DEVELOPER NOTES – SONAR X3 TOAST NOTIFICATIONS (UI Enhancement)

Introduction

With headline features such as comping and VST3 plugin support, it might be easy to overlook some of the more modest improvements in SONAR X3, which can nevertheless make a big difference to your workflow.

So, aside from the headline grabbers, what else has X3 got to offer?

Well, the user interface has had its fair share of attention too, and that’s what this article is about – highlighting an interesting new UI feature that might otherwise slip under the radar.

Let’s take a look at this simple, yet significant improvement, that’s designed to minimize unwanted interruptions.

Too much ‘dialog’?

As we all know, good software gets out of the way and lets you get on with what you do best. Sadly, it’s rarely that simple, particularly with large, fully featured applications like SONAR X3. Sooner or later, the software will need to draw your attention to something.

And it usually happens when you least want it to!

When you’re ‘in the zone’, there can be few things more irritating than unwanted popup messages. Messages that don’t simply distract you, but actually interrupt whatever you happen to be doing by demanding an immediate response. Such messages are usually referred to as ‘dialog boxes’ (on Windows at least), and the user must respond to them before being allowed to continue:

Some dialogs are necessary, important even (like the one above); but for all the useful, relevant questions an application might ask you, there are probably just as many you could do without!

The fact is, dialog boxes interrupt workflow, and should therefore be used sparingly.

So what to do? What if SONAR wants to draw your attention to something that might be important, but could just as easily be considered spam (depending on your point of view)? Why not let the user decide how urgent something is, and action it, or ignore it, as they see fit?

That’s where ‘toast notifications’ come in.

Anyone for toast?

When you start SONAR X3, you may notice (depending on your settings) something similar to this at the bottom right of the screen:

On first inspection it would appear that the VST Scanner has changed a lot in X3! Well, that’s not actually the VST Scanner.

It’s a ‘toast notification’. Continue reading “DEVELOPER NOTES – SONAR X3 TOAST NOTIFICATIONS (UI Enhancement)”

Developer Notes: SONAR X3 Comping

Introduction

SONAR X3 continues building on take lanes and goes into overdrive. We baked several ground breaking workflow enhancements including the new comp record mode, speed comping, integration with dim solo, rapid click audition and so much more.  In addition we integrated comping with the smart tool for improved workflow.

 

It all starts with the recording

The default in the normal template is a new comping record mode.  Simply record multiple takes and previous takes are muted with regions created for the new takes.

 

If you’d like to record with a classic mode instead Continue reading “Developer Notes: SONAR X3 Comping”

Developer Notes: SONAR X3 VST Enhancements

Introduction

SONAR X3 is packed with enhancements and updates to the VST engine, including a brand new VST scanner with industry leading automatic background scanning, support for the VST3 plugin format and an updated plugin browser that supports plugin categorization. Many of the changes apply equally to VST2 and VST3 plugins.

VST background scanning

Users of prior versions of SONAR and other DAW software will be familiar with the process of scanning for VST plugins when the application starts up. SONAR has always had a fast scanner that only scans what’s needed. X3 kicks this up several notches by introducing Continue reading “Developer Notes: SONAR X3 VST Enhancements”

Developer Notes: SONAR X3 ARA Integration

Background

It was back in 2005 that Cakewalk first added Roland V-Vocal to SONAR 5 for integrated audio stretching and pitch correction. While VVocal was an exceptional tool in its time and is still used by many for its ability to do fine editing of a vocal performance, the industry has advanced since then and companies like Celemony with their dedicated focus in this area have made great strides. A couple of years ago Celemony released their ARA SDK to integrate Melodyne integration into a DAW host application. Since VVocal’s integration in SONAR is similar in principle to what ARA does, it was natural for us to consider integrating ARA technology into SONAR.

 

What is ARA?

ARA (Audio Random Access) is a general protocol that allows host integration with any audio edit capable plugin such as Melodyne. Technically speaking ARA itself is not a plugin protocol. It is a protocol that allows the host and ARA capable plugin to transfer parameters and audio region data back and forth either offline or in realtime Continue reading “Developer Notes: SONAR X3 ARA Integration”