Control Bar overview

 

Note: SONAR Home Studio has a simplified Control Bar layout that can not be modified.

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 219. 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 220. Control Bar modules.

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

The Control Bar contains the following modules:

Tools module. The Tools module lets you select a global tool and draw resolution. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Note: SONAR Home Studio contains the following Control Bar modules: 4 Tools 4 Snap 4 Transport 4 Loop 4 Custom

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 221. Drag a module’s gripper to move the module.

A. Gripper

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.

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.

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 60. Module sizes

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

To temporarily show controls in a collapsed module

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

Figure 222. 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 223. 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.