I couldn’t find a way in Cubase to access the Menu Bar with the keyboard, it seems users have been asking for years n years.
So unless someone has way you can try this:
Here I just made this up you can try it, just install AutoHotKey
save this in notepad as Cubase LE AI Elements 9 Menu.ahk
run it and it will sit in the System tray as a green icon with a white H
It is set to use alt+home key will bring the file menu up you can change that to what you like.
The “ahk_class SmtgMain Cubase LE AI Elements 9” is the menu bar, you can change the name to your version of Cubase, or download the AHK Window ID app WindowAHK-ID x64.zipWindowAHK-ID x86.zip run it then click on the Menu Bar to get the win id.
If you don’t want to install AutoHotKey run the Window AHK ID and give me the Menu Bar ID and I will compile a standalone app that will send the mouse to the File Menu and click, let me know the hotkey you want.
If you let me know your version ID I will be able to make a complied app for each version.
AHK will also allow a GUI to be created that can be “Always On Top” this can have any number of functions and macros with the click of a button.
Here’s one made for band in a Box AHK-GUI-Fuctions-Macros.gif
; Only one instance running at a time
#SingleInstance force
; Cubase Menu
~Alt & Home::
Macro1:
WinActivate, ahk_class SmtgMain Cubase LE AI Elements 9
MouseClick, left, 50, 10, 1, 0
Return
I’m not sure if this is the same use case but as far as I know, there is a generic way how to reach any main menu item in Windows. Hold down Alt key. Specific letter of all menu items should be underlined. This is the key to press to open the menu. For example Alt+F to open File menu.
That’s what I thought as you see Firefox has the File so you use alt+f
someone said you can access them with alt-h (Help) then use the cursor arrows but that don’t seem to work.
All other apps show the underscore or show it when you hold alt.
9 ain’t got it either.
Thanks I missed that AHK function ! but it worked on all other apps I tried BUT Cubase.
I tried it on the menu bar ahk_class SmtgMain Cubase LE AI Elements 9
on the main app maximized ahk_class SteinbergWindowClass
and ahk_exe Cubase LE AI Elements 9.exe “WinMenuSelectItem() will only work on standard menus. Unfortunately, many menus in use today are actually custom written or toolbars “pretending” to be menus…”
I found a way to keep the VST window on top Keep VST Window “Always On Top”
That makes sense. I have my own Cubase shortcuts on alt+f, alt+e. Don’t want to trigger the main menu with them, have a lot more important workflow dependent actions on these shortcuts.
They obviously did that because they ran out of shortcuts, I’m not saying bring back the standard menu shortcuts but at least give us some way in the world to access the menu then use the cursor keys to navigate it.
You can also create your own floating menu that sits always on top and add whatever elements you need.
See this example also has alt key shortcuts that you can set with & “Menu MenuBar, Add, &File, :FileMenu”, just hit the alt key to see them.
These will work independently from Cubase but send functions/macros to Cubase. Biab-Menu-Clone-x64-x86.zip
