Control Bar overview

Much of your time in Sonar is spent recording and listening to your project as it develops. The Control Bar contains the most important tools and other pieces of information you will need to record, edit and play back your project.

The Control Bar consists of several modules that each contain various related controls. You can re-arrange and show/hide each individual module, which allows you to only show the functions you need most often. By default, the Control Bar is docked at the top of Sonar’s screen, but can also be undocked or docked at the bottom.

Figure 241. The Control Bar.

To show/hide the Control Bar

Do one of the following:

On the Views menu, click Control Bar.

Press C on your computer keyboard.

Control Bar modules

Figure 242. Control Bar modules.

A. Export module B. Tools module C. Snap module D. Transport module E. Mix module F. Loop module G. Performance module H. Select module I. Punch module J. Screenset module K. ACT module L. Markers module M. Event Inspector module N. Sync module O. Custom module P. Mix Recall module 

The Control Bar contains the following modules:

Export module. The Export module lets you to export and share projects. For details, see Export module.

Tools module. The Tools module lets you select a global tool and note draw duration. For details, see Tools module.

Snap module. The Snap module lets you configure Snap to Grid settings. For details, see Snap module.

Transport module. The Transport section contains standard controls for Record, Return to Zero, Rewind, Stop, Play, and Fast Forward. For details, see Transport module.

Mix module. The Mix module lets you configure Mute, Solo, Arm for recording, effects bypass and automation playback/recording settings. For details, see Mix module.

Loop module. The Loop module lets you configure loop settings. For details, see Loop module.

Performance module. The Performance module lets you monitor CPU, disk and memory activity. For details, see Performance module.

Select module. The Select module lets you configure selection settings. For details, see Select module.

Punch module. The Punch module lets you configure punch record settings. For details, see Punch module.

Screenset module. The Screenset module lets you save and recall screenset presets (window layouts). For details, see Screenset module.

ACT module. The ACT module lets you configure how control surfaces interact with effect and soft synth plug-ins. For details, see ACT module.

Markers module. The Markers module lets you navigate by markers. For details, see Markers module.

Event Inspector module. The Event Inspector module lets you modify selected clips and events. For details, see Event Inspector module.

Sync module. The Sync module lets you configure synchronization settings. For details, see Sync Module.

Custom module. The Custom module lets you assign various Sonar commands to buttons. For details, see Custom module.

Mix Recall module. The Mix Recall module lets you save and recall multiple mixes for the current project. For details, see Mix Recall module.

To show/hide modules

Do one of the following:

To show/hide a specific module. Right-click the Control Bar and select Modules > <name>.

To hide a module. Right-click the module and select Close <name> Module.

To show all modules. Right-click the Control Bar and select Set all Modules visible.

To re-arrange modules

Drag a module’s gripper to the desired location within the Control Bar.

Figure 243. Drag a module’s gripper to move the module.

A. Gripper

 

Note: The Control Bar configuration is saved with workspaces by default (see Workspaces). If you use a workspace, be sure to resave the workspace after changing the Control Bar configuration. Otherwise, the next time you load a project or reload the workspace, the Control Bar configuration will revert to the saved workspace configuration.

To resize modules

Individual Control Bar modules can be resized in order to conserve screen real-estate and only show controls that are important to you.

To resize a single module. Right-click the module, point to Resize [module name] Module, then select the desired size.

To resize all modules simultaneously. Right-click the Control Bar, point to Resize All Modules, then select the desired size.

To expand/collapse a single module. Double-click the module.

Tip: To quickly collapse/expand the entire Control Bar, press SHIFT+C. For details, see To collapse the Control Bar.

The following sizes are available:

Auto. The Control Bar automatically shrinks and collapses modules in an attempt to keep all modules visible on-screen at once. It prioritizes modules on the left of the Control Bar, trying to keep them full size, while collapsing and shrinking modules further to the right, as necessary. Auto-sizing occurs whenever the Control Bar is resized. This is the default size setting.

Collapsed. Collapse the module and only show the module name. Point to, or click, the collapsed module to temporarily show a pop-up module (see To temporarily show controls in a collapsed module). The pop-up module is always the full Large size. Use this size if you don’t always need to see the module’s controls, but you still want quick access to the module. Collapsing modules helps to avoid screen clutter, and lets you focus on only the controls that are important for the task you are working on. To expand a collapsed module, double-click the module.

Small. Shows the minimum number of controls, or a smaller control layout.

Medium. Shows a subset of all available controls, or a smaller control layout.

Large. This is the largest size, with all available controls visible in full size.

Note: Not all modules support small or medium sizes.

The following table shows the available sizes for each module.

 

Table 64. Module sizes

Module	Collapsed	Small	Medium	Large
Export
Tools
Snap
Transport
Mix
Loop
Performance
Select
Punch
Screenset
ACT
Markers
Event Inspector
Sync
Custom
Mix Recall

To temporarily show controls in a collapsed module

When collapsed, a module shrinks in size, but is still visible in the Control Bar.

Figure 244. Collapsed Control Bar modules.

To temporarily show controls in a collapsed module, point to the collapsed module, or click the collapsed module. A pop-up module appears. To close the pop-up module, click the collapsed module again.

Figure 245. Point to, or click, a collapsed module to temporarily show a pop-up module.

A. Collapsed module B. Pop-up module

 

Note 1: Pop-up modules always show the Large size, even if a module has been resized.

Note 2: If you do not want pop-up modules to automatically appear when you point to collapsed modules, right-click the Control Bar, point to Options, and clear the Auto Open Collapsed Modules option. When this option is disabled, you must click a collapsed module to open its pop-up module. To prevent a pop-up module from closing automatically when you move the mouse pointer away from the module, clear the Auto Close Collapsed Modules option.

Tip: To expand/collapse a module, double-click the module.