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Chapter 3 Arrange Window 111
Note: You can make a rhythmic MIDI Region play in “half-time” by stretching it to twice
the original length, or in “double-time” by shortening the length to half the original
length.
… to Adjust It to Fit Its Contents
The MIDI > Set Optimal Region Sizes function reduces or increases the length of a
Region, making it just large enough to contain the events (or Regions, if a Folder)
within it. The Region borders are rounded to the nearest bar.
Holding down Option when using this function rounds the borders to the nearest beat.
… to Adjust It to Fit Other Regions
The Region > Remove Overlaps function searches all selected Regions in a track for
overlaps. If an overlap is found, the earlier Region is reduced in length, thus removing
the overlap.
Using a Finer Grid
All of these operations (moving/copying, lengthening/shortening) snap to the bar or
beat grid, depending on the current resolution of the Bar Ruler, and the setting of the
zoom function. There are two ways to override the grid, allowing finer adjustments. All
you need to do is hold these keys during the particular operation:
• Display Format values as grid scale: Press Control during operation.
• No grid (ticks as grid scale): Press Control-Shift during operation.
Let’s say you want to shorten a Region in a 4/4 bar so that the “4” is played but not the
“4 and” of the last bar.
This can be done by following these steps:
1 Zoom the screen display until you can see quarter notes in the Bar Ruler.
2 Grab the bottom right corner of the Region, and move the mouse to the left, until the
Region is shortened by one quarter note.
3 Press (and hold) Control, and move the mouse carefully to the right, until the Region
has become one division longer. While you’re doing this, the help tag shows the Region
start position, track number, and the current length of the Region in bars, beats,
divisions, and ticks. The three right-hand numbers should be “3 1 0”.