Ableton Forum

Hi there

In arrangement view, I sometimes struggle to right-click and insert midi clip

Sometimes highlighting a few bars of a midi track and right clicking produces the option Insert Midi Clip
And sometimes.... it doesn't.

Why not?

I have tried to understand the pattern, but it seems to elude me. It seems to happen irrespective of when a track is 'open' or not.

Am I missing something really obvious?

On a channel lane, when there Is a clip set there, you have two places to click which will yield different results.

Right clicking the colored bar of the clip shows some options.

Right clicking the waveform part shows others.

Try keeping this in mind when making midi clips, even though there is no visible clip yet. See if you can get consistent results.

Good luck!

I've noticed that too but I've found that, after highlighting a section, using the shortcut (CTRL SHIFT M on PC) works every time

yur2die4 wrote:On a channel lane, when there Is a clip set there, you have two places to click which will yield different results.

Right clicking the colored bar of the clip shows some options.

Right clicking the waveform part shows others.

Try keeping this in mind when making midi clips, even though there is no visible clip yet. See if you can get consistent results.

Good luck!

I have no idea what you mean. On a midi clip there is not waveform part. I am talking about clicking in an empty midi track. Sometimes it allows me to create a midi clip on right-click, sometimes not.

@ biestyboy - Ctrl-shift-m/ command-shift m can work, but it means using both mouse and keyboard. Funken?

Drag an audio clip into arrangement view.

Then look at that audio clip with that channel unfolded.

When you look at that clip, you will see a colored bar of the clip as the title, on the top portion of that clip.

The lower portion of that clip shows a waveform for that clip.

Clicking on either that bar, or the waveform, will give you slightly different options for context menus.

The same goes for midi, and for when there are no clips.


Also, I'm assuming that you are doing this, but make sure you have highlighted a certain amount of bars/time before right clicking.

Well I am talking about an empty midi track, highlighting a couple of bars, and wanting to insert a clip into those two bars. I know that clicking on different parts of an existing midi clip generates different options, but that's not the scenario that I am concerned about. I am concerned about creating a midi clip where there ain't none, and I want to do it with a right click (rather than with keyboard, or with the menu options_)

My experience is that sometimes I get the option.... and sometimes I don't.
And where I click in the empty and highlit space does not seem to make a difference.

I can't seem to understand why this is so or under what conditions the option does not appear. THough I do seem to think that it is mostly on PC, not Mac, where the problem arises.

I am trying to understand why this happens.

Has anyone else had the same experience?

I'm quite new to Live and I just discovered this problem. Sorry for bumping this old thread, but running the latest version of Live I am still affected. Anyone have more ideas?

Edit: Oh, gotcha! I was a little too quick to post, cause I found the reason the second after. To reproduce the problem, make a selection in an empty midi track. Right-click in the selection somewhere in the bottom of this selection. The context menu will not have the insert midi clip option. However, if you right-click just in the top of the selection, then voila!

I've also noticed this, and think it has something to do with what automation parameter is showing in the track. If there's no parameter selected & you right click, you get the 'Insert MIDI clip' option. If there *is* some parameter selected in the automation drop down box for the track, you get no 'Insert MIDI clip' option. I have no idea why this is the case or whether there are other factors at play, but if you set that box to 'None' and right click, I bet you get the option every time. This is one of the reasons I wish you could hide all automation related stuff until you want to/are ready to work with it.

Trying to click in the right bit of an empty track without a visual guide isn't great so I'd definitely go the cmd+shift+M/ctrl+shift+M route. Key commands generally make your life easier anyway.

Creating MIDI clips in arrangement view is one of the few things I wish was different in Live. I didn't even know there was a right-click option, and that it's only visible without automation.

I would love to see this implemented instead: SUG-2297: Double-click to create MIDI clips in arrangement view

Johey wrote:
Edit: Oh, gotcha! I was a little too quick to post, cause I found the reason the second after. To reproduce the problem, make a selection in an empty midi track. Right-click in the selection somewhere in the bottom of this selection. The context menu will not have the insert midi clip option. However, if you right-click just in the top of the selection, then voila!

THANK YOU!
I was with the OP on this one, for the life of me I couldn't figure out why "insert midi clip" would sometimes appear and sometimes it wouldn't. Driving me mental!!!

Thanks for this answer. You basically have to visualize the clip already being there and right clicking where the top colour portion would be. That's when the option appears.

Mr.Morton wrote:

Johey wrote:
Edit: Oh, gotcha! I was a little too quick to post, cause I found the reason the second after. To reproduce the problem, make a selection in an empty midi track. Right-click in the selection somewhere in the bottom of this selection. The context menu will not have the insert midi clip option. However, if you right-click just in the top of the selection, then voila!

THANK YOU!
I was with the OP on this one, for the life of me I couldn't figure out why "insert midi clip" would sometimes appear and sometimes it wouldn't. Driving me mental!!!

Thanks for this answer. You basically have to visualize the clip already being there and right clicking where the top colour portion would be. That's when the option appears.

Wow lol hahaha that was driving me nuts for years so i set and forget it with CTRL+SHIFT+M but it's good to know that someone spotted.

The fact that some of us head same problem should tell Ableton that they made bed decision about this. I agree double click in selection should do it or at least not forcing "top portion"...whatever glad i was not mad because i thought i was. Sometimes "insert MIDI clip" was there upon right click, sometimes not.

Thanks..

Btw i noticed one thing. On empty midi tracks it does not matter where you click. Top portion of a track only matters for VST instruments channels. Imo bad workflow decision.

1-press win key in you keyboard
2-type mouse setting (additonal mouse setting )(mouse peroperties
3-tab button
4-double click speed (change pointer to normal ) setting 50 %
5-apply
6-ok
7-mission done
and you have any quostion send message to my instagram @m_e110