I configured cubase to always show the fade/cross-fade visual in the project window.
I recently started to lock tracks and I noticed that an inconvenient and undesired side-effect is that, when the track is locked, its fade/cross-fade are no longer displayed, although they exist. IMHO, this is a bug/usability-issue because I do not see why the fact a track is locked should mangle with my desire to “always” see the fades/cross-fades (that haas a special setting in Cubase’s preferences). The following 2 screenshots demonstrate it:
(screenshot #1 - unlocked track - see the nice fade/cross-fade marks)
(screenshot #2 - same track, this time locked - the nice fade/cross-fade marks disappeaed although they exist)
As always, thanks for the quick response. Please allow me to offer a different perspective.
About showing fades all the time preference setting: I tend to do the fades / cross-fades manually. Naturally, I do not always remember which events I already treated and which one I haven’t. Since I believe this is a typical way of working, I guess that’s why the preference to “always show fades” exists in the first place. This allows me also to detect fades / cross-fades that I forgot to apply. So this functionality is also a kind of a safety net… Last, there is an additional advantage - I can see the shape and length of the fade. It provides me sometimes-useful information during various stages (editing, mixing, etc.)
About locking a track: I lock tracks to protect myself from human errors / unintended edits. I guess this is the main use-case around locking a track.
Combining the two: If I lock a track, does that mean that I don’t want to see indications that I forgot to fade / cross-fade something? Additionally, does the information about the shape and length of the fade all of the sudden become not useful for me as a user just because the track is locked?
To sum up, your answer assumes that the fades/cross-fade marks are there for editing-purpose only. I strongly disagree with that. The people who need it for editing-purpose only wouldn’t turn on the “always show fades” preference to begin with…
In your case, I would recommend using the Lock of the Audio Events instead of Lock tracks. You can select all Events of the track and apply the Lock type from the Info line.
