Cakewalk/Sonar Track Manager

[Astraios]

Hi and Hello,

recently I've been taking a closer look at the track manager again and have found it 
a extrem useful tool. In the BitWig Studio DAW, the track manager is an existing 
element in the main workflow. Unfortunately the Sonar track manager isn't displayed 
in color and not expanded like the synth-rack window. You also can't continue working 
when track manager is open. It is also one of those Sonar windows that you can open, but
cannot close again with the same keystroke (shortcut)... that can end badly in "Floating
Windows" mode, because it can easily end up behind an open window. I fiddled around
with it for a long time until I found a solution to close these windows --> "Actual Tool.

I think this tool gives a wonderful control over all tracks and individual presets 
can be created to make the workflow easier. If  MSR, Write and Read could be integrated 
that would be a great step forward. Using screensets as an alternative I found not so 
practical… 

[murat k.]

I've been waiting for a long time for Track Manager to appear in the Track Properties tab in the Inspector, just like in this image.

 

[Starship Krupa]

On 10/23/2024 at 9:14 PM, Astraios said:

It is also one of those Sonar windows that you can open, but
cannot close again with the same keystroke (shortcut)

Every window or view that can be opened with a keystroke should be able to close (or collapse) with the same keystroke.

[Colin Nicholls]

20 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

Every window or view that can be opened with a keystroke should be able to close (or collapse) with the same keystroke.

Windows User Interface Guidelines has entered the chat

[Astraios]

Sorry, but I'm a bit of an idiot 🤡 Try combining the Transpose window with F11, and, or the Track Manager window with CTRL+U in the shortcut editor... well, for me I can't close them both again with the same shortcut, maybe it's different for you...? 😇

 

ADDENDUM  29.10.24

Take a look into my YT-Clip  Time 1:25 - 1:30   (Track Manager on/off)   www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHYMb3TZOdQ

 

ADDENUM  30.10.24

Well, I didn't study cakewalkology at Harvard University to know that if you assign a shortcut to these little helpers, you can open them, but I can't close them again with the same shortcut...

For those there is a Sonar listed Shortcut:  CTRL+F4  "Close current floating window"

What does Ctrl Windows F4 do?   --  Ctrl + F4 - Close the active document (in apps that are full-screen and let you have multiple documents open at the same time).

 

Edited October 30 by Astraios
Addendum

[Astraios]

All right, the track pane is basically some sort of a track manager, but unfortunately individual 
tracks cannot be hidden so easily and presets cannot be created either. This tool is still visible
from the Stone Age phase of Cakewalk.
Tracks have no track number, MSR is shown in brackets: (muted). The ideal track 
manager, from my completely unimportant and incompetent point of view, would be a synthesis
of Track Pane, Track Manager, Sort Tracks View and Track Pane Manager.

Good Helloween joke, isn't it?? 

Edited November 1 by Astraios
joke

[Colin Nicholls]

Off-topic, @Astraios, but damn your color choices make Sonar look pretty good. Also, is that the Classic Royale Windows theme?

[Astraios]

19 hours ago, Colin Nicholls said:

Off-topic, @Astraios, but damn your color choices make Sonar look pretty good. Also, is that the Classic Royale Windows theme?

😇 it's just regular Mercury Theme spiced with some homemade Trackcolors

light Blue =    R 140
                             G 190
                             B 240

Yellow =    R 235
                      G 220
                      B 120

marine Blue    R 60
                               G 200
                               B 230    

Green        R 115
                      G 190
                      B 105

 

if you like....

[Starship Krupa]

On 10/27/2024 at 2:24 PM, Colin Nicholls said:

Windows User Interface Guidelines has entered the chat

As a pro QA engineer for multiple companies, and a beta tester later, the reaction I usually get from software engineers when I refer to those is along the lines of "yeah, yeah, nobody likes a smartass." 😄

I'm not sure why this is so, perhaps by the time it's brought up they are so far into the design process that an outsider saying "no need to reinvent the wheel" is....unwelcome.

Cakewalk was around long before Windows, so it mostly gets a pass on keystroke standardization. It's still the only program I've ever seen make use of Scroll Lock (and a damn good use it is), so deserves an award for avoiding a missed opportunity. Many programs could benefit from stopping scrolling, there's a dedicated key right there for it, so why is it so seldom implemented?

As most people do, I use multiple programs, and every time I want to Deselect All I'm reminded of how miserable it is not to have a standard keystroke for such things. Interestingly, Google's AI Overview for "keystroke select none" currently show, in order, Adobe Lightroom, Cakewalk, Google Docs, and Microsoft Excel as its examples to demonstrate "The keyboard shortcut for "select none" varies depending on the application."

I would chalk Cakewalk being in the #2 slot as due to how often I search Google for Cakewalk, except for the fact that I don't remember ever Googling Adobe Lightroom or Microsoft Excel.

[Xoo]

6 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

It's still the only program I've ever seen make use of Scroll Lock

Never used Excel??!?!?

[Starship Krupa]

1 hour ago, Xoo said:

Never used Excel??!?!?

Not in decades. LibreOffice or Google Sheets here.

What does Excel use Scroll Lock for?

[Xoo]

Changes action of cursors from moving from cell to cell to moving the worksheet.  And a complete PITA it is too when you hit it by accident and then edit the wrong cell!