Trying to better understand track selection

[norfolkmastering]

I'm trying to understand the difference between two different types of track selection:

If I click on the track name, then the track name is highlighted. 

If I click on the track number (below the name) then both the track number and track name are highlighted.

Could someone explain the differences between the two types of selection please.

[User 905133]

1 hour ago, norfolkmastering said:

I'm trying to understand the difference between two different types of track selection:

If I click on the track name, then the track name is highlighted. 

If I click on the track number (below the name) then both the track number and track name are highlighted.

Could someone explain the differences between the two types of selection please.

Selected v. in focus.  On second thought, I think you are referring to something else.  Sorry.

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by User 905133
edit

[User 905133]

1 hour ago, User 905133 said:

Selected v. in focus.

This is what I initially thought you were referring to (you can have many tracks selected for various purposes; one track can be in focus for some very specific purposes), but I think you might be interested in something else.

The only thing I can see is: the track with the name highlighted is shown in the Inspector (if you have the Inspector open). When you select the track number, the contents of the track get selected and the Inspector shows information for that track.

To me, selecting a track by clicking on the name (and therefore having the Inspector show details for that track) amounts to giving that track the focus. 

However, by selecting multiple track by number such as by holding the ctrl key down (default key binding), allows some editing functions (for example) the delete key to delete the contents of all the tracks that have their numbers selected.

So, hitting ctrl+a will select all tracks and then selecting the name of a single track (what I think of giving it focus) puts the single track selected into the Inspector.

IMPORTANT:  This is just what I think, based on how I intuitively use Cakewalk.  (1) I am not sure I am using the terms as they are used in the manual.  (2) I am not sure if other differences are going on, too, and if you are looking for other differences between the two methods.  I welcome clarifications (corrections, qualifications, etc.) from others. 

Edited November 2, 2023 by User 905133
edits for the purpose of clarification of my original comment (selected v. focused)

[David Baay]

A track can be focused without having anything selected in it. In addition to being shown in the Inspector, the focused track (name highlighted) is the track that will respond to keyboard shortcuts like Alt+R to arm it for recording or Shift+T to show its lanes. And it's the default target for pasting. Among other things, separating focus from selection allows selecting something in one track, and copy/cut-pasting it to another track with keyboard commands. This is handy for pasting to a precise Now time that's different from the start time of the selection or that would be hard to hit by dragging and/or that's far offscreen from where the selection is.

[mettelus]

It basically boils down to any track-based operations (like resizing, etc.), many of which can be done on multiple tracks simultaneously, require the track number(s) highlighted (selected) so that CbB knows the target of the operation you are performing.

As with many programs, a lot of user errors come from operations without explicitly selecting the objects (to be acted on) first.

[HIBI]

This is my personal perception.

If only the track name is highlighted, that track simply has the focus with the track selected, and some shortcut key operation will operate on that track.

If the track number is highlighted, it is a little more complicated.
If you click on a track number to highlight it, clips (Audio or MIDI) in that track are selected, and the other way round, if you select clips, the corresponding track number is highlighted. Furthermore, if the selected clips spans multiple tracks, all corresponding track numbers will be highlighted.
(When there is a selection in the time ruler, these behavior gets even more complicated...)

I think you need to get a sense of it through actual experience.

Edited November 2, 2023 by HIBI

[sjoens]

Most All Time Popular Cakewalk Topic.

In Focus = Clicking on a Track Name or blank area making the Name background light blue/orange/whatever.
- only one track can be in focus.
 
Selecting = Clicking on a Track Number making it's background blue/orange/whatever.  Doing this also brings track in focus until another track is focused.
- many tracks can be Selected.

From brundlefly 9/16/2016:
Don't select tracks except to copy/edit/bounce etc. their content.

Change focus by clicking in an empty area of a track header or by using the cursor keys.
With no track selected, keyboard shortcuts will always apply to the focused track.
 
I Ctrl+Shift-A or click in an empty area of the track view very frequently throughout a session to ensure nothing is selected when I don't intend to edit it.

 

Track View and Console View scroll wheel action behave differently which adds to confusion.
TV controls have to be clicked on 1st to adjust.  CV controls will respond simply by hovering the mouse over them no matter the focus or selection.

[msmcleod]

When the name is highlighted, it means it's the Active Track or Bus. 

When the track number or bus is highlighted, it means the track or bus is selected.

Any commands you run act on the track and/or bus selection - in other words, the selection is the source for commands.

The Active Track can be seen as a target for certain commands - for example, if you've copied some tracks or clips, pasting will start on the Active Track.

While the focused track is almost always the Active Track, being active doesn't mean it's actually focussed in the true sense ( i.e. a control on a different view or even a separate program could have focus).

[norfolkmastering]

16 hours ago, msmcleod said:

When the name is highlighted, it means it's the Active Track or Bus. 

When the track number or bus is highlighted, it means the track or bus is selected.

Any commands you run act on the track and/or bus selection - in other words, the selection is the source for commands.

The Active Track can be seen as a target for certain commands - for example, if you've copied some tracks or clips, pasting will start on the Active Track.

While the focused track is almost always the Active Track, being active doesn't mean it's actually focussed in the true sense ( i.e. a control on a different view or even a separate program could have focus).

First thanks for all the responses to a topic I never properly understood before.

Can I ask one more question on a similar topic, maybe Mark knows the answer as it's very obscure!

Is there any way to detect when a plug-in control panel has been opened?  I mean you click on the little bar on a track (the prompt OPEN 'xyz' appears) and a VST panel pops up so you can operate the controls.

Thanks