I suggest that you merge the “Range Selection Tool” with the “Object Selection Tool” the way Ableton Live does it by having the “Objet Selection Tool” highlight regions in relations to the and snapping to grid kind of the way the “Range Selection Tool” works. Why are those 2 tools? I’m contently having to switch between the two. Or have that in the preferences. It would make editing and song building a lot easier to the project window.
I think it’s time Steinberg should start to lighten up and cleat a lot of unused and useless tool. It feels like they keep adding new and modern features while holding on to the old fashion way of doing things. It gets to be too much and confusing at times. The best exemple of that is the useless “Zoom Tool”. Who uses that tool in 2017 except people who never used a computer in their life?
I agree… I’ve never particularly liked the Range tool. BUT… it does have a few advantages. You can easily select a range of tracks (up/down) and bars (left/right)
However the Range tool is -stupid- in that if one has a keyswitch or controller data on a MIDI event a few ticks before the range starts it misses it.
So whatever improved tool comes up should be ‘smart’ enough to ‘see’ the notes you want to select AND the keyswitch or controller data immediately preceding it. That would be a REAL improvement.
Do you copy/paste MIDI parts? If so, how do you handle where a keyswitch or controller bit is a few ticks -before- the bar line?
IOW: when I use Range to copy/paste a section of bars (eg. a verse), I copy/paste bar 17-32, which is great. But then it misses the keyswitch or controller data I need to properly set up the new verse.
my most frequent use is possibly to ‘cut time’ within an audio event, or across the whole arrange vertically. also to select an arbitrary ‘range’ (sic! as in: not discrete event(s) but an actual arbitrary range) across track(s), followed by the usual suspects that may be cut time, split at edges, paste time, etc.
in fact, i’d love the range tool to be expanded to work within the key editor-- ie., to be able to select an arbitrary range and delete, cut, paste, … just like it’s now possible within the arrange.
having said that, a modifier key to trigger the range functionality right from the object selection tool would be a welcome pro-workflow enhancement without a doubt (think ‘smart tool’).
The range tool is the least understood tool based on what I see here, and based on how long I previously went without using it.
As far as a modifier goes, check out this ahk script:
;============ Range tool while key held down =============
$r::
ControlGetFocus, OutputVar, A
if ErrorLevel ; assures that command won't run if a text box is active
{
Send, 1 ; edit '1' to be your exisiting keystroke for the range tool.
KeyWait, r
Send, 0
}
else
;~ MsgBox, Control with focus = %OutputVar%
Send, r ; type the letter if a text edit field is active
;~ IfWinNotExist ("ahk_class ClassNN: Edit1")
return
I use the Range Tool often; I highlight a vocal phrase (or sometimes literally a word or two.!) and Bounce Selection before double-clicking to do a bit of VariAudio adjustment. Same for bass gtr bits I’ve found. Its just an ‘ingrained’ workflow with me, for a while now.
I’d also love its functionality to be expanded or ‘merged’ with the Object Selection Tool - as in the other suggestions here or, like it is in StudioOne; there’s a real Smart Tool right there…
i will be implementing this into my ahk script today. a good use for an extra mouse button perhaps. or better yet, a midi-enabled sus pedal. i like to play cubase like an instrument.