murat k.

Actually, the only advantage Mac has over PC is energy efficiency. Beyond that, it lacks flexibility and confines you to its ecosystem, effectively tying you down. He believes Cakewalk will not be used in the future, and investing time and energy into such software is not the right approach for his business. It’s sad to see a piece of software, mismanaged for many years, being abandoned one by one by its small group of supporters. Despite all the mistakes, there is still ongoing development with some positive aspects like performance improvements. In fact, all the issues concerning Cakewalk’s future could potentially be resolved. It just requires taking the right steps, but given the management and direction up to now, I must admit I have my doubts.

Usage could be as follows: Dragging and dropping an Audio file from the Media Browser or File Explorer onto the Step Sequencer will create a new Row. Along with this, an Audio Clip will be created at the Now Time in the focused Audio Track or in a new Audio Track. Additionally, Right-Clicking on an existing Audio Track will show an option: "Convert Clip(s) to Step Sequencer." This single command will convert both Audio and MIDI Clips into Step Sequencer Clips, eliminating the need for a separate "Convert MIDI Clip(s) to Step Sequencer" command. The target file should be replaceable with another file at any time if needed. There could also be an option to choose whether the files are read from their original location or from within the project.

I've noticed that people generally envision a Built-in Drum Sampler when it comes to the limitations of the Step Sequencer. But that’s not what we actually need at the first place. One of the most significant limitations of Cakewalk in creating Loops is the inability to dynamically generate Loops with Audio files. We’re forced to use Drum Samplers for this, but it doesn't have to be that way. All that's needed is to allow the Step Sequencer to directly read Audio files. This would let us replace the target file whenever we want and change Steps as we wish. In addition, unlike MIDI views, we’d get direct visual feedback through audio patterns. What’s being created is merely a repeated pattern of the waveform image of the target file. Each time a new step is added, only this pattern will be recreated, not the audio waveform itself, ensuring efficient performance. This feature not only addresses a major limitation in Cakewalk, but also boosts our workflow efficiency without the need for another tool. Additionally, it is easier to implement than a Drum Sampler and offers capabilities that a Drum Sampler cannot provide.

For a start, it would be enough if the Step Sequencer only reads WAV files in the assigned steps, without the need to link the loaded WAV file to any MIDI note—this would meet our needs sufficiently. However, with the new Built-in Sampler feature in Cakewalk, this functionality could be much easier than before to implement with MIDI support in the initial phase. Basic additions can make a big difference; other controls can be added over time. I don’t think anyone expects a full-featured Drum Sampler right from the start. The goal here isn’t so much to compete with other DAWs, but rather to make our DAW more practical and enjoyable for making music.

By the way, I really like not only the request itself but also the way it was presented. It directly expresses the topic.

Not constantly. Only with those who are off-topic, or those who claim it's hardly off-topic. My general advice: please, if you're not going to contribute to the topic, choose to remain silent.

Yes, you're right. Not everyone knows that Session Drummer can be used as a Drag-and-Drop sampler, but everyone who uses it does. However, Session Drummer isn’t relevant to the topic here, especially in a discussion about using Samples directly in the Step Sequencer, not Samplers. Giving off-topic advice hurts the discussion of the main subject. Therefore, it would be more helpful if we try to focus on things that support the original poster's request as much as possible.

Everyone knows that this can be done with the help of a Sampler Synth; here, the aim is to use a Sample directly with a Step Sequencer. This can be achieved by selecting a Sample via Drag-and-Drop from the Browser or using the File Explorer in the Step Sequencer menu. Additionally, any existing Sample in the Project can be used in the same way through Drag-and-Drop. Depending on how these files are added, they can either be read from their Original Locations or integrated into the Project Folder as soon as they are added.

Briefly, this feature ensures that the tracks you exclude remain hidden when using the 'Unhide All' command. Otherwise, you'll need to restore the view using the view preset each time and continuously update your view preset whenever there’s a change. When added, it will look like this in the Track Manager.

@msmcleodAs I examined it a bit more, I realized that the confusion here actually stems from the difference between the command in the right-click menu and the command we use in the shortcut. The command in the right-click menu is effective for a single automation, while the shortcut provides a global snapshot option for all tracks with the write-enabled parameter active. For the shortcut, a modification could be made so that if it’s not write-enabled, it only takes a snapshot for the focused automation. This way, we wouldn't need to enable write every time we use the shortcut. I would also like to remind you that the newly added 'Left Click Sets Track Focus' global option in Cakewalk Sonar should also work for Automation and Take Lanes. Since we're talking about an issue with an automation-related command, and I've caught you here, I hope you can address this feature as well. :)

Nice! When this feature is implemented, it will provide you with an additional layer of view preference, serving you much better in your workflow. While thinking about this topic, another specific example came to my mind. For instance, you've created an arpeggio consisting of single long notes. You want to use these arpeggio notes as they are played, but since you might want to make changes later, you decided to duplicate the original track with the long notes to keep it safe. You may never need the duplicate, but who knows? By excluding this track, you can keep it within the file, and even when using the 'Unhide All Tracks' command, it will remain invisible. Use cases can be varied. However, I hope everyone has understood that this feature and its benefits address an important shortcoming in the track view experience and simplify view-related tasks rather than complicating the situation.

So you end up having to update the View Preset for tracks you don’t use constantly or don’t need to see. With this feature, we won’t need to deal with these kinds of things anymore. What you need to do is use the Exclude command when you no longer need a track, that’s it. So your workspace automatically will become WIP as it supposed to be, allowing you to use the view commands without having to see unused tracks anymore.

It's not practical to load a View Preset every time for tracks that we don't need to see or no longer need throughout a project—especially given that we currently access the Track Manager through a separate window from the main one. Once this feature is added, we will use the Track Manager only occasionally, not constantly, to show or hide specific tracks we've excluded or hidden or to load customized View Presets.

As it is now, we can already create an Automation Snapshot through the right-click menu without Write Enabled. It seems that an unnecessary rule was applied to the shortcut function in the past, and no one has changed it since.

I hadn’t detailed the topic, thinking that the developers would find the most suitable method. However, to clarify a few things, this issue can be solved as follows. The Ctrl modifier is quite suitable for temporary node snapping. Currently, there are already situations where it partially functions as a snap feature. It's important to remember that the snapped nodes need to merge into a single node. This way, when we drag a node, another node won't unexpectedly appear underneath it. However, I believe we also need a global on/off toggle to enable or disable node snapping. This would be bind to the global snap function but could be an option that can be toggled, allowing us to continue working with a single shortcut for snapping, just like we do now.

Currently, Cakewalk only offers a single-level track hiding option, which is not always sufficient. A second-level hiding feature would allow certain tracks to remain hidden even when using the "Unhide All Tracks" command. When needed, we can reveal these tracks all at once with the "Un-exclude All Tracks" command or manage visibility more selectively through the "Track Manager." Use Case 1: Imagine working on a project with 100 tracks, but focusing on only 10. We’ve hidden the other 90 tracks. Then, we narrow our focus to just 3 tracks and use the "Hide Tracks Not in Selection" command to hide the rest. However, if we apply "Unhide All Tracks," all 100 tracks become visible again. By using the "Exclude Selected Tracks" command to exclude the 90 tracks, the "Unhide All Tracks" command will display only the 10 tracks we’re interested in. Use Case 2: For instance, we can exclude the Metronome Bus from view. Even when we apply the "Unhide All Tracks" command, this bus will remain hidden. To make it visible again, we can untick it in the "Exclude" column in the Track Manager. Additionally, the "Hide Track" command should be expanded to include buses, similar to the request mentioned for the "Delete Tracks" command in this thread. Note: "Undo view" command is not a solution, and this thread is closed to any workarounds or differing opinions.

The significant functional gap is ensuring that two nodes become a single node when we bring them closer together. When we delete a node, there are two possibilities: it will either connect to the other node or it won’t. Sometimes it connects, and sometimes it doesn’t. So, there is no solution in place. When a node is brought close to another node and it’s not intended to snap, snapping function can temporarily be disabled or enabled with a modifier, which is something we've been doing for other things as well, so there’s nothing awkward about it. P.S. I have no intention of competing with anyone; my goal is to contribute to the development of Cakewalk. Your attitude here seems intent on maintaining the status quo, which clearly hinders progress.

Thank you for the information. Could you disable the write enable feature for the shortcut to work? There is no need for that.

Another ongoing issue for years. This is the thread that makes me most doubt the usefulness of the requests we make here.

I am bringing this issue back to the agenda again because there has been no progress since this thread. Sadly, I hear or see that many film composers have abandoned Cakewalk and switched to other software. The lack of development in video support is just one aspect of this. Perhaps improvements in this area won't bring back the musicians who left, but it might prevent new users from leaving.

Please stop accepting workarounds as solutions and support someone when they come up with a real solution, or stay silent. Otherwise, you're not helping either the development of Cakewalk or those trying to support its progress.

I've been waiting for a long time for Track Manager to appear in the Track Properties tab in the Inspector, just like in this image.

Reminder.

Reminder.

Reminder.