Auto Hiding Tracks in Folders?

[DCMG]

My apologies if this has been addressed, but some recent update appears ( at least on my install) to have enabled some sort of "auto hide" of tracks within a folder.

It may have been discussed in a prior release note or something but I've been a bit too swamped in a few projects to continue searching for where or how this functionality is addressed ( be it a preference that needs to be checked or else?) Cursory search show nothing but it could be several updates ago.

It seems I will often open a file to find that multiple folders ( maybe midi only folders?) that were expanded when i last worked, to now be closed and all tracks within hidden. Obviously I can just "unhide" within the box that shows how many tracks are hidden, but it slows you down when you're unhiding 10-15 folders.

If this is a recent preference addition, can anyone direct me to the dialog box where I can have this disabled? Thanks!

[Chaps]

I'm not sure I understand your question. Hide is a specific term in Cakewalk, used when hiding or displaying specific tracks and folders.  You can do this by pressing h on your keyboard to open the Track Manager. When the folder is open you can see all the tracks in it, unless you have hidden any of the tracks. When the folder is closed, you don't see the tracks, just the folder, but the tracks are not hidden. You just can't see them because the folder is closed. The state of the folder should be whatever it was when you last saved it.

If you closed and saved a project with a folder closed the folder should be minimized when you open the project again. If you closed and saved a project with a folder open the folder should be expanded when you open the project again.

Folder Opened all Tracks Displayed ↓

 

Folder Opened Seven Tracks Hidden ↓

 

Folder Closed No Hidden Tracks ↓

 

Edited March 3, 2020 by Javadude54
Remove duplicate image

[DCMG]

It does seem to be in midi folders. Hiding midi tracks within an instrument folder is (was?) a very specific process, but now something I'm doing is making that happen when I'm not aware.

The term hidden applies to THIS scenario. ( Yes, I understand collapsing audio tracks in a folder...this is with midi tracks only upon further investigation). Pic here is with tracks "not hidden". When I re-open the file, the midi tracks will be "hidden" and I will specifically need to click the box to unhide. This seems to be happening without my input, but I know that's impossible. Wondering if a new shortcut or key binding that I use regularly is doing this. Will keep investigating, but any other observations of this would be appreciated.

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by DCMG
clarity

[reginaldStjohn]

I  Don't think this has been mentioned. Check that you don't have a workspace or screen set selected.  A screenset or a Workspace will remember the hidden state of tracks. 

[DCMG]

pretty sure I don't but I will double check that. Thanks for suggestion.

[Chaps]

4 hours ago, DCMG said:

It does seem to be in midi folders. Hiding midi tracks within an instrument folder is (was?) a very specific process, but now something I'm doing is making that happen when I'm not aware.

The term hidden applies to THIS scenario. ( Yes, I understand collapsing audio tracks in a folder...this is with midi tracks only upon further investigation). Pic here is with tracks "not hidden". When I re-open the file, the midi tracks will be "hidden" and I will specifically need to click the box to unhide. This seems to be happening without my input, but I know that's impossible. Wondering if a new shortcut or key binding that I use regularly is doing this. Will keep investigating, but any other observations of this would be appreciated.

 

Sorry, I still don't understand the issue. Your image show the folder closed. That's why you can't see the tracks in it. There is no difference between audio or MIDI tracks when opening or closing folders.  Can you post a screencap where that shows tracks are hidden, with the folder open?

[DCMG]

I mentioned in my post that the pic I took was of a folder with nothing hidden yet. "Pic here is with tracks "not hidden".

I posted this as there was some confusion in an earlier reply as to what "hidden" meant (?!)

In this context...that is the hidden I am speaking of.

So I just opened another project where I definitely did not intentionally go to this track and "hide" the midi tracks.

Yet when I open it. If I'm not purposefully doing that upon close, I have to guess there's an errant keystroke or preference I've set ( or not?) that is doing this when I close a file. That is what I'm trying to investigate.

 

 

[Chaps]

22 minutes ago, DCMG said:

I mentioned in my post that the pic I took was of a folder with nothing hidden yet. "Pic here is with tracks "not hidden".

I posted this as there was some confusion in an earlier reply as to what "hidden" meant (?!)

In this context...that is the hidden I am speaking of.

So I just opened another project where I definitely did not intentionally go to this track and "hide" the midi tracks.

Yet when I open it. If I'm not purposefully doing that upon close, I have to guess there's an errant keystroke or preference I've set ( or not?) that is doing this when I close a file. That is what I'm trying to investigate.

 

 

According to that image it isn't just MIDI tracks that are hidden. The Synth is also hidden so whatever is happening is hiding all the tracks in that folder. Have you tried changing the display state of these tracks using the Track Manager?  It shouldn't make any difference but it's something to rule out. Clicking in the Hidden box in your image toggles the display state of all the tracks in that folder and has the same effect as checking/unchecking the boxes in the Track Manager. Is it just one folder having that issue? Do you have other folders with tracks in them that are not affected?

The only keyboard shortcuts that I can find that hide/display tracks are

Hide selected tracks - CTRL+H

Show all tracks-  SHIFT+H

Show only selected tracks - CTRL+SHIFT+H

There is a Freeze setting that will hide MIDI tracks in a frozen track but since the synth in that track is also hidden it doesn't seem to apply, and would only apply if the track were frozen. I am trying to reproduce your problem but am so far unable to do so. Whether I hide or display tracks the project opens with tracks in the same hidden settings as when I last saved it.

[DCMG]

When it happens it's with every midi folder in the project ( ie if I have battery, Omni, AD, etc all will be closed w/tracks within folder hidden).

It's also free of any pattern thus far, so I think it must be a keystroke ( perhaps custom one?) that is doing it when I'm not aware. Thanks for the input. I will continue to track it down. Creating a test file today with the usual midi tracks on board and run through some typical keystrokes to see if I can recreate with more regularity.

[Chaps]

Try looking at your assigned keyboard shortcuts to see if there's something there that is affecting your startup sate. Go to Edit/Preferences/Customization/Keyboard Shortcuts. In the Search box type hide. The results will display automatically. The default area is Global Bindings but you can also search through the other areas. I don't have any keystrokes assigned to a 'hide' function so I assume that is the default. I would explore all the options to see if any keystroke has been assigned to a 'hide tracks' command. Also search for Close, because Open/Close the Folder is a command that a keystroke can be assigned to. These are grasping at straws suggestions but it's good to rule them out if they are not the problem.