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livetrax/manual/xml/working_with_regions.xml
Tim Mayberry 56e384349b Add the ardour manual converted to docbook format with only a few minor
additions.

Add dbhelper.vim key stroke mappings I use for working with docbook source.

There are no xsl or css files for customizing the html output so it will 
look really boring...this will only be temporary.

Support for content localization and generation of pdf's is planned.



git-svn-id: svn://localhost/ardour2/trunk@1405 d708f5d6-7413-0410-9779-e7cbd77b26cf
2007-02-02 04:29:55 +00:00

624 lines
18 KiB
XML

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE section PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN" "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd" [
]>
<section id="sn-working-with-regions">
<title>Working with Regions</title>
<para>
Regions are the basic elements of editing and composing in Ardour. Each
region represents a single, contiguous section of one or more audio files.
Regions are defined by a fixed set of attributes:
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
the source audio file(s) they represent
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
a starting point in the audio file(s)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
a length
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
When placed into a <glossterm linkend="gt-playlist">playlist</glossterm>,
they gain additional attributes:
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
a position along the timeline
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
a layer
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
There are <emphasis>other attributes</emphasis> as well, but they do not
define the region. Things you should know about regions:
</para>
<variablelist>
<title></title>
<varlistentry>
<term>Regions are Cheap</term>
<listitem>
<para>
By themselves, regions do not consume hardly any of your computer's
resources. Each region requires a small amount of memory, and represents
a rather small amount of CPU work if placed into an active track. So,
don't worry about creating regions whenever you need to.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Regions are not audio files</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Although a region can represent an entire audio file, they are never
equivalent to an audio file. Most regions represent just parts of an
audio file(s) on disk, and removing a region from a track has nothing to
do with removing the audio file(s) from the disk ((the
<emphasis>Destroy</emphasis> operation, one of Ardour's few destructive
operations, can affect this)). Changing the length of a region has no
effect on the audio file(s) on disk. Splitting and copying regions does
not alter the audio file in anyway, nor does it create new audio files
((the <emphasis>Export</emphasis> , <emphasis>Bounce</emphasis> and
<emphasis>Reverse</emphasis> operations do create new audio files)).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<section id="region-naming">
<title>Region Naming</title>
<para>
Regions are initially named using either:
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
the name of the playlist for which they were recorded
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
the name of the embedded/imported audio file they represent
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<section id="whole-file-region-names">
<title>Whole File Region Names</title>
<para>
These are not audio files, but regions that represent the full extent of
an audio file. Every time a new recording is done, or a new file is
embedded/imported, a new region is created that represents the entire
audio file(s) This region will have the name of the playlist/original
file, followed by a "-" and then a number.
</para>
<para>
For recorded regions, the number will increase each time a new recording
is made. So, for example, if there is a playlist called "Didgeridoo", the
first recorded whole file region for that playlist will be called
"Digderidoo-1". The next one will be "Digeridoo-2" and so on.
</para>
<para>
For imported/embedded files, the region name will be based on the file
name, but with any final suffix (e.g. ".wav" or ".aiff") removed.
</para>
<para>
Normally, whole file regions are not inserted into tracks/playlists, but
regions derived from them are. The whole-file versions live in the editor
region list where they act as an organizing mechanism for regions that are
derived from them.
</para>
</section>
<section id="normal-region-names">
<title>Normal Region Names</title>
<para>
When a region is inserted into a track/playlist, its initial name will end
in a version number, such as ".1" or ".103". For a recorded region, if the
whole file region was "Hang drum-1", then the region in the track will
appear with the name "Hang drum-1.1". For an imported/embedded region, if
the whole file region was "Bach:Invention3", then the region in the track
will appear with the name "Bach:Invention3.1".
</para>
</section>
<section id="copied-region-names">
<title>Copied Region Names</title>
<para>
If the region is a copy of another region, it will begin life with the
same name as the original. When an operation is carried out that modifies
one of the copies, that particular copy will be renamed by incrementing
the version number.
</para>
</section>
<section id="renaming-regions">
<title>Renaming Regions</title>
<para>
You can rename a region at any time. Use the <emphasis>region context
menu</emphasis> to popup the rename dialog. The new name does not need to
have a version number in it (in fact, it probably should not). The region
will retain its name until it is modified after being copied.
</para>
</section>
</section>
<section id="selecting-regions">
<title>Selecting Regions</title>
<para>
In general, operations on regions apply to whichever regions are currently
<emphasis>selected</emphasis> .
</para>
<para>
To select a single region, click on it using
<mousebutton>Button1</mousebutton>.
</para>
<para>
To add an unselected region to the currently selected regions, click on it
using
<keycombo><keycap>Shift</keycap><mousebutton>Button1</mousebutton></keycombo>.
</para>
<para>
To remove a selected region from the currently selected regions, click on
it using
<keycombo><keycap>Shift</keycap><mousebutton>Button1</mousebutton></keycombo>.
</para>
</section>
<section id="removing-regions">
<title>Removing Regions</title>
<para>
Select the region(s) to be removed. Then press the "Delete" key or use the
standard key binding for "Cut" (
<keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>X</keycap></keycombo> by default).
</para>
<para>
Note that "removing" a region is a non-destructive operation. It has no
effect on the audio file(s) stored on disk. If you really want to
destructively remove the region, use the context menu for the region which
has a "Destroy" item. This is not guaranteed to remove the audio file from
your disk storage, but it generally will.
</para>
</section>
<section id="moving-regions">
<title>Moving Regions</title>
<para>
To move a region, make sure you are in <emphasis>object</emphasis> mouse
mode. Move the mouse pointer into the waveform display part of the region,
press <mousebutton>Button1</mousebutton> and drag. The region will follow the
mouse pointer as you move it around. By default, the region can move freely
along the timeline - see <xref linkend="sn-snap-settings"/> for information on how to
force the region to align to certain kinds of points along the timeline.
</para>
<para>
To move a region from one track to another, simply start a move as
described above, but move the mouse pointer into the desired track. The
region will follow the mouse pointer. Note that if you have other kinds of
"tracks" visible, the region will remain where it is as the mouse pointer
moves across them, and will then jump to the new track. This serves as a
visual reminder that you cannot drag an audio region into an automation
track or a bus, for example.
</para>
<section id="moving-more-than-one-region">
<title>Moving more than one region</title>
<para>
To move multiple regions, select them before moving. Then click+drag on
one of the selected regions. All the regions will move, keeping their
positions relative to each other.
</para>
</section>
<section id="region-fixed-time-motion">
<title>Fixed-time motion</title>
<para>
Sometimes, you want to move a region to another track, but keeping its
position along the timeline exactly the same. To do this, use
<mousebutton>Button2</mousebutton> rather than <mousebutton>Button1</mousebutton>.
</para>
</section>
</section>
<section id="copying-regions">
<title>Copying Regions</title>
<para>
To copy a region, make sure you are in <emphasis>object</emphasis> mouse
mode. Move the mouse pointer into the waveform press the
<keycap>Ctrl</keycap> key, keep it down while pressing
<mousebutton>Button1</mousebutton> and drag. A new region is created and will
follow the mouse pointer as it moves. See <xref linkend="moving-regions"/> for
more details on moving the copied region around.
</para>
<section id="copying-more-than-one-region">
<title>Copying more than one region</title>
<para>
To copy multiple regions, select them before copying. Then click+drag on
one of the selected regions. All the regions will be copied and as they
move, the will keep their positions relative to each other.
</para>
</section>
<section id="region-fixed-time-copying">
<title>Fixed-time copying</title>
<para>
If you want to copy region(s) to other track(s) but keep the copies at the
exact position on the timeline as the originals, simply use
<keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><mousebutton>Button2</mousebutton></keycombo> instead of
<keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><mousebutton>Button1</mousebutton></keycombo>.
</para>
</section>
</section>
<section id="trimming-regions">
<title>Trimming Regions</title>
<para></para>
</section>
<section id="auditioning-regions">
<title>Auditioning Regions</title>
<para></para>
</section>
<section id="region-gain-envelopes">
<title>Region Gain Envelopes</title>
<para></para>
</section>
<section id="region-context-menu">
<!-- needs work -->
<title>Region Context Menu</title>
<para>
If you context-click on a region, a popup menu will appear. At or near the
top of that menu is a list of all regions that exist in the clicked-upon
track under the mouse pointer. Each region entry (shown by name) points to
a submenu that contains region-specific operations:
</para>
<variablelist>
<title></title>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Popup region editor</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
creates and displays the editor for this region, allowing even more
specific control over the region than this menu
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Raise to top layer</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
moves the region to the top layer of this track (works only in "Most
recently added/moved/trimmed regions are higher" <emphasis>layer
mode</emphasis>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Lower to bottom layer</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
moves the region to the bottom layer of this track (works only in "Most
recently added/moved/trimmed regions are higher" <emphasis>layer
mode</emphasis>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Define sync point</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
if the edit cursor is within this region, defines the region sync point
at the edit cursor location.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Remove sync point</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para></para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Audition</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
plays this region via the <glossterm linkend="gt-auditioner">auditioner</glossterm>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Export</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
exports this region to a new audio file, via the export dialog (thus
allowing resampling, dithering, format specification etc.)
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Bounce</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
re-records this region (with any plugins/inserts applied) to a new audio
file, and replaces the region with one referring to the new file.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Lock</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
prevents the region from being moved, trimmed, or modified in almost any
way.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Unlock</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
removes the lock on region modification
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Mute</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
makes the region silent during playback
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Unmute</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para></para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Toggle envelope visibility</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
shows/hides the region gain envelope
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Toggle envelope active</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
turns the region gain envelope on/off (the line is gray when the
envelope is off, green when it is on)
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Original position</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
if the region was recorded (and Broadcast WAVE was the native file
format) moves the region to its original capture position
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Normalize</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
alters the gain processing of the region so that the loudest sample is
at 0dBFS
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>DeNormalize</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
undoes the effect of a normalize
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Reverse</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
writes the region to a new audio file with the contents reversed, and
replaces the region with one referring to the new file
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Nudge</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
moves the region in various ways
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Nudge fwd</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
moves the region forward by the amount shown in the nudge clock
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Nudge bwd</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
moves the region backward by the amount shown in the nudge clock
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Nudge fwd by capture offset</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
moves the region forward by the same offset that it might have been
(incorrectly) adjusted by when captured
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Nudge bwd by capture offset</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
moves the region backwards by the same offset that it might have been
(incorrectly) adjusted by when captured
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Trim</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para></para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Start to edit cursor</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
adjusts the start of the region to the current position of the edit
cursor (if possible)
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Edit cursor to end</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
adjusts the end of the region to the current position of the edit cursor
(if possible)
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Split</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
if the edit cursor is within the region, splits the region at the editor
cursor location
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Make mono regions</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
if the region is a multi-channel one, creates new regions corresponding
to each channel. The new regions are added to the editor's region list,
not the track.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Duplicate</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
pops up a dialog allowing the region to be copied 1 or more times. Each
copy is placed directly after the original or previous copy.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Fill Track</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
copies the region as many times as necessary to fill the track to the
current session end mark. Each copy is placed directly after the
original or previous copy.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Remove</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
remove the region from the track (non-destructive)
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Destroy</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
remove the region from the track and the editor region list, and if no
other regions are referencing it, remove the audio file that the region
is derived from. ( <emphasis>DESTRUCTIVE</emphasis> )
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</section>
<!--
<xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
href="Some_Subsection.xml" />
-->
</section>