Editing sections

Arranger sections can be edited in the Arranger Inspectors Sections list, or in the Arranger track timeline.

If the Arranger track is not visible, click the Track view View menu and select Arranger Track Show/Hide, or press A.

If the Arranger Inspector is not visible, click the Show/Hide Arranger button at the top of the Inspector pane.

 

Note: Arranger sections can also be used by the following commands: 4 Edit > Cut Special 4 Edit > Copy Special 4 Edit > Paste Special 4 Edit > Delete Special 4 Project > Insert Time/Measures 4 Snap to Grid Landmarks (Edit > Preferences > Customization - Snap to Grid)

To rename a section

To rename a section, do one of the following:

Right-click the section and select Rename.

Double-click the section in the Arranger Inspector.

Select the section and press F2.

 

See also:

Section types

To change the section color

Right-click the section and select a color on the pop-up menu.

 

Tip: You can select multiple sections to change their color simultaneously. To select discontiguous sections, hold down the CTRL key and click the sections you want to select/deselect. To select a range of sections, click the first section, then hold down the SHIFT key and click the last section (see To select multiple sections).

To resize a section

Drag the left or right section edge.

Abutting sections will move over if extending the section duration.

To overwrite abutting sections, hold down the ALT key while resizing a section.

To move downstream sections when events are selected, hold down the SHIFT key while resizing a section.

To select a section

To select a single section, click the section in the Arranger track timeline or Arranger Inspector Sections list.

 

Important: By default, clicking an Arranger section also selects underlying track events. Clicking again deselects track events, while retaining selection of the section. This behavior allows you to easily determine whether or not track events are included in section edit operations. Note that the selection highlight in the Clips pane indicates selected track events. To disable automatic selection of track events when selecting sections, click the Track view Options menu and disable Select Events with Sections.

To select multiple sections

To select discontiguous sections, hold down the CTRL key and click the sections you want to select/deselect.

To select a range of sections, do one of the following:

Drag with the right mouse button to lasso select in the Arranger track timeline.

Click the first section, then hold down the SHIFT key and click the last section.

Drag in the time ruler to make a selection (this behavior can be enabled/disabled with the Track view Options > Select Sections with Time Ruler option).

To select all sections

To select all sections, without selecting the underlying track events, right-click any blank area in the Arranger track and select Select All.

Only the sections themselves are selected. Track events associated with the sections are not selected.

To select all sections and underlying track events

To select all sections along with any underlying track events, right-click any blank area in the Arranger track and select Select All + Events.

Sonar selects all sections and track events across all tracks, within the bounds of the sections.

Excluded tracks (see Excluding tracks from following arrangements) and track events not associated with selected sections are not affected.

To delete a section

To delete a section, do one of the following:

Right-click the section and select Delete.

Click the section, then press the DELETE key.

 

Note: When deleting a section, you will also delete any selected track events. Click the section to toggle between selecting only the section or section+events.

Caution: An arrangement section is an instance of a project section. Deleting a project section will also remove all instances of that section from all arrangements.

To copy/duplicate a section

Hold down the CTRL key and drag a section.

Right-click the section and select Duplicate.

To split a section

Position the Now Time at the location where you want to split the section, then right-click the section and select Split at Now Time.

 

Note: You can also split clips at section boundaries. To do so, make a selection, then right-click and select Split Clips at Boundaries. By default, MIDI notes that overlap section boundaries will also be split, and MIDI chase events (such as continuous controllers, Pitch Wheel, and Patch Change) are inserted at the split position. You can enable/disable this behavior with the Split MIDI Notes option in Edit > Preferences > Customization - Editing (see Customization - Editing (Advanced)).

To merge multiple sections

Select two or more contiguous sections you want to merge (or drag in the time ruler to make a time selection), then right-click a selected section and select Merge.

 

Note: You can use standard Windows CTRL and SHIFT modifiers to select multiple sections.

Tip: When merging multiple sections, the merged section will inherit its name and color from the section you right-click.

To move a section

Drag the section to the desired location (see Arranger track drag operations).

 

Note: When moving a section, you will also move any selected track events. Click the section to toggle between selecting only the section and section+track events. To disable automatic selection of track events when selecting sections, click the Track view Options menu and disable Select Events with Sections.

To swap two sections

Drag a section onto the middle of another section.

To move a section after another section

Drag the section onto the end of another section.

To copy instead of move, hold down the CTRL key.

To move a section before another section

Drag the section onto the beginning of another section.

To copy instead of move, hold down the CTRL key.

To overwrite an existing section

Hold down the ALT key and drag a section onto another section.

To replace an existing section

Hold down ALT+SHIFT and drag a section onto another section.

To move a section to the middle of another section (and split target section)

Hold down the SHIFT key and drag a section onto the middle of another section.

To copy instead of move, hold down CTRL+SHIFT.

Arranger track drag operations

You can arrange sections in a variety of ways by using modifier keys. Some operations behave differently depending on whether you drop at the start, middle, or end on an existing section. The tooltip shows the current operation.

 

Table 5. Arranger track drag operations 

Default	CTRL	ALT	SHIFT	CTRL+SHIFT	ALT+SHIFT
Move to the middle of existing section: Swap Move to end of existing section: insert after existing section Move to beginning of existing section: insert before existing section	Make a copy of section: Drag to middle of existing section: insert copy at beginning or end Drag to end of existing section: insert copy after existing section Drag to beginning of existing section: insert copy before existing section	Disables ripple for operation; overwrites if dropping into an existing section	Split destination section at drop point and move everything over	Split destination section at drop point, insert copy at drop point and move everything else over	Replace an existing section

 

Table 6. Arranger track drag operations 

Default	CTRL	ALT	SHIFT	CTRL+SHIFT	ALT+SHIFT
Move Move Before Swap Move After	Insert Copy Before Insert Copy After	Overwrite	Split and Insert	Split and Insert Copy	Replace

Arranger Inspector drag operations

 

Table 7. Arranger Inspector drag operations 

Default	CTRL	ALT
Move directly on top of existing section: Swap Move above existing section: Insert before with ripple Move below existing section: Insert after with ripple	Make a copy of section Drag to middle of existing: insert copy at beginning or end Drag to end of existing: insert copy at end Drag to beginning: insert copy at beginning	Disables Ripple for operation (flips replace/swap behavior)

To cancel a drag operation, press the ESC key.

Dealing with leading/trailing MIDI notes that overlap section boundaries

When dragging sections or committing arrangements, Sonar has logic for dealing with leading/trailing MIDI notes that overlap section boundaries.

In the following example, section 2 is selected. The underlying MIDI clip contains note events that start slightly before section 2 and end slightly after section 2. By default, selecting section 2 will ignore the portions of overlapping note events that fall outside the section boundaries. Sonar now lets you optionally include the full duration of overlapping note events.

A. Notes that overlap section boundaries 

Leading/trailing notes are often created in the following scenarios:

The recorded performance is unquantized and notes appear slightly earlier than the section start.

When using a sound with a slow attack, and the notes have to be played early to make up for the attack time.

Leading notes as part of a lead-in phrase, or droned notes that overlap with the section boundaries.

You can specify the threshold that determines which overlapping note events are included when moving sections.

To do so, click the Track view MIDI menu and point to Arranger Section Event Overlap Threshold, then select one of the following options:

Off. Ignore overlapping notes.

Note value (Whole – 1/256 Triplet). Only include notes that overhang by a duration equal to or less than the selected value.

Any Overlap. Include notes that overhang by any duration.

When overlapping notes fall within the threshold set, those notes are included in the section move/copy and the clip start/end is automatically resized (slip-edited) to accommodate the notes. The moved notes are also removed from the neighboring sections. This requires Non-destructive Editing to be enabled, and works best with Split MIDI Note enabled.

The Arranger Section Event Overlap Threshold setting affects all arranger drag operations, delete, commit arrangement, and Duplicate from the section context menu.

Figure 137. Result of moving section 2.

Excluding tracks from following arrangements

By default, clicking an Arranger section also selects underlying track events. Clicking again deselects track events, while retaining selection of the section. This behavior allows you to easily determine whether or not track events are included in section edit operations. Note that the selection highlight in the Clips pane indicates selected track events.

You can prevent data on individual tracks from being affected when you edit Arranger sections. To do so, select Arranger Exclude in the Track Properties Inspector (see Properties Inspector - Track Properties).

 

Tip: To exclude all track, press CTRL+A to select all tracks, then select Arranger Exclude in the Track Properties Inspector.

You can also lock individual clips to prevent them from being affected when editing sections. For details, see Locking Clips.

To disable automatic selection of track events when selecting sections, click the Track view Options menu and disable Select Events with Sections.

Excluding the tempo map, meter/key changes and markers from Arranger operations

To prevent the tempo map, meter/key changes, or markers from being affected when editing Arranger sections, right-click or long press the Select Events with Sections button in the Control Bar’s Select module and select the desired options:

Arranger Exclude Tempo Track. Prevent the tempo map from being affected when editing Arranger sections.

Arranger Exclude Meter/Key Changes. Prevent meter/key changes from being affected when editing Arranger sections.

Arranger Exclude Markers. Prevent markers from being affected when editing Arranger sections.

 

See:

Arranger tracks

Arranger tracks

Arranger Inspector

Defining sections of your song

Creating arrangements

Navigating by Arranger sections

Exporting arrangements

Arranger templates

Select module