Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

							51
The Project window
Range editing
Editing in the Project window isn’t necessarily restricted 
to handling whole events and parts. You can also work 
with selection ranges, which are independent from the 
event/part and track boundaries.
Creating a selection range
To make a selection range, drag with the Range Selection 
tool.
When the Range Selection tool is selected, the Select 
submenu on the Edit menu has the following items for 
making selection ranges:
Double-clicking on an event with the Range Selection 
tool creates a selection range encompassing the event.
If you hold down [Shift] you can double-click several events in a row, and 
the selection range will expand to encompass them all. Double-clicking a 
second time on an event opens it for editing in the Sample Editor.
Adjusting the size of the selection range
You can adjust the size of a selection range in the follow-
ing ways:
By dragging its edges.
The pointer takes the shape of a double arrow when you move it over an 
edge of the selection range.
By holding down [Shift] and clicking.
The closest selection range edge will be moved to the position at which 
you clicked.
By adjusting the selection range start or end position on 
the info line.
By using the Trim buttons on the toolbar.
The left Trim buttons will move the start of the selection range and the 
right buttons will move the end. The edges will be moved by the amount 
specified on the Grid pop-up.
Clicking this Trim button…
…will move the start of the selection range to the right by 1beat.
By using the Nudge buttons on the toolbar.
These will move the whole selection range to the left or the right. The 
amount of movement depends on the selected display format (see “The 
Project Setup dialog” on page 34) and the value specified on the Grid 
pop-up menu.
ÖThe Trim buttons and the Nudge buttons are located 
in the Nudge palette, which is not visible in the toolbar by 
default. 
See “The setup context menus” on page 471 for instructions on how to 
show and hide items in the toolbar.
Option Description
All Makes a selection that covers all tracks, from the start of 
the project to the end (as defined by the Length setting in 
the Project Setup dialog).
None Removes the current selection range.
Invert Only used for event selection (see “Selecting events” on 
page 43).
In Loop Makes a selection between the left and right locator, on 
all tracks.
From Start to 
CursorMakes a selection on all tracks, from the start of the 
project to the project cursor.
From Cursor to 
EndMakes a selection on all tracks, from the project cursor to 
the end of the project.
All on Selected 
TracksOnly used for event selection (see “Selecting events” on 
page 43).
Select Event This is available in the Sample Editor (see “Using the Se-
lect menu” on page 227).
Left Selection 
Side to CursorMoves the left side of the current selection range to the 
project cursor position.
Right Selec-
tion Side to 
CursorMoves the right side of the current selection range to the 
project cursor position.
!Note that the contents of the selection are not moved 
– using the Nudge buttons is the same as adjusting 
the start and end of the selection range at the same 
time, by the same amount. 
						

							52
The Project window
Making selection ranges for several non-contiguous 
tracks
You can create selection ranges that cover several tracks 
by pressing [Alt]/[Option]-[Shift]. However, it is also pos-
sible to exclude tracks from a selection range:
1.Create a selection range from the first to the last de-
sired track.
2.Press [Alt]/[Option] and click in the selection range on 
the tracks you want to exclude from the selection.
3.In the same manner, you can add a track to the selec-
tion range by [Alt]/[Option]-clicking in the selection range 
area on the track.
Moving and duplicating
To move a selection range, click and drag it to a new 
position.
This will move the contents of the selection range to the new position. If 
the range intersected events or parts, these will be split before moving, 
so that only the sections within the selection range are affected.
To duplicate a selection range, hold down [Alt]/[Option] 
and drag.
You can also use the Duplicate, Repeat and Fill Loop functions, just as 
when duplicating events (see “Duplicating events” on page 45).
Using Cut, Copy and Paste
When working with selection ranges, you can either use 
Cut, Copy and Paste on the Edit menu, or use the func-
tions “Cut Time” and “Paste Time” on the Range submenu 
on the Edit menu. These work differently to their related 
functions on the Edit menu:
Deleting selection ranges
Again, you can either use “regular” Delete or “Delete Time”:
If you use the Delete function on the Edit menu (or press 
[Backspace]), the data within the selection range is re-
placed by empty track space.
Events to the right of the range keep their position.
If you use “Delete Time” on the Edit menu’s Range sub-
menu, the selection range is removed and events to the 
right are moved to the left to close up the gap.
Other functions
On the Range submenu on the Edit menu, you will find 
three more range editing functions:
Function Description
Cut Cuts out the data in the selection range and moves it to 
the clipboard. The selection range is replaced by empty 
track space in the Project window, meaning that events 
to the right of the range keep their positions.
Copy Copies the data in the selection range to the clipboard.
Paste Pastes the clipboard data at the start position and track 
of the current selection. Existing events are not moved to 
make room for the pasted data.
Paste at Origin Pastes the clipboard data back at its original position. Ex-
isting events are not moved to make room for the pasted 
data.
Cut Time Cuts out the selection range and moves it to the clip-
board. Events to the right of the removed range are 
moved to the left to fill out the gap.
Paste Time Pastes the clipboard data at the start position and track 
of the current selection. Existing events are moved to 
make room for the pasted data.
Paste Time at 
OriginPastes the clipboard data back at its original position. Ex-
isting events are moved to make room for the pasted data.
Function Description
Split Splits any events or parts that are intersected by the selec-
tion range, at the positions of the selection range edges.
Crop All events or parts that are partially within the selection 
range are cropped, that is, sections outside the selection 
range are removed. Events that are fully inside or outside 
the selection range are not affected.
Insert Silence Inserts empty track space from the start of the selection 
range. The length of the silence equals the length of the 
selection range. Events to the right of the selection range 
start are moved to the right to “make room”. Events that 
are intersected by the selection range start are split, and 
the right section is moved to the right. Function Description 
						

							53
The Project window
Region operations
Regions are sections within a clip, with various uses. 
While regions are perhaps best created and edited in the 
Sample Editor (see “Working with regions” on page 228), 
the following region functions are available in the Advan-
ced submenu of the Audio menu:
Folder tracks
Moving tracks into a folder is a way to structure and orga-
nize tracks in the Project window. By grouping tracks in 
folder tracks, you can solo and mute them in a quicker and 
easier way and perform editing on several tracks as one 
entity. Folder tracks can contain any type of track includ-
ing other folder tracks.
Handling folder tracks
Creating a folder track
Select “Add Track” from the Project menu and select “Folder” from the 
submenu that appears, or right-click in the Track list and select “Add 
Folder Track” from the context menu to create a folder track.
Moving tracks into a folder
In the Track list, click on a track that you want to move into a folder and 
drag it onto a folder track. A green arrow pointing to a folder appears 
when you drag the track onto the folder track in the list. The track is placed 
in the folder track, and all parts and events on the track will be represented 
by a corresponding folder part (see below). You can also create sub-fold-
ers by moving one folder track into another. For example, you could have a 
folder containing all the vocals in a project, and each vocal part could have 
a folder containing all the takes for easier handling etc.
Removing tracks from a folder
Drag a track out of the folder and release it in the Track list to remove it 
from the folder.
Hiding/showing tracks in a folder
Click on the “Expand/Collapse Folder” button (the folder icon) to hide or 
show the tracks located in a folder or use the corresponding options in 
the Track Folding submenu of the Project menu (see “Track folding” on 
page 39). Hidden tracks are played back as usual. 
Muting and soloing folder tracks
Click the Mute or Solo button on the folder track to mute or solo all 
tracks in the folder as one unit. 
Working with folder parts
A folder part is a graphic representation of events and 
parts on the tracks in the folder. Folder parts indicate the 
position and length of the events and parts, as well as on 
which track they are (their vertical position). If part colors 
are used, these are also shown in the folder part.
Any Project window editing you perform to a folder part 
affects all the events and parts it contains. You can select 
several folder parts if you like – this allows you to handle 
and edit them together. The editing you can perform in-
cludes:
 Moving a folder part. This will move its contained events and 
parts (possibly resulting in other folder parts, depending on 
how the parts overlap).
 Using cut, copy and paste.
 Deleting a folder part. This will delete its contained events and 
parts.
 Splitting a folder part with the Scissors tool.
 Gluing folder parts together with the Glue tube tool. This will 
only work if the adjacent folder parts contain events or parts 
on the same track.
 Resizing a folder part resizes the contained events and parts 
according to the selected resizing method, see “Resizing 
events” on page 46.
Function Description
Event or 
Range as 
RegionThis function is available when one or several audio 
events or selection ranges are selected. It creates a re-
gion in the corresponding clip, with the start and end po-
sition of the region determined by the start and end 
position of the event or selection range within the clip.
Events from 
RegionsThis function is available if you have selected an audio 
event whose clip contains regions within the boundaries 
of the event. The function will remove the original event 
and replace it with event(s) positioned and sized accord-
ing to the Region(s).
A folder track
Tracks in the folder 
						

							54
The Project window
 Muting a folder part. This will mute its contained events and 
parts.
Tracks inside a folder can be edited as one entity by per-
forming the editing directly on the folder part containing 
the tracks. You can also edit individual tracks within the 
folder by showing the contained tracks, selecting parts 
and opening editors as usual.
Double-clicking a folder part opens the editors for the cor-
responding track classes present in the folder. The follow-
ing applies:
All MIDI parts located on the tracks within the folder are 
displayed as if they were on the same track, just like when 
opening the Key Editor with several MIDI parts selected.
To be able to easily discern the different tracks in the editor, give each 
track a different color in the Project window and use the “Part Colors” 
option in the editor (see “Coloring notes and events” on page 344).
If the folder contains tracks with audio events and/or au-
dio parts, the Sample and/or Audio Part Editors are opened 
with each audio event and audio part in a separate window.
Markers
Markers are used to locate certain positions quickly. If you 
often find yourself jumping to a specific position within a 
project, you should insert a marker at this position. There 
are two types of markers:
Cycle markers allow you to store the start and end posi-
tions of a range. 
On the Marker track they are shown as two markers bridged by a hori-
zontal line. They are ideal for setting sections of a song, for example “In-
tro”, “Verse”, and “Chorus”, this enables you to quickly navigate to the 
song sections, and also to optionally repeat the section (by activating 
Cycle on the Transport panel). Cycle markers can freely overlap. 
Standard markers store a specific position. 
ÖThe left and right locators are handled separately – 
see “The left and right locators” on page 62.
Editing markers in the Marker window
The Marker window lists the markers in the order in which 
they occur in the project. To open the Marker window, se-
lect “Markers” from the Project menu, click the “Show” but-
ton in the Marker section on the Transport panel or use the 
key command (by default [Ctrl]/[Command]-[M]).
The Marker window is divided into six columns:
Click on a column heading to sort the marker list by that 
column. The Marker columns can also be reordered by 
dragging and dropping the column headers.
Column Description
Locate (left-
most column)If you click in this column the project cursor will be moved 
to the corresponding marker position. A blue arrow indi-
cates the marker at the project cursor position (or the 
closest marker before the project cursor).
ID In this column you can edit marker ID numbers. Each time 
you add a marker, it is automatically and sequentially as-
signed an ID number, starting from ID 1. IDs for cycle 
markers are shown in brackets and start from [1]. The 
nine first markers (1 to 9) can be recalled by using key 
commands (by default [Shift]-[1] to [9] on the typewriter 
part of the keyboard). 
Position In this column you can view and edit the markers’ time 
positions (or start positions for cycle markers). 
End In this column you can view and edit the end positions of 
cycle markers.
Length  In this column you can view and edit the length of cycle 
markers.
Description Here you can enter names or descriptions for markers. 
						

							55
The Project window
The following actions can be performed in the Marker 
window:
Adding markers
Click the Add button or press [Insert] (Windows only) on the computer 
keyboard to add position markers at the current project cursor position
Select “Cycle Markers” from the Show pop-up menu and click the Add 
button to add a cycle marker between the left and right locator.
Removing markers
Select a marker and click the Remove button to remove it.
Moving marker positions
Set the project cursor to the position to which you want to move (or re-
program) a marker, select the marker that you want to change in the 
Marker window and click the Move button. If a cycle marker is selected, 
the Move operation affects the cycle marker start position, the length of 
the range is not affected. You can also move markers by editing their po-
sition numerically in the Position column.
Editing markers on the Marker track
The Marker track is used for viewing and editing markers. 
Any changes made on the Marker track are reflected in the 
Marker window and vice versa. Standard position markers 
are shown as vertical lines with the marker name (if as-
signed) and number beside it. If you select the Marker 
track, all markers are shown in the Inspector.
To add the Marker track to the Project, select “Marker” from 
the Add Track submenu of the Project menu (or right-click 
in the Track list and select “Add Marker Track”). You can 
only have one Marker track in a project.
The following editing functions can be performed directly 
on the Marker track:
Adding markers 
Press the [Insert] key (Win) or the “Add Marker” button in the Track list, 
to add a position marker at the current cursor position during playback. 
Click the “Add Cycle Marker” button in the Track list, to add a cycle 
marker at the left and right locator positions.
Selecting markers
Use the standard techniques.
Drawing markers 
Use the Pencil tool (or press [Alt]/[Option] and use the Arrow tool) to 
draw position markers. Snap is taken into account.
Hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] while using the Pencil or the Arrow tool to 
draw cycle markers. Snap is taken into account. 
Resizing 
Select and drag a cycle marker by the handles that appear at the bottom 
of the start and end events to resize it. This can also be done numerically 
on the info line.
Moving 
Click and drag, or edit the positions on the info line to move a marker. 
Snap is taken into account if activated.
Removing 
Select a position marker and press [Delete] or use the Erase tool to re-
move it.
Click with the Eraser tool to delete a cycle marker. If you hold down [Alt]/
[Option] when you click, all consecutive markers will also be deleted.
Naming
Select a marker and enter a name on the info line.
Moving the left and right locators
Double-click on a cycle marker or select it from the Cycle pop-up menu 
in the Track list, to move the left and right locators to encompass the cy-
cle marker.
Use the numeric pad keys [1] and [2] to move the project cursor position 
to the start or the end of the cycle marker. You can also use key com-
mands for this – see “Editing markers using key commands” on page 55.
Zooming
Select a cycle marker on the Zoom pop-up menu, to zoom in the event 
display to encompass the selected range only (see the section “Zoom 
presets and Cycle markers” on page 36).
You can also do this by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and double-clicking on 
the cycle marker in the event display.
Making range selections in the Project window
Double-click with the Range Selection tool between any two markers to 
create a selection range between the markers, spanning all tracks in the 
project. This is a quick way to move or copy (hold down [Alt]/[Option]) 
complete sections of the project (on all tracks).
Editing markers using key commands
You can use key commands for marker operations, see 
“Transport category” on page 486.
Cycle marker MarkersLocators
Add Marker/Add Cycle Marker buttons 
						

							56
The Project window
Editing markers in the Project Browser
If you have a Marker track in the Project window, you can 
create and edit all marker parameters, including marker 
IDs, in the Project Browser. For details about editing 
markers in the Project Browser see “Editing the Marker 
track” on page 418.
Options
The Snap function
The Snap function helps you to find exact positions when 
editing in the Project window. It does this by restricting 
horizontal movement and positioning to certain positions. 
Operations affected by Snap include moving, copying, 
drawing, sizing, splitting, range selection, etc.
You turn Snap on or off by clicking the Snap icon in the 
toolbar.
Snap activated.
When you are moving audio events with Snap activated, it 
isn’t necessarily the beginning of the event that is used as 
Snap position reference. Instead, each audio event has a 
snap point, which you can set to a relevant position in the 
audio (such as a downbeat, etc.).
The snap point is preferably set in the Sample Editor since 
it allows for a higher degree of precision (see “Adjusting 
the snap point” on page 226). You can however also set 
the snap point directly in the Project window, in the follow-
ing way:
1.Select an event.
2.Place the project cursor at the desired position within 
the selected audio event.
3.Pull down the Audio menu and select “Snap Point To 
Cursor”.
The snap point is set at the cursor position.
The snap point for an event is displayed as a blue line in the Project 
window.
Exactly how Snap works depends on which mode is se-
lected on the Snap mode pop-up menu.
The following sections describe the different Snap modes:
Grid
In this mode, the Snap positions are set with the Grid Type 
pop-up menu to the right. The options depend on the dis-
play format selected for the ruler. For example, if the ruler is 
set to show bars and beats, the grid can be set to bars, 
beats or the quantize value set with the next pop-up menu 
to the right. If a time or frame-based ruler format is selected, 
the Grid Type pop-up menu contains time or frame-based 
grid options, etc.
When Seconds is selected as ruler format, the Grid Type pop-up menu 
contains time-based grid options.
Grid Relative
When you move events and parts in this mode they will not 
be “magnetic” to the grid. Rather, the grid determines the 
step size for moving the events. This means that a moved 
event will keep its original position relative to the grid.
For example, if an event starts at the position 3.04.01 (one 
beat before bar 4), Snap is set to Grid Relative and the 
Grid Type pop-up menu is set to “Bar”, you can move the 
event in steps of one bar – to the positions 4.04.01, 
5.04.01 and so on. The event will keep its relative position 
to the grid, i.e. stay one beat before the bar lines.
This only applies when dragging existing events or parts 
– when you create new events or parts this mode works 
like the Grid mode. 
						

							57
The Project window
Events
In this mode, the start and end positions of other events 
and parts become “magnetic”. This means that if you drag 
an event to a position near the start or end of another 
event, it is automatically aligned with the start or end of the 
other event. For audio events, the position of the snap 
point is also magnetic (see “Adjusting the snap point” on 
page 226).
Note that this includes marker events on the marker track.
This allows you to snap events to marker positions, and vice versa.
Shuffle
Shuffle mode is useful when you want to change the order 
of adjacent events. If you have two adjacent events and 
drag the first one to the right, past the second event, the 
two events will change places.
The same principle works when changing the order of 
more than two events:
Magnetic Cursor
When this mode is selected, the project cursor becomes 
“magnetic”. Dragging an event near the cursor causes the 
event to be aligned with the cursor position.
Grid + Cursor
This is a combination of the “Grid” and “Magnetic Cursor” 
modes.
Events + Cursor
This is a combination of the “Events” and “Magnetic Cur-
sor” modes.
Events + Grid + Cursor
This is a combination of the “Events”, “Grid” and “Mag-
netic Cursor” modes.
Snap to Zero Crossing
When this option is activated on the toolbar or in the Pre-
ferences (Editing–Audio page), splitting and sizing of au-
dio events is done at zero crossings (positions in the audio 
where the amplitude is zero). This helps you avoid pops 
and clicks which might otherwise be caused by sudden 
amplitude changes.
Autoscroll
“Autoscroll” and “Suspend Autoscroll when Editing” are activated
When the Autoscroll option is activated, the waveform dis-
play will scroll during playback, keeping the project cursor 
visible in the window. You can find the Autoscroll button in 
the toolbars of the Project window and all editors.
If the option “Stationary Cursors” is activated in the Pre-
ferences (Transport page), the project cursor will be posi-
tioned in the middle of the screen (if possible).
Suspending autoscroll
When editing parts or events during playback with Auto-
scroll enabled, you may suddenly “loose sight” of the ed-
ited material as the display follows the project cursor.
If you don’t want the Project window display to change 
when editing during playback, you can activate the “Sus-
pend Autoscroll when Editing” button. You will find this 
button right next to the Autoscroll button. When this op-
tion is enabled, autoscrolling is suspended as soon as you 
click anywhere in the event display during playback.
12345
5 2 4 3 1
Dragging event 2 past event 4…
…changes the order of events 2, 3 and 4. 
						

							58
The Project window
Proceed as follows:
1.Open a project that contains audio or MIDI parts/
events.
2.Enable both the “Autoscroll” and the “Suspend Auto-
scroll when Editing” buttons (both buttons turn blue).
3.Start playback.
4.Edit an audio or MIDI part/event of your project (e. g. 
click and drag it to a different location on its track).
The Autoscroll button will turn orange.
Autoscrolling is now suspended, i. e. when the project cur-
sor moves to the right edge of the Project window, the 
display will not follow to keep the cursor visible. 
As soon as playback stops, or when you click the Auto-
scroll button again (so it turns blue), Cubase will return to 
the normal Autoscroll behavior. 
						

							4
Playback and the Transport panel 
						

							60
Playback and the Transport panel
Background
This chapter describes the various methods available for 
controlling Playback and Transport functions in Cubase.
The Transport panel
Below you can find a brief description of each item on the 
Transport panel.
The pictures below show the Transport panel with all con-
trols visible (note that the Jog/Shuttle control is available 
in Cubase only). The Transport panel is divided into the 
following sections, from left to right.
ÖNote that the Output Activity and Clipping indicator as 
well as the Output Level Control refer to the Control Room 
channel (Cubase only), if the Control Room is activated. If 
the Control Room is disabled, these controls refer to the 
Main Mix Output bus as defined on the Outputs tab in the 
VST Connections window. For information on the Control 
Room, see the chapter “Control Room (Cubase only)” on 
page 135. In Cubase Studio, the Main Mix bus is always 
used for monitoring.
The main Transport functions (Cycle/Stop/Play/Record) 
can also be shown on the toolbar.
In addition, various play options are available on the Trans-
port menu.
Hiding and showing the Transport Panel
The Transport panel is shown automatically when you 
launch a new project. To hide or show it, select “Transport 
Panel” on the Transport menu (or use a key command – by 
default [F2]).
Octave OffsetNote Velocity Level
Change Virtual Keyboard 
Display Type
Activates Auto 
QuantizeRecord mode 
pop-up menu
Cycle Record mode 
pop-up menu CPU load and 
Disk Cache 
meters
Right locator Punch InLeft locator
Post-roll: value and on/offShuttle 
speed
Jog Wheel Nudge 
+/- 1 Frame Pre-roll: value and on/off
Punch Out
Primary Time Display
Position 
slider
Record
Play
Fast 
forward
Go to next marker/ project end Nudge position 
right/left
Go to 
previous 
marker/ 
project 
startSecondary Time Display Exchange time formats
Cycle 
on/off
Stop
Rewind
Active Arranger 
chain
Activate Arranger 
Mode
First/Last repeat of current 
Arranger event Previous/Next 
Arranger eventArranger Selector
Current Arranger 
event
Tempo track 
on/off 
Synchronization 
on/offThe tempo and time 
signature display Metronome 
click on/offShow Markers (opens 
Marker window)
Jump to Marker Precount on/off
MIDI In/Out 
activity 
(left/right)Output Level 
Control Clipping indicators
Audio input/output activity