Steinberg Cubase LE Operation Manual

							CUBASE LEThe Project Window 3 – 81
3.Click and drag left or right.
When you move the mouse, a tooltip information 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 events are moved, so that the rela-
tive distance between events is maintained.
•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 box shows the progress of the time stretch operation. 
• You can adjust the quality settings for the time stretch algorithm on the 
Preferences page (Audio–Time Stretch Tool page).
For more general information about time stretch, see page 233.
Sliding the contents of an event or part
You can move the contents of an event or part without changing its po-
sition in the Project window. By default, this is done by pressing [Ctrl]/
[Command]+[Alt]/[Option], 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. 
						

							CUBASE LE3 – 82 The Project Window
Locking events
If you want to make sure you don’t edit or move an event by accident, 
you can lock it. Locking can affect one (or any combination) of the fol-
lowing properties:
•To specify which of these properties should be affected by the Lock 
function, use the “Lock Event Attributes” pop-up menu in the Prefer-
ences dialog (Editing page).
Lock Options Description
Position If this is locked, the event cannot be moved.
Size If this is locked, the event cannot be resized.
Other If this is locked, all other editing of the event is disabled. This in-
cludes adjusting the fades and event volume, processing, etc. 
						

							CUBASE LEThe Project Window 3 – 83
•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.
The padlock symbol indicates that one or more of the lock options are activated for 
the event.
•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 “Un-
lock” 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
You can Mute individual events in the Project window in the following 
way:
•To mute or unmute a single event, click on it with the Mute tool.
The Mute tool.
•To mute several events, click on an unmuted event with the Mute tool, 
keep the mouse button pressed and drag the pointer over the desired 
events.
All events “touched” by the Mute tool will be muted.
•To unmute several events, click on a muted event with the Mute tool, 
keep the mouse button pressed and drag the pointer over the desired 
events.
All events “touched” by the Mute tool will be unmuted. 
						

							CUBASE LE3 – 84 The Project Window
•You can click in an empty area with the Mute tool and drag a selection 
rectangle around the events you want to mute or unmute.
This changes the mute status of all events in the selection rectangle. If you hold down 
a modifier key when releasing the mouse button, you can force all events to be muted 
or unmuted, regardless of their previous status. The default modifier keys are [Shift] for 
mute and [Ctrl]/[Command] for unmute.
•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.
•If a single event is selected, you can also change its Mute status in the 
info line.
•You can also Mute whole tracks by clicking the Mute (“X”) button in 
the Track list, the Inspector or the Mixer.
Clicking the Solo (“S”) button for a track mutes all other tracks.
Muted events can be edited as usual (with the exception of adjusting 
fades), but are not played back.
Muted events are “greyed out”. 
						

							CUBASE LEThe Project Window 3 – 85
Removing events
To remove an event from the Project window, use any of the following 
methods:
•Click on the event with the Eraser tool.
If you press [Alt]/[Option], all following events on the same track will be deleted.
•Select the event(s) and press [Backspace], or select “Delete” from 
the Edit menu.
Creating new files from events
As described in the Getting Started book, an audio event plays a sec-
tion 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 
page 116.
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. 
						

							CUBASE LE3 – 86 The Project Window
Range editing
Editing in the Project window isn’t 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.
Creating a selection range
To make a selection range, drag a rectangle 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:
•Double clicking on an event with the Range Selection tool creates a 
selection range encompassing the event.
If you hold down [Shift] you can double click several events in a row, and the selection 
range will expand to encompass them all.
Option Description
All Makes 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).
None Removes the current selection range.
In Loop Makes a selection between the left and right locator, on all 
tracks.
From Start to Cursor Makes a selection on all tracks, from the start of the project to 
the project cursor.
From Cursor to End Makes a selection on all tracks, from the project cursor to the 
end of the project.
All on selected Tracks Only used for event selection (see page 74).
Select event This is available in the Sample Editor (see page 249).
Left Selection Side 
to CursorMoves the left side of the current selection range to the project 
cursor position.
Right Selection Side 
to CursorMoves the right side of the current selection range to the 
project cursor position. 
						

							CUBASE LEThe Project Window 3 – 87
Adjusting the size of the selection range
You can adjust the size of a selection range in the following ways:
•By dragging its edges.
The pointer takes the shape of a double arrow when you move it over an edge of the 
selection range.
•By holding down [Shift] and clicking.
The closest selection range edge will be moved to the position at which you clicked.
•By adjusting the selection range start or end position numerically on 
the info line.
Making selection ranges for several non-contiguous tracks
As described above, selection ranges can cover several tracks. How-
ever, it is also possible to exclude tracks from a selection range:
1.Create a selection range from the first to the last desired track.
2.Press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click in the selection range on the tracks 
you want to exclude from the selection.
3.In the same manner, you can add a track to the selection range by 
[Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking in the selection range area on the track.
Moving and duplicating
•To move a selection range, click and drag it to a new position.
This will move the contents of the selection range to the new position. If the range in-
tersected events or parts, these will be split before moving, so that only the sections 
within the selection range are affected.
•To duplicate a selection range, hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag.
You can also use the Duplicate, Repeat and Fill Loop functions, just as when duplicat-
ing events (see page 76). 
						

							CUBASE LE3 – 88 The Project Window
Using Cut, Copy and Paste
When working with selection ranges, you can either use Cut, Copy 
and Paste on the Edit menu, or use the functions “Cut Time” and 
“Paste Time” on the Range submenu on the Edit menu. These work 
differently to their related functions on the Edit menu:
Function Description
Cut Cuts out the data in the selection range and moves it to the 
Clipboard. The selection range is replaced by empty track 
space in the Project window, meaning that events to the right 
of the range keep their positions.
Copy Copies the data in the selection range to the clipboard.
Paste Pastes the clipboard data at the start position and track of the 
current selection. Existing events are not moved to make room 
for the pasted data.
Paste at Origin Pastes the clipboard data back at its original position. Existing 
events are not moved to make room for the pasted data.
Cut Time Cuts out the selection range and moves it to the Clipboard. 
Events to the right of the removed range are moved to the left 
to fill out the gap.
Paste Time Pastes the clipboard data at the start position and track of the 
current selection. Existing events are moved to make room for 
the pasted data.
Paste Time at Origin Pastes the clipboard data back at its original position. Existing 
events are moved to make room for the pasted data. 
						

							CUBASE LEThe Project Window 3 – 89
Deleting selection ranges
Again, you can either use “regular” Delete or “Delete Time”:
•If you use the Delete function on the Edit menu (or press [Backspace]), 
the data within the selection range is replaced by empty track space.
Events to the right of the range keep their position.
•If you use “Delete Time” on the Edit menu’s Range submenu, the se-
lection range is removed and events to the right are moved to the left 
to close up the gap.
Other functions
On the Range submenu on the Edit menu, you will find three more 
range editing functions:
Function Description
Split Splits any events or parts that are intersected by the selection 
range, at the positions of the selection range edges.
Crop All events or parts that are partially within the selection range are 
cropped, that is, sections outside the selection range are removed. 
Events that are fully inside or outside the selection range are not af-
fected.
Insert Silence Inserts empty track space at the start of the selection range. The 
length of the inserted silence equals the length of the selection 
range. Events to the right of the selection range start are moved to 
the right to “make room”. Events that are intersected by the selec-
tion range start are split, and the right section is moved to the right. 
						

							CUBASE LE3 – 90 The Project Window
Options
Snap
The Snap function helps you to find exact positions when editing in the 
Project window. It does this by restricting horizontal movement and po-
sitioning to certain positions. Operations affected by Snap include mov-
ing, duplicating, drawing, sizing, splitting, range selection, etc.
•You turn Snap on or off by clicking the Snap icon in the toolbar.
Snap activated.
• When you are moving audio events with Snap activated, it isn’t necessar-
ily the beginning of the event that is used as Snap position reference. In-
stead, each audio event has a Snap Point, which you can set to a relevant 
position in the audio (such as a downbeat, etc.). 
The Snap Point is preferably set in the Sample Editor since it will allow for a higher de-
gree of precision (see page 247). You can however also set the Snap Point directly in 
the Project Window, in the following way: 
1.Select the event.
2.Place the project cursor at the desired position within a selected au-
dio event.
3.Pull down the Audio menu and select “Snap Point To Cursor”.
The Snap Point is set at the cursor position.
The Snap Point for an event is displayed as a blue line in the Project window.