- In the track header (editor window, left pane) is a button labelled p (for "Playlist"). If you click on this button, Ardour - displays the following menu: + In the track header (editor window, left pane) is a button labelled p (for "Playlist"). A click on this button displays the + following menu:
+| (Local Playlists) | Shows all of the playlists associated with this track, and indicates the currently selected playlist |
|---|---|
| Rename | +|
| Rename… | Displays a dialog to rename the current playlist |
| New | +|
| New… | Creates a new empty playlist, and the track switches to the new playlist |
| New Copy | +|
| New Copy… | Creates a new playlist that is a copy of the current playlist; the track switches to the new playlist |
| Clear Current | Removes all regions from the current playlist |
| Select From All | -Displays a playlist browser to manually choose which playlist this track should use. (You can even select playlists from other tracks here) |
| Select From All… | +Displays a playlist browser to manually choose which playlist this track should use. (from this track or another one) |
- Playlists are created with the name of the track of which they are - associated, plus a version number. So, the first playlist for a track - called "Cowbell" will be called Cowbell.1. This name will - be used to define the names of any regions added to the playlist by - recording. You can change the name at any time, to anything you want. - Ardour does not require that your playlist names are all unique, but it - will make your life easier if they are. Suggested examples of user-assigned - names for a playlist might include Lead Guitar, 2nd - take, vocals (quiet), - and downbeat cuica. Notice how these might be - different from the associated track names, which for these examples might - be Lead Guitar, - Vocals and Cuica. The - playlist name provides more information because it is about a specific - version of the material that may (or may not) end up in the final version - of the track. + Playlists are created by default with the name of the active playlist, plus a + version number, and the first playlist is named after the track with which it is + associated. So, the first playlist for a track called "Cowbell" will be called + "Cowbell.1", the next one "Cowbell.2", etc. This name can be changed at any + time, to anything: Ardour does not require playlist names to be unique, + although it will make the user's life easier if they are. Suggested examples + of user-assigned names for a playlist might include Lead + Guitar, 2nd take, vocals (quiet), and downbeat cuica. Notice how these might be different from the + associated track names, which for these examples might be Lead Guitar, Vocals and Cuica. The playlist name provides more information because + it is about a specific version of the material that may (or may not) end up in + the final version of the track.
-- If you are going to rename your playlists, do so before recording new - material to them. -
-- It appears that recorded regions are not named after the playlist, but - after the track. + +
Using the fact that playlist names are based on the active one with + an incremented version number, one can rename a playlist "Cowbell take.1" so that + the next playlist crated is automatically named "Cowbell take.2" etc. This allows + for a quick way to label different takes.
It is entirely possible to share playlists between tracks. The only - slightly unusual thing you may notice when sharing is that edits to the - playlist made in one track will magically appear in the other. If you - think about this for a moment, its an obvious consequence of sharing. - One application of this attribute is parallel processing, described - below. + slightly unusual thing that should be noted when sharing is that edits to the + playlist made in one track will magically appear in the other. It is an + obvious consequence of sharing. One application of this attribute is parallel + processing, described in Playlist Usecases.
- You might not want this kind of behaviour, even though you still want - two tracks to use the same (or substantially the same) playlist. To - accomplish this, select the chosen playlist in the second track, and - then use New Copy to generate an independent copy of it for - that track. You can then edit this playlist without affecting the original. + To avoid this kind of behaviour, and nevertheless use the same (or substantially + the same) playlist on two tracks, the desired playlist must be chosen in the + second track, and then the New Copy… button clicked. + This generates an independent copy of it for that track, which can + then be edited without affecting the original.
- diff --git a/include/understanding-playlists.html b/include/understanding-playlists.html index f33185d7..a056716e 100644 --- a/include/understanding-playlists.html +++ b/include/understanding-playlists.html @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
A playlist is a list of regions ordered in time. It defines
- which parts of which source files should be played and when. Playlists
+ which parts of which source files should be played and when. Playlists
are a fairly advanced topic, and can be safely ignored for many types
of audio production. However, the use of playlists allows the audio
engineer more flexibility for tasks like multiple takes of a single
@@ -15,8 +15,10 @@
some way. Since a playlist is a list of regions, most of the
modifications involve manipulating regions: their position, length
and so forth. This is covered in the chapter
- Working With Regions.
- Here, we cover some of the things you can do with playlists as objects
+ Working With Regions.
+
+ This page covers some of the things that can be done with playlists as objects in their own right.
@@ -29,28 +31,26 @@ playlist associated with it. When the track is used to record, that playlist will have one or more new regions added to it. When the track is used for playback, the contents of the playlist will be heard. - You can change the playlist associated with a track at (almost) any - time, and even share playlists between tracks. + The playlist associated with a track can be changed at (almost) any + time, and tracks can even share playlists.- If you have some experience of other - DAWs, then you might - have come across the term "virtual track", normally defined as a track - that isn't actually playing or doing anything, but can be - mapped/assigned to a real track. This concept is functionally - identical to Ardour's playlists. We just like to be little more + Some other DAWs, us the term + "virtual track" to define a track that isn't actually playing or + doing anything, but can be mapped/assigned to a real track. This concept is + functionally identical to Ardour's playlists. We just like to be little more clear about what is actually happening rather than mixing old and - new terminology ("virtual" and "track"), which might be confusing.
+ new terminology ("virtual" and "track"), which might be confusing. +- One thing you should be clear about is that playlists are cheap. They - don't cost anything in terms of CPU consumption, and they have very - minimal efforts on memory use. Don't be afraid of generating new - playlists whenever you want to. They are not equivalent to tracks, + One thing to bear in mind is that playlists are cheap. They + do not cost anything in terms of CPU consumption, and they have very + minimal efforts on memory use. So generating new playlists whenever needed + is recommendable. They are not equivalent to tracks, which require extra CPU time and significant memory space, or audio files, which use disk space, or plugins that require extra CPU time. If a playlist is not in use, it occupies a small amount of memory, and nothing more.
-