Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 91
The Track list
The Track list is the area to the left in the Project window. It contains 
name fields and various settings for the tracks. Different track types 
have different controls in the Track list. To see all the controls you may 
have to resize the track in the Track list (see page 109):
•The Track list area for an audio track:
•The Track list area for an automation subtrack (revealed by clicking 
the + button on a track):
•The Track list area for a MIDI track:
Mute & SoloRecord Enable Track name
Output activity 
indicator Show/hide 
automation
Indicates whether effect sends, EQ or insert 
effects are activated for the track. Click to bypass.Monitoring on/off
Musical/Linear time 
base (see page 120)
Lock track button
Automation Read/
Write buttons
Edit channel settings
Automation Read/Write buttons
Automation parameter 
(click to select parameter) Expand automation track 
(show more parameters)
MuteLock track button
Record Enable
Track name
MIDI Output Bank Program 
MIDI channel
Drum map assign Lock track Monitoring on/off
Read/Write buttons
Edit channel settings
Mute & Solo
Indicates whether effect sends or insert effects 
are activated for the track. Click to bypass.
Edit In-Place button Lane display type  
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 92 The Project window
The Inspector
The area to the left of the Track list is called the Inspector. This shows 
additional controls and parameters for the track you have selected in 
the Track list. If several tracks are selected (see page 116), the Inspec-
tor shows the setting for the first (topmost) selected track.
To hide or show the Inspector, click the Inspector icon in the toolbar.
The Inspector icon.
•For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a number of sec-
tions, each containing different controls for the track. You can hide or 
show sections by clicking on their respective headlines.
Clicking the headline for a hidden section brings it to view and hides the other sec-
tions. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the headline allows you to hide or show a section 
without affecting other sections. Finally, [Alt]/[Option]-clicking a headline shows or 
hides all sections in the Inspector.
•It’s also possible to use key commands for showing different Inspec-
tor settings.
These are set up under the Inspector heading in the Key Commands dialog.   
						

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 93
• Folding a section does not affect the functionality but merely hides the 
section from view.
In other words, if you have set up a track parameter or activated an effect for example, 
your settings will still be active even if you fold the Inspector section.
Which sections are available in the Inspector depends on the selected 
track’s class.
Sections
In general, the Inspector contains the same controls as the Track list, 
but there are also some additional buttons and parameters. Below is a 
list of all common, possible settings and sections, their controls and 
usage, followed by descriptions of which sections are actually avail-
able for each type of track:
Parameter Description
Auto Fades 
Settings buttonOpens a dialog in which you can make separate Auto Fade settings 
for the track. See page 194.
Edit button Opens the Channel Settings window for the track, allowing you to 
view and adjust effect and EQ settings, etc. See page 228.
Volume Use this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this setting will 
move the track’s fader in the mixer window, and vice versa. See page 
218 to learn more about setting levels.  
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 94 The Project window
Pan Use this to adjust the panning of the track. As with the Volume set-
ting, this corresponds to the Pan setting in the mixer.
Delay This adjusts the playback timing of the audio track. Positive values 
delay the playback while negative values cause the track to play ear-
lier. The values are set in milliseconds.
In This lets you specify which Input bus or MIDI input the track should 
use (see page 14 for information about Input busses).
Out Here you decide to which output the track should be routed. For audio 
tracks you select an output bus (see page 14) or Group channel, for 
MIDI tracks you select a MIDI output.
Inserts section Allows you to add insert effects to the track, see page 252. The Edit 
button at the top of the section opens the control panels for the 
added insert effects.
Equalizers 
sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track. You can have up to four bands 
of EQ for each track, see page 230. The Edit button at the top of the 
section opens the Channel Settings window for the track. 
Equalizer Curve 
sectionLets you adjust the EQs for the track graphically, by clicking and 
dragging points in a curve display.
Sends section Allows you to route an audio track to one or several FX channels (up 
to eight), see page 263. For MIDI tracks, this is where you assign 
MIDI send effects. The Edit button at the top of the section opens the 
control panel for the first effect in each FX channel.
Channel section Shows a duplicate of the corresponding mixer channel strip. The 
channel overview strip to the left lets you activate and deactivate 
insert effects, EQs and sends.
Notepad section This is a standard text notepad, allowing you to jot down notes about 
the track. 
If you have entered any notes about a track, the icon next to the 
“Notepad” heading will light up to indicate this. Moving the pointer 
over the icon will display the Notepad text in a tool tip.
User Panel Here you can display MIDI device panels. For information on how to 
create or import MIDI device setups, see the separate PDF document 
“MIDI Devices and Features”. Parameter Description 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 95
Audio tracks
For audio tracks, all settings and sections listed above are available.
•User Panels for audio tracks can display panels for channel controls 
(such as input phase or the linked panner option) or for VST effects 
currently inserted in the channel.
•User Panels for audio tracks are accessed by [Ctrl]/[Command]-click-
ing on the Edit Channel button in the Inspector. This opens up a menu 
listing all the device panels available for the audio track. If panels have 
not yet been created, you will see “Setup” panels in the menu. Double-
clicking on one of these will open the Device window for that audio 
track. Here you will be able to create User panels for any parameter of 
the audio track, including VST effects that have been inserted. For 
more information on how to create Device and User panels, see the 
separate PDF document “MIDI devices and features”.
The Device Panel Browser.  
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 96 The Project window
Once panels have been created, they are available from the User Panel 
section of the Inspector. Click on the small arrow at the top right of the 
User Panels section to view the choices.
The User Panel menu in the Inspector
In order to have User Panels available in the Inspector, you must create 
Inspector-sized panels. Panels of bigger sizes (e.g. General) will not be 
available in the Inspector.
MIDI tracks
When a MIDI track is selected, the Inspector contains a number of ad-
ditional sections and parameters, affecting the MIDI events in real time 
(e.g. on playback). Which sections are available for MIDI tracks is de-
scribed in the “MIDI Devices and Features” pdf document.
Marker tracks
When the marker track is selected, the Inspector shows the marker 
list. See page 168.  
						

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 97
Video tracks
When a Video track is selected, the Inspector contains a lock button 
for locking the track (see page 136) and two settings for how the video 
thumbnails are shown: Show Frame Numbers and Snap Thumbnails 
(see page 719).
Folder tracks
When a folder track is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and its 
underlying tracks, much like a folder structure in the Windows Explorer 
or Mac OS X Finder.
• You can click one of the tracks shown under the folder in the Inspector 
to have the Inspector show the settings for that track.
This way, you don’t have to “open” a folder track to make settings for tracks within it.
Here, an audio track within the folder is selected. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 98 The Project window
FX channel tracks
When an FX channel track is selected, the following controls and sec-
tions are available:
• Edit button.
• Volume control.
• Pan control.
• Output routing pop-up menu.
• Inserts section.
• Equalizers section.
• Channel section.
• Notepad section.
FX channel folder tracks
FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special folder, for easier 
management. When this folder track is selected, the Inspector shows 
the folder and the FX channels it contains. You can click one of the FX 
channels shown in the folder to have the Inspector show the settings 
for that FX channel – this way you don’t have to “open” a folder track to 
access the settings for the FX channels in it.
Group channel tracks
When a Group channel track is selected, the following controls and 
sections are available:
• Edit button.
• Volume control.
• Pan control.
• Output routing pop-up menu.
• Inserts section.
• Equalizers section.
• Sends section.
• Channel section.
• Notepad section. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 99
Group channel folder tracks
Just like FX channel tracks, all Group channel tracks are placed in a 
separate folder – when this is selected, the Inspector shows the folder 
and the Group channels it contains. You can click one of the Group 
channels shown in the folder to have the Inspector show the settings 
for that Group channel – this way, you don’t have to “open” a folder 
track to access the settings for the Group channels in it.
Ruler tracks (Cubase SX only)
For ruler tracks, the Inspector isn’t used.
The toolbar
The toolbar contains tools and shortcuts for opening other windows 
and various project settings and functions:
• In addition, the toolbar can contain a number of other tools and short-
cuts, not visible by default. How to set up the toolbar and specify which 
tools should be displayed or hidden is described on page 767.
Active project 
indicator
Show/hide 
InspectorShow/hide info line
Show/hide OverviewOpen Pool
Open Mixer Automation mode (Cubase SX only)
Constrain delay compen-
sation (see page 294)
Project window tools
Transport controls 
(Previous/Next Marker, Cycle, Stop, Play, and Record)
Snap on/off
Snap modeGrid pop-up menu
Quantize valueColor pop-up menu
Autoscroll on/off 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 100 The Project window
The info line
The info line shows information about the currently selected event or 
part in the Project window. You can edit almost all values in the info line 
using regular value editing. Length and position values are displayed in 
the format currently selected for the ruler (see page 102).
•To hide or show the info line, click this icon on the toolbar:
The following elements can be selected for display and editing on the 
info line:
• Audio events.
• Audio parts.
• MIDI parts.
• Video events.
• Markers.
• Automation curve points.
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 elements 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. 
An example: You have two audio events selected. 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 dialog (Editing-Tool Modifiers page, under the Info Line category).