In Cubase 6, I cannot use the alt key to get to Windows based drop down menus up top in Cubase such as File, Edit, Project etc. Rather, when I press alt, I get scissors or pencil. In C5 and earlier within Cubase, pressing alt would underline File, Edit, Project etc. up top and allow me to use arrow keys to navigate from there, which as I understand is a basic Windows function.
I see that the alt > scissors or pencil subject has been discussed, but I’m having trouble finding a way to get to File, Edit, or Project etc. with key strokes. Is this still possible in C6?
I’ve gone to Preferences > Editing > Tool Modifiers & I’ve gone to Preferences > Editing > Tools, but no luck. Also searched the web many times, no luck.
Thanks for your response fizbin but it still doesn’t work for me, with C6 opened and no song loaded or after a song is loaded. Are you using your arrow keys after pressing & holding alt? That’s was used to work for me but not any more. I make sure to press alt tab, so as to have focus in the project window. When I open Windows Notepad for example, all is well with Alt and arrows keys navigating through the drop down boxes at the top, just like C5 used to be.
I also made sure to use right click - desktop > personalize > Windows Classic
UPDATE:
Just loaded up C5 and it’s doing the same thing. This is the 1st time I’ve loaded C5 since updating to Windows 7 from XP. Must be a Windows 7 Cubase issue?
I meant that ALT+F brings up the file menu, ALT+E brings up the Edit menu, ALT+P brings up the Project Menu, but again, this only works from the main project window.
After one of those menus comes up, you can then use the arrow keys.
I have zero experience on C6 or W7, but does this post mean THE OLDEST shortcut of Windows (from version 1.0 IIRC): highlighting menu bar by pressing and releasing ALT key doesn’t work with C6/W7 combnation? Well … THAT SUCKS! It’s like not being able to select something under the mouse cursor by clicking the mouse button.
fizbin yes this works! …kinda. For me ALT + F (File) doesn’t come up, nor ALT + M (Media) but ALT + E, P & A do. Then with arrows I can easily get to where I need to go. Thanks loads for this. The ALT + F not working on my system is what threw me…(update) just discovered I had it saved ages ago as a Macro…duh. Same for ALT + M.
However for the record, as Jarno outlines, I’ve had no luck “highlighting menu bar by pressing and releasing ALT key”.
I used to be a hardcore Alt + [x] menu person in the olden days, but at some point along the way I just switched to creating direct key shortcuts for specific operations. I realized the reason I used Alt so much was to avoid the mouse, but I was really only doing the same 20 things over and over – so I just went into Cubase’s Key Commands dialog and created direct shortcuts for those 20 things. In fact there is a shortcut to open the Key Commands dialog
Then I made a list of those things, printed it out, and it’s faster than Alt → menu and still avoids the mouse.
Thanks meta-redundant. That’s why I posted, because of the mouse. In fact I’m a right hander that switched to left hand on the mouse to avoid tendon problems. Right hand for my business/internet/email computer, left hand for DAW.
Thanks meta-redundant. That’s why I posted, because of the mouse. In fact I’m a right hander that switched to left hand on the mouse to avoid tendon problems. Right hand for my business/internet/email computer, left hand for DAW.
If you get tendon problems it’s because you use a lot of finger repetition without moving the wrist.
Get into the habit of “knee drumming”. Forearms on thigh and (quite gently) drum with the palm on the knee. This pumps blood around the hand to those pesky tendons. The heart has a job forcing blood through the wrist. Normally this is ok but since they invented the typrwriter it’s become a problem.
Maybe print off a couple of simple drum rudiments to take the boredom out of it.
Oh, don’t let anyone tell you what do. There’s lots of bosses around here apparently. Unless you infringe the rules of course.
Back on topic: Overhere, ALT+ Arrows for menu navigation does not work in Cubase. I guess the ALT key is reserved completely for shortcuts, but for instance ALT+ Up or Down arrow changes active track height (which I quite like as a find in itself).
The ALT+ Arrows works a little different in Win7 anyway, from what I checked in Firefox, AcroReader and Excel. Pushing ALT and then an arrow does not activate menu selection; ALT has to be released first, and then the arrow keys work as forever in Windows…
EDIT: I see in XP ALT+ Arrows also works after releasing ALT…
I just updated to Cubase 7 on Windows 8 and lost the option to select the file menu bar via a keystroke or keyboard shortcut. In my previous world, Cubase Studio 5 on XP, I would use alt to select the file menu (sometimes need to hit alt+tab to move from the project to the main window).
Is there any way to use a keyboard shortcut to select (underline) the file menu (file, edit…)?
Just hit “alt+h”.
This selects the Help tab up on the menu bar, from there you can use the arrow keys to scroll to other menus. No mouse needed. The best part of this is that when you use a mouse and you’ve scrolled down a menu list, you have to mouse all the way back up to to the next menu tab… with arrows, you just move to the right or left.
Unless you infringe the rules of course.