manual/_manual/05_ardours-interface/04_transport-clocks.html

---
title: Transport Clocks
---

<img src="/images/new_main_clocks.png" alt="An image of the transport clocks in Ardour" />

<p>
  <dfn>Clocks</dfn> in Ardour are used to display <dfn>time values</dfn> precisely.
  In many cases, they are also one way to edit (change) time values, and in a few
  cases, the only way. All clocks share the same basic appearance and functionality,
  which is described below, but a few clocks serve particularly important roles.
</p>
<p>
  In the transport bar of the editor window there are two clocks (unless you
  are on a very small screen), that display the current position of the playhead
  and additional information related to transport control and the timeline. These
  are called the <dfn>transport clocks</dfn>; the left one is the primary
  transport clock and the right one is the secondary transport clock.
</p>
<p>
  All the clocks in Ardour share the same powerfull way of editing time. Refer to
  <a href="/introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/editing-clocks/">Editing Clocks</a> to learn how.
</p>
<p>
  Editing the time in the transport clocks will reposition the playhead in the same
  way that various other editing operations will.
</p>

<h2>The Special Role of the Secondary Transport Clock</h2>

<p>
  On a few occasions Ardour needs to display time values to the user, but there
  is no obvious way to specify what units to use. The most common case is the big
  cursor that appears when dragging regions. For this and other similar cases,
  Ardour will display time using the same units as the secondary clock.
</p>

<h2>Why are there two transport clocks?</h2>

<p>
  Having two transport clocks lets you see the playhead position in two different
  time units without having to change any settings. For example, you can see the
  playhead position in both timecode units and BBT time.
</p>

<h2>Special Modes for the Transport Clocks</h2>

<p>
  In addition to the time-unit modes, each of the two transport
  clocks (if you work on a small screen, you may only have one) can be
  independently set to display <dfn>Delta to Edit Point</dfn> in whatever time
  units its current mode indicates. This setting means that the clock shows the
  distance between the playhead and the current edit point, and it may show a
  positive or negative value depending on the temporal order of these two points.
  The clocks will use a different color when in this mode to avoid confusion.
</p>

<p>
  To switch either (or both!) of the transport clocks into this mode, use
  <kbd class="menu"> Edit &gt; Preferences &gt; Transport</kbd> and select
  the relevant checkboxes.
</p>

<p>
  Note that when in <samp>Delta to Edit Point</samp> mode, the transport clocks
  cannot be edited.
</p>


<h2>The Big Clock</h2>

<p>
  To show the current playhead position in a big, resizable window, activate
  <kbd class="menu">Window &gt; Big Clock</kbd>. The big clock is very useful
  when you need to work away from the screen but still want to see the playhead
  position clearly (such as when working with a remote control device across
  a room). The big clock will change its visual appearance to indicate when active
  recording is taking place. Below on the left is a screenshot showing a fairly
  large big clock window filling a good part of the display, and on the right,
  the same clock during active recording.
</p>

<a href="/images/bigclock.png"><img src="/images/bigclock.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock filling a screen"></a>
<a href="/images/bigclock-recording.png"><img src="/images/bigclock-recording.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock while recording"></a>