Quick Start Screen

Figure 620. Quick Start Screen.

A. Browse B. Installed app version C. App updates D. Create E. Local Projects F. Online Projects G. Demo Projects H. Notifications I. Product Updates J. Show at start K. Search L. Content 

The Quick Start Screen appears when you open Sonar. You can perform the following tasks from the Quick Start Screen:

Open recently accessed projects

Open an existing project

Create a new project from a template

Open demo projects

View notifications

Update the app and download optional content

View a changelog of what’s new in the latest version

 

See:

Showing the Quick Start Screen

Quick Start screen overview

Creating a new project from a template

Specifying the default project template

Opening a recent project

Removing a project from the recent projects list

Previewing a project

Opening an existing project

Opening a project in Safe Mode

Pinning a project or template

Downloading demo projects

Viewing notifications

Checking for product updates

Hiding the Quick Start Screen

Showing the Quick Start Screen

By default, the Quick Start Screen appears automatically when you open Sonar. To change the startup behavior, go to Edit > Preferences > Project and disable the Show Quick Start Screen at Launch option.

To open the Quick Start Screen any other time, do one of the following:

Select File > Quick Start Screen

Click the Sonar logo in the Control Bar.

 

Quick Start screen overview

The Quick Start screen contains the following tabs:

Create. Select a project template to get started. For details, see Templates.

Local Projects. Choose a recent song you've worked on.

Online Projects. Import a project from your online BandLab library. For details, see BandLab library import/export.

Demo Projects. Preview, download, and open demo projects. For details, see Downloading demo projects.

Notifications. Notifications inform you about updates, new content and more.

Product Updates. Update the app and install optional content. For details, see Checking for product updates.

Creating a new project from a template

1.	Select File > Quick Start Screen to open the Quick Start Screen.

2.	Click the Create tab to see a list of all project templates.

Click the template that you want to open.

Note: If want to specify project settings such as name, location, tempo, meter, recording bit depth and sample rate when starting a new project, go to File > New to select the project template.

 

See also:

Templates

Specifying the default project template

1.	Select File > New to open the New Project File dialog box.

2.	Under Template, select the template that you want to use as the default.

3.	Click Set as Default Template.

The default template is indicated by an asterisk.

The default template is used in the following situations:

When you launch Sonar while the On Startup Load Default Template global option is enabled in Edit > Preferences > File - Advanced.

When you press CTRL+N to start a new project.

Opening a recent project

1.	Select File > Quick Start Screen to open the Quick Start Screen.

2.	Click the Local Projects tab to see a list of recent projects.

3.	Click the project that you want to open.

For information about assigning a custom project image, see Using the Notes Browser.

 

See also:

Opening an existing project

Removing a project from the recent projects list

To remove a project from the Recent projects list on the Local Projects page, right-click the project and select Remove recent item <project name>.

Previewing a project

You can preview projects from the Quick Start screenif you have exported a designated preview file. The preview file may be any supported audio file type (Wave, BWF, MP3, FLAC, OGG, or WaveEX), and can be the entire project or a specific time range. For details, see Creating a project preview file.

To preview a project:

1.	Go to File > Quick Start Screen to open the Quick Start screen, then select Local Projects.

2.	Click the preview button on a project’s image. A preview button only appears if the project has a designated preview file

Opening an existing project

1.	Select File > Quick Start Screen to open the Quick Start Screen.

2.	Click the Local Projects tab to see a list of projects.

3.	Do one of the following:

Click the Recent / All toggle to show all local projects, then click the desired project.

Click the Browse button to open the Open Project dialog box, navigate to the project file you want to open, then click Open.

Note: The default browse folder is \Cakewalk Projects, but you can specify other favorite folders. To specify a custom default browse folder, click the Browse button drop-down arrow and select Add browse folder. The Browse button tooltip shows the selected folder path.

Opening a project in Safe Mode

A poorly behaved 3rd party plugin can cause data corruption and prevent a project from loading successfully.

Cakewalk Sonar has a special diagnostic mode called Safe Mode that allows you to skip loading individual plugins when opening a project.

You activate Safe Mode by holding down the SHIFT key while launching the app or opening a project.

When loading the app in Safe Mode, Sonar does not load the last project, even if Open Most Recent Project at Launch is enabled in the Preferences dialog box.

When loading a project in Safe Mode, Sonar prompts to load or skip each plugin that is used in the project.

If you are unable to load a project that uses 3rd party plugins, hold down the SHIFT key while loading the project. Cakewalk Sonar will prompt to load each individual plugin. Skip one plugin at a time until you identify and isolate any offending plugins. Remove the offending plugin(s) in the project, then resave the project.

Pinning a project or template

You can pin templates on the Create page and projects on the Local Projects page so they appear at the top of the list.

To pin or unpin an item, point to the project or template and click the pin icon .

Any pinned projects are shown first in the list, regardless of the project’s modified date.

A. Pinned B. Unpinned 

Downloading demo projects

To download demo projects:

1.	Select File > Quick Start Screen to open the Quick Start Screen.

2.	Click the Demo Projects tab to see a list of demo projects.

3.	Click the Download button for the demo project that you want to download. Downloaded demo projects are indicated by a check mark .

A. Icon (click to preview project) B. Project and author name C. Date published D. Project file size E. Download F. Downloaded indicator 

Viewing notifications

 

Note: An active Internet connection is required to view online notifications.

If your computer is connected to the internet, the Quick Start Screen shows important notifications from Cakewalk, such as Sonar updates and new product announcements, tips and tricks, new videos and blog posts, surveys, and special offers from Cakewalk, etc.

To view notifications:

1.	Select File > Quick Start Screen to open the Quick Start Screen.

2.	Click the Notifications tab.

Checking for product updates

To check for product updates:

1.	Select Help > Check for Updates to open the Quick Start screen’s Product Updates page.

2.	Click the Download button to download any updates or optional content.

Hiding the Quick Start Screen

To prevent the display of the Quick Start Screen:

1.	Use the Edit > Preferences command to open the Preferences dialog box, then click Customization - Display.

2.	Clear the Show Quick Start Screen check box.

3.	Click OK to close the dialog box and accept your changes.

The Quick Start Screen isn't displayed the next time you launch Sonar.

 

See:

Quick Start Screen