How do I create an event in cubase artist 7?

I’ve read the manual and I can’t figure it out. My guitar player has cubase 7.5 and all he has to do is double-click the lane he wants to create the event in. I want to be able to create an event and then use the drum editor to write drum parts. The way it is now, the drum editor won’t even open unless I already have recorded drums from an external sequencer onto a track.

Which kinda brings me to another problem - I use a metronome countdown on my sequencer to know when to hit record on cubase. My guitar player has been redoing all the drums (which is why he wants me to use midi editors to write - so it is easier on him) but it seems to me that things would be easier if I could just make sure everything starts at zero rather than the second or two after the final click on my sequencer metronome and then quantize all my midi parts to fit. The way it is now, he’s having to use the drum editor and replace every single keystroke so it is perfectly lined up. How can I slide everything, all at once, to the left so it starts the second I hit play?

Your first point, There is a pen icon with which you can draw a rectangle.

Second point, there is a precount available for click, just set this how you wish.