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Reaper will NOT copy selected area of items

W

WannaJazz

Supporting Member
May 7, 2010
556
166
#1
I have tried following the directions found online, this command, among other things absolutely does not work!

Of course, the first thing everyone is going to say, is go to the reaper forum.

Their replies might as well be written in Chinese.

I told them that I don't know Reaperspeak.

English is my only language.

I made markers at the beginning and end of the part of the track that I want to save.

I highlighted the section, and right clicked, and chose Copy Selected Area of Items.

It copies the whole track every time!

Does anyone know a way to work around this issue?
 
#2
I don’t know much about Reaper, but if it’s anything like every DAW I’ve ever used, I have a suspicion about what might be happening.

Are there multiple regions of audio on the track, or just one continuous region (like one unedited recording)?

If it’s one region, you’ll have to cut it into pieces first, at the points where you set the markers.
 
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#3
I tried Reaper and had to give up on it because I simply could not figure out the user interface regardless of how many help articles I read or videos I watched. It just didn't behave the way described, I could not even get it to do the simplest editing tasks. Worst UI ever.
 
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#4
This is kinda funny.

Bismarck Herring, yes it is one unedited recording.

Cutting it into pieces is exactly the issue that will not work!!

bholder, your experience matches mine exactly!!

And I still don't have an answer.

Thanks anyway, guys!
 
#5
I think you are confusing some nomenclature and using the wrong copy option.

These options come up when right-clicking in a track:

Copy items - An item is the area of a track between splits in the track (or the complete track if there are no splits. Splits are created by clicking where you want the split, which puts the cursor at that point, then right-clicking and choosing "Split item at cursor." You can also create a split by putting the cursor where you want to split and simply hitting the "s" key.

Copy selected area of items - A selected area is created when you click and drag on the timeline and the selection is highlighted. This works within an item in the track. There is no need to create splits.

Markers are basically just for reference or jump points. They have nothing to do with editing a track.

I hope this helps.

I don't find Reaper to be that hard. However, it was my first serious DAW, so I didn't have much to unlearn from other DAWs. There are a lot of good Reaper tutorials on Youtube, especial on channel "Reaper Mania" by Kenny Gioia.
 
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#6
Actually, I did exactly as you suggest.

And it isn't working.

When Reaper is functioning properly, I find it easy to use also.

However, when Reaper is malfunctioning as it is now. I can't use it at all.

The tutorials, whether Kenny Gioia, or whoever, do not apply when something is amiss.
 
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#9
WannaJazz said:
I have tried following the directions found online, this command, among other things absolutely does not work!

Of course, the first thing everyone is going to say, is go to the reaper forum.

Their replies might as well be written in Chinese.

I told them that I don't know Reaperspeak.

English is my only language.

I made markers at the beginning and end of the part of the track that I want to save.

I highlighted the section, and right clicked, and chose Copy Selected Area of Items.

It copies the whole track every time!

Does anyone know a way to work around this issue?
Click to expand...
I just split the tracks where I want to copy. It's simple, and works everytime...in two clicks.
 
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#10
WannaJazz said:
I have tried following the directions found online, this command, among other things absolutely does not work!

Of course, the first thing everyone is going to say, is go to the reaper forum.

Their replies might as well be written in Chinese.

I told them that I don't know Reaperspeak.

English is my only language.

I made markers at the beginning and end of the part of the track that I want to save.

I highlighted the section, and right clicked, and chose Copy Selected Area of Items.

It copies the whole track every time!

Does anyone know a way to work around this issue?
Click to expand...

Markers are just that. Markers. You need to define your regions. Then you can copy them
 
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#12
"Copy selected area of selected items" works without regard to markers.

Highlight the area you wish in the timeline.
Select the tracks you wish include the copy selection (holding control for multiple tracks).
Right click and select Copy Selected area Of Selected Items
Now you can paste after you select a new cursor position.

Your comments about Reaperspeak or accusing it of malfunctioning make you sound like an ignorant hick. In sure you aren't one though.
 
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#13
I've used Reaper quite a bit. It's a very good DAW but it also has a very steep learning curve compared to many other DAWs. It's certainly a lot less intuitive than say Cubase. I was never comfortable with Reaper's default setup. I had to spend a lot of time tweaking the setup before I was happy with the workflow. And even then I still prefer Cubase. The problem is of course that a version of Cubase where the maximum track number isn't limited to the point of being useless (for my needs) will cost about 5 times as much as Reaper. A FULL version of Cubase will cost about 10 times as much as Reaper!

So I stick with Reaper. It may not be perfect but it's the best value DAW out there IMO. If you want something better you can always pay $600 for an "industry standard" DAW instead.
 
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#14
Reaper has always felt like a "military spec" UI to me. It's not geared towards being aesthetically-pleasing or streamlined, kind of allows you to do several functions and that's about it. I learned it way back when (got it since it was inexpensive) and have just stuck with it since. Probably going to look elsewhere when the time comes to jump in again.
 
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#16
pro tools started by trying to bring a semi-friendly version of new tech to a market of deep-into-analog folks, and the DAW was conceived to be somewhat friendly in a new universe, and it has remained friendly to that vibe. reaper is "unfriendly" to me just because of my long association with pro tools, however, in certain respects, i find that it's much less finicky (sensitive?) compared to other DAWs and i use it regularly, but way less frequently than pro tools. i don't care for the UI at all, and i find it's midi stuff baffling, but it is what it is. i'm glad i have it at the ready.
 
#17
DAWs are complex pieces of software that are frequently 'less-than-intuitive'! Luckily, they often come with handy 4000-page manuals for us to study. "First World Problems"? :woot:

I've been using MixBus for years (a commercial port of Ardour) and in the past six version upgrades it has had its share of glitches. And I have a list of feature requests I would like to see implemented... But nothing is perfect (I have tried pretty much every DAW made since the late 80s...) :bassist:
 
#18
Go to the beginning marker and hit S. Then go to the ending marker and hit S. That will split the selection. Once you have the split, you can select THAT and copy it and paste it elsewhere.

I’ve spent so many hours with Reaper. You can easily get lost. But the main thing is that your tracks are objects, so splits are needed if you want to delve within an object. It’s the exact opposite to how a forensic audio editor (like Audacity) works.
 
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#19
agree that splitting the region at the points you want to copy between makes it a snap. you can control click and drag to copy a selected region to a new place. only caveat is to check the split regions -- Reaper will put a little fade-out / fade-in on splits. depending on your song and how exposed this particular track is, it may become audible. once you've done the copy, you can make those fade-out / fade-in spots into crossfades by making the regions overlap a little.

also, there's a forum for Recording Gear and Equipment, not that you didn't get timely replies here.
https://www.talkbass.com/forums/recording-gear-and-equipment-bg.43/
 
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#20
perfektspace6 said:
Reaper can be a little finicky but I have not had problems selecting a section of a song or track and copying or cutting. It can't be beat for the cost but isn't the most user friendly.

Sounds like you figured it out.
Click to expand...
I don't understand this.. Reaper is highy flexible and extremely capable. I have never had issues figuring it out. Certainly no more difficult than any other DAW
 

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