How to open Project in Safe Mode?

Sometimes, third-party plugins can behave unexpectedly, causing project files to fail to load or even become corrupted. To help troubleshoot these issues, Cakewalk Sonar includes a diagnostic feature called Safe Mode.

Safe Mode allows you to selectively skip loading individual plugins when opening a project, making it easier to identify problematic plugins.

How to Use Safe Mode

1. Open the App in Safe Mode
   • Hold down the SHIFT key while launching Cakewalk Sonar.
   • Note: When launching in Safe Mode, Sonar will not automatically open the last project, even if the Open Most Recent Project at Launch option is enabled in Preferences.
2. Open a Project in Safe Mode
   • Hold down the SHIFT key while opening the project.
   • Sonar will prompt you to load or skip each plugin used in the project.

If a project fails to load because of third-party plugins:

1. Open the project in Safe Mode.
2. Disable all plugins when prompted to load them.
3. Once the project loads, go into the project and enable plugins one by one, testing the project as you go.
4. When the project fails or misbehaves after enabling a specific plugin, you’ve identified the problematic plugin.
5. Remove or update the offending plugin and resave the project to preserve a stable version.

Using Safe Mode in this way ensures you can safely isolate plugin issues without risking your project data.