Using Drag Modes

Logic Pro provides several drag modes that determine the behavior of regions when you edit them. You can set the drag mode in the Drag pop-up menu, available in the Arrange area and several other editors.

Note: The Drag pop-up menu options discussed in this section refer to regions. The behaviors outlined below (for regions) are identical for dragged events in the editor windows. The Drag pop-up menu setting of the Arrange area and each editor window is independent.

To change the drag mode
  • Choose one of the following settings from the Drag pop-up menu (at the top of the Arrange area):

    Figure. Arrange area showing the Drag pop-up menu.
    • Overlap: Allows you to drag one region over another, while preserving the original region borders. This is the default setting.
    • No Overlap: Shortens the region positioned earlier on the track by the overlap length. Use in situations where you don’t want regions to overlap.
    • X-Fade: Crossfades two regions when they are moved to an overlapping position.

      Note: This setting works for audio regions and Apple Loops audio regions, but not for MIDI regions or software instrument Apple Loops regions.

    • Shuffle R and Shuffle L: Aligns regions (to the right or left, respectively) when you move, resize, or delete them.
      • When you use Shuffle R (or Shuffle L), moving a region to the right (or left) aligns the region end point with the start point of the following region, ensuring that there is no space between the two regions.

      • Regions that are dragged over each other swap positions.

      • When deleting regions, the remaining regions (those to the left or right of the deleted region) are moved to the left or to the right by the length of the deleted region.

      • If a region is stretched or shortened when either Shuffle option is active, the other regions on the track are moved to accommodate the new length.

      • In Shuffle R mode, the left side of the region is stretched or shortened, and the regions to the left of the edited region are moved. The regions that precede the edited region can only be moved as far as the project start point. If the stretching of a region results in preceding regions being forced to the project start point, and exceeding the space available, the edited region overlaps the existing content.

      • In Shuffle L mode, the right side of the region is stretched or shortened, and the regions to the right of the edited region are moved.

Note: Only one audio region can be played at a time through a track’s channel strip. When two audio regions overlap each other on a track, the later region has priority.