Steinberg Nuendo 4 Manual

							31
The Project window
Editing Transpose and Velocity for MIDI parts
When one or several MIDI parts are selected, the info line 
contains Transpose and Velocity fields.
Adjusting the Transpose field transposes the selected 
parts in semitone steps.
Note that this transposition doesn’t change the actual notes in the part – 
it’s just a “play parameter”, affecting the notes on playback. The transpo-
sition you specify for a part on the info line is added to the transposition 
set for the whole track. For more information on transposing, see the 
chapter “The Transpose functions” on page 114.
Adjusting the Velocity field shifts the velocity for the se-
lected parts – the value you specify is added to the veloci-
ties of the notes in the parts.
Again, this velocity shift only affects the notes on playback, and again, 
the value you specify is added to the Vel.Shift. value set for the whole 
MIDI track in the Inspector.
Getting on-the-fly info with the Arrow tool
If the option “Select Tool: Show Extra Info” is activated in 
the Preferences (Editing–Tools page), a tool tip will be 
shown for the Arrow tool, displaying information depend-
ing on where you point it. For example, in the Project win-
dow event display, the tool will show the current pointer 
position and the name of the track and event you’re point-
ing at.
The ruler
The ruler at the top of the event display shows the time-
line. Initially, the Project window ruler uses the display for-
mat specified in the Project Setup dialog (see “The 
Project Setup dialog” on page 33), as do all other rulers 
and position displays in the project. However, you can se-
lect an independent display format for the ruler by clicking 
the arrow button to the right of it and selecting an option 
from the pop-up menu that appears (you can also bring up 
this pop-up menu by right-clicking anywhere in the ruler).
The selection you make here affects the ruler, the info 
line and tool tip position values (which appear when you 
drag an event in the Project window).
You can also select independent formats for other rulers and position 
displays. 
!Audio events can also be transposed – see “Real-
time pitch-shifting of audio events” on page 288.
Option Positions and lengths displayed as
Bars+Beats Bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks. By default there 
are 120 ticks per sixteenth note but you can adjust this 
with the “MIDI Display Resolution” setting in the Prefer-
ences (MIDI page).
Seconds Hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds.
Timecode This format displays hours, minutes, seconds and frames. 
The number of frames per second (fps) is set in the 
Project Setup dialog (see “The Project Setup dialog” on 
page 33). You can choose between 24, 25, 29.97 and 
30 fps or 29.97 and 30 dfps (“drop frame”).
Feet+Frames 
16mmFeet and frames, with 40 frames per foot.
Feet+Frames 
35mmFeet, frames and 1/4 frames, with 16 frames per foot.
Samples Samples.
User Hours, minutes, seconds and frames, with a user defin-
able number of frames per second. You set the desired 
number of fps in the Preferences (Transport page).
Time Linear When this is selected, the ruler will be linear relative to 
time. This means that if there are tempo changes on the 
Tempo track, the distance between the bars will vary in 
Bars+Beats mode.
Bars+Beats 
LinearWhen this is selected, the ruler will be linear relative to 
the meter position – bars and beats. This means that if 
there are tempo changes on the Tempo track, there still 
will be the same distance between bars in Bars+Beats 
mode. If the ruler is set to a time-based mode, the dis-
tance between seconds will vary depending on the 
tempo changes. 
						

							32
The Project window
To set the display format globally (for all windows), use 
the primary display format pop-up on the Transport panel, 
or hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and select a display for-
mat in any ruler.
If you use the “Timecode” or “User” options and the op-
tion “Show Timecode Subframes” is activated in the Pref-
erences (Transport page), the frames will also display 
subframes.
There are 80 subframes per frame.
For the “Feet+Frames” settings, there is an option in the 
Preferences (Transport page) called “Feet’n’Frames 
Count from Project Start”.
When this is activated, time displays and rulers in Feet+Frames format 
will always start with 0’00 at the beginning of the project – regardless of 
any Start offset settings in the Project Setup dialog.
Using multiple rulers – ruler tracks
As described above, the Nuendo Project window contains 
a main ruler at the top of the event display, displaying the 
timeline from left to right.
If needed, you can have several rulers in the Project win-
dow, by adding ruler tracks to the project. Each ruler track 
contains an additional ruler.
To add a ruler track, select “Add Track” from the Project 
menu and from the submenu that appears, select “Ruler”.
A ruler track showing an additional ruler is added to the Track list.
A ruler track set to the display format “Seconds”.
You can add any number of ruler tracks to a project, and 
position them as needed by dragging them up or down in 
the list. Each of the rulers can show a separate display for-
mat:
To select a display format for a ruler track, click on its 
name in the track list and select an option from the pop-up 
menu.
The different display formats are described above.
Note that ruler tracks are completely independent from the 
main event display ruler, as well as rulers and position dis-
plays in other windows. This means that:
 Ruler tracks can all have independent display formats.
 Ruler tracks are not affected by the display format setting in 
the Project Setup dialog (see “The Project Setup dialog” on 
page 33).
 Ruler tracks are not affected if you set the display format glo-
bally with the primary time display in the Transport panel.
ÖRuler tracks are affected by the option “Show Time-
code Subframes” in the Preferences (see above). 
						

							33
The Project window
Operations
Creating a new project
You create a new project in the following way:
1.Select “New Project” from the File menu.
A dialog appears, listing a number of project templates, including any 
custom templates you may have created (see “Save as Template” on 
page 488). 
2.Select a template and click OK.
A file dialog appears, allowing you to specify a location for the project 
folder. This will contain all files related to the project. 
3.Select an existing folder or type the name of a new 
one. Click OK.
A Project window appears. The new project will be based on the selected 
template, and include tracks, events and settings from the template.
The Project Setup dialog
General settings for the project are made in the Project 
Setup dialog. This is opened by selecting “Project 
Setup…” from the Project menu.The following settings are available in the Project Setup 
dialog:
Setting Description
Start The start time of the project. Allows you to have the 
project start at another time than zero. Also used for set-
ting the sync start position when synchronizing Nuendo 
to external devices (see “Setting up Nuendo for external 
sync to timecode” on page 451). The format of this value 
is always in timecode. When you change this setting you 
will be asked whether you want to keep the project con-
tent at its timecode positions. “Yes” means that all events 
will stay at their original timecode positions – i.e. they will 
be moved in relation to the start of the project. “No” 
means that all events keep their position relative to the 
project start. See also the note on Feet+Frames in the 
section “The ruler” on page 31.
Length The length of the project. Nuendo is capable of having 
longer lengths than 24 hours since the timecode includes 
a “day” field. This can be handy when creating projects 
that use “time of day” timecode and cross over the 24 
hour mark. The maximum project length is 10 days.
Frame Rate Used when synchronizing Nuendo with external equip-
ment. If Nuendo is slave, this value is automatically set to 
the frame rate of the incoming sync signal. If Nuendo is 
the master, this determines the frame rate of the sent 
sync signal. See “Setting the Frame Rate” on page 448.
Display Format This is the global display format used for all rulers and 
position displays in the program, except ruler tracks (see 
“Ruler tracks” on page 29). However, you can make inde-
pendent display format selections for the individual rulers 
and displays if you like.
For descriptions of the different display format options, 
see “The ruler” on page 31.
Display Offset Offsets the time positions displayed in the ruler etc., al-
lowing you to compensate for the Start position setting. 
Typically, if you synchronize Nuendo to an external 
source starting at a frame other than zero, you set the 
Start position to this value. However, if you still want the 
display in Nuendo to start at zero, set the Display Offset 
to the same value too.
Bar Offset This works just like “Display Offset” described above, in 
that it offsets the time positions in the ruler by a number 
of bars, allowing you to compensate for the Start position 
setting. The difference is that Bar Offset is only used 
when the “Bars+Beats” display format is selected (see 
“The ruler” on page 31).
Sample Rate The sample rate at which Nuendo records and plays au-
dio.
Pull-up/Pull-
downWhen working with film transfers, this option is used to 
synchronize sound and images correctly. This is described 
in detail in the section “Working with film transfers” on 
page 476.
Record Format/ 
File TypeWhen you record audio in Nuendo, the files that are cre-
ated will be of this resolution and file type. See “Selecting 
a recording file format” on page 67. 
						

							34
The Project window
Zoom and view options
Zooming in the Project window is done according to the 
standard zoom techniques, with the following special 
notes:
When you are using the Zoom tool (magnifying glass), 
the result depends on the option “Zoom Tool Standard 
Mode: Horizontal Zooming Only” in the Preferences (Edit-
ing–Tools page).
If this is activated and you drag a selection rectangle with the Zoom tool, 
the window will only be zoomed horizontally (track height will not change). 
If the option is off, the window will be zoomed both horizontally and verti-
cally.
When using the vertical zoom sliders, the tracks are 
scaled relatively. 
In other words, if you have made any individual track height adjustments 
(see below), the relative height differences are maintained.
You find the following options are available on the Zoom 
submenu on the Edit menu:If the option “Zoom while Locating in Time Scale” is ac-
tivated in the Preferences (Transport page), you can also 
zoom by clicking in the main ruler and dragging up or 
down with the mouse button pressed.
Drag up to zoom out; drag down to zoom in.
You can zoom the contents of parts and events verti-
cally, using the waveform zoom slider in the top right cor-
ner of the event display.
This is useful when viewing quiet audio passages.
If you activate the option Quick Zoom in the Prefer-
ences (Editing page), the contents of parts and events will 
not be continuously redrawn when you zoom manually.
Instead, the contents are redrawn once you have stopped changing the 
zoom – activate this if screen redraws are slow on your system.
Stereo Pan Law Decides whether panning should use power compensa-
tion or not (see “About the “Stereo Pan Law” Preference 
(audio channels only)” on page 136).
!While most Project Setup settings can be changed at 
any time, you should select a sample rate once and for 
all when starting with a new project! All audio files 
must be of this sample rate to play back correctly.
Option Description
Zoom In Zooms in one step, centering on the project cursor.
Zoom Out Zooms out one step, centering on the project cursor.
Zoom  Full Zooms out so that the whole project is visible. “The whole 
project” means the timeline from the project start to the 
length set in the Project Setup dialog (see above).
Zoom to 
SelectionZooms in horizontally and vertically so that the current se-
lection fills the screen.
Zoom to 
Selection 
(Horiz)Zooms in horizontally so that the current selection fills the 
screen.
Zoom to Event This option is available only in the Sample Editor (see 
“Zooming” on page 265).
Zoom In 
VerticalZooms in one step vertically.
Zoom Out 
VerticalZooms out one step vertically. Setting Description
Zoom In 
TracksZooms in on the selected track(s) one step vertically.
Zoom Out 
TracksZooms out the selected track(s) one step vertically.
Zoom Selected 
Tracks This zooms in vertically on the selected track(s) and min-
imizes the height of all other tracks.
Undo/Redo 
ZoomThese options allow you to undo/redo the last zoom op-
eration.
!To get an approximate reading on the level of the au-
dio events by viewing the waveforms, make sure this 
slider is all the way down. Otherwise, zoomed wave-
forms may be mistaken for clipped audio.
Option Description 
						

							35
The Project window
Resizing tracks in the Track list
You can change the height of an individual track by 
clicking on its lower border in the Track list and dragging 
up or down.
To change the height of all tracks simultaneously, hold down [Ctrl]/
[Command] and resize one of the tracks in this way. If “Snap Track 
Heights” is activated on the Track scale pop-up (see below), the track 
height will change in fixed increments when you resize it.
You can also change the width of the Track list area, by 
dragging the border between the Track list and the event 
display.
By default, the controls shown for tracks in the Track list 
will adapt to the track size. This means that when resizing 
a track’s height or width the controls will be placed where 
they best “fit in”.
If you prefer to have the controls in fixed positions, you can deactivate the 
option “Wrap Controls” in the Track Controls settings dialog (see “Cus-
tomizing track controls” on page 507).
You can decide for each track type what controls 
should be shown in the Track list – see “Customizing 
track controls” on page 507.
You can use the Track scale pop-up (opened by clicking 
the arrow button above the vertical zoom control) to set the 
number of tracks to view in the current Project window.
The track height will be adjusted to show only the number of tracks speci-
fied on the pop-up menu. By selecting “Zoom N Tracks” from the pop-up 
you can manually set the number of tracks to fit in the current Project win-
dow.
Tracks can also be divided vertically in lanes – see 
“Editing in Lane Display mode” on page 51.
The Enlarge Selected Track option
When this option is activated on the Edit menu (or in the 
Preferences, Editing–Project & Mixer page), the selected 
track is enlarged automatically. This is useful if you are 
stepping through the tracks in the track list, to check or 
edit the settings. The tracks will revert to the size they had 
before when they are deselected. You can adjust the size 
directly in the Track list if the default enlargement factor 
does not suit you. 
While this is the program behavior you will want in most 
cases, it may be a disadvantage when changing the track 
height you started out with for one or more tracks (i.e. their 
“original” height, before Enlarge Selected Track was ac-
tivated). As soon as you try to resize a track, it is selected 
and automatically enlarged. Instead of turning off “Enlarge 
Selected Track”, resizing the desired track(s) and the acti-
vating “Enlarge Selected Track” again, you can resize a 
track in the Track list without selecting it.
1.Move the mouse pointer over the lower border of the 
(unselected) track you want to resize.
The mouse pointer turns into a divider symbol.
2.Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag the lower border of 
the track until it reaches the desired height.
Now, when you select this track, (and “Enlarge Selected Track” is acti-
vated), it will be enlarged. It will revert to the changed size, when you se-
lect a different track.
!This behavior is different when “Enlarge Selected 
Track” is activated on the Edit menu (see below). 
						

							36
The Project window
Zoom presets and Cycle markers
The pop-up menu to the left of the horizontal zoom control 
allows you to select, create and organize zoom presets. 
These are useful if you want to toggle between different 
zoom settings (e.g. one where the whole project is dis-
played in the project window and another with a high 
zoom factor for detailed editing). With this pop-up menu, 
you can also zoom in on the area between cycle markers 
in the project.
The upper part of the menu lists the zoom presets:
To store the current zoom setting as a preset, select 
Add from the pop-up menu.
A dialog appears, allowing you to type in a name for the preset.
To select and apply a preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu.
The “Zoom Full” preset is always available. Selecting 
this option zooms out so that the whole project is visible. 
“The whole project” means the timeline from the project 
start to the length set in the Project Setup dialog (see 
“The Project Setup dialog” on page 33).
If you want to delete a preset, select “Organize…” from 
the pop-up menu.
In the dialog that appears, select the preset in the list and click the De-
lete button. The preset is removed from the list.
If you want to rename a preset, select “Organize…” 
from the pop-up menu.
In the dialog that appears, select the desired preset in the list and click 
the Rename button. A second dialog opens, allowing you to type in a 
new name for the preset. Click OK to close the dialogs.
The middle part of the pop-up lists any cycle markers you 
have added in the project:
If you select a cycle marker from this menu, the event 
display is zoomed in to encompass the marker area (see 
“Zooming to cycle markers” on page 112).
You cannot edit the cycle markers in this pop-up menu. 
For information on editing markers, see “The Marker win-
dow” on page 110.
The Zoom history
Nuendo maintains a history of recent zoom stages, allow-
ing you to undo and redo zoom operations. This way you 
can zoom in several steps and then easily go back to the 
zoom stage at which you started.
There are two ways to invoke Undo Zoom and Redo 
Zoom:
Use the items on the Zoom submenu on the Edit menu.
You can also assign key commands for these.
Double-click with the Zoom tool (magnifying glass) to 
Undo Zoom.
Press [Alt]/[Option] and double-click to Redo Zoom.
Click here…
…to open the context menu.
!Zoom presets are global for all projects, i.e. they are 
available in all projects you open or create.
!Only the cycle markers you create in the current 
project are available on the menu. 
						

							37
The Project window
Adjusting how parts and events are shown
The Preferences on the File menu (the Nuendo menu, un-
der Mac OS X) contains several settings for customizing 
the display in the Project window.
The Event Display page contains common settings for all 
track types:
The Event Display–Video page contains settings for video 
events:
The Event Display–Audio page contains settings for audio 
events:The Event Display–MIDI page contains settings for MIDI 
parts:
Option Description
Colorize Event 
BackgroundDetermines whether the backgrounds or “contents” (wave-
forms, etc.) of parts and events will be colorized. See 
“Handling tracks” on page 38.
Show Event 
NamesDetermines whether the names of parts and events should 
be shown in the Project window.
Transparent 
EventsWhen this is activated, events and parts will be transparent, 
showing the waveforms and MIDI events only.
Show Data on 
Small Track 
HeightsIf this is activated, the contents of events and parts will be 
shown, even if the height of a track is very small.
Option Description
Show Video 
ThumbnailsWhen this is activated, thumbnail frames of the video 
contents are shown on the Video track.
Video Cache 
SizeThis determines how much memory is available for video 
thumbnails. If you have long video clips and/or work with 
a large zoom factor (so that a lot of frames are shown in 
the thumbnails), you may have to raise this value.
Option Description
Interpolate 
Audio ImagesIf the option is deactivated, single sample values are 
drawn as “steps”. If the option is activated they are inter-
polated to form “curves”.
Wave Image 
StyleDetermines whether audio waveforms should be dis-
played as solid images, frames or “inverted” images 
(solid+frame). This selection affects all waveform images 
in the Project window, Sample Editor and Audio Part Ed-
itor.
Note that the “Framed” and “Solid and Framed” styles 
are more demanding for the computer. If the system feels 
slower in these modes, please switch back to “Solid” 
wave image style.
Show Event 
Volume Curves 
AlwaysIf this is activated the “volume curves” created with the 
volume and fade handles are always shown – if not, the 
curves are only shown for selected events.
Fade Handles 
always on topWhen this option is activated, the fade handles stay at 
the top of the event, and vertical help lines indicate the 
exact end or start points of fades.
Thick Fade 
LinesIf this option is activated, the fade lines and volume 
curves are thicker, increasing their visibility.
Show 
WaveformsDetermines whether audio waveforms should be shown 
at all.
Background 
Color 
ModulationWhen this is activated, the backgrounds of audio wave-
forms are displayed in a different way, reflecting the wave-
form dynamics. This is especially useful to get an overview 
when working with small track heights.
Option Description
Default Edit 
ActionDetermines which editor should be opened when you 
double-click a MIDI part or select it and press [Ctrl]/
[Command]-[E]: the Key or List editor. 
Part Data 
ModeDetermines if and how events in MIDI parts should be 
shown in the Project window: as score notes, as drum 
notes (Nuendo Expansion Kit only) or as lines. If “No 
Data” is selected, events will not be shown at all. Nuendo 
Expansion Kit only: Note that this setting is overridden for 
tracks with drum maps if the option “Edit as Drums when 
Drum Map is assigned” (see below) is activated.
Show 
ControllersGoverns whether non-note events (controllers, etc.) 
should be shown in MIDI parts in the Project window.
Edit as Drums 
when Drum Map 
is assigned 
(Nuendo Expan-
sion Kit only)If this is activated, parts on MIDI tracks with drum maps 
assigned will be shown with drum note symbols in the 
Project window. Also, the parts will automatically open in 
the Drum editor when double-clicked (overriding the De-
fault Edit Action setting above).
Note Name 
StyleDetermines how MIDI note names (pitches) should be 
displayed in editors, etc. Option Description 
						

							38
The Project window
Zooming and navigating in the overview line
By clicking the Show Overview button on the toolbar, an 
extra pane appears under the toolbar; the project overview 
line. 
Show Overview button
In the overview line, events and parts on all tracks are dis-
played as boxes. You can use the overview line to zoom in 
or out, and for navigating to other sections of the project. 
This is done by moving and resizing the track view rectan-
gle in the overview line:
The track view rectangle indicates the section of the 
project currently displayed in the event display.
You zoom in or out horizontally by resizing the rectangle.
Resize it by dragging the edges of the rectangle.
You can drag the track view rectangle to view other 
sections of the project.
This can also be done by clicking anywhere in the upper part of the over-
view – the track view rectangle will be moved to where you clicked. The 
number of tracks shown will not change.
Handling tracks
To add a track to the project, select “Add Track” from the 
Project menu and select a track type from the submenu 
that appears. The new track is added below the currently 
selected track in the Track list.
The items on the “Add Track” submenu are also avail-
able on the Quick menu.
This is accessed by right-clicking in the Track list.
If you select Audio, MIDI, Group Channel or Instrument 
from the Add Track submenu, a dialog opens, allowing 
you to insert several tracks in one go.
Just enter the desired number of tracks in the value field.
For audio and group channel tracks, the channel config-
uration – mono, stereo or a surround configuration – can 
be set in the Configuration pop-up.
The Browse Sounds option in the Add Track dialog is 
described in the chapter “Track Presets” on page 327.
In the Preferences (Editing–Project & Mixer page, you 
can find the option “Auto Track Color Mode”.
This offers you several options for automatically assigning colors to 
tracks that are added to the project.
Once you have created tracks, you can manipulate and re-
arrange them in various ways:
To rename a track, double-click in the name field and 
type in a new name.
If you hold down any modifier key when pressing [Return] to close the 
name field, all events on the track will get the name you entered.
The track view rectangle 
						

							39
The Project window
To select a track, click on it in the Track list.
A selected track is indicated by a light gray color in the Track list.
It is possible to select several tracks, by pressing [Ctrl]/[Command] and 
clicking them. To select a continuous range of tracks, use [Shift]-clicking.
To move a track, click and drag it up or down in the list.
To duplicate a track, complete with all contents and 
channel settings, right-click in the Track list and select 
“Duplicate tracks” from the context menu, or select “Dupli-
cate tracks” from the Project menu.
The duplicated track will appear below the original track.
You can select a default color for a track by activating 
“Show Track Colors” above the Track list and selecting a 
color from the Color pop-up menu on the toolbar. This 
color will be used for all events on the track and will also 
be shown in the Mixer. You can override the default track 
color for individual events and parts by using the Color 
tool or the Color Selector pop-up menu.
The option “Colorize Event Background” in the Preferences dialog (Event 
Display page) determines whether the backgrounds or waveforms of 
events will be colorized.
To remove a track, right-click on it in the Track list and 
select “Remove Selected Tracks” from the context menu.
You can also remove multiple selected tracks, by selecting “Remove Se-
lected Tracks” either from the Project menu or from the context menu. 
Furthermore, you can remove all tracks not containing any events by se-
lecting “Remove Empty Tracks” from the Project menu.
To change the track height of an individual track, click 
on its lower border in the Track list and drag up or down, 
see “Resizing tracks in the Track list” on page 35.
ÖNote that you can also automatically enlarge the se-
lected track, see “The Enlarge Selected Track option” on 
page 35.
Disabling tracks
Tracks can be disabled by selecting “Disable Track” from 
the Track list context menu. Disabling a track is similar to 
muting it (see “Muting events” on page 50), since a dis-
abled track will not be played back. However, disabling a 
track not only “zeroes” the output volume from the track, 
but actually shuts down all disk activity for it. See “About 
track disable/enable” on page 62 for more information.
Track folding
On the Project menu you will find the Track Folding sub-
menu, allowing you to quickly show, hide or invert what is 
displayed in the Project window event display. This en-
ables you for example to divide the project into several 
parts (by creating several folder tracks for the different 
project elements) and showing/hiding their contents by 
selecting a menu function (or using a key command). You 
can also fold in automation subtracks this way. The follow-
ing options are available:
Toggle Selected Track
When you select this menu option, the fold state of the selected track is 
reversed, i.e. if the track was folded in (its elements (subtracks) were hid-
den), it is now unfolded (all subtracks displayed) and vice versa.
Fold Tracks
Select this menu option to fold in all open folder tracks in the Project win-
dow. Please note that the exact behavior of this function depends on the 
“Deep Track Folding” setting in the Preferences, see below.
Unfold Tracks
Select this menu option to unfold all folder tracks in the Project window. 
Please note that the exact behavior of this function depends on the 
“Deep Track Folding” setting in the Preferences, see below.
Flip Fold States
Select this menu option to flip the fold states of the tracks in the Project 
window. This means that all tracks that were folded in will be unfolded 
and all unfolded tracks will be folded in, respectively.
ÖYou can assign key commands for these menu options 
in the Key Commands dialog (Project category).
In the Preferences (Editing–Project & Mixer page), you can 
find the following option affecting the track folding behavior:
Deep Track Folding
When this is activated, any folding settings you make in the Track Fold-
ing submenu of the Project menu also affect the sub-elements of the 
tracks, i.e. if you fold in a folder track which contains 10 audio tracks 5 of 
which have several automation subtracks open, all these audio tracks 
within the folder track will be folded in as well.
This track is selected. 
						

							40
The Project window
Dividing the Track list
It is possible to divide the Track list into two parts. Both 
sections will have independent zoom and scroll controls (if 
needed), but resizing the window vertically will affect the 
lower section only (if possible). This is useful if you’re 
working with a video track along with multi-track audio for 
example. This way, you can place the video track in the 
upper Track list, letting you scroll the audio tracks sepa-
rately in the lower Track list, referencing them against the 
video track.
To divide the Track list, click the “Divide Track List” but-
ton in the top right corner of the Track list.
The “Divide Track List” button.
To revert to a single Track list, click the button again.
When the Track list is divided into two parts, the following 
applies:
If you add tracks from the Add Track submenu of the 
Project menu, Video tracks, Marker tracks and Arranger 
tracks will automatically be placed in the upper part of the 
Track list.
If the Track list already contains tracks of the type Video, Marker or Ar-
ranger, these will automatically be moved to the upper part when you di-
vide the Track list. All other types of tracks will be placed in the lower part.
If you add tracks from the context menu invoked by 
right-clicking in the Track list, tracks will be added to the 
part of the Track list in which you click.
You can move any type of track from the lower Track list 
to the upper and vice versa by right-clicking it in the Track 
list and selecting “Toggle Track List” from the context menu.
You can resize the upper part by clicking and dragging 
the divider between the Track lists.
Switching between musical and linear time base
Tracks can be either musical (tempo) or linear (time) based.
On a track using linear time base, the events will be po-
sitioned on specific time positions – changing the play-
back tempo will not affect the time position of events.
On a track using musical time base, the positions of 
events are represented as meter values (bars, beats, 1/16th 
notes and ticks, with 120 ticks per 1/16th note). If you 
change the playback tempo, the events will play back at an 
earlier or later time.
In the Preferences (Editing page), you can find the op-
tion “Default Track Time Type”.
This allows you to specify the default track time type for new tracks (Au-
dio, Group/FX, MIDI and Marker tracks). When you change this setting, 
all new tracks will use the selected time type. You can choose between 
“Musical”, “Time Linear” and “Follow Transport Main Display”. Selecting 
“Musical” will cause all added tracks to be set to musical time type. 
When you select “Time Linear”, all new tracks will use linear time base. 
The third option uses the primary time format setting on the Transport 
panel. When this is set to “Bars+Beats”, tracks with musical time base 
will be added. When this is set to any of the other options (Seconds, 
Timecode, Samples, etc.), all new tracks will use linear time base.
Whether to use musical or linear time base depends on 
the type of project and recording situation. You can always 
change this setting individually for each track, by clicking 
the musical/linear time base button in the Inspector or 
Track list. Musical time base is indicated by a note symbol, 
while linear time base is indicated by a clock symbol.
For more information about tempo changes, see “Back-
ground” on page 415.
!Internally, events on musical time based tracks use the 
same high precision for positioning (64 bit floating 
point values) as linear time based events. However, 
switching between linear and musical time base re-
sults in a very small loss of precision (introduced by 
the mathematical operations used for scaling values in 
the two different formats). Therefore you should avoid 
switching repeatedly between the two modes.
Linear time base selected
Musical time base selected