Exporting MIDI from inactive projects is buggy

I have had issues with exporting MIDI from a project that is open but not active. A different project is active in the background.

I select the locator range and export a MIDI file, and it appears to be working. But when I open that MIDI file, all the track names are there but no MIDI data is on them.

I have a recollection that at some time in the past, this used to work properly. Can someone at Steinberg confirm this is a bug? Or any other forum users able to test this out?

Thanks!

Where does it say that you can export from inactive Projects?
It would not be anything I would try unless I had noticed it was explicitly advised in the literature. With computers there are certain things that are just risky.
Even if you point me an example I would still be a bit leery about using it that way.

Computers: Belt and braces or you’re courting trouble.

Hello,

I’m afraid, you are right, orchetect.

Problem is, in the inactive plroject, there are no lcators.

Try to open 2 projects with different locators settings. Watch your Transport bar locators display by switchnig these two projects. Locator range is set by activ project. If you switch to the inactive project, locator range stays by the active one. If you active the second project, locator range changes. I think, this is the reason.

To Conman: Nobody says this. But question is why it isn’t possible to export it. This could be very helpful. These are just MIDI data, no sound, it’s not necessary to create sound, mixdown audio… I can’t see obstacie here.

Why would anyone want to confuse themselves by Exporting something they have no control over?
That’s why they’re called “INACTIVE” Projects.

Don’t tell me that switching to the other Project interferes with “workflow” because any “workflow” dealing with Exporting has to be a deliberate act rather than a casual one to avoid mistakes when processing valuable customers’ material.
It would be bad programming.

I was once nearly very luckily erroneously supplied with a new drumkit because some guy in the despatch department thought he’d save himself a button push or two. The other customer was furious and cancelled the order.

So it’s always best to consider that what sounds handy for YOU could be a PITA for others.
Some things are bugs but I believe that Export is that way for a few reasons.

I don’t see any reason why this should not work. It has NOTHING to do with the active project. It has everything to do with the project that has FOCUS.

To me, THAT is bad programming, and confusing. I have selected locators in the project that has focus. I see the MIDI export menu is still selectable and not greyed-out. It SHOULD export from the project with focus. And again, I have recollection that this DID work in the past but I don’t have the time to install older versions of Cubase just to confirm this.

And yes, there are workflow reasons why I need to be able to do this.

Additionally, if you read my original post, the MIDI file that is exported has the tracks from the INACTIVE project, but no MIDI data. Right there is a red flag that shouts “bug” to me.

I’ll explain why this is a problem for me.

My Cubase projects take 5 minutes to load. (I’ve timed it with a stopwatch). They are in excess of 1400 tracks and have dozens of plug-ins. I often have to open files and export MIDI for a MIDI library I am building.

My solution to expedite this process was to open projects as inactive which only takes a few seconds because of not having to load all the plug-ins etc.

I’m looking for a solution. If exporting MIDI from inactive projects won’t work, what will?

Is there a way to load a project without loading plug-ins? I am certain there isn’t, because I’ve googled for hours trying to find out how. And I don’t want to have to rename my VST folders or other dodgy hacks. I know you can copy&paste MIDI from inactive projects but I would have to paste it into an active project in order to subsequently export a MIDI file. That adds up to a lot of unnecessary steps when I have to batch export dozens or hundreds of MIDI files.

Any ideas would be helpful!

Working with 1400 tracks! Right from the off that’s asking for trouble not just from the computer but from your own head sorting it out or even with good archiving there’s too much going on there to avoid errors.

How can an INACTIVE Project track be the one “with focus”?

Your workflow is up to you and not to the program. “Workflow” means that you have worked out what the program will and will not do. The program cannot kow what the hell (we’re) you’re up to.

There can be many reasons why the track name was exported. That could be the bug and not the omission of the midi data itself. However it could also point to something that they tried programming and had to abort and the code was left in there, which happens in all programming more often than we suppose.

Again, from long association with all sorts of programs, I would advise against any attempts to manipulate INACTIVE Projects until you see it in plain writing in the manual that this is now a feature.

And remember that there are many more bugs in the users than there are in any program. :mrgreen: