Hmm, I’ll try and recreate what you are describing (still on 8.5, waiting on 9 demo). I haven’t used user defined snap points for some time for whatever reason. I think maybe because I’ve started to use grid-relative instead.
didnt read all posts here, but definitely range tool is good and useful,but need more improvements or do another smart tool eventually.
for instance,make many range selection in one go… for example select 12 different ranges and process to silence,split or bounce etc…(12 selections 1 action,done !)
combine range and selection tool, split range on audio event and adjust volume without changing tools all the time…
etc…
realy one of the important next update in my opinion should be focused on improved editing tools… im sure steinberg employees who work with cubase also alot as musicians/editors can understands and see how improved 2017 new edit tools can be improved to do mass editing quicker and less clickable(sorry to refer all the time to S1,but seems they really nail it on editing tools and workflow)
Just to clarify the original post. I do use the range tool a lot and I dont think it need to be removed. On the contrary, I think it need to be merge with the object selection tool so we have access to it all the time without having to switch tools. I also use the modifiers and yes they are great. Coming from Ableton Live, it’s all about the key commands and being fast. Cubase on the other hand does not want to commit to a specific workflow that would be faster. Instead, it leaves us all the options (too many if you ask me) and we can make it our own but that is just not efficient. Again, just too many useless tools.
For the ones that still use the zoom tool, they are just a very small minority of hobbyiste that have not yet discovered the Ctrl key + Scroll or dont use key commands. They would learn and soon realize the obvious fact that it’s just an old 90’s paint tool that survived for the newbies to be able to zoom on things. My grandma does not use Cubase so just let it go.
If at least the range selection cool could be set as a hold instead of toggle modifier like the draw tool is. I could get use to that but why not just merge the tool with the object selection tool. It would be as simple as having the object selection tool’s square lasso snap to grid and voilà, you eliminate the need for a different tool that is the range selection tool.
Of course, aside from your grandma, there are many users out there who are not related to you, and it’s difficult for you to divine how they use the program.
(Also, maybe you should edit the title of your topic, since it doesn’t say what you mean, apparently. )
I love how simplified some peoples mines are based around their own perceptions of things. Like, I bet someone who has an arm missing feels very differently about the zoom tool.
Seriously, there are so many variables in the universe, and certainly so much to consider when designing a program for the diversity and variables of people - colour blind/visually impaired, physically impaired, people who work in film (last time I checked, Ableton doesn’t have very many film features), those who work solely with MIDI, those who work solely with recording audio, those who edit, those who don’t edit, those who do nothing but sound design working on 3 second samples, etc.
That’s what I like about Cubase is it’s ability to reach into every avenue, because I have many different work styles depending on the type of project, and I can tailor Cubase to the specific needs of each project.
Those mines, man. I love 'em.
Good spelling snipe, at least the ‘d’ and ‘e’ key are right next to each other so I can use that as an excuse.
For me, the benefit of this tread has been learning to use the range select and range editing functions better. 
I like the that Cubase has two different tools for range and for selecting.
I also recently make a lot of use of the Range Tool. I use it a lot with macros like Split Range, Crop Range, etc…
Since Macros are always unpredictable in Cubase, I did a lot of outsourcing to Autohotkey. What works best in my experience is: don’t use assigned hotkeys in Cubase to create these macros, but use WinMenuSelectItem. It reduces the amount of wrong executed commands to a minimum, if not completely. Also, put always a sleep command in between.
As for the default “Crop Range” function… I’m not quite happy with that one. Because if you want to cut out a small fragment from a longer MIDI part, all the events outside the part boundaries are kept AND notes that start a bit before the selection are not cut as in “Split Range”. I therefore created an AHK macro for that.
Trim Range.ahk (aka Crop Range, but named it differently to easily distinguish it from the default Cubase function)
SendInput, {2} ; select the range tool
Sleep, 50
KeyWait, MButton, D ; make your selection and press middle mouse button when done. then the commands below will be executed
WinMenuSelectItem, Cubase, , Edit, Range, Split
Sleep, 50
WinMenuSelectItem, Cubase, , Transport, Set Project Cursor Position, Locate Selection Start
Sleep, 50
SendInput, {1} ; when done, switch back to selection tool
Sleep, 50
SendInput, {NumpadAdd} ; nudge right a bit
Sleep, 50
WinMenuSelectItem, Cubase, , Edit, Select, Events under Cursor ; select the part that we want to keep
Sleep, 50
SendInput, {Left} ; select the trimmed part on the left
SendInput, {Delete} ; and delete it
SendInput, {Right} ; select the trimmed part on the right
SendInput, {Delete} ; and delete it
ExitApp
Return
Escape:: ; in case you executed that macro by accident, just hit ESC
SendInput, {1}
ExitApp
Return