Please Add Macro and PLE command operation time delay commands/interjections

Cubase
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1

This has long been a request.

There are instances where commands/scripts don’t execute properly because of computer/function processing delays… scripts/command/functions can execute either too fast or too slow, resulting in commands in the execution queue being missed.

It makes it very difficult for the user to understand if it’s the macro/ple script that needs tweaking, or if the program is misfiring because of processing delays.

If there were operation delay elements that could be interjected, when I’m creating a macro/script, I would interject .5-1 second delays between every command to make sure it is correct, and then I would reduce those delay times to the minimum amount in which the macro/ple will operate consistently.

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  • Computer speed/power
  • Project size/number of folders/number of tracks
  • type of functions being executed
  • number of PLE→Macro→PLE chains

We either need time delay interjections, or some sort of command→function completion verification working in the background, where each command as verified completed before moving onto the next.

2

I remember running into timing issues with PLEs. In my case, the issues were resolved by not using pre/post commands in the PLE presets and moving those to a macro instead. As a result of my findings, I never use PLE pre/post commands. I can’t say that it is guaranteed to solve timing issues in all cases, but it might be worth a try.
Note however that I’m on Cubase 12 and don’t know if anything has behaviorally changed in this department since.

I personally don’t think adding a delay/pause/sleep type command for use in macros is the right fix. Instead, it should be ensured that commands in a macro always run sequentially. That is the user expectation when constructing a macro.

3

I agree, I’m just not sure that we can expect Steinberg to code in sequential confirmation for every function of the program. Not really sure how that works.

4

The amount of work and complexity for Steinberg to ensure proper, sequential execution of commands in a macro would depend on how many commands run in a different thread than the main one and does not have a return value that can be used to evaluate success. It’s anyone’s guess what that scope would be but it’s certainly not an insurmountable task.