Using control groups

Sonar lets you link faders, knobs, or buttons in the Track view, Track Inspector and Console view into groups. Groups are collections of controls whose movements are linked together. For example:

Two Volume faders or controls can be grouped so that when you increase or decrease the volume of one track, the volume of the other track changes in exactly the same way.

Four Mute buttons can be grouped so that when you click on the Mute button to mute track 1, tracks 1 and 2 are muted and tracks 3 and 4 are un-muted.

The Console view and Track view identify controls, knobs and faders that are grouped using a colored group indicator that is displayed on the controls in each group. The controls in group A are displayed with a red indicator, the controls in group B with a green indicator, and so on. Controls, faders and knobs can be grouped together.

When you group buttons together, the way they work is based on their position when you create the group:

Buttons that are in the same position when grouped will turn on and off together at all times.

Buttons that are in opposite positions when grouped will always remain in opposite positions.

When you group buttons with knobs or faders, the button turns on/off when the knob or fader reaches its halfway point.

You have several additional options. There are three general types of groups: absolute, relative, and custom. Here’s how they work.

Absolute

The range of motion in all controls in the group is identical. When you move one control in the group, all other controls in the group move the same amount in the same direction. The controls do not necessarily need to start at the same level.

Relative

The range of motion for controls in the group is not the same. All controls in the group have the same value at one point—the lowest level for send, return, and volume levels, and zero for pan controls.

Custom

Sometimes you want to define a more complex relationship between the controls in a group. For example:

You want two controls to operate in reverse—when one fader drops, the other increases (cross fade).

You want two volume faders grouped so that they are locked together at maximum level, but drop at different rates.

You want two faders to be locked together with the same range of motion, but a third fader grouped with them to have a different range of motion.

Custom groups let you set the range of motion for each control in the group by entering a starting and ending value. As any one control in the group is moved from its starting position to its ending position, the other controls in the group exercise their full range of motion.

When you have defined a custom group, you can adjust the starting and ending position of each control using the Group Settings dialog box or using pop-up menus on the controls in the group.

Note: By default, the relative gain between grouped controls that affect gain is preserved. If you prefer the relative position of the controls to be preserved regardless of the relative gain, there is a check box in the Group Properties dialog box that will toggle between these two behaviors.

To add a control to a group

1.	Right-click on the control.

2.	Choose a group from the Group submenu.

Sonar adds the control to the group. Controls, knobs and faders are highlighted with the group’s color indicator.

Tip: You can quickly group identical controls in multiple tracks. To do so, select the desired tracks, then assign a control to a group. Sonar automatically assigns the same control in all other selected tracks to the same group.

To remove a control from its group

1.	Right-click on the control.

2.	Choose Remove From Group from the menu.

Sonar removes the control from the group and displays the control with the neutral color indicator.

To remove all controls from a group

Right-click a control in the group, and choose Clear Group from the pop-up menu.

To override a control’s grouping

Hold down the CTRL key while moving the control.

The control remains part of the group and functions as such once the CTRL key is lifted.

To set the group type to Relative or Absolute

1.	Right-click on any control in the group and choose Group Manager to display the Group Manager dialog box.

Figure 425. The Group Manager dialog box.

2.	Choose Absolute or Relative as the group type and click OK.

Sonar uses the type to determine the range of motion for the group’s controls.

To create a custom group

1.	Right-click on any control in the group and choose Group Manager to display the Group Manager dialog box.

2.	Choose Custom as the group type. The starting and ending values for each control are displayed.

3.	To change the starting or ending value for a control, click on the control in the list and enter new values in the Start and End box.

4.	To swap the starting and ending value, click the Swap button.

5.	Click Close when you are done.

Sonar uses the type to determine the range of motion for the group’s controls.

To adjust the Start Value of a control

1.	Set the control to the desired starting value.

2.	Right-click on the control.

3.	Choose Value > Set Start = Current.

Sonar sets the start value of the control.

The Set Start = Current and Set End = Current commands set the range of motion that a grouped control moves through as the other members of the group move through their starting and ending values. You don’t have to designate a group as a custom group to create a custom group—just group some controls and set their starting and ending values.

To adjust the End Value of a control

1.	Set the control to the desired ending value.

2.	Right click on the control.

3.	Choose Value > Set End = Current.

Sonar sets the end value of the control.

The Set Start = Current and Set End = Current commands set the range of motion that a grouped control moves through as the other members of the group move through their starting and ending values. You don’t have to designate a group as a custom group to create a custom group—just group some controls and set their starting and ending values.

 

See also:

Quick Groups