Reference Guide

856
Mixing
Organizing plug-ins
To replace effects bin contents with an FX Chain preset
Hold down the ALT key while you drag an FX Chain preset to an effects bin. The effects bin is
cleared and replaced with the FX Chain container.
To replace the effects bin content and automatically extract the plug-ins from the FX Chain preset,
hold down ALT+SHIFT while you drag an FX Chain preset to an effects bin.
To move plug-ins between FX Chain containers
1. Open the FX Chain container that contains the plug-in you want to move to another FX Chain
container.
2. Drag the plug-in to the target FX Chain container. If closed, the target FX Chain container will
open automatically when you point to it during the drag operation.
You can drag individual plug-ins and effects chains between track and clip effects bins.
To automate FX Chain plug-ins
Effects in an FX Chain bin can be automated just like other effects in an effects bin. Parameter
names for plug-ins that reside within an Effect Chain container are listed in submenu's prefixed by
the associated FX Chain name.
For information about automating effects, see “Automating effects” on page 965.
See:
“Effects chains” on page 852
“Audio effects (audio plug-ins)” on page 772
Organizing plug-ins
Once you have more than a few plug-in effects and/or soft synths installed on your computer, you
might want to organize the way they appear in the various plug-in and synth menus that you use.
The Cakewalk Plug-in Manager is a powerful tool to organize your plug-in menus. Open the Plug-in
Manager by using the Utilities > Cakewalk Plug-in Manager command, and display the Plug-in
Manager’s help file by pressing F1.
Even if you don’t use the Plug-in Manager, SONAR now automatically organizes all DX and VST
plug-ins into a default plug-in menu layout called Default – All Plug-ins. If you select the Plug-in
Layouts > Manage Layouts option from a plug-in menu, the Plug-in Manager opens and
automatically populates the Plug-in Layout area with the Default Layout, which produces a solid
starting point for customizing layouts.
VST plug-ins are organized in menus according to the file folder structure in which they reside on
your hard disk.
Tip: To copy plug-ins instead of moving them, hold down the CTRL key while you drag the plug-in to
another effects bin.