dialogs” on page 314 for more information.
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 “Snap” on page 38). 
!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 de-
lay with the Drag Delay setting in the Preferences 
(Editing page).
Function Description
Move  to  Cursor Moves 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.
Move to Origin Moves the selected events to their original positions, i.e. 
the positions at which they were originally recorded.
Move to Front,
Move to BackThis function doesn’t 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, since 
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 (see also “Overlapping events” on 
page 168).
Note that it is also possible to use the “To Front” function 
on the event context menu for this.
!When the Range Selection tool is used, the Nudge 
buttons move the selection range (see “Moving and 
duplicating” on page 37).
!If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] as well, move-
ment direction is restricted to either horizontal or ver-
tical. That means if you drag an event vertically it can 
not be moved horizontally at the same time.
Function Description