Macro help: Expand and set up standard MIDI automation on a track in one go!

[Ed_Shearmur]

I realize this is a tall order, but I spend so much time doing this it would be super helpful to have a macro to do this task.

I have an Instrument or MIDI track selected, and with a keyboard shortcut, I wish to:

1. Show automation (Volume or CC7 is usually the first CC shown)
2. Add 4 more automation lanes for Modulation (CC1), Expression (CC11), Articulation (CC32), and Reverb (CC79).
3. I wish to size these 5 automation lanes to 5 rows high.

Any ideas from you good people out there? I can’t figure out how to accomplish steps 2 and 3 using Project Logical Editor.

Doing the following in PLE

doesn’t only zoom the selected track, but zooms ALL tracks.

Thanks!

[Ed_Shearmur]

Bump! Any ideas anyone?

[raino]

I think the Zoom command you are using is the Key Command for the Track Height menu items in the lower right of the Project Window. Those set the basic height for all the Tracks independent of which Tracks are Selected.

Selected Tracks maintain their own unique height setting that is independent from any unselected Tracks. That’s why when you select a Track in the Project Window it will change height. I don’t know if there are any Key Commands to set the height of Selected Tracks - a quick look didn’t turn up anything obvious. Once you deselect the Track it should resize to the default Track Height you are setting in the PLE.

[cubic13]

A clumsy suggestion that maybe could help, as I don’t see how the PLE will be of any help for your inquiry anyway…

• On the involved MIDI/Instrument track, if there isn’t any, create a “dummy” part with the pencil tool.
• [double-click] on it to open the Key Editor
• If no controller lanes are visible, use the Controller Lane Setup menu and the Show/Hide Controller lanes option.

• Set all the different controller lanes as wanted.
• Using again the Controller Lane Setup menu, create a preset with the Add preset… option.
• Close the Key Editor.

After this go in the Edit > Key Commands window and create a Macro that will contain the following commands :

Explanation : when creating a controller lanes setup preset, and if there isn’t any one already existing, it will be available as a key command with the MIDI > Controller lane Setup 1. Otherwise, we have to adjust the preset number accordingly (up to 16). This macro applies the Controllers as wanted in the Key Editor. We then can draw or record the CC needed.

At a second stage, another macro needs to be created to make the MIDI CC extraction and display in the correct size the automation lanes :

Known limitations :

• The second macro will fully work only if the key editor (or any other window having focus, I guess, something to test…) is closed and you are in the arrange view. Otherwise, only the extraction will occur.
• If you need more or less CC lanes, you’ll have to add/remove instance(s) of both Navigate - Add Down and Zoom - Zoom in Tracks commands in the macro, accordingly.

Beside this, I have tried to use the Zoom preset 1 → 5 key commands for your need, after creating a Zoom preset : sadly, it doesn’t work, at least, on my end, and I’m still trying to figure out how to affect a user created zoom preset to these. Overall, your inquiry show all the limitations of Cubase PLE/Macro implementation, IMO.

So, the whole thing is not perfect, but maybe it could help, somehow. Just hope that someone will find a more efficient way of doing…

Alternately, and if you need to record the CC messages in “real time”, you can use the MIDI Controller Automation Setup window. In the Record destination column, changing it to Automation Track for the involved CC numbers allows you to make appear the automation lanes directly while recording, provided that you have activated the Write button in the track header.

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EDIT : changed the whole process, with two macros instead of one…

[ggmanestraki]

@cubic13, great workaround!

I think “Zoom In Tracks” works for selected tracks too, increasing them in vertical size one row at a time.

[cubic13]

You’re right, it works, at least when using a key command directly (out of any macro) : I forgot that one. Now, the problem is to know at which vertical zoom level is the involved track when starting the macro…

[ggmanestraki]

@cubic13

Now, the problem is to know at which vertical zoom level is the involved track when starting the macro…

That’s a tough one. Either we act on all the tracks with Zoom Tracks 2 rows and then throw another 3 Zoom In Tracks (if the tracks are already selected), or we do 6 Zoom Out Tracks (hoping that the maximum the user would go is 5 rows, so 4, 3, 2, 1, minimal, and one more for good measure ), followed by 5 Zoom In Tracks (so that we get to a 5-row zoom).

Or two commands! One for the CC to Automation setup, and another one for the zoom. (In the sense that having the ability to quickly change the height of any selected track(s) to 4 or 5 rows is a good command, regardless of circumstances, so it’s a good command on its own.)

[cubic13]

I edited my first post, as actually, the macro was rather buggy…

Actually, we need two macros for this to more or less work reliably : one to set up the CC lanes, which allows to edit the involved lanes afterwards, and another one to make the automation lanes appearing with the right height. In this case, The Zoom > Zoom Track Exclusive command is our friend, here, if applied twice, as well as the Navigate > Add Down (Shift + ▼ ) one.

Much better than the previous one, I think. By the way, thanks for having pointed me to the MIDI Controller Automation Setup window : I never realized until now that we can record CC messages to automation lanes directly, using the Write button on the track header : one day or another, I’ll use that one…

[Ed_Shearmur]

Thank you so so much @raino @ggmanestraki and @cubic13 for your valuable contributions and @ggmanestraki for devising that solution. I think it will do the trick for the moment! Really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy days to help me.