Sonar and that vertical bar

[Sylvester]

In the Track View, there is the Clips Pane.  When you press play, a vertical bar scrolls from left to right along the clips. Did Cakewalk ever name this bar or refer to it in their manuals?  I cannot find any info.

When Play has been stopped, is there a way to move this bar in increments without a mouse?  Is there a keyboard short cut to move it?  The only way I can place it in time line positions is with left mouse clicks.  I would like to move the bar in one frame increments and even one millisecond increments.

[scook]

The vertical bar that moves with the playhead is often referred to as Now.

Here are a couple of ways to move Now using the keyboard -

Ctrl+Page Up and Ctrl+Page Down move Now time forward or back one measure

To move Now in smaller increments using the keyboard may be done by binding CAL scripts. Here are a couple of scripts to copy into files in the CAL folder and bind to keystrokes

;; Name: Now Forward.CAL
(do
 (+= Now 30)
)
 
and

;; Name: Now Backward.CAL
(do
 (int offset 30)
 (if (< Now offset)
  (= Now 0)
     (-= Now offset)
 )
)

 

The 30 in both scripts is 30 ticks. By default, CbB is set to 960 ticks per quarter note. Adjust the values to suit or create multiple scripts for different values and bind to different key combinations.

[TimV]

The way it's done in Sound Forge is really helpful for precise editing. The arrow keys move the now time in tiny increments forward or backward. I haven't checked, but you can probably set the size of the increment. It seems to get smaller as you zoom in for more precision.

What is also extremely helpful is being able to play a couple seconds up to the now time (ctrl + shift + K). This way you can keep advancing until you just start to hear the beginning of the spot that you want to edit. Then back off one increment and set your marker.

It would be so nice if CbB could work this way.

[RBH]

There is also the " nudge " feature that lets you set-up user increments.

 

Nudge shortcuts

 

Table 106. Nudge keyboard shortcuts

Command

Shortcut

Nudge Left 1

Numeric Keypad 1

Nudge Down

Numeric Keypad 2

Nudge Right 1

Numeric Keypad 3

Nudge Left 2

Numeric Keypad 4

Nudge Settings

Numeric Keypad 5

Nudge Right 2

Numeric Keypad 6

Nudge Left 3

Numeric Keypad 7

Nudge Right 3

Numeric Keypad 8

[scook]

Nudge moves data. The OP is asking about moving the Now line not the data.

[John]

I have found a control surface with a jog wheel very useful for moving the now time where I want it. 

[chuckebaby]

You can pick up an old Mackie Control unit used from guitar center for 200 bucks. I've seen them lower because of the units age, but they work great with Sonar/Bandlab. As @John mentioned the jog wheel, this is critical for navigating the Timeline.

[John]

I didn't want to mention the Mackie Control because I do so often but Chuck is right it works with Cakewalk and just about any other DAW and video editors like Vagus Pro. 

I have had mine since it first came out. It has never failed me. 

[Starship Krupa]

Also, don't get a copy of Eckhardt Tolle's The Power of Now expecting it to have anything to do with Cakewalk.

[chuckebaby]

5 hours ago, John said:

I didn't want to mention the Mackie Control because I do so often

Your input was one of the reasons I got a Mackie control surface and I must say its been thee best improvement to my studio to use with Bandlab/Sonar. a ton of options for foot controls, buttons.

 

[Robert Bone]

I usually have my Snap value set to 1/8th note, and that helps me line up the Now Time on beat 1 of a measure, or in 1/8th note values if I click somewhere within a measure that is not on the 1st beat.

That Snap value can be set to a different value, or even turned off, so give working with that a try, to see if that gives you the results you want.

Bob Bone

[Grem]

I have my number keypads 'Key Binded' to 
1 = Previous Measure
2 = Next Measure
3 = Previous Marker
6 = Next Marker

If I need anything with more resolution, I use Snap To. 

 

I can move around my project with ease.

 

[edit] Pressing J puts the cursor in Jog mode. : )

Edited July 19, 2019 by Grem

[Sylvester]

On 7/18/2019 at 2:31 PM, scook said:

The vertical bar that moves with the playhead is often referred to as Now.  To move Now in smaller increments using the keyboard may be done by binding CAL scripts. Here are a couple of scripts to copy into files in the CAL folder and bind to keystrokes.

Thanks very much, Scook.

This all worked perfectly, but it was quite a bit of a learning curve.  I had no idea what dot CAL files were, but found the folder where they are stored.  Looked at a few, but it is rocket science to me.  Using Notepad, I copied your scripts and named them.  I had to study up on Key Bindings also.  Did not know it was there under Options.  Bound the CALs to Left and Right keys and it works great.

I had to change (+= Now 30) and (int offset 30) to (+= Now 2) and (int offset 2) to get the Now bar to step in 1 milliseconds increments.

Thanks again.

[scook]

CAL is a LISP-like programming language that has been deprecated for years. Simple functions like moving the Now time will probably work as long as the language is part of the program.

Keep in mind, time in CAL is expressed in measures, beats and ticks. Ticks are the smallest unit of measure. Ticks-per quarter note is a per-project preference setting. The default is 960. The actual time a tick takes is a function of the number of ticks per quarter note and the BPM. IOW

ticks per second = (ticks per quarter note) * (beats per minute) / 60

[msmcleod]

For those interested in using CAL, here's a link to a comprehensive guide:

http://members.ziggo.nl/t.valkenburgh/Cakewalk Application Language Programming Guide.pdf

[James Argo]

On 7/18/2019 at 10:19 AM, Sylvester said:

When Play has been stopped, is there a way to move this bar in increments without a mouse?  Is there a keyboard short cut to move it?  The only way I can place it in time line positions is with left mouse clicks.  I would like to move the bar in one frame increments and even one millisecond increments.

That's why people invest in jog wheel control surfaces. If you happen to get access to ebay, there's many Frontier Tranzport for sale under $50. The product is discontinued, I'm not sure if it works in win10, but I know it still work without problem with win 7- 8.1 x64.

[msmcleod]

1 minute ago, James Argo said:

That's why people invest in jog wheel control surfaces. If you happen to get access to ebay, there's many Frontier Tranzport for sale under $50. The product is discontinued, I'm not sure if it works in win10, but I know it still work without problem with win 7- 8.1 x64.

The Korg nanoKONTROL Studio is a fantastic control surface for the price.

[James Argo]

4 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

The Korg nanoKONTROL Studio is a fantastic control surface for the price.

Another good option. However they are listed around $160-$190.

[msmcleod]

2 minutes ago, James Argo said:

Another good option. However they are listed around $160-$190.

That's quite expensive - they're pretty cheap in the UK @ £120 , which is just under $150.

That's the price new... you might get it cheaper 2nd hand, but they rarely come up unless someone is upgrading to a motorised alternative. There's a couple on eBay at the moment going for around £60 - £80 ($80 - $100). Only one on the US eBay site though, and that's from Italy so the shipping wipes out any savings

FWIW Amazon in the US are doing it for $149.

 

[dougalex]

On 7/18/2019 at 8:22 PM, Grem said:

I have my number keypads 'Key Binded' to 
1 = Previous Measure
2 = Next Measure
3 = Previous Marker
6 = Next Marker

If I need anything with more resolution, I use Snap To. 

 

I can move around my project with ease.

 

[edit] Pressing J puts the cursor in Jog mode. : )

[Ignore my question/comment: "Is this using CAL? I cannot find this possibility in custom key bindings."]

Because I figured it out. Problem was I did not know the "title" I was looking for in key bindings. The title that actually does what I wanted was: "Go to start of this measure or start of prior measure" and "Go to end of this measure or end of next measure"

Edited February 12, 2020 by dougalex
Found my answer