PRV multi-track editing: Show notes of only ONE track at a time

[Dave G]

Sometimes, when I change instrument tracks, the PRV shows notes from multiple/last touched/a different track. And I don't always use the Track Pane to correct this.

This seems to happen randomly. Usually, I have to change workspaces and go back to that PRV screen to get it to show only one track for editing.

There are some times I wouldn't mind multi-track note editing, but other times, it's too confusing for me to mess with.

In the attached screenshot, the bass guitar track is the only one in focus, but the OB Sweeper notes are shown in the background. (That OB Sweeper track has no focus right now.)

How do I view the notes from only one track at a time, and keep it that way? Can I integrate that into a workspace or something?

Thank you in advance.

[jackson white]

20 minutes ago, Dave G said:

How do I view the notes from only one track at a time, and keep it that way?

https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR&language=3&help=EditingMIDI.10.html

"Filter (Professional and Platinum only). The track filter determines which tracks are listed in the Track pane, while track selection determines which tracks show data in the edit view. Add individual tracks to the filter, then click the Filter button to list only those tracks. For details, see Filter mode (Professional and Platinum only)."

...

There's a lot of really useful information in the documentation. Might be worth getting familiar with it.

[John Vere]

Myself I just use the view on the right side in PVR to choose the track I want.  If you hold Ctrl and click other tracks they will open and the first track will be showing as a ghosted track.  In my screen shot I first selected track 1 Piano , held ctrl and selected track 6 strings. You can have as many ghosted tracks as you want. They show with locks. The one you edit has a pencil tools icon. 

My default is only midi tracks but you can  also show the audio tracks using the filter.  

I use 2 monitors so PVR is always full screen. But even with one screen you can double click the PVR tab of the Multi Dock and it will go full screen like you see in my screenshot, then I use the D shortcut to hide show the whole thing. I hate having that half screen view. 

Might be because you have the side view hidden you didn't know the side view existed. Use the little double arrows to hide show or the shortcut H if the PVR is in focus. 

Edited October 31, 2021 by John Vere

[Dave G]

3 hours ago, jackson white said:

https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR&language=3&help=EditingMIDI.10.html

There's a lot of really useful information in the documentation. Might be worth getting familiar with it.

Yeah -- I am sure it's well-documented. I've seen a few articles and YouTube tutorials, but I'm just somehow missing the part about being able to strictly edit one track at a time...

At least until I get the hang of how this works, and get comfortable editing multiple tracks at once. (shrug)

3 hours ago, John Vere said:

Myself I just use the view on the right side in PVR to choose the track I want.  If you hold Ctrl and click other tracks they will open and the first track will be showing as a ghosted track.  In my screen shot I first selected track 1 Piano , held ctrl and selected track 6 strings. You can have as many ghosted tracks as you want. They show with locks. The one you edit has a pencil tools icon. 

My default is only midi tracks but you can  also show the audio tracks using the filter.  

I use 2 monitors so PVR is always full screen. But even with one screen you can double click the PVR tab of the Multi Dock and it will go full screen like you see in my screenshot, then I use the D shortcut to hide show the whole thing. I hate having that half screen view. 

Might be because you have the side view hidden you didn't know the side view existed. Use the little double arrows to hide show or the shortcut H if the PVR is in focus. 

Thank you for the wealth of information.

My [physical] workspace only allows for one monitor. I haven't figured out how/when I decide to expand yet.

I am aware of the Track Pane, and I've used it before. It's just at some point, I became confused at the "focused/ghosted notes" behavior and can't make sense out of it.

The screenshots here indicate my current [DAW] workspace set up, and each workspace appears as follows:

1.   Track window and PRV with browser on the right
2.   Full-screen PRV with Track Pane on the right*
3.   Full-screen Console, and nothing else

( * In this Workspace, Track 1 is in focused and Track 5 is ghosted. I think I understand that much.)

I'm still trying to tweak these Workspaces to streamline my productivity as smoothly as possible. The only exception: Long ago, I eliminated the Synth Rack from view because I didn't consider it vital.

[FYI: I am actively working in Sonar, because for some reason I still haven't committed to CbB. I'm aware the CbB is more current and versatile, as I just want to be sure that it is stable, reliable and accessible. ]

Edited October 31, 2021 by Dave G

[John Vere]

Oh I just realized your still using Sonar. So there's one good reason to upgrade to Cakewalk. They made a lot of improvements to the PVR and the side bar I'm using is one of them.  I don't think it was there in Splat. 

[Dave G]

3 minutes ago, John Vere said:

Oh I just realized your still using Sonar. So there's one good reason to upgrade to Cakewalk.

I totally get it! I have seen the differences. I keep switching back and forth, honestly. ?

I don't know what the hesitation is, I just want to know that CbB will always be available and there won't be any problems down the line.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Dave G

[John Vere]

Actually as far as this goes I just opened Splat and it seems to be the same I forgot it was added then.

Your screens look different than mine. Notice the auto lock is highlighted.  I can't see that feature on yours? Possibly a Sonar Artist  version thing. 

But the locks and pencil show the same for me in both Splat and CbB.  All I do is hold down ctrl while clicking. 

The only hick up is If I say select four tracks and Put say track 4 in focus to edit, Now I see a note in Track 2 I want to Fix I can hold down CRTL and select track 2 and all 4 tracks stay there,  Track 2 is highlighted and can be edited, but the pencil is not highlighted anymore, I have to re click with Ctrl to re highlight it and then I can move to a different track using ctrl click. 

 

 

[Dave G]

18 minutes ago, John Vere said:

Actually as far as this goes I just opened Splat and it seems to be the same I forgot it was added then.

Your screens look different than mine. Notice the auto lock is highlighted.  I can't see that feature on yours? Possibly a Sonar Artist  version thing.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Wow, that looks like a really intense mix! ?

Yes, I forgot to clarify I'm using Sonar Artist... for a while.

And yeah, it has been frustrating because I just can't seem to keep the PRV focused on only one track at a time.

Per your screenshot: all those extra functions I see in the Track Pane, I'm pretty sure that's the way I would much rather have it. Much more control.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Dave G

[Byron Dickens]

Yet another reason to switch to CbB. It gets harder and harder to help out people using farther and farther obsolete versions.

[Dave G]

35 minutes ago, bdickens said:

Yet another reason to switch to CbB. It gets harder and harder to help out people using farther and farther obsolete versions.

Agree, and totally understood.

[John Vere]

Well thanks for bringing it up as I actually learned a few new features by exploring a bit deeper to figure this out. I didn't know about the re clicking a track with control held down to keep them all open. I used to just re click them all. 

I also never realized that the side bar is actually a mini track view. I always thought it was just a midi track view because that's the default. I never thought there's be a reason to want to see an audio track. But yes, you need that for lining up midi bass with audio kick track or visa versa. 

It's my payback for helping on the forum- I learn new stuff. 

[Todd Groemling]

So, did you get your issue resolved and I've just missed the solution in this thread? I have the most current version of Cakewalk by Bandlab, have been using Cakewalk for years, well before Bandlab came in, and I still have the issue you do.

[David Baay]

The screenshot below shows the PRV Track Pane with Filter enabled to hide drum MIDI and audio tracks I'm not concerned with from both the Notes and Track panes. Auto Lock is enabled to prevent inadvertent editing of any track that is not currently focused. Notes are displayed only for the tracks that are selected (track number highlighted) and only the notes in the currently focused track (track number and name highlighted white) show color and are editable. Selecting the track name in the track pane changes focus without affecting selection. If you sweep-select track numbers of multiple tracks, the first one you click will end up focused. You can Ctrl+click to add non-consecutive tracks to the selection as usual. Auto Focus is an alternative to Auto Lock that lets you change focus by clicking on a note. I prefer Auto Lock and changing focus by the Track Pane. See the documentation for more info. 

Here's the same view with only the one track selected and focused in the Track Pane:

Edited January 20, 2023 by David Baay

[Dave G]

On 1/20/2023 at 10:18 AM, Todd Groemling said:

So, did you get your issue resolved and I've just missed the solution in this thread? I have the most current version of Cakewalk by Bandlab, have been using Cakewalk for years, well before Bandlab came in, and I still have the issue you do.

 

On 1/20/2023 at 12:31 PM, David Baay said:

The screenshot below shows the PRV Track Pane with Filter enabled to hide drum MIDI and audio tracks I'm not concerned with from both the Notes and Track panes. Auto Lock is enabled to prevent inadvertent editing of any track that is not currently focused. Notes are displayed only for the tracks that are selected (track number highlighted) and only the notes in the currently focused track (track number and name highlighted white) show color and are editable. Selecting the track name in the track pane changes focus without affecting selection. If you sweep-select track numbers of multiple tracks, the first one you click will end up focused. You can Ctrl+click to add non-consecutive tracks to the selection as usual. Auto Focus is an alternative to Auto Lock that lets you change focus by clicking on a note. I prefer Auto Lock and changing focus by the Track Pane. See the documentation for more info. 

Here's the same view with only the one track selected and focused in the Track Pane:

I do apologize! I've been away from this thread the past few months, and somehow, I wasn't notified of replies.

Thank you both for your solution! (Is there a way to do this in Sonar also?) Otherwise, this was very well explained and I appreciate it.

[Starship Krupa]

18 minutes ago, Dave G said:

Is there a way to do this in Sonar also?

That feature hasn't been changed in the 5 years that Cakewalk by BandLab has been around.

And I'll add to the chorus: it's past time to install CbB and join the fun. There's no risk to your current SONAR installation. You'll get a TON of new features (CbB was originally comparable to the Professional version, but with many features added since 2018) and a program that runs much better in performance and stability.

[Bristol_Jonesey]

4 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

That feature hasn't been changed in the 5 years that Cakewalk by BandLab has been around.

And I'll add to the chorus: it's past time to install CbB and join the fun. There's no risk to your current SONAR installation. You'll get a TON of new features (CbB was originally comparable to the Professional version, but with many features added since 2018) and a program that runs much better in performance and stability.

I would echo this 100%

You have noting to lose and everything to gain

[Dave G]

Thank you, everyone, for the valuable information pertaining to this!