Shift key not locking in time when dragging clips from one track to another

[PJH]

I've noticed that the "shift drag" is not working in any project. I can hold "shift" and then click and drag a clip but it doesn't lock the clip horizontally in time. I'm still able to move any clip right or left.

Does anyone have any idea what's causing this?

Thanks!

[Bristol_Jonesey]

I thought shift only applied when dragging up/down so that the clip ends up in a different track.

I just tried this and it does preserve the start time of the dragged clip. Is this what you mean?

[Colin Nicholls]

Snap to grid settings? Try toggling those to see if there's a difference. I usually ensure that "Snap To" is OFF and then use SHIFT-DRAG on a clip to lock the start time, but that might be habit

[sjoens]

Holding Shift should lock the clip horizontally when dragging up or down to another track.  Make sure you're not moving the mouse even the slightest bit right or left when dragging as it can be touchy.  Other wise it could be a bad key so check both left & right Shift keys.  Then try a different keyboard.

[mettelus]

Also try using the other Shift key on the keyboard (or both in a text app) as it may also be a keyboard issue. I tend to be abusive to keyboards and the left Shift and left Ctrl keys tend to go first because they are wider and I hit them on the extreme left end and torque them to death.

[PJH]

Thanks for the great suggestions! 

Yes, it's the vertical drag up and down that I'm attempting. Holding the shift key should "lock" the horizontal movement but doesn't work on my system. 

I'm going to try these suggestions. 

Thanks!

[David Baay]

1 hour ago, PJH said:

Yes, it's the vertical drag up and down that I'm attempting. Holding the shift key should "lock" the horizontal movement but doesn't work on my system. 

I can reproduce that Shift is not constraining horizontal clip movement as it should; I hadn't noticed because all the clips I've dragged recently were starting at 1:01:000 and/or snap being enabled at a measure was taking care of it.

[dougalex]

36 minutes ago, David Baay said:

I can reproduce that Shift is not constraining horizontal clip movement as it should; I hadn't noticed because all the clips I've dragged recently were starting at 1:01:000 and/or snap being enabled at a measure was taking care of it.

FYI... The Constrained Dragging feature works fine here. I tested with both left and right shift key.

[Amberwolf]

9 hours ago, sjoens said:

Holding Shift should lock the clip horizontally when dragging up or down to another track.  Make sure you're not moving the mouse even the slightest bit right or left when dragging as it can be touchy. 

FWIW, in any software, if a drag-lock is "touchy" and requires not moving in the direction the lock is supposed to prevent moving in, it's a useless "lock".    The whole point of a lock is to ignore any moviement in the direction the lock locks in, so if it doesn't do that, it isn't working.  

[Bristol_Jonesey]

10 hours ago, dougalex said:

FYI... The Constrained Dragging feature works fine here. I tested with both left and right shift key.

For me, this is not an issue on my system.

I can drag clips up/down with impunity and do not need any sort of precision in order to lock the horizontal position.

This is of course with Shift held down.

[PJH]

Ok, I've tried all the suggestions and can confirm that this feature is definitely not working. With the "shift" key held down I can still drag the clip horizontally left or right.

I'll have to submit to support.

[Will.]

52 minutes ago, PJH said:

Ok, I've tried all the suggestions and can confirm that this feature is definitely not working. With the "shift" key held down I can still drag the clip horizontally left or right.

There is no bug; it’s functioning as intended by design. Your first movement determines what the command will lock onto.

Meaning: If your initial movement after holding SHIFT down is left or right, the command will lock the clips to horizontal movement. If your first movement is Up or Down, it will lock to vertical movement instead. 

 

Edited yesterday at 08:36 AM by Will.
Adding video

[Bristol_Jonesey]

This is exactly what I'm seeing Will

[Will.]

1 hour ago, Bristol_Jonesey said:

This is exactly what I'm seeing Will

It's a daily usage in my workflow when I move multiple clips. 

[David Baay]

8 hours ago, Will. said:

There is no bug; it’s functioning as intended by design. Your first movement determines what the command will lock onto.

Yes, that's how it should work, but what I'm seeing is that I can drag it both vertically (e.g. from one track to another) and horizontally while holding shift (i.e. drop it at a new position in the new track. But there's some inconsistency. After allowing a two dimensional drag a couple times, it started working as expected

Also when I re-enabled Snap aferwards rather than showing snap at a measure where I had left it, the resolution field was blank:

Something fishy going on.

 

[Will.]

12 minutes ago, David Baay said:

 But there's some inconsistency.

How consistent is the command if you wait for about two seconds before clicking the mouse button? I occasionally make the mistake of pressing both simultaneously when I’m in the zone, which causes the command to fail while I’m dragging. Based on my experience over the years, I’ve learned to hold Shift for at least a second before clicking and moving the mouse.

17 minutes ago, David Baay said:

 

Something fishy going on.

That is strange.

Unfortunately, I’m not experiencing this issue on my end — sorry, David. It could possibly be a temporary glitch, maybe caused by a recent Windows update or a background process affecting graphics performance. Have you tested in SPlat too, or CbB (if it's still workable your side) to narrow things down?

[David Baay]

17 minutes ago, Will. said:

How consistent is the command if you wait for about two seconds before clicking the mouse button? I occasionally make the mistake of pressing both simultaneously when I’m in the zone, which causes the command to fail while I’m dragging.

It could be that or that I fat-fingered Ctrl instead of Shift and didn't notice that I was drag-copying, as I can't reproduce it now. And, re-reading the OP's post, it does seem he might have been misunderstanding that Shift can constrain either dimension, depending on the initial direction of movement.

[sjoens]

Interpret this as you may,  but if Cakewalk has proven anything over the years it's how different it operates on different systems by different users.

The magnetisphere may be messing with you as well. 

[Will.]

1 hour ago, David Baay said:

.And, re-reading the OP's post, it does seem he might have been misunderstanding that Shift can constrain either dimension, depending on the initial direction of movement.

There's always that possibility. 

[sjoens]

Not all mouse sensitivities are created equal, so the slightest movement in the wrong direction can be applied before you even think you moved the mouse.