Questions & Answers

Ability to drag or move the playhead with mouse.

+66 votes
3,235 views
asked Mar 22, 2019 in Editing by jesusking1 (600 points)
retagged Mar 25, 2019 by jesusking1
When I first opened Studio One I was extremely confused by the fact that I can't drag the playhead.

The fact that there is no way to drag the playhead is a dealbreaker for me.

Small/micro edits, detailed arrangement & placement of sounds or dialogue editing require precise playhead placement.

But clicking is never as precise as dragging.

If there is a way to drag or move the playhead with the mouse please let me know.

17 Answers

+5 votes
answered Mar 3, 2020 by Gregor Beyerle (5,660 points)
 
Best answer

Thank you for the feature request. 

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+13 votes
answered Mar 25, 2019 by jesusking1 (600 points)
Don't know why my request was downvoted. I think this would a great feature as it makes it a lot easier for people coming from ProTools and Logic. Or make it an option instead of the default behaviour.
–1 vote
answered Mar 26, 2019 by sasarajak (2,800 points)
What is the playhead??

P.S. some people keep downvoting for no reason, I have noticed that too
+12 votes
answered Mar 2, 2020 by keithshapiro (360 points)
I can't believe this isn't a feature either. Makes no sense
+1 vote
answered Mar 8, 2020 by pellefridell (5,050 points)
Hi!

There is a fantastic keycommand in S1 called "Locate Mouse Position" that moves playhead to the mouse position.

I have mapped this to shift-spacebar.

If locating precisely in an audiofile I use tap to transients (tab)

Hoping this can help :-)

Best,

Pelle
+7 votes
answered Mar 22, 2020 by steveblaque (280 points)
My answer is an opine because like the initial response this is a deal breaker...ableton/logic/cubase all have. I’m finding it almost counter intuitive and impossible to work without the mouse being able to locate the playhead....it’s a workaround that will cost. While just about everything else is whiz bang with 4,5 this is a real sore tooth....only now 2 days after getting started am I realizing there is no hope of being able to drag the playhead.....let’s say it ain’t a deal maker.
+9 votes
answered Jun 4, 2020 by davidservello (660 points)
This really needs to be a feature. I was about to purchase this software yesterday, but once I discovered that I could not drag the play head around to get an actual visual feeling of where the playhead is in relation to the audio, I decided against this. This is such a basic feature. There is not one audio or video software for that matter that doesn't have some sort of playhead which is manipulate-able by dragging. Logic, Ableton, Cubase, Reason can all do this.... dating back to many many years ago. Then in the video world.... Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, ect ect all have draggable playheads and makes these programs easy to operate.  I noticed that there was a comment which suggested that I can grab the seconds and frame numbers at the bottom in the transport and drag them to move the playhead. But that is not very user friendly nor does it make sense. The user would want their cursor close to where the waveform event is because it provides more accuracy and is simply faster and provides better tactile feedback. This is really quite an annoying thing that they don't have this.
+5 votes
answered Jul 10, 2020 by abhijeetdharane (780 points)
Need this feature badly... I do dubbing for short films and lack of this feature is the only reason I have to use Adobe Audition for this purpose.
+4 votes
answered Jul 20, 2020 by scottwhitlow (390 points)
I was really hoping to see this in version 5. It is tough coming from another daw without a playhead that you can click and drag. Perhaps this is just a “fundamental” difference with Studio One and they are just wanting us to learn their way? I’m not sure. But, if anything, this should be considered as an option for users as it was one of the first things that tripped me up and caused me to continue to look for another daw for another year.
+1 vote
answered Jul 27, 2020 by emilepandolfi (340 points)

am new to Studio one also. Could not believe you couldn't drag the playhead. But (hunt and punch) I found out that you CAN!!!! I don't know why I have been unable to find this answer. Apparently it's a deep dark secret:

Menu Bar/Studio One /Preferences/Advanced/Editing/

Check "Enable crosshair cursor for tools" (This lets you drag the cursor and then click at the location, but it can be annoying 'cause it's there all the time)

ALSO Check "Locate when clicked in empty space"  (This lets you locate the cursor in empty space without having to go to the top bar)

(EXPERIMENT WITH BOTH OF THESE CHECKED    AND    EITHER ONE BY ITSELF)

That handled it for me.

related to an answer for: Ability to drag or move the playhead with mouse.

  

1 Answer

0votes

answered Jul 26 by emilepandolfi (160 points)

(I have been using ProTools before this).   On further experimentation, I realized that you have to be using the range tool for the dragging crosshairs to work. If you use the arrow tool (or combination) the timeline cursor won't drag, but you can still move it and click it at the new location. So that may be a choice for some. 

With the arrow tool, you have to hold down Cmd (Mac) to get the crosshairs to show up and drag. 

I suggest you play with it till you find something that is workable for you.

+4 votes
answered May 13, 2021 by gergelygalgoczi (550 points)
Any update on this one? @PresonusTeam, it would be a nice addition!
+5 votes
answered Aug 18, 2021 by taylorscott2 (4,240 points)
Bump. PreSonus please give us this!!
+4 votes
answered Nov 4, 2021 by ben67 (2,210 points)
I love many things about Studio One but I truly HATE the way we're forced to google the basics. It wastes time which is infuriating, and creates the wrong frame of mind.

We want to learn the cool stuff. Not how to move the playhead, or why by default, the mute and solo buttons don't sync between the track and mixer, or why there's no Zoom to fit. Hell, CMD+SHIFT+S for 'Save as' doesn't even exist by default on a Mac.

These aren't improvements and don't make S1 cool or unique, they're a PTA. This is basic DAW UX, get on board and implement established DAW and OS conventions. Yes, seriously, do it now!
+1 vote
answered May 29, 2022 by lukesand (180 points)
How can you not have this feature? This is absolutely crazy when thinking how many people are coming to Studio One from different DAWs! You are losing money as this ''most basic'' feature is MISSING.
+1 vote
answered Jul 7, 2022 by fundamena (260 points)
Would love to see this too. I'm currently trying to switch DAWs from Reason to Studio One and it proves to be more difficult than it should be. Not being able to drag the playhead is really counter-intuitive and makes the workflow in-efficient.
0 votes
answered Nov 24, 2022 by princeagrawal (13,710 points)
Yes, pretty please. Do it already Presonus.
0 votes
answered Oct 3, 2023 by KevinFitzpatrick9363 (260 points)

Agreed, this is a super pain in the rear.  It's common knowledge, grab the playhead and drag it exactly where you want it.  frown

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