General window techniques

Resizing

Adjustable headers in the Reason Essentials Song window.

Between each area in the Reason Essentials Song window are gray headers that separate the areas from each other. Some of the headers can be adjusted, making it possible to resize the areas. The horizontal dividers between the Main Mixer and Rack, and between the Rack and Sequencer can be adjusted, as well as the vertical dividers between the Browser and the other areas - and the divider to the left of the Rack Navigator in the Rack.

When you place the mouse pointer on these types of headers, the pointer changes to a double-arrow symbol. Clicking and dragging these headers makes it possible to resize the adjacent areas.

You can also click the circular button on the header of any of the areas to show/hide the corresponding area:

The Show/Hide buttons of the Rack and Sequencer areas.

Scrolling

Reason Essentials offers a few different options for scrolling in the different areas.

Scrolling with the Navigators and scrollbars

Navigators/scrollbars in a Reason Essentials Song window.

Whenever there is information “outside” the visible screen area, you may want to scroll to the desired destination. The Reason Essentials Song window features a number of Navigators that can be used for scrolling. Navigators are present in the Main Mixer, in the Rack and in the Sequencer.

The Main Mixer and the Sequencer have horizontal and vertical Navigators/scrollbars.

The Rack has only one Navigator which can be used for scrolling both vertically and horizontally (when using more than two rack columns next to each other). The Rack Navigator can also be resized by moving the vertical edge to the left of the Rack Navigator. Resizing the Rack Navigator will also resize the rack devices inside the Navigator, making them easier to distinguish.

To scroll with a Navigator, click anywhere inside the frame in the Navigator and drag the frame to the desired position.

As the pointer enters the frame, it automatically switches to a hand symbol.

Alternatively, click anywhere in the Navigator area to immediately jump to the desired position.

•	At high zoom values in the Sequencer, you can hold [Shift] and drag the Song Navigator frame to scroll with greater precision.

Scrolling with the Hand tool

Scrolling with the Hand tool in the Rack.

In the Rack and Sequencer, you can also use the Hand tool for scrolling the view.

1.	In the Rack, place the pointer on either of the wooden side panels of a rack column.

The pointer will switch to a hand symbol.

2.	Click and drag the rack vertically and/or horizontally to scroll in the rack, as shown in the picture above.

If you are using only a single rack column, it’s only possible to scroll vertically.

In the Sequencer you have to manually switch to the Hand Tool by selecting it from the sequencer Toolbar. With the Hand Tool selected, you can scroll in any direction on the Edit/Arrangement Pane. Refer to “Hand Tool” for more information.

Zooming in the Sequencer

In the Sequencer it’s possible to zoom in and out horizontally using the Song Navigator. You can also use the Magnifying Glass Tool on the Sequencer Toolbar to zoom vertically - see “Magnifying Glass Tool”. In addition to this, it’s also possible to set a zoom level for the audio recordings inside the Audio Clips.

See also “Scrolling and zooming using a wheel mouse”.

Zooming vertically in the Sequencer

To zoom in vertically in the Sequencer arrangement, and thus increase the Track height, click on the “+” magnification button at the bottom of the Track List:

Increase the Track height by clicking the + magnification button at the bottom of the Track List.

To zoom out vertically, click on the “-” magnification button.

•	When the Sequencer is in Edit Mode, individual vertical zoom controls become available.

Waveform Zoom Mode

Choose between three zoom modes for the audio recording(s) inside all Audio Clips.

Using the Small Waveform Zoom Mode is especially useful if you have recorded with the Clip Safe function (see “Recording using the Clip Safe function in Propellerhead Balance”) where the dynamic range can be quite wide.

The zoom modes only affect the visual presentation of the waveform, not the audio levels.

Zooming horizontally in the Sequencer

You can also zoom in and out horizontally in the Sequencer by using the Song Navigator.

To zoom in and out horizontally, click and drag a Song Navigator handle sideways.

The pointer changes to a double arrow symbol and you can now zoom in by resizing the Song Navigator Frame.

[Shift]-click on a Song Navigator handle and drag horizontally to zoom in and out symmetrically.

By right-clicking (Win) or [Ctrl]-clicking (Mac) inside the Song Navigator frame you can both scroll (drag sideways) and zoom (drag up or down) simultaneously.

Zooming to selection

Click the Zoom To Selection button or press [Z] to do one of two things:

Zoom horizontally to fit the current selection (e.g. selected clips in the arrangement).

Zoom out horizontally to “Show All”.

"Show All" happens if there is no selection, or if you are already zoomed in on the current selection (i.e. you can press Z repeatedly and go between zoomed in and zoomed out).

"Show All" means different things depending on the mode:

•	If you're in Song mode, Show All = from the first clip to the last in song.

•	If you're in Edit mode (with no open clip), Show All = all clips on this track.

•	If you're in an open clip, Show All = see the whole clip.

Scrolling and zooming using a wheel mouse

If you’re using a mouse equipped with a scroll wheel, this can be used for the following scrolling and zooming operations:

Scrolling in the Main Mixer with a wheel mouse

Spin the scroll wheel to scroll vertically in the Main Mixer.

Press [Shift] and spin the scroll wheel to scroll horizontally in the Main Mixer.

Scrolling in the Rack with a wheel mouse

Spin the scroll wheel to scroll vertically in the Rack.

Press [Shift] and spin the scroll wheel to scroll horizontally in the Rack.

Note that the Rack must have at least two rack columns next to each other for this to work.

Scrolling in the Sequencer with a wheel mouse

Spin the scroll wheel to scroll vertically on the Edit/Arrangement Pane.

Press [Shift] and spin the scroll wheel to scroll horizontally on the Edit/Arrangement Pane.

Note that scrolling horizontally cannot be done when the Song Navigator frame is fully expanded.

Zooming in the Sequencer with a wheel mouse

Press [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and spin the scroll wheel to zoom in and out vertically on the Edit/Arrangement Pane.

Press [Ctrl]+[Shift](Win) or [Cmd]+[Shift](Mac) and spin the scroll wheel to zoom in and out horizontally on the Edit/Arrangement Pane.