Playback - Play from Mouse and Solo (Hold/Release)
This group of actions works like a “walkie-talkie” audition key: hold the shortcut to start playback from the mouse cursor horizontal position and temporarily isolate the sound (hear only what is under the mouse); release the shortcut to stop playback and restore all states.
Common behavior:
- Hold: edit cursor jumps to the mouse horizontal position, playback starts, the corresponding isolation is applied, and the cursor becomes a speaker cursor.
- Release: playback stops, isolation is cancelled and playback state is restored — if it was playing before, it resumes; if paused, it returns to pause; if stopped, it stays stopped.
Variant Differences
| Action List display name | Isolation target | Isolation method |
|---|---|---|
| Playback - Play from Mouse and Solo Track (adaptive/hold shortcut key) | Track under mouse | Sets the track under the mouse to Solo. Fixed Lane track: only Solos the lane under the mouse (falls back to full-track Solo if that lane has no Items) |
| Playback - Play from Mouse and Solo Item - Compatible (adaptive/hold shortcut key) | Item under mouse | Solos the track containing the target Item and temporarily Mutes other Items on the same track to achieve “hear only this one”; straightforward logic with best compatibility |
| Playback - Play from Mouse and Solo Item - Recommendation (adaptive/hold shortcut key) | Item under mouse | Selects the target Item and calls REAPER’s native Play (solo selected items); isolation is left to the native mechanism, lighter and snappier |
Selected or Not
- Target already selected → isolate / hear all selected tracks (or Items).
- Target not selected → isolate / hear only that one; the two Item variants temporarily make it the only selection and restore your original selection on release.
Additional Fallback Rules for the Two Item Variants
- Mouse is over a track but no Item → automatically degrades to Solo Track behavior (solo one or many depending on selection).
- When the mouse is over a Mirror (Workflow Folder mirror) Item, it is not treated as an Item; falls back to track-based handling.
- Compatible variant: when the mouse is over a Fixed Lane track, Solos the lane containing the target Item.
- Recommendation variant: if the target Item or its track is currently Muted, it is temporarily unmuted so you can hear it; restored on release.
Compatible vs Recommendation
Both are “hear the Item under the mouse”; the difference is only the isolation method:
- Recommendation uses REAPER’s native “play only selected Items” mechanism, lighter and snappier.
- Compatible manually Mutes other Items on the same track to isolate, straightforward logic that works in all kinds of projects.
Prefer the Recommendation variant; switch to Compatible if behavior is off.
Notes
- Mouse must be inside the Arrange view (does not trigger over the track control area, Mixer, or ruler).
- Does not trigger if there is no track under the mouse.
- Does not trigger while recording.
- After release, all Solo / Mute / playback states are automatically restored; the whole process leaves no trace in the Undo history (you won’t see it with Ctrl+Z).