Group tracks in Cakewalk?

[ceakay]

Is there a way to group tracks in Cakewalk? For example, if any has ever used an art program, you can group layers into folders, and then click an arrow to drop down to see the layers. Same thing with Ableton. I've seen people group tracks and it looks very organized. I know you can color code in CbB, but is there a way to somehow connect a track so it will looked more organized and be less cluttered in the track pane. Here is an image to kind of explain what I am talking about:

(The drums group drops down to a kick, a second kick, and a snare)

[Colin Nicholls]

I assume you've investigated Track Folders (Tip: They aren't busses)

[ceakay]

1 hour ago, Colin Nicholls said:

I assume you've investigated Track Folders (Tip: They aren't busses)

Thank you!! My projects were getting way too unorganized. ?

[Sleetah2000]

On 12/3/2020 at 4:36 PM, seakay beats said:

On 12/3/2020 at 2:51 PM, Colin Nicholls said:

I assume you've investigated Track Folders (Tip: They aren't busses)

Thank you!! My projects were getting way too unorganized. ?

Here's an additional folder tip that I use often...

Once you have successfully added tracks into your newly organized drum folder, increase the height of the folder track, so that you are able to see the table of Midi and Audio tracks contained within.  Based on your example above, I'll assume you'll have some nonzero qty of Audio drum tracks listed.  If you click directly on that number, CbB conveniently hides all audio tracks into the folder in both track and console views.  Click it again, and they reappear.  There are other ways to accomplish the same action, but this methodis particularly efficient.

For larger projects, it is common for me to have only track folders in view until I'm ready to unhide the specific folders that I'm ready to work on.  I also have a tendency to alternate hiding either midi or audio tracks depending on whether a synth has been frozen.  Once everything is frozen to audio, the midi tracks  are best hidden unless, I have to unfreeze for additional edits.

[ceakay]

Thanks for the tips!

[Nigel Mackay]

@Sleetah2000 Isn't it easier to use the + and - on the folder to do that? Then the folders can be minimun height.

 

[Sleetah2000]

On 12/6/2020 at 12:49 AM, Nigel Mackay said:

@Sleetah2000 Isn't it easier to use the + and - on the folder to do that? Then the folders can be minimun height.

 

Nigel,

Your suggestion is absolutely correct in noting the height tradeoff and that "+/-"  are a simpler method for folding up all tracks within the Trackview.   My above suggestion was also aimed at taming the Console view as well, especially for that gangly project phase when I still have a wealth of empty midi tracks or spitballed ideas that are not quite ready to be archived or deleted just yet.

1).  Clicking on a Folder Midi/Audio-Qty hides/unhides tracks in both Trackview and Console views with a single click.  Conversely, when you click on "+/-" in trackview, folded tracks still remain visible in Console view.  For those many talented CbB users on this site, who can hear an original song in their heads and accurately reproduce it one track at a time, this tip may not make much of a difference, and your smug displays of musicianship have earned my boundless envy.  Honestly, I'm not at all ashamed to admit that my workflow is well, slightly less hygenic than that; and it requires hanging on to far too many slop MIDI tracks, until I'm beyond convinced that even the tiniest bit of gold can no longer be dredged or tweaked out of the excrement.  In any case, if one carries excess tracks, I find it very handy to control what you can see in console view at the click of a button, rather than scroll across many pages of minimized faders that you don't need to worry about right now.  

2).  My projects tend to start by loading a Multitrack Synth (like TTS, Aria, and legacy Hardware Synths) to its own folder and add Singletrack synths (Studio instruments, Addictive Drums, TruePianos, AAS and sample libraries) only as needed to a composite folder that I call "Standalones".  There are exceptions, but that's the general path that I take, using project templates, and track templates (including buss assignments) wherever possible.  As the project progresses, I usually reassign (and move) some of the scratchpad TTS (or hardware) tracks to custom Singletrack synths for more textured sounds.  I think this process grew out of necessity, when available RAM, CPU, and storage had proven insufficient to fend off crashes, audio dropouts and latency.  Even with hardware upgrades, it's remained a useful discipline for me to follow.  

• Particularly for the Multitrack synths, the Console view gets unwieldy when I start with a canvas of 16 available midi tracks and however-many output tracks that are needed to shape the audio.  Until I'm ready to move/delete/archive the excess tracks, I find it useful to view the midi-only tracks while Recording/Editing, and view audio-only tracks while Mixing frozen or recorded audio. 
• The same approach is also useful when recording Kick/Snare, Hihats, Toms, and percussion as separate MIDI tracks.
• I haven't done much with loops, but I'd probably isolate those to their own Loop folder, just as I would Vocals to a Vocal folder.  
• My best organization practice has been to establish an "Archive" Folder to hasten moving archiveable tracks out of the way.  These folder tracks remains a hidden part of the project until mixdown, when I'm ready to delete.  I've settled on an obnoxious bright yellow color for the archive folder and tracks.  There's something therapeutic about finally removing the folder from view.  I believe there's also a CPU/RAM overhead benefit in selecting the archive button for these unneeded tracks.
• Overcrowded console view may be much less of a concern for those who work exclusively with Singletrack synths and/or recorded audio, since you don't technically need separate midi/audio tracks.

I'm sure there are plenty of other valid strategies for project and folder organization.  This is simply mine.  Sorry for being so thoroughly verbose on the subject, but I just haven't found this feature documented anywhere in the manual and I find it to be really very useful.  I believe it's fair to credit Craig Anderton for first bringing it to my attention years ago in one of his many tips.

[Glenn Stanton]

would something like Track Manager (shortcut H) be useful for this? assuming the track view is synced with the console view.

[Canopus]

59 minutes ago, Sleetah2000 said:

1).  Clicking on a Folder Midi/Audio-Qty hides/unhides tracks in both Trackview and Console views with a single click.  Conversely, when you click on "+/-" in trackview, folded tracks still remain visible in Console view.  [...] In any case, if one carries excess tracks, I find it very handy to control what you can see in console view at the click of a button, rather than scroll across many pages of minimized faders that you don't need to worry about right now.  

I actually played around with the same idea about a week ago. I even made an animated gif to show how it might look, but I never posted it. But hey – here it is.

 

[Glenn Stanton]

ah, ok, that would be handy to have the expand/contraction of the track folder reflected in the console view. for me though - when i'm in mix mode, i cannot see the tracks because they're hidden behind the console ? so in my workflow using the track manager helps me to minimize the console width...