Changing the order in which Audio Devices are listed in Preferences\Audio

[norfolkmastering]

As I have a large number of audio interfaces (seven MOTU units), I want to rearrange the order in which they appear in the Devices list.

Why?

Because I want the interfaces I use most to appear at the top when I do track output and track input selection.

Is there anyway to do this within Cakewalk?

[DeeringAmps]

Perhaps you can edit the aud.ini file and place the devices in the order you desire? It’s a simple text file.

Option 2:

I’m not sure how CbB places each driver as you install them. 
But, you could try uninstalling all drivers and then (after figuring out how CbB prioritizes them) install in the order you wish them to appear. 

t

[norfolkmastering]

2 hours ago, DeeringAmps said:

Perhaps you can edit the aud.ini file and place the devices in the order you desire? It’s a simple text file.

Option 2:

I’m not sure how CbB places each driver as you install them. 
But, you could try uninstalling all drivers and then (after figuring out how CbB prioritizes them) install in the order you wish them to appear. 

t

I tried Option 2 first but Cakewalk puts all the drivers back in the same order so I think it must be attempting to match the reinstalled drivers to what is stored in aud.ini.  So it seems that the aud.ini file is not cleaned up when drivers are removed?

So I moved on to Option 1.  I have a total of seven MOTU interfaces and it looks impossible to figure out which device is which in the listing.  If you have experience of this could you tell me how best to identify which is which or whether there is a way to clean up the aud.ini file without having to do a new install of CbB?

[msmcleod]

As far as I know, the audio ports are always listed in driver order.  This is by design.

So the short answer is, no, you can't do this as it stands.

The only thing I can suggest is to use friendly names, and perhaps prefix those ports with an asterisk or some other character that might make it stand out more in the list.

[DeeringAmps]

2 hours ago, msmcleod said:

the audio ports are always listed in driver order

But in what order? The order they were installed? What is the criteria that CbB uses?

@norfolkmasteringdelete your aud.ini file. Then delete the drivers. Then reinstall the drivers in the order that you want them. Of course you may want to wait on msmcleod’s answer.  It may be that CbB sets up the list on some criteria that can’t be changed. 
There is no need to reinstall CbB. 

t

[msmcleod]

6 hours ago, DeeringAmps said:

But in what order? The order they were installed? What is the criteria that CbB uses?

@norfolkmasteringdelete your aud.ini file. Then delete the drivers. Then reinstall the drivers in the order that you want them. Of course you may want to wait on msmcleod’s answer.  It may be that CbB sets up the list on some criteria that can’t be changed. 
There is no need to reinstall CbB. 

t

The order the driver presents them.

If you're using ASIO with ASIO drivers that support multiple interfaces, the order of installation is unlikely to be a factor.  The ASIO driver presents the ports in a particular order, and that's the order CbB uses.

[Promidi]

9 hours ago, msmcleod said:

The only thing I can suggest is to use friendly names, and perhaps prefix those ports with an asterisk or some other character that might make it stand out more in the list.

I thought of that too and tried it....  nada!  Order not changed.  

[norfolkmastering]

1 hour ago, msmcleod said:

The order the driver presents them.

If you're using ASIO with ASIO drivers that support multiple interfaces, the order of installation is unlikely to be a factor.  The ASIO driver presents the ports in a particular order, and that's the order CbB uses.

Thanks for clarifying Mark.  It would be great if there was an option to have friendly names list in alphabetical order.  That way I could have my frequently used sources and destinations at the top of their respective drop down lists.  It would also be great if mouse wheel was supported for the track input, output and send lists.

[sjoens]

MIDI must behave differently.  It has a Move Checked Devices to Top button.

Edited December 16, 2023 by sjoens

[norfolkmastering]

I found out that my MOTU audio interfaces are ordered by serial number, so basically oldest first.  No way to change that in the MOTU audio console.