Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual

							Customizing
Workspaces
1031
3. On the Workspaces menu, select one of the following:
• To update your current workspace, click Update Workspace.
• To save your workspace as a different workspace or workspace type, click Add 
Workspace.
RELATED LINKS
Creating Workspaces on page 1030
Workspaces Organizer
The Workspaces Organizer allows you to manage the existing workspaces.
To open the Workspaces Organizer, click Workspaces > Organize.
The Workspaces Organizer displays the global workspaces and the project 
workspaces in separate lists. Every workspace has an assigned key command that 
lets you switch views quickly. Moving or deleting workspaces within the lists 
changes the key command assignments. When you change the position of a 
workspace, the key command assignments remain in their original list position. You 
can click a key command of a selected workspace to open the respective key 
command assignment in the Workspace category of the Key Commands dialog.
To organize your workspace, you have the following options:
Move Up
Moves up a workspace by one position.
Move Down
Moves down a workspace by one position.
Delete
Deletes a selected workspace.
Add
Allows you to create a new workspace using the New Workspace dialog. 
						

							Customizing
Using the Setup options
1032
NOTE
• You can also click and drag a workspace to another position within a list.
• You can move workspaces only within a list. For a global workspace to 
become a project workspace and vice versa, you must save it as a different 
type of workspace.
• To rename a workspace, you can double-click the workspace name.
R
ELATED LINKS
Workspaces category on page 1010
Using the Setup options
You can customize the appearance of the following elements:
• Transport panel
• Info line
• Toolbars
•Inspector
The setup context menus
If you right-click the Transport panel, the toolbars, the info lines, or the Inspector, 
the respective setup context menu opens.
The following general options are available on the setup context menus:
• “Show All” makes all items visible.
• “Default” resets the interface to the default setting.
• “Setup…” opens the Setup dialog, see below.
If presets are available, they can be selected on the lower half of the menu. 
						

							Customizing
Using the Setup options
1033
The info line setup context menu
The Setup dialogs
If you select “Setup…” from the setup context menus, the Setup dialog opens. This 
allows you to specify which elements are visible/hidden and to set the order of the 
elements. You can also save and recall setup presets in this dialog.
The dialog is divided into two sections. The left section displays the currently visible 
items and the right section displays the currently hidden items.
• You can change the current show/hide status by selecting items in one 
section and then use the arrow buttons in the middle of the dialog to move 
them to the other section.
Changes are applied directly. 
						

							Customizing
Appearance
1034
• By selecting items in the “Visible Items” list and using the Move Up and Move 
Down buttons, you can reorder the items list.
Changes are applied directly. To undo all changes and revert to the standard 
layout, select “Default” on the setup context menu.
• If you click the Save button (disk icon) in the Presets section, a dialog opens, 
allowing you to name the current configuration and save it as a preset.
• To remove a preset, select it on the presets pop-up menu and click the trash 
icon.
• Saved configurations are available for selection from the Presets pop-up 
menu in the Setup dialog or directly from the setup context menu.
Appearance
In the Preferences dialog, the appearance of Cubase can be changed on the 
Appearance (Colors) and on the Metering (Appearance) page.
The following subpages are available on the Appearance–Colors page:
•General
Allows you to adjust the default colors for the general interface of the 
program.
•Track Type Defaults
Allows you to adjust the default colors for the different track types.
•Project
Allows you to adjust the default colors in the Project window.
•Editors
Allows you to adjust the default colors in the editors.
•MixConsole Faders
Allows you to adjust the default colors for the level faders of the channel types 
in the MixConsole.
•MixConsole Racks
Allows you to adjust the default colors for the racks in the MixConsole.
•MixConsole Channel Strip
Allows you to adjust the default colors for the channel strips in the 
MixConsole. 
						

							Customizing
Appearance
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Appearance–Colors
The Appearance–Colors page features several subpages that allow you to change 
the default color of the Cubase desktop, the track types, the Project, Editor 
elements, and MixConsole elements.
To change a color, proceed as follows:
PROCEDURE
1. Select a subpage and click the color field of the element to which you want 
to assign a new color.
A color selector pane opens.
2. Use the tools in the color selector pane to select a new color.
The current and the new color are shown at the bottom of the pane.
3. Click outside the color selector pane to confirm your settings and apply your 
changes.
Note that you must restart the application for some changes to take effect. 
						

							Customizing
Appearance
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• To copy a color and paste it on another element, even on another subpage, 
open the context menu in the color selector pane and select “Copy Color” and 
“Paste Color”.
You can also copy colors on the same subpage using drag and drop.
• To edit the colors numerically, open the context menu in the color selector 
pane, and select “Show Color Values”.
• To select any color in Cubase as new color, open the color selector pane, hold 
down [Alt]/[Option], and click anywhere in the application.
The selected color is displayed in the “New Color” field. 
						

							Customizing
Appearance
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Metering–Appearance
Cubase allows for precise color assignment of level meter values. On the 
Metering–Appearance page you can specify colors for quick identification of what 
levels are being reached.
You can adjust the colors for the Channel Meter or the Master Meter. For the Master 
Meter you can only make changes for the Digital Scale scaling mode. Changes take 
effect when you click Apply or OK.
To adjust the levels and colors, activate the Channel Meter or Master Meter option 
and proceed as follows:
• To specify the level for a color change, double-click a handle to the right of 
the meter scale and enter the level (dB) value.
Note that for dB values less than zero, you must add a minus sign before the 
entered number.
You can also click a handle and drag it to a specific level. Press [Shift] for 
more accurate positioning. Alternatively, you can nudge with the Arrow 
Up/Down keys. Press [Shift] for faster positioning.
• To assign a color, click the upper or lower part of a handle so that a black 
frame is shown, and use the color selector pane to select a color (see above).
Selecting the same color for the upper and lower part of the handle results in 
a meter that changes its colors gradually, while separate colors indicate level 
changes even more precisely.
• To add more color handles, click the Add button, or [Alt]/[Option]-click at a 
level position to the right of the meter scale. Each new handle is automatically 
associated with a default color.
• To remove a handle, select the handle and click the Remove button, or 
[Ctrl]/[Command]-click the handle. 
						

							Customizing
Applying colors in the Project window
1038
Applying colors in the Project window
You can use color scheming for an easier overview of tracks and events in the 
Project window. Colors can be applied individually to tracks and events/parts. If you 
color a track, the corresponding events and parts are displayed in the same color. 
However, you can also color events and parts differently, “overriding” the applied 
track color.
In the following sections you will learn how to set up preferences to color tracks 
automatically, how to color parts or events manually, how to determine whether you 
want to color the events themselves or their background, and how to customize the 
color palette for selecting colors.
Colorize Track Controls
In the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Tracks page), you can find the “Colorize 
Track Controls” slider that allows you apply the track color to the track controls.
Colorize Folder Track Controls Only
You can restrict the effect of the Colorize Track Control function to folder tracks 
only. This is useful in projects with a large number of tracks and folder tracks.
PROCEDURE
1. Select File > Preferences > Event Display > Tracks.
2. Drag the Colorize Track Controls slider to the right.
3. Activate Colorize Only Folder Track Controls.
4. Click OK.
5. In the track list, select the folder track that you want to colorize.
6. In the Project window toolbar, select the Color Tool and click again to select 
a color.
RESULT 
Only the folder track controls are colorized.
Applying track colors automatically
In the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Tracks page), you can find the “Auto Track 
Color Mode” option. 
						

							Customizing
Applying colors in the Project window
1039
This offers you several options for automatically assigning colors to tracks that are 
added to the project. The following options are available:
Use Default Track Color
The default color (gray) is assigned.
Use Previous Track Color
Analyzes the color of the selected track and uses the same color for the new 
track.
Use Previous Track Color +1
Analyzes the color of the selected track and uses the color that comes next in 
the color palette for the new track.
Use Last Applied Color
Uses the color that is selected in the Select Colors pop-up menu.
Use Random Track Color
Uses the color palette as a basis to assign track colors randomly.
Coloring Tracks, Parts, or Events Manually
The Color tool on the Project window toolbar allows you to color each track, part, 
or event individually.
PROCEDURE
1. In the Project window, do one of the following:
• To change the color of an event or part, select it.
• To change the color of a track, select the track and deselect all its events or 
parts. 
						

							Customizing
Applying colors in the Project window
1040
2. On the toolbar, select the Color tool, click again, and select a color from the 
pop-up menu.
RESULT 
The color is applied to the selected item. If you change the color of a track, the new 
color is used for all events on the track and for the corresponding channel in the 
MixConsole.
NOTE
If you assign a different color to individual parts or events, they no longer follow color 
changes of the track.
Resetting the Default Color
You can reset the color of a track, part, or event to the default color.
PROCEDURE
1. In the Project window, select the event or part that you want to reset to the 
default color.
2. On the toolbar, select the Color tool, click again, and select Default Color 
from the pop-up menu.
Project Colors Dialog
The Project Colors dialog allows you to set up a different set of colors for items in 
the Project window.
• To open the Project Colors dialog, select the Color tool in the Project 
window toolbar. Click again to open a pop-up menu and select Project 
Colors.