Working with multiple tracks in the Piano Roll view

You can view as many tracks as you want in the Piano Roll view. The Track pane lists all tracks in the project, and lets you specify which tracks are visible, which tracks show data, and which tracks can be edited. You can also control basic Mute, Solo, and Arm for Recording functions.

To show or hide the Track pane, click the Piano Roll view View menu and choose Show/Hide Track Pane.

If you want to edit the data in a track, you must make the track you want to edit the current track. The name of the current track appears highlighted in the Track pane.

Figure 342. Track pane.

A. Auto Focus B. Auto Lock C. Focused track D. Track filter E. Expand/collapse F. Custom track color G. Enable/disable track from editing H. Track icon I. Track name J. Mute K. Solo L. Arm for recording M. Output N. Add/remove track from filter 

 

Tip: If you do not want to see audio tracks in the Piano Roll view, click the Piano Roll view View menu and clear the Show Audio Tracks option.

 

See:

To show events in multiple tracks

To give focus to a track

To expand/collapse the Track pane

To show/hide the Track pane in the Piano Roll view, do one of the following:

Click the Expand/Collapse button in the Piano Roll view.

Click the Piano Roll view View menu and select Show/Hide Track Pane.

Make sure the Piano Roll view has focus, then press H.

To resize the width of the Track pane

Drag the Track pane’s sidebar left/right. Controls will dynamically show/hide as you resize the Track pane.

Tip: You can right-click the Expand/Collapse button to cycle through different sizes.

Header controls

A. Auto Focus B. Auto Lock C. Track Filter D. Expand/collapse 

The Track pane header contains the following controls:

Auto Focus. When enabled, you can click events in the Piano Roll view to automatically change the track focus. Tip: Disable Auto Focus and Auto Lock if you want to copy events from other tracks and paste into the focused track.

Auto Lock. When enabled, events from all selected tracks are displayed, but only the focused track can be edited. All other tracks are automatically locked. When disabled, events in all selected tracks can be edited. For details, see Auto Lock mode and To show events in multiple tracks.

Filter. The track filter determines which tracks are listed in the Track pane, while track selection determines which tracks show data in the edit view. Add individual tracks to the filter, then click the Filter button to list only those tracks. For details, see Filter mode.

Right-click the Filter button to access the following menu commands:

New. Save the current track filter assignments as a preset. Track filter presets are saved per project.

Save. Save changes to the current track filter preset.

Rename. Rename the current track filter preset.

Delete. Delete the current track filter preset.

Add All Tracks. Add all tracks to the filter.

Remove All Tracks. Remove all tracks from the filter (and disable the filter, if active).

Default. The default filter when the track filter is disabled.

<List of filter presets>. List of the current project’s track filter presets.

Expand/Collapse Track pane. Show or hide the Track pane. Right-click to cycle through different sizes.

Per track controls

A. Custom track color B. Select track for editing C. Track icon D. Track name E. Mute F. Solo G. Arm for recording H. Output I. Add track to filter 

Each track contains the following controls:

Track color. The color of Note events in the track. Similar to the Track view, only custom colors are shown, not default colors. For details, see Customizing track/bus colors.

Select track for editing. Tracks that can be edited show a highlighted draw icon , and the focused track name is highlighted. When Auto Lock mode is enabled, tracks that are locked show a lock icon .

Track name. The track’s name. Click a track’s name to give it focus for editing.

Mute. Mute/unmute the track.

Solo. Solo/unsolo the track.

Arm for recording. Arm/disarm the track for recording.

Output. The track’s MIDI output or instrument assignment.

Add to track filter. Adds the track to the track filter. Tracks that have been added to the track filter show a white filter icon . When you enable the Filter button, only tracks that have been added to the filter will be listed in the Track pane. To remove a track from the filter, click the filter icon again. For details, see Filter mode.

You can also right-click a row to access Snap to Scale settings. For details, see Snap to Scale.

Figure 343. Track button states.

A. Track editing disabled B. Track editing enabled C. Track auto locked D. Focused track E. Track not added to filter F. Track added to filter 

Default mode

Figure 344. Default mode (Auto Lock is disabled).

A. Events in all selected tracks are visible, but only the focused track can be edited 

By default, the Piano Roll view only shows events in the focused track, and only the focused track can be edited. The focused track name is highlighted.

To switch track focus, do one of the following:

Click the desired track name in the Track pane.

If multiple tracks are selected and Auto Lock mode is disabled, click an existing Note event or continuous controller event in the desired track.

The default mode allows you to quickly focus the Piano Roll view to only a single track and automatically hide events from all other tracks. This mode works independently or in conjunction with the Filter mode.

To enable the default mode, make sure the Auto Lock button is disabled.

 

See also:

To show events in multiple tracks

To show events in multiple tracks

If you want to show events from multiple tracks simultaneously, you must select the desired tracks in the Track pane.

Selecting tracks in the Track pane is similar to selecting tracks in the Track view:

To select a range of adjacent tracks. Do one of the following:

Click the first track you want to select, then hold down the SHIFT key and click the last track you want to select.

Click the first track you want to select, then drag down to the last track you want to select.

A. Click in this column to select tracks in the Track pane 

To select discontiguous tracks. Hold down the CTRL key and click the tracks you want to select. Holding down the CTRL key while you click also lets you toggle the selection status of a track.

To select all tracks. Double-click any track’s Select track for editing button .

To clear the current selection. Click any track’s Select track for editing button .

To give focus to a track

The global tools operate on the track that has focus. The focused track name is highlighted. There are several ways to change track focus:

If multiple tracks are selected in the Track pane, click a track’s name to switch track focus and retain the selection.

If multiple tracks are selected in the Track pane, click a track’s Draw icon to switch track focus and clear the selection.

If multiple tracks are selected in the Track pane and Auto Lock mode is disabled, click any existing Note event or continuous controller event in the track. Clicking a note will make the note’s parent track the focused track.

Click a track in the Track pane, then use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys.

Click a track in the Track view.

 

Note: Track selection in the Track view and Track pane are independent. Selecting tracks in the Track pane does not select any data, it only determines which tracks show data in the editing view.

Filter mode

The Filter mode lets you manage which tracks are listed in the Track pane. This is useful when working on projects that contain many tracks. You can even create per-project filter presets that let you quickly show different combinations of tracks.

To enable/disable Filter mode, make sure at least one track has been added to the filter, then click the Filter button.

Filter mode works independently or in conjunction with the Auto Lock mode.

Figure 345. Filter mode.

A. Add track to filter B. The Track pane only shows tracks that have been added to the active filter 

Using Filter mode:

To add a track to the filter. Click the track’s Add track to filter button until it shows a white filter icon . To remove a track from the filter, click the filter icon again. When you enable the Filter button in the Track pane header, only tracks that have been added to the filter will be visible.

To open the Filter menu. Do one of the following:

Right-click the Filter button.

Click the Filter button and keep the mouse button pressed for a brief moment.

To save the current filter assignments as a new preset. Right-click the Filter button and select New on the pop-up menu.

To save changes to the current filter. Right-click the Filter button and select Save on the pop-up menu.

To select a track filter preset. Right-click the Filter button and select the desired preset on the pop-up menu.

To delete the selected track filter preset. Right-click the Filter button and select Delete on the pop-up menu.

To rename the selected track filter preset. Right-click the Filter button and select Rename on the pop-up menu.

To add all tracks to the filter. Right-click the Filter button and select Add All Tracks on the pop-up menu.

To remove all tracks from the filter (and disable the filter, if active). Right-click the Filter button and select Remove All Tracks on the pop-up menu.

To add the selected tracks to the current track filter. Select the tracks you want to add to the current track filter, then right-click any track number and select Add Selected Tracks to Filter on the pop-up menu:

To create a new filter from the current track selection. Select the tracks you want to save as a new track filter, then right-click any track number and select New Filter From Selection on the pop-up menu:

Note: You can choose to automatically show only tracks that are selected at the time you open the Piano Roll view. To do so, click the Piano Roll view View menu and select Filter to Selection On Open. When enabled, Sonar will automatically apply the track filter when you open the Piano Roll view.

Auto Lock mode

Auto Lock mode lets you concentrate on the focused track without worrying about accidentally modifying data on other tracks.

When Auto Lock mode is enabled, events from all selected tracks are displayed, but only the focused track can be edited. All other tracks are automatically locked and show ghosted events.

To enable/disable Auto Lock mode, select two or more tracks in the Track pane, then click the Auto Lock button.

Auto Lock mode works independently or in conjunction with the Filter mode.

Figure 346. Auto Lock mode enabled.

When Auto Lock is disabled, all selected tracks are visible and can be edited.

Figure 347. Auto Lock mode disabled.

 

Note: The Auto Lock button can only be enabled and disabled when multiple tracks are selected in the Track pane.

 

Tip: To give focus to the track you want to edit, click the track’s name in the Track pane.

 

Tip: When Auto Lock is disabled and using the Smart tool to lasso select notes, you can temporarily limit selection to the active track only. This prevents unintended selection of notes in other tracks. To do so, hold down the SHIFT key while dragging with the right mouse button. Only notes in the active track will be selected.

 

See:

Note names

Piano Roll view