Steinberg Cubase Le 8 Manual

							Key Commands
The default key commands
611
MIDI category
Navigate category
Toggle Location Tree [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Alt]/[Option]-Num [4]
Toggle Locations [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Alt]/[Option]-Num [8]
Toggle Previewer [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Alt]/[Option]-Num [2] Option Key command
Option Key command
Show/Hide Controller Lanes [Alt]/[Option]-[L]
Option Key command
Add Down:
Expand/Undo selection in the Project 
window to the bottom/ Move selected event 
in the Key Editor down 1 octave[Shift]-[Down Arrow]
Add Left:
Expand/Undo selection in the Project 
window/Key Editor to the left[Shift]-[Left Arrow]
Add Right:
Expand/Undo selection in the Project 
window/Key Editor to the right[Shift]-[Right Arrow]
Add Up:
Expand/Undo selection in the Project 
window to the top/Move selected event in 
the Key Editor up one octave[Shift]-[Up Arrow]
Bottom:
Select bottom track in the track list[End]
Down:
Select next in the Project window/Move 
selected event in the Key Editor one 
semitone down[Down Arrow]
Left:
Select next in the Project window/Key 
Editor[Left Arrow]
Right:
Select next in the Project window/Key 
Editor[Right Arrow] 
						

							Key Commands
The default key commands
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Nudge category
Project category
Quantize category
Tool category
To p :
Select top track in the track list[Home]
Toggle Selection [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Space]
Up:
Select next in the Project window/ Move 
selected event in the Key Editor one 
semitone up[Up Arrow] Option Key command
Option Key command
End Left [Alt]/[Option]-[Shift]-[Left Arrow]
End Right [Alt]/[Option]-[Shift]-[Right Arrow]
Left [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Right Arrow]
Right [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Right Arrow]
Start Left [Alt]/[Option]-[Left Arrow]
Start Right [Alt]/[Option]-[Right Arrow]
Option Key command
Open Markers [Ctrl]/[Command]-[M]
Open Pool [Ctrl]/[Command]-[P]
Open Tempo Track [Ctrl]/[Command]-[T]
Remove Selected Tracks [Shift]-[Delete]
Setup [Shift]-[S]
Option Key command
Quantize [Q]
Option Key command
Draw tool [8]
Drumstick tool [0]
Erase tool [5]
Glue tool [4] 
						

							Key Commands
The default key commands
613
Transport category
Mute tool [7]
Next Tool [F10]
Play tool [9]
Previous Tool [F9]
Range tool [2]
Object Selection tool [1]
Split tool [3]
Zoom tool [6] Option Key command
Option Key command
Auto Punch In [I]
Auto Punch Out [O]
Cycle [÷] (Win)/[/] (Mac)
Exchange Time Formats [.]
Fast Forward [Shift]-Num [+]
Fast Rewind [Shift]-Num [-]
Forward Num [+]
Input Left Locator [Shift]-[L]
Input Position [Shift]-[P]
Input Right Locator [Shift]-[R]
Insert Marker [Insert] (Win)
Locate Next Event [N]
Locate Next Hitpoint [Alt]/[Option]-[N]
Locate Next Marker [Shift]-[N]
Locate Previous Event [B]
Locate Previous Hitpoint [Alt]/[Option]-[B]
Locate Previous Marker [Shift]-[B]
Locate Selection [L]
Locators to Selection [P]
Loop Selection [Alt]/[Option]-[P]
Metronome On/Off [C]
Nudge Cursor Left [Ctrl]/[Command]-Num [-]
Nudge Cursor Right [Ctrl]/[Command]-Num [+]
Panel (Transport panel) [F2]
Play Selection Range [Alt]/[Option]-[Space] 
						

							Key Commands
The default key commands
614
Windows category
Zoom category
Recall Cycle Marker 1 to 9 [Shift]-Num [1] to Num [9]
Record Num [*]
Retrospective Record [Shift]-Num [*]
Return to Zero Num [.] or Num [,] or Num [;]
Rewind Num [-]
Set Left Locator [Ctrl]/[Command]-Num [1]
Set Marker 1 [Ctrl]/[Command]-[1]
Set Marker 2 [Ctrl]/[Command]-[2]
Set Marker 3 to 9 [Ctrl]/[Command]-Num [3] to [9] or 
[Ctrl]/[Command]- [3] to [9]
Set Right Locator [Ctrl]/[Command]-Num [2]
Start [Enter]
Start/Stop [Space]
Stop Num [0]
To Left Locator Num [1]
To Marker 1 [Shift]-[1]
To Marker 2 [Shift]-[2]
To Marker 3 to 9 Num [3] to [9] or [Shift]-[3] to [9]
To Right Locator Num [2]
Use External Sync [T] Option Key command
Option Key command
Inline: Key Commands [Shift]-[F4]
Inline: Settings [Shift]-[F3]
Inline: View Layout [Shift]-[F2]
Option Key command
Zoom Full [Shift]-[F]
Zoom In [H]
Zoom In Tracks [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Down Arrow]
Zoom In Vertically [Shift]-[H]
Zoom Out [G]
Zoom Out Tracks [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Up Arrow] 
						

							Key Commands
The default key commands
615
Zoom Out Vertically [Shift]-[G]
Zoom to Event [Shift]-[E]
Zoom to Selection [Alt]/[Option]-[S]
Zoom Tracks Exclusive [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Alt]/[Option]-[Down 
Arrow] Option Key command 
						

							616
File handling
Importing audio
In Cubase audio can be imported in a variety of different formats. For example, you 
can import tracks from audio CDs, or import audio files saved in different formats 
(compressed and uncompressed).
RELATED LINKS
Importing Media on page 327
Audio file import options
When you are importing audio files, there are a number of options concerning how 
the files should be treated by Cubase:
• 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”.
• You can choose to split stereo and multi-channel files into a number of mono 
files.
• You can set all files in the project to the same sample rate and sample size 
(resolution).
Using the “On Import Audio Files” pop-up menu in the Preferences dialog 
(Editing–Audio page), you can define what Cubase does when importing an audio 
file. The available options are described in the following.
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. 
Please note the following:
• When importing a single file of a format other than the project settings, you 
can specify which properties (sample rate and/or resolution) are changed. 
						

							File handling
Importing audio
617
• 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 different than 
the project’s or the resolution is lower than the project setting.
NOTE
When you import 5-channel interleaved files that do not have the speaker 
arrangement metadata (“BEXT”), Cubase always considers them as 5.0 format.
Use Settings
No Options dialog will appear when you import. Instead, you can select standard 
actions from the list below the pop-up menu that are performed automatically each 
time you import audio files:
Copy Files to Working Directory
If files are not already in the project’s audio folder, they are copied there 
before being imported.
Convert and Copy to Project If Needed
If 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 converted.
Importing audio CD tracks
You can import audio from audio CDs into Cubase projects in two ways:
• To import the CD tracks directly into project tracks, choose the “Audio CD…” 
option from the Import submenu of the File menu.
The imported audio CD track(s) are inserted on the selected audio track(s) at 
the project cursor position.
• To import the CD tracks into the Pool, select “Import Audio CD…” from the 
Media menu.
This might be the preferred method if you want to import several CD tracks in 
one go. 
						

							File handling
Importing audio
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Selecting one of the Import Audio CD menu items brings up the following dialog:
1) Play
2) Stop
3) Play from Left Marker
4) Play to Right Marker
5) Start of selection handle
6) End of selection handle
To import one or more tracks, proceed as follows:
PROCEDURE
1. If you have more than one CD drive, select the correct one from the Drive 
pop-up menu at the top left.
On opening the CD, the program tries to retrieve the track names from CDDB (a CD 
database). If no connection to CDDB can be established or the CD track names are 
not found, you can manually change the generic track name in the Default Name field. 
						

							File handling
Importing audio
619
2. Windows only: Activate the “Secure Mode” option if you want to use a Secure 
Read mode.
Use this if you encounter problems when trying to import an audio CD. Error checking 
and correction will be done during the process. Note that this mode will take more 
time.
3. In the Windows version, select the data transfer speed from the Speed 
pop-up menu.
While you normally want to use the fastest possible speed, you may have to select a 
slower speed for flawless audio extraction.
4. Activate the Copy checkbox for every audio file you want to import.
You can also select a copy section for every file, see below.
5. Click on the Copy button to create a local copy of the audio file(s) or 
section(s).
The copied files are listed at the bottom of the dialog. By default, imported audio CD 
tracks will be stored as Wave files (Windows) or AIFF files (Mac) in the Audio folder 
of the current project. To change the folder, click Destination Folder and select a 
different folder from the dialog. During copying, the Copy button is labeled “Stop”; 
click it to stop the process.
6. Click OK to import the copied audio files into the project, or click Cancel to 
stop the import and discard the copied files.
If you import more than one audio file into project tracks, a dialog opens in which you 
have to choose whether to insert the tracks on one track or on different ones.
The new track(s) are displayed in the Project window. New audio clips are created 
and added to the Pool.
The columns in the “Import from Audio CD” dialog have the following functionality:
By default, complete tracks are selected.
Column Description
Copy Activate the checkbox in this column for the track you want to 
copy/import. To activate more than one checkbox, click and drag over 
the checkboxes (or press [Ctrl]/[Command] or [Shift] and click).
# This is the track number.
CD Track When you import an audio CD track, the file is named according to 
this column. The names are pulled automatically from CDDB, if 
possible. You can rename a track by clicking in the CD Track column 
and typing a new name. You can also apply a generic name to all 
audio CD tracks, if no name was available in CDDB.
Length The length of the audio CD track in minutes and seconds.
Size The file size of the audio CD track in MB.
Copy Start You can copy a section of a track if you like. This indicates the start of 
the section to be copied in the track. By default, this is set to the start 
of the track (0.000) but you can adjust this on the copy selection 
ruler, see below.
Copy End Indicates the end of the section to be copied in the track. By default, 
this is set to the end of the track but you can adjust this on the copy 
selection ruler, see below. 
						

							File handling
Importing audio
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• If you want to copy and import a section of an audio CD track only, select the 
track in the list and specify the start and end of the selection to be copied by 
dragging the handles in the copy selection ruler.
NOTE
Note that you can import sections of several audio CD tracks by selecting them in turn 
and adjusting the selection. The start and end settings for each track are displayed in 
the list.
• You can audition the selected audio CD track by clicking the Play button.
The track will be played back from selection start to selection end (or until you 
click the Stop button).
• The Play from left Marker (down arrow) and Play to Right Marker (up arrow) 
buttons allow you to audition the start and end of the selection only.
The down arrow button will play a short snippet beginning at the start of the 
selection, while the up arrow button will play a snippet starting just before the 
end of the selection.
• To open the CD drive, click on the Eject button at the top of the dialog.
Importing Audio from video files
While you can automatically extract the audio when importing a video file, it is also 
possible to import the audio from a video file without importing the video itself:
PROCEDURE
1. Open the File menu, open the Import submenu and select “Audio from Video 
File…”.
2. In the file dialog that opens, locate and select the video file and click Open.
The audio in the selected video file is extracted and converted to a Wave file in the 
project’s Audio folder.
A new audio clip is created and added to the Pool. In the Project window, an event 
referencing the audio file is inserted on the selected track at the project cursor 
position. If no track was selected, a new track is created.
This works just like importing regular audio files.
RELATED LINKS
Extracting Audio From a Video File on page 595
Importing Video Files on page 588
Importing ReCycle files
ReCycle by Propellerhead Software is a program designed especially for working 
with sampled loops. By “slicing” a loop and making separate samples of each beat, 
ReCycle makes it possible to match the tempo of a loop and edit the loop as if it 
was built of individual sounds. Cubase can import two file types created by 
ReCycle:
• REX files (export file format of the first versions of ReCycle, extension “.rex”).