221 lines
8.6 KiB
Markdown
221 lines
8.6 KiB
Markdown
+++
|
||
title = "Overview of the Interface"
|
||
description = "Basics of Ardour's user interface"
|
||
chapter = false
|
||
weight = 3
|
||
#pre = "<b>1. </b>"
|
||
+++
|
||
|
||
This section will give you an overview of the basic interface of Ardour.
|
||
|
||
We will take a look at the **Editor Window** and the **Mixer Window**. Later
|
||
chapters will give more detailed information on each feature listed here.
|
||
|
||
The Editor Window
|
||
-----------------
|
||
|
||
When you create a new session, Ardour opens an empty new window called
|
||
the **Editor Window**. The Editor Window is the most important window in
|
||
Ardour, as this is how you will control the program as well as see and
|
||
edit the audio you have recorded or imported.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
At the top of the Editor Window are several main areas: the **Transport
|
||
Menu**, the **Clocks**, the **Edit** **Modes/Cursor Modes** menu, the
|
||
**Snap Mode** menu and the **Auxiliary Controls**. Below that area is
|
||
the Main Canvas, which contains the **Tracks** and **Busses** used in
|
||
the Session. The **Mixer Strips** for the Tracks appear on the left, and
|
||
a set of tabs allowing for an overview of the **Regions**,
|
||
**Tracks/Busses**, **Snapshots**, **Edit Groups** and **Chunks** appear
|
||
on the right. The very bottom of the window is the **Summary** view,
|
||
which is a miniature timeline view allowing for quick navigation through
|
||
the session.
|
||
|
||
We will introduce these controls briefly here and cover them more
|
||
extensively in dedicated chapters later on.
|
||
|
||
### Transport Menu
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
The **Transport Menu** controls include the following buttons:
|
||
|
||
- MIDI Panic
|
||
- Enable/Disable audio click (metronome)
|
||
- Rewind
|
||
- Fast forward
|
||
- Loop playback
|
||
- Play range/selection
|
||
- Play from playhead
|
||
- Stop
|
||
- Record-enable
|
||
- Jog/shuttle controls
|
||
|
||
### Clocks
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
The main **Clocks** are located next to the transport controls. Clocks
|
||
in Ardour can display time in 4 different formats: Time Code,
|
||
Bars:Beats, Minutes:Seconds, and Samples. Right-click on the clock to
|
||
select a format. You can also turn the clock off. The reason for having
|
||
two transport clocks is that it allows you to see the playhead position
|
||
in two different time units without having to change any settings.
|
||
|
||
Please see the [**Setting Up the Timeline**](../setting-up-the-timeline) chapter for more details on the
|
||
Clocks.
|
||
|
||
### Edit Modes and Cursor Modes
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
The **Edit Modes** and **Cursor Modes** controls define the behavior of
|
||
the main canvas and the different functions the cursor can have. There
|
||
are three Edit Modes in the drop-down menu: **Slide**, **Ripple**, and **Lock**. To the right of the Smart button are the
|
||
Cursor Modes:
|
||
|
||
- **Smart Mode** (shortcut *"Y"*)
|
||
- **Grab Mode** (shortcut *"G"*)
|
||
- **Range Mode** (shortcut *"R"*)
|
||
- **Cut Mode** (shortcut *"C"*)
|
||
- **Stretch Mode** (shortcut *"T"*)
|
||
- **Audition Mode**
|
||
- **Draw Mode** (shortcut *"D"*)
|
||
- **Internal Edit Mode** (shortcut *"E"*)
|
||
|
||
Most of them are discussed in the **Working With Regions**
|
||
chapter. The last two are discussed in the **Using Automation** chapter.
|
||
|
||
The **Smart Mode** is actually a combination of Grab Mode and Range Mode. When enabled, the mouse behaves as if it is in "Range Mode" in the upper half of a region, and in "Grab Mode" in the
|
||
lower half.
|
||
|
||
### Snap Options
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
The **Snap Options** menu controls the **Grid**, **Grid Points** and
|
||
**Edit Point**. Please see the chapters on **Setting Up the Meter**,
|
||
**Using Ranges** and **Working With Regions** for more details.
|
||
|
||
### Zoom Options
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
In between **Cursor Modes** and **Snap Options** are the **Zoom
|
||
Options**. Here you can define the behavior of zooming operations. You
|
||
have standard **Zoom In** and **Zoom Out** buttons, plus a third called
|
||
**Zoom to Session** (useful for having a quick overview of your entire
|
||
session: it zooms it to fit the available space on the screen).
|
||
|
||
{{% notice tip %}}
|
||
Use the shortcuts **=** (the equal sign on your main keyboard) for zooming, and
|
||
**-** (the dash key on your main keyboard) for zooming out.
|
||
{{% /notice %}}
|
||
|
||
The drop-down menu controls the **Zoom Focus**. It defines the focus
|
||
point of zooming operations. Try zooming in and out
|
||
with a different Zoom Focus each time. For example, choosing Playhead
|
||
will cause zoom to behave in relation to the position of the
|
||
Playhead. Mouse will take your current mouse position as the reference,
|
||
and so on.
|
||
|
||
The following drop-down menu and the last two buttons control "vertical zoom." They allow you to
|
||
expand and shrink all tracks and busses vertically. Use the drop-down menu to choose a specific number of tracks you want to fit on the screen. Use the buttons to shrink or expand all tracks (or only selected tracks, if a selection is made).
|
||
|
||
### Auxiliary Controls
|
||
|
||
For further information on other buttons and displays on the main
|
||
interface, please refer to the [Ardour Manual](http://manual.ardour.org/ "Ardour Manual").
|
||
|
||
Main Canvas
|
||
-----------
|
||
|
||
The main canvas is just below the top rows of controls described above.
|
||
It basically comprises the **Rulers**, the space where **Tracks** and
|
||
**Busses** are displayed, and a **Summary** view at the bottom.
|
||
|
||
At the very top of Ardour's Editor Window (to the right) you will find useful information such as sample rate of the session, available recording time, and DSP use.
|
||
|
||
### Rulers
|
||
|
||
Right-click on the names of rulers and you will see a menu with all the
|
||
possible rulers at your disposition. You may uncheck rulers that you
|
||
don't need in order to save screen space. More information on these
|
||
operations can be found in the **Setting up the Timeline** and **Setting
|
||
up the Meter** chapters.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
### Tracks and Busses
|
||
|
||
Just below the Rulers is where Tracks and Busses are displayed. In the
|
||
example below, you can see one Bus called "*Master*" and one Track
|
||
called "*MyTrack*". MyTrack also contains one region, which
|
||
represents an audio file with a drawing of its waveform. More
|
||
information on Tracks and Busses can be found in the **Creating a Track
|
||
or Bus** chapter.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
### Editor Mixer
|
||
|
||
The Editor Mixer is located at the left of the Edit Window. It displays
|
||
the **Mixer Strip** of the currently selected Track or Bus. It controls
|
||
the volume, Plugins and Routing for the Track or Bus to which it
|
||
corresponds. You can toggle to view or hide the Editor Mixer by clicking
|
||
on the menu *View* > *Show Editor Mixer* (shortcut *"Shift"* + *"E"*).
|
||
This Mixer is covered in the **Using the Mixer Strip** chapter.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
### Regions, Tracks/Busses, Snapshots, Groups, Ranges, Marks
|
||
|
||
The space on the right of Ardour's Editor Window can have 5 different
|
||
functions, depending on which tab is currently selected: **Regions**,
|
||
**Tracks/Busses**, **Snapshots**, **Track & Bus Groups**, and **Ranges
|
||
and Marks**. Regions is the tab selected by default. This part of the
|
||
Editor Window is commonly referred to as **Regions List**. Regions
|
||
represent audio files stored on the hard drive which can be dragged from
|
||
the Regions List directly onto a track in the main canvas. More
|
||
information on Regions can be found in the **Working With Regions**
|
||
chapter. The Tracks tab is covered in the **Arranging Tracks** chapter,
|
||
and Snapshots are discussed in the **Saving Snapshots** chapter.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Mixer Window Controls
|
||
---------------------
|
||
|
||
The second window, the **Mixer Window**, can be viewed by going to the
|
||
main menu and clicking *Window > Mixer*.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
The main function of the Mixer Window is to display all the Mixer Strips
|
||
for the various Tracks side by side for easy reference. This window is
|
||
mainly used during the **Mixing** process, and it also provides access
|
||
**Plugins** and other **Routing** features. See the chapters on
|
||
**Understanding Routing**, **Mixing** and **Using Plugins** for details.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
This window also contains a listing of the available Mixer Strips in the
|
||
upper left hand corner. The check boxes in this area can be used to view
|
||
and hide the Mixer Strips of the different Tracks. Finally, there is an
|
||
area for managing **Groups**.
|
||
|
||
Switching Between Windows
|
||
-------------------------
|
||
|
||
You can use the key combination **Alt + M** (**Control + M** on a
|
||
Mac) in order to toggle which window is on top: Editor or Mixer.
|
||
|
||
Continuing
|
||
----------
|
||
|
||
The next chapter will explain how to start a fresh new project.
|
||
|
||
Next: [Starting a session](/en/starting-sessions/starting-a-session)
|