Steinberg Nuendo 5 Manual

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Working with projects
The Event Display–Audio page contains settings for audio 
events:
The Event Display–MIDI page contains settings for MIDI 
parts:
Handling tracks
To add a track to the project, open the “Add Track” sub-
menu from the Project menu and select a track type. 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 context menu.
This is accessed by right-clicking the track list.
•If you select the Audio, MIDI, Group Channel, or Instru-
ment option from the Add Track submenu, a dialog opens, 
allowing you to insert several tracks in one go.
You just need to enter the desired number of tracks in the Count field.
•For audio and group channel tracks, the channel config-
uration – mono, stereo or surround configuration – can be 
set in the Configuration pop-up menu.
•The Choose Track Preset option in the Add Track dia-
log is described in the chapter “Working with track pre-
sets” on page 356.
•In the Preferences dialog (Editing–Project & Mixer 
page), you can find the “Auto Track Color Mode” option.
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.
Transparent 
EventsWhen this is activated, events and parts will be transpar-ent, 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.
OptionDescription
Interpolate 
Audio ImagesIf the option is deactivated, single sample values are drawn 
as “steps”. If the option is activated they are interpolated to 
form “curves”.
Outline 
WaveformsDetermines whether audio waveforms are displayed as 
solid images or with an outline. This selection affects all 
waveform images in the Project window, Sample Editor, 
and Audio Part Editor.
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.
Thick Fade 
LinesIf this option is activated, the fade lines and volume 
curves are thicker, increasing their visibility.
Show 
WaveformsDetermines whether audio waveforms are shown at all.
Background 
Color 
ModulationWhen this is activated, the backgrounds of audio wave-forms are displayed in a different way, reflecting the 
waveform dynamics. This is especially useful to get an 
overview when working with small track heights.
OptionDescription
Default Edit 
ActionDetermines which editor is opened when you double-
click a MIDI part, or select it and press [Ctrl]/[Com-mand]-[E].
Part Data  ModeDetermines if and how events in MIDI parts are shown in 
the Project window: as score notes, as drum notes (Nu-endo Expansion Kit only) or as lines. If “No Data” is se-lected, events will not be shown at all. Nuendo Expansion 
Kit only: Note that this setting is overridden for tracks with 
drum maps if the “Edit as Drums when Drum Map is as
-signed” option (see below) is activated.
Show 
ControllersGoverns whether non-note events (controllers, etc.) are 
shown in MIDI parts in the Project window.
Edit as Drums 
when Drum 
Map is 
assigned (Nu
-endo Expansion 
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) are dis-played in editors, etc.
Option Description 
						

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Working with projects
•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.
•To select several tracks press [Ctrl]/[Command] and 
click on them. [Shift]-click to select a continuous range of 
tracks.
•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 the track list and select “Du
-
plicate tracks” from the context menu, or select “Duplicate 
tracks” from the Project menu.
The duplicated track will appear below the original track.
•You can select a default color for a track with the Select 
Colors pop-up menu on the toolbar. The applied 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 in
-
dividual events and parts by using the Color tool or the 
Select Colors pop-up menu. For more information, see 
“Applying colors in the Project window” on page 577.
The “Colorize Event Background” option 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 context menu or from the Project 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 59.
ÖNote that you can also automatically enlarge the se-
lected track, see “The Enlarge Selected Track option” on 
page 59.
Disabling audio tracks
Audio 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 75), 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. For more in
-
formation, see “About track disable/enable” on page 87.
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 tracks this way. The following 
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 dialog, 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 dialog, 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).
This track is selected. 
						

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Working with projects
In the Preferences dialog (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 subelements of the 
tracks, i.
 e. if you fold in a folder track which contains 10 audio tracks 5 of 
which have several automation tracks open, all these audio tracks within 
the folder track will be folded in as well.
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 Project window just be-
low the ruler.
•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 are automatically placed in the upper part of the 
track list.
If the track list already contains tracks any video, marker, or arranger 
tracks, these are automatically moved to the upper part when you divide 
the track list. All other types of tracks are placed in the lower part.
•If you add tracks from the context menu invoked by 
right-clicking the track list, the tracks are 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 list sections.
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 dialog (Editing page), you can find 
the “Default Track Time Type” option.
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. 
						

							64
Working with projects
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 the chap-
ter “Editing tempo and signature” on page 452.
Adding events to a track
There are a number of ways to add events to a track:
•By recording (see “Basic recording methods” on page 
91).
•By dragging files and dropping them on the track at the 
desired position.
You can create events by dragging and dropping from the 
following locations:
•The desktop
• The MediaBay and its related windows (see the chapter “The 
MediaBay” on page 334)
•The Pool
• A library (a Pool file that is not attached to a project)
• The “Find media” dialog
• The Project window of another open project
• The Audio Part Editor of any open project
• The Sample Editor – press [Ctrl]/[Command] and drag to cre-
ate an event of the current selection, or click in the left column 
of the region list and drag to create an event from a region.
While you drag the clip in the Project window, its position will be 
indicated by a marker line and a numerical position box (see also “Using 
drag and drop” on page 325).
•By selecting “Audio File…” or “Video File…” from the 
Import submenu on the File menu.
This opens a file dialog, allowing you to locate the file you wish to import. 
When you import a file this way, a clip is created for the file and an event 
that plays the whole clip is inserted on the selected track, at the position 
of the project cursor.
 
You can also import MIDI files by using the Import submenu, but this 
works in a slightly different way (see 
“Exporting and importing standard 
MIDI files” on page 560).
•By grabbing audio CD tracks and converting them to au-
dio files (see “Importing audio CD tracks” on page 553).
•By importing only the audio portion of a video file and 
converting it to an audio file (see 
“About thumbnail cache 
files” on page 524).
•By using Copy and Paste on the Edit menu.
This allows you to copy all kinds of events between projects. You can 
also copy events within the project, e.
 g. from the Sample Editor.
•By drawing.
Some types of events (markers and automation events) can be drawn di-
rectly into the Project window. For audio and MIDI tracks, you can draw 
parts (see 
“Creating parts” on page 65).
Audio file import options
When you are importing audio files there are a number of 
options concerning how the files are treated by Nuendo: 
• You can choose to copy the file into the audio folder of the 
project and have the project make reference to the copied file 
rather than the original file. This helps you keep your project 
“self-contained”.
• You can choose to split stereo and multi-channel files into a 
number of mono files.
• Furthermore, you may want all files in the project to have the 
same sample rate and sample size (resolution).
!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.
Musical time base selected
Linear time base selected 
						

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Working with projects
The Preferences dialog (Editing–Audio page) contains a 
setting that lets you decide which options to use. Select 
one of the following options on the “On Import Audio 
Files” pop-up menu:
•Open Options Dialog
An Options dialog opens when you import, allowing you to select whether 
you want to copy the files to the Audio folder and/or convert them to the 
project settings. Please note the following:
 
– When importing a single file of a format other than the project settings, 
you can specify which properties (sample rate and/or resolution) are 
changed.
 
– When importing multiple files at the same time, you can select to convert 
the imported files automatically if necessary, i. e. if the sample rate is differ-
ent than the project’s or the resolution is lower than the project setting.
•Use Settings
No Options dialog will appear when you import. Instead, you can choose 
to make any of the options below the pop-up menu the standard ac
-
tion(s). Activate any number of the following options to have them per-formed automatically each time you import audio files:
Creating parts
Parts are containers for MIDI or audio events. If you record 
MIDI, a MIDI part is automatically created, containing the 
recorded events. You can also create empty audio or MIDI 
parts and later add events to them. 
There are two ways to do this:
•Draw a part on a MIDI or audio track with the Pencil tool.
You can also draw parts by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and using the Arrow 
tool.
•Double-click with the Arrow tool on a MIDI or audio 
track, between the left and right locator.
To add events to a MIDI part, you use the tools and func-
tions in a MIDI editor (see “The Key Editor – Overview” on 
page 406). Adding events to audio parts is done in the 
Audio Part Editor (see “Window overview” on page 315) 
by pasting or by using drag and drop.
•You can also gather existing audio events into a part, by 
using the “Events to Part” function on the Audio menu.
This creates an audio part containing all selected audio events on the 
same track. To remove the part and make the events appear as indepen
-
dent objects on the track again, select the part and use the “Dissolve 
Part” function on 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
On the Project menu open the “Add Track” submenu and select “Folder”, 
or right-click the track list and select “Add Folder Track” from the context 
menu.
OptionDescription
Copy Files to 
Working 
DirectoryIf files are not already in the project’s audio folder they are 
copied there before being imported.
Convert and 
Copy to 
Project If 
NeededIf files are not already in the project’s audio folder they are 
copied there before being imported. Furthermore, if the 
files have a different sample rate or a lower resolution 
than the project settings, they are automatically con
-verted.
Split multi-
channel filesIf you import a multi-channel audio file (including two-
channel stereo files), it will be split into a number of mono 
files – one for each channel – which are placed on sepa
-rate, automatically created mono tracks. Use the “Use 
numbers for split file names” option to give the created 
files the same name as the source file, appended by a 
number. This avoids confusion if the source file does not 
contain stereo or surround material, but poly-mono audio.
A folder track
Tracks in the folder 
						

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Working with projects
•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. An 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 subfold
-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 62). 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.
Audio handling
When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand 
how audio is handled in Nuendo:
When you edit or process audio in the Project window, 
you always work with an audio clip that is automatically 
created on import or during recording. This audio clip re
-
fers to an audio file on the hard disk that itself remains un-
touched. This means, that audio editing and processing is 
“non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo 
changes or revert to the original versions.
An audio clip does not necessarily refer to just one origi-
nal audio file! If you apply some processing to a specific 
section of an audio clip, for example, this will create a new 
audio file containing only this section. The processing will 
then be applied to the new audio file only, leaving the orig
-
inal audio file unchanged. Finally, the audio clip is auto-
matically adjusted, so that it refers both to the original file 
and to the new, processed file. During playback, the pro
-
gram will switch between the original file and the pro-
cessed file at the correct positions. You will hear this as a 
single recording, with processing applied to one section 
only. This feature makes it possible to undo processing at 
a later stage, and to apply different processing to different 
audio clips that refer to the same original file.
An audio event is the object that you place on a time po-
sition in Nuendo. If you make copies of an audio event and 
move them to different positions in the project, they will 
still all refer to the same audio clip. Furthermore, each au
-
dio event has an Offset value and a Length value. These 
determine at which positions in the clip the event will start 
and end, i.
 e. which section of the audio clip will be played 
back by the audio event. For example, if you resize the au
-
dio event, you will just change its start and/or end position 
in the audio clip – the clip itself will not be affected.
An audio region is a section within a clip with a length 
value, a start time, and a snap point. Audio regions are 
shown in the Pool and are best created and edited in the 
Sample Editor. 
ÖIf you want to use one audio file in different contexts, 
or if you want to create several loops from one audio file, 
convert the corresponding regions of the audio clip to 
events and bounce them into separate audio files. This is 
necessary since different events that refer to the same clip 
access the same clip information. 
						

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Working with projects
Auditioning audio parts and events
Audio parts and events can be auditioned in the Project 
window with the Play tool:
1.Select the Play tool.
2.Click where you want playback to start, and keep the 
mouse button pressed.
Only the track on which you click is played back, starting at the click posi-
tion. 
3.Release the mouse button to stop playback.
Scrubbing audio
The Scrub tool allows you to locate positions in the audio 
part or event by playing back, forwards or backwards, at 
any speed:
1.Select the Play tool and click a second time on the 
icon.
A pop-up menu opens.
2.Select “Scrub”.
3.Click at the desired position of your audio event or 
part and keep the mouse button pressed.
The project cursor moves to the position where you click. The mouse 
pointer is not visible anymore.
4.Drag to the left or right.
The project cursor moves correspondingly and the audio is played back. 
The speed and thus the pitch of the playback depend on how fast you 
move the mouse.
You can adjust the volume of the Scrub function in the 
Preferences dialog (Transport–Scrub page).
ÖWhen scrubbing with the mouse, insert effects are al-
ways bypassed.
ÖIt is also possible to “scrub” all audio and video tracks 
of your project with the Jog wheel and Shuttle Speed con
-
trol on the Transport panel, see “The shuttle speed con-
trol” on page 87.
Scrubbing can be quite a burden on your system. If play-
back problems occur, try deactivating the “Use High 
Quality Scrub Mode” option in the Preferences dialog 
(Transport–Scrub page). The resampling quality will then 
be lower, but scrubbing will be less demanding on the 
processor. This can be useful when scrubbing in large 
projects.
Editing parts and events
This section describes techniques for editing in the 
Project window. If not explicitly stated, all descriptions ap
-
ply to both events and parts, even though we use the term 
“event” for convenience.
ÖWhen you are using the tools for editing, you can in 
many cases get additional functions by pressing modifier 
keys (e.
 g. pressing [Alt]/[Option] and dragging with the 
Arrow tool creates a copy of the dragged event). 
On the following pages, the default modifier keys are de-
scribed – you can customize these in the Preferences dia-
log (Editing–Tool Modifiers page), see “Setting up tool 
modifier keys” on page 586.
Selecting events
Selecting events is done using any of the following 
methods:
•Use the Arrow tool.
The standard selection techniques apply.
•Use the Select submenu on the Edit menu.
The options are:
!When auditioning, audio will be routed directly to the 
Control Room, if the Control Room is activated. 
When the Control Room is deactivated, the audio 
will be routed to the default output bus, bypassing 
the audio channel’s settings, effects and EQs.
OptionDescription
AllSelects all events in the Project window.
NoneDeselects all events.
InvertInverts the selection – all selected events are dese-lected and all events that were not selected are se-lected instead.
In LoopSelects all events that are partly or wholly between 
the left and right locator. 
						

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Working with projects
•Select all events on a track by right-clicking on it in the 
track list and selecting “Select All Events” from the con
-
text menu.
•It is also possible to select ranges, regardless of the 
event and track boundaries.
This is done using the Range Selection tool (see “Range editing” on 
page 77).
•Use the arrow keys on the computer keyboard to select 
the closest event to the left, right, above, or below.
If you press [Shift] and use the arrow keys, the current selection will be 
kept, allowing you to select several events.
By default, tracks are selected with the up/down arrow keys 
on the computer keyboard. Therefore using these to select 
events, too, can be confusing. If you want to use the naviga
-
tion controls for track selection only (a most vital operation in both editing and mixing), you can activate the “Use Up/
Down Navigation Commands for selecting Tracks only” op
-
tion in the Preferences dialog (Editing page). The following 
applies:
• When this option is deactivated and no event/part is selected 
in the Project window, the up/down arrow keys on the com
-
puter keyboard are used to step through the tracks in the track 
list.
• When this option is deactivated and an event/part is selected 
in the Project window, the up/down arrow keys still step 
through the tracks in the track list – but on the currently se
-
lected track, the first event/part will automatically be selected 
as well.
• When this option is activated, the up/down arrow keys are 
only used to change the track selection – the current event/
part selection in the Project window will not be altered.
•If the “Auto Select Events under Cursor” option is acti-
vated in the Preferences dialog (Editing page), all events 
on the selected track(s) that are “touched” by the project 
cursor are automatically selected.
This can be helpful when rearranging your project, because it allows you 
to select whole sections (on all tracks) by selecting all tracks and moving 
the project cursor.
Using the cross hair cursor
Also in the Preferences dialog (Editing–Tools page), you 
can find the Cross Hair Cursor section. When enabled, a 
cross hair cursor is displayed when working in the Project 
window and in the editors, facilitating navigation and edit
-
ing, especially when arranging large projects. You can set 
up the colors for the line and the mask of the cross hair 
cursor, and define its width. The cross hair cursor works 
as follows:
•When the Selection tool (or one of its subtools) is se-
lected, the cross hair cursor appears when you start mov-
ing/copying a part/event, or when using the event trim 
handles.
•When the Pencil tool, the Scissors tool, or any other 
tool that makes use of this function is selected, the cross 
hair cursor appears as soon as you move the mouse over 
the event display.
•The cross hair cursor is only available for tools where 
such a function is of any use. The Mute tool, for example, 
does not use a cross hair cursor, as you have to click di
-
rectly on an event to mute it.
From Start to 
CursorSelects all events that begin to the left of the project 
cursor.
From Cursor to 
EndSelects all events that end to the right of the project 
cursor.
Equal PitchThese are available in the MIDI Editors (see “Select-ing notes” on page 412) and the Sample Editor (see “Using the Select menu” on page 289).
Select Controllers 
in Note RangeThis is available in the MIDI Editors (see “Selecting controllers within the note range” on page 412).
All on Selected 
TracksSelects all events on the selected track.
Events under 
CursorAutomatically selects all events on the selected 
track(s) that are “touched” by the project cursor.
Select EventThis is available in the Sample Editor (see “Window overview” on page 283).
Left/Right Selec-tion Side to CursorThese two functions are only used for range selection 
editing (see “Creating a selection range” on page 77).
!Note that these functions work differently when the 
Range Selection tool is selected (see 
“Creating a 
selection range” on page 77).
Option Description 
						

							69
Working with projects
Moving events
To move events in the Project window, use the following 
methods:
•Click and drag to a new position.
All selected events are moved, maintaining their relative positions. You 
can only drag events to tracks of the same type. If Snap is activated, this 
determines to which positions you can move the events (see 
“The Snap 
function” on page 48). 
Note also that you can restrict movement to be either horizontal or verti-cal only, by holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging.
•Select the event and edit the Start position in the info 
line.
•Use the “Move to” options on the Edit menu.
The following options are available:
•Use the Nudge buttons on the toolbar.
These move the selected events to the left or right. The amount of move-
ment depends on the selected display format (see “The Project Setup di-alog” on page 57) and the value set on the Grid pop-up menu.
ÖThe Nudge buttons are not visible on the toolbar by 
default. You can decide which items are visible by right-
clicking on the toolbar and activating the corresponding 
option on the context menu (see 
“The setup context 
menus” on page 572).
•Use the Up/Down key commands, found in the Nudge 
category in the Key Commands dialog.
These commands allow you to nudge one or more events (except folder 
parts) up or down to the nearest track. 
ÖNudging up/down will not create new tracks: If there is 
no destination track that matches the track configuration 
of the nudged event, nothing happens.
There are two exceptions to this behavior: 
• If you select events in Lane Display mode, these are moved to 
the upper or lower lane. 
• If you select MIDI events in the In-Place Editor, the MIDI 
events are nudged up or down. 
Aligning events
Nuendo provides shortcuts to quickly align audio events 
and parts in the project window. You can align to selected 
parts, events or ranges or to the cursor. 
!You will note that there is a slightly delayed response 
when you move an event by dragging. This helps you 
avoid accidentally moving events when you click on 
them in the Project window. You can adjust this delay 
with the Drag Delay setting in the Preferences dialog 
(Editing page).
OptionDescription
CursorMoves the selected event to the project cursor position. If 
there are several selected events on the same track, the 
first event will start at the cursor, and the following will be 
lined up end-to-start after the first one.
OriginMoves the selected events to their original positions, i. e. 
the positions at which they were originally recorded.
Front/BackThis function does not actually change the position of the 
events, but moves the selected events to the front or 
back, respectively. This is useful if you have overlapping 
events and want to see one that is partially obscured.
 For audio events, this is an extra important feature, be-cause only the visible sections of events will be played 
back. Moving an obscured audio event to front (or moving 
the obscuring event to back) will allow you to hear the 
whole event on playback (see also 
“Overlapping events” on page 316). Note that it is also possible to use the “To Front” function 
on the event context menu for this (although this works in 
a different way, see 
“Create Events mode (Preferences)” on page 99).
!When the Range Selection tool is used, the Nudge 
buttons move the selection range (see “Moving and 
duplicating” on page 78).
!When the snap point is set, it will be used as a refer-
ence when you align events. 
						

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Working with projects
To align audio events or parts to selected parts or events, 
proceed as follows:
1.Select an event or part of any type on any track.
This will be taken as a reference for aligning.
2.Point on the audio event or part you want to move, 
press one of the modifiers listed in the table below and 
click.
The mouse pointer will change its shape and the audio event or part will 
be aligned to the selected part or event.
To align audio events or parts to selection ranges, pro-
ceed as follows:
1.Make a selection range on any track.
This will be taken as a reference for aligning.
2.Point on an audio event or part, press one of the mod-
ifiers listed in the table below and click.
The mouse pointer will change its shape and the audio event or part will 
be aligned to the selected range.
In both cases, the following modifiers are available:
You can also align audio events or parts to the project 
cursor. This is done in the following way: 
1.Set the cursor to the position where you want to move 
the audio part or event.
This will be taken as a reference for aligning.
2.Make sure that nothing is selected in your project.
3.With the arrow tool selected, point on the audio event 
or part you want to move, press one of the modifiers listed 
in the table below and click.
The mouse pointer will change its shape and the audio event or part will 
be aligned to the cursor.
For aligning audio events or parts to the cursor, the follow-
ing modifiers are available:
ÖYou can change the modifiers in the Preferences dia-
log (Editing–Tool Modifiers page).
!Note that the functions depend on where you point 
with the mouse.
ModifierIconDescription
[Ctrl]/[Command] This aligns the start of the audio event/part 
to the start of the selected event, part or 
range. This function is available when you 
move the mouse on the beginning of the 
non-selected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command] -[Alt]/[Option]This copies the audio event/part and aligns 
its start to the start of the selected event, 
part or range. This function is available when 
you move the mouse on the beginning of the 
non-selected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command]This aligns the end of the audio event/part to 
the start of the selected event, part or range. 
This function is available when you move the 
mouse on the end of the non-selected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command] -[Alt]/[Option]This copies the audio event/part and aligns 
its end to the start of the selected event, part 
or range. This function is available when you 
move the mouse on the end of the non-se
-lected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command] -[Shift]This aligns the start of the audio event/part 
to the end of the selected event, part or 
range. This function is available when you 
move the mouse on the beginning of the 
non-selected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command] -[Shift] -[Alt]/[Option]
This copies the audio event/part and aligns 
its start to the end of the selected event, part 
or range. This function is available when you 
move the mouse on the beginning of the 
non-selected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command] -[Shift]This aligns the end of the audio event/part to 
the end of the selected event, part or range. 
This function is available when you move the 
mouse on the end of the non-selected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command] -[Shift] -[Alt]/[Option]
This copies the audio event/part and aligns 
its end to the end of the selected event, part 
or range. This function is available when you 
move the mouse on the end of the non-se
-lected event.
ModifierIconDescription
[Ctrl]/[Command]This aligns the start of the audio event/part to 
the cursor. This function is available when you 
move the mouse on the beginning of the non-
selected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command] -[Alt]/[Option]This copies the audio event/part and aligns its 
start to the cursor. This function is available 
when you move the mouse on the beginning of 
the non-selected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command]This aligns the end of the audio event/part to 
the cursor. This function is available when you 
move the mouse on the end of the non-se
-lected event.
[Ctrl]/[Command] -[Alt]/[Option]This copies the audio event/part and aligns its 
end to the cursor. This function is available 
when you move the mouse on the end of the 
non-selected event.
Modifier Icon Description