This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Task: Adjusting Track Time and Height
In this task, you'll have a chance to zoom around a large project.
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Open the file called BigProject.acd which can be found in the Hour 3 Samples folder on the CD-ROM that accompanies this book.
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Use the vertical scrollbar to scroll down through all 36 tracks. Use the horizontal scrollbar to scroll to the right. Click at the end of the very last event in the project to move the project cursor there. In the Time Display, you can see that the project is 919 measures long and takes 30 minutes, 34 seconds, and 4 ticks to play. Now try this shortcut: Hold down the Ctrl key and press the Home key. Presto! The project cursor jumps back to the beginning of the timeline.
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If you can't see track 1, use the vertical scrollbar to adjust the timeline view so that you can see it. Triple-click the Zoom tool. You are now zoomed out as far you'll ever get. You can see the entire length of the project, all the way to measure 919. But you still can't see all the tracks. How many you see depends on the size of your monitor, your Windows Properties settings, and the depth of the Track View area. Still, you can see quite a bit of the project to get an overall picture of what's going on.
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To fill the screen with the timeline so that you can see more of your project, press Alt+tilde (~) to hide the Window Docking area and expand the Track View to show more tracks. Press Ctrl+Alt+tilde to hide both the Window Docking area and the Track List, filling both vacancies with more of the timeline. Press the key combinations again to restore ACID to its normal configuration.
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Move the mouse over the Track View area and notice that it is shaped like a magnifying glass. Starting at bar 1, click and drag down to track 5 and over to around bar 120. (You don't have to be exact here; just get as close as you can.) As you drag, notice that a dotted rectangle starts to draw. Release the mouse button and notice that you are now zoomed in to the portion of the project outlined by the rectangle. Also notice that the mouse cursor changed back to the Draw tool.
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Place the cursor somewhere around bar 30 and click the Zoom In Time button three times. Notice that each time you click the button, you zoom in at the cursor position.
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Press the up arrow on your keyboard three times. Notice that this does the same thing as step 6—it zooms in, using the cursor position as the zoom anchor point.
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Click the Zoom Out Time button a few times and then press the down arrow on your keyboard a few times. Notice that both these actions have the same effect—you zoom out of the cursor position.
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Click the Zoom In Track Height button a few times. Notice that you now see fewer tracks. Press Ctrl+Shift+up arrow to get the same results.
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Click the Zoom Out Track Height button a few times and then press Ctrl+Shift+down arrow. Both actions reduce the track height so that you can fit more tracks into the view.
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Double-click the horizontal scrollbar. You're back out to the big picture again. Now point to the right edge of the horizontal scrollbar and drag to the left. Notice that, as you drag, you zoom in to the project with the left edge of the timeline as the anchor point.
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Double-click the horizontal scrollbar and press the tilde key to get back to the big picture.
CAUTION
You don't have to bother playing this project (although you can if you insist). It is 30 minutes long, contains 36 tracks, and gets old fast. Use this project as a tool to explore the zooming functions.
TIP
Press the Home key to move the project cursor to the left edge of the Track View. Press the End key to move the project cursor to the right edge of the Track View. Press Ctrl+Home to send the project cursor to the beginning of the project (even if that location is not currently visible); press Ctrl+End to jump to the end of the project.