Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 121
Adding events to a track
There are a number of ways to add events to a track:
• By recording (see page 43).
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 added to 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 page 744).
• By grabbing audio CD tracks and converting them to audio files (see page 751).
• By importing only the audio portion of a video file and converting it to an audio 
file (see page 720).
• 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 directly into the 
Project window. For audio and MIDI tracks, you can draw parts (see page 123).
• By dragging files and dropping them on the track at the desired position.
You can create events by dragging and dropping from the following locations:
• The Desktop.
• The Pool.
• A Library (A Pool file that is not attached to a project).
• The Project window of another open project.
• The Audio Part Editor of any open project.
• The Sample Editor of any open project – press [Ctrl]/[Command] and drag to 
create an event of the current selection, or click in the left column of the region 
list and drag to create an event from a region.
• The “Find media” dialog.
While you drag the clip in the Project window, its position will be indicated by a 
marker line and a numerical position box. See also page 471. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 122 The Project window
Audio file import options
When you are importing audio files there are a number of options con-
cerning how the files should be treated by Cubase SX/SL: 
• You can choose to copy the file into the project’s audio folder 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.
• Furthermore, you may want all files in the project to have the same sample rate 
and sample size (resolution).
The Preferences dialog (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 spec-
ify which properties (sample rate and/or resolution) should be changed.
- When importing multiple files at the same time, you can select to have the imported 
files automatically converted if necessary, i.e. if the sample rate is different than the 
project’s or the resolution is lower than the project setting. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 123
•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). Activate any number of the fol-
lowing options to have them performed automatically 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 functions in a MIDI 
editor (see page 537). Adding events to audio parts is done in the Au-
dio Part Editor (see page 411) 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 independent objects on the track 
again, select the part and use the “Dissolve Part” function on the Audio menu.
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 converted.
Split multi channel files If you import a multi-channel audio file (including two-chan-
nel stereo files), it will be split into a number of mono files – 
one for each channel – which are placed on separate, auto-
matically created mono tracks. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 124 The Project window
Auditioning audio parts and events
Audio parts and events can be auditioned in the Project window with 
the Speaker tool:
When auditioning, audio will be routed directly to the Audition bus, by-
passing the audio channel’s settings, effects and EQs.
1.Select the Play tool.
Note that the Play tool and the Scrub tool share the same tool button. If the rightmost 
tool icon on the toolbar isn’t 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 position. 
3.Release the mouse button to stop playback.  
						

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 125
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 rightmost 
tool icon on the toolbar isn’t 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 button 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 depends on how fast you move the pointer.
You can adjust the responsiveness of the Scrub function in the Pref-
erences dialog (VST page).
• It is also possible to “scrub” the whole project with the Jog wheel on the 
Transport panel.
See page 37.  
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 126 The Project window
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.
• When you are using the tools for editing, you can in many cases get ad-
ditional 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 dialog on the Editing –Tool Modifiers page (see page 789).
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:
Note that these functions work differently when the Range Selection 
tool is selected (see page 142).
Option Description
All Selects all events in the Project window.
None Deselects all events.
Invert Inverts the selection – all selected events are deselected and 
all events that were not selected are selected instead.
In Loop Selects all events that are partly or wholly between the left 
and right locator.
From Start to Cursor Selects all events that begin to the left of the project cursor.
From Cursor to End Selects all events that end to the right of the project cursor.
Equal Pitch These are available in the MIDI Editors (see page 548).
All on Selected Tracks Selects all events on the selected track.
Select Event This is available in the Sample Editor (see page 389).
Left/Right Selection 
Side to CursorThese two functions are only used for range selection editing 
(see page 142). 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 127
•Select all events on a track by right-clicking in its Track list and select-
ing “Select All Events” from the pop-up menu that appears.
•You can also 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.
•If the option “Auto Select Events under Cursor” 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, 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 page 142).
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 page 147).
Note also, that you can restrict movement to be either horizontal or vertical only, by 
holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging.
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).
•Select the event and edit the Start position in the info line. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 128 The Project window
•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 movement depends on 
the selected display format (see page 105) and the value set on the Grid pop-up menu.
Here, clicking this button will move the Event 2 frames to the right.
When the Range Selection tool is used, the Nudge buttons move the se-
lection range (see page 144).
• The Nudge buttons are not visible in the toolbar by default. 
You can decide which items should be visible by right-clicking (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click-
ing (Mac OS X) in the toolbar and checking them in the pop-up menu that appears. See 
page 767 for more information.
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 posi-
tions 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 al-
low 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 (although this works in a different way, 
see page 61). 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLThe Project window 5 – 129
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 
page 147). 
If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] as well, movement direction is re-
stricted to either horizontal or vertical. That means if you drag an event 
vertically it can not be moved horizontally at the same time.
•Audio and MIDI parts can also be duplicated by 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 showing the name in italic text and an icon in the 
right corner of the part.
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 
page 355).
• You can convert a shared copy to a real copy by selecting “Convert to Real 
Copy” from 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 page 482).
•Selecting “Duplicate” from the Edit menu creates a copy of the se-
lected event and places it directly after the original.
If several events are selected, all of these are copied “as one unit”, maintaining the rel-
ative distance between the events.
•Selecting “Repeat...” from the Edit menu opens a dialog, allowing you to 
create a number of copies (regular or shared) of the selected event(s).
This works just like the Duplicate function, but you can specify the number of copies. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL5 – 130 The Project window
•You can also perform the Repeat function by dragging: Select the 
event(s) 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 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.
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 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 page 147 for information about the snap point.
•If you use the “Paste at Origin” function, the event is pasted at its orig-
inal 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 in 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 page 116.