Track folders

A track folder contains tracks in the Track pane of the Track view. Track folders make larger projects much easier to manage—you can group different types of tracks in their own folder: vocals, soft synths, ReWire instruments, drums, etc.

The main characteristics of a track folder are:

You can edit all the tracks in the folder as if you were editing a single track—especially valuable for drum tracks. The track folder displays a composite clip in the Clips pane of all the clips in the folder. Selecting a time range in the composite clip selects data in all the enclosed tracks in the same time range; now you can edit all the tracks in the folder by editing the selected area of the composite clip.

You can hide tracks in a folder, freeing up space on your screen.

A folder can contain any type of track—you can put MIDI, audio, and synth tracks, and subfolders in the same folder.

You can archive, mute, solo, arm, or input monitor all the tracks in a folder with one click—just click the Archive, Mute, Solo, Arm, or Input Echo button on the track folder.

A. The tracks in a track folder are indented B. Description box C. Track folder info D. Open/Close folder E. Track folder—click here to select all data in track folder F. Archive, Mute, Solo, Arm, and Input Echo buttons G. Selected area of composite clip H. Composite clip

Nested track folders

A nested folder is a subfolder that is contained within another parent folder. Nested subfolders allow you to organize tracks more logically. For example, you can have a “Guitar” parent folder that contains “Electric” and “Acoustic” subfolders.

To only move tracks into another folder, drag one of the tracks or select Move To... from the context menu of one of the tracks.

To move the entire folder, drag the folder itself onto another folder, or select Move To... from the context menu of the folder.

If a track is in a folder, selecting Move To Folder > New Track Folder will create a new sub-folder at the same level of that track.

 

Note: As with the top level folders, any empty folders (i.e. specifically, folders containing no tracks) will ALWAYS appear below those containing tracks.

 

Tip: When changing the color of a track folder, hold down the CTRL key to apply the same color to all child tracks within the folder.

To create a track folder

Right-click in the Track pane of the Track view, and choose Insert Track Folder from the pop-up menu.

Or

Use the Insert > Track Folder menu command.

Or

Right-click a track that’s not in a track folder and select Move to Folder > New Track Folder from the pop-up menu.

A new track folder appears in the Track pane.

To add a track to a track folder

In the Track view, move the mouse cursor just to the right of the track number of a pre-existing track until the cursor turns into a black, double-ended arrow, and then click and drag the track’s title bar onto the track folder. Release the mouse.

Or

Insert a track when a track within a track folder has focus.

Or

Right-click a track that’s not in a track folder and select Move to Folder > Track Folder “n” from the pop-up menu.

Or

Select the tracks you want to add to the folder, right-click on the folder and select Add Track(s) to Folder from the menu that appears.

The added track appears in the track folder, and is indented a little to show that it’s inside the track folder.

 

Tip: When moving a track into a collapsed track folder, you can chose to automatically expand the folder. To do so, click the Track view Options menu and select Expand Track Folder after Moving to Folder.

To remove a track from a track folder

In the Track view, move the cursor just to the right of the track number of a track until the cursor turns into a black, double-ended arrow, and then click and drag the track’s title bar out of the Track Folder. Release the mouse.

Or

Right-click the track and select Remove From Folder from the pop-up menu.

To add multiple tracks to a track folder

1.	Select the tracks you want to add.

2.	Right-click a selected track and choose Move to Folder > Track Folder “n” from the pop-up menu.

To remove multiple tracks from a track folder

1.	Select the tracks you want to remove.

2.	Right-click a selected track and choose Remove From Folder from the pop-up menu.

To delete a track folder

1.	In the Track view, right-click and select Delete Track Folder from the menu that appears.

2.	Sonar asks you if you want to delete all the tracks in the folder along with the track folder—click Yes or No.

Sonar deletes the track folder. If you didn’t choose to delete the tracks in the track folders, Sonar moves these tracks to the top level.

To open or close a track folder

Click the +/- button that’s just left of the track folder’s name.

If a track folder contains nested subfolders, hold down the SHIFT key and click the +/- button to expand/collapse the entire folder hierarchy of the folder you clicked on.

To expand/collapse all folders in the project, hold down CTRL+SHIFT and click the +/- button in any track folder.

To select or deselect all the tracks in a track folder

Click just to the left of the folder icon.

To rename a track folder

Double-click the track folder’s name, type a new name, and press ENTER.

To add a description to a track folder

Double-click the Description box, type a description, and press ENTER.

To select all clips in a time range

With the Smart tool or Select tool , drag across the bottom half of the composite clip.

Now you can edit, move, cut and paste all the selected clips by editing the selected part of the composite clip.