ardour-tutorial/content/saving-sessions/saving-a-template/index.en.md

+++
title = "Saving a template"
description = "How to save and use a session template in Ardour"
chapter = false
weight = 3
+++

If you often go through the motions of setting up the same information in each
new session you create, such as tracks/busses, their names and interconnections, what plugins with what settings you have in mixer channels
etc., then you may wish to create a _template_ instead.

With a _template_, you can save the state of a currently open session _without_
all the region information files. Templates are useful if, for example, you're
doing extensive routing on tracks and busses and want to save the _Editor_
window's state for use in other sessions.

An example might be a template to record tracks of drums, bass, guitar and
vocals, each with their own input on the soundcard, which you might use as a
basis for each session you created in that situation. 

## Save a Template

You can save a new template from the main menu: `Session > Save Template`. You
are asked to give the new template a name and optionally provide a description
that will show up in the _Session Setup_ dialog:

{{< figure src="en/ardour7-save-template.png" alt="Template options" >}}

## Load a Template

When creating a new session, you can load up a previously saved template. All
you will need is to tell Ardour where on the disk to save the session:

{{< figure src="en/ardour7-session-setup.png" alt="New session from a custom template" >}}

## Conclusion

Congratulations, you have reached the end of this introduction to Ardour! We
hope that this tutorial has been useful for you to learn the key functions of
the program.

In the following section, the **Appendices**, we have included some extra
information we thought would be useful to new users of Ardour, including how to
get [_Further Help_](../further-help), a [_Glossary_](../glossary) of
technical terms used in this manual, some [_Links_](../links) to further
information about Ardour on the Internet and, last but not least, the
[_Credits_](../credits) of those involved in creating this free/libre
open-source software (FLOSS) manual.

Thanks for reading, and if you have some knowledge about Ardour that is not
included here, please feel free to propose changes (more info on how to do it:
[_How to Contribute_](../how-to-contribute/). Also, this manual itself is fully
open-source and lives at
[GitHub](https://github.com/prokoudine/ardour-tutorial).
You can even fork it and create your own customized version of it!

**Appendices:**
[FURTHER HELP](../further-help)   ||
[GLOSSARY](../glossary)   ||
[LINKS](../links)   ||
[CREDITS](../credits)