85 lines
3.6 KiB
HTML
85 lines
3.6 KiB
HTML
---
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title: Transport Clocks
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---
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<img src="/images/new_main_clocks.png" alt="An image of the transport clocks in Ardour" />
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<p>
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<dfn>Clocks</dfn> in Ardour are used to display <dfn>time values</dfn> precisely.
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In many cases, they are also one way to edit (change) time values, and in a few
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cases, the only way. All clocks share the same basic appearance and functionality,
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which is described below, but a few clocks serve particularly important roles.
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</p>
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<p>
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In the transport bar of the editor window there are two clocks (unless you
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are on a very small screen), that display the current position of the playhead
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and additional information related to transport control and the timeline. These
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are called the <dfn>transport clocks</dfn>; the left one is the primary
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transport clock and the right one is the secondary transport clock.
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</p>
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<p>
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All the clocks in Ardour share the same powerfull way of editing time. Refer to
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<a href="/introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/editing-clocks/">Editing Clocks</a> to learn how.
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</p>
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<p>
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Editing the time in the transport clocks will reposition the playhead in the same
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way that various other editing operations will.
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</p>
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<h2>The Special Role of the Secondary Transport Clock</h2>
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<p>
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On a few occasions Ardour needs to display time values to the user, but there
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is no obvious way to specify what units to use. The most common case is the big
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cursor that appears when dragging regions. For this and other similar cases,
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Ardour will display time using the same units as the secondary clock.
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</p>
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<h2>Why are there two transport clocks?</h2>
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<p>
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Having two transport clocks lets you see the playhead position in two different
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time units without having to change any settings. For example, you can see the
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playhead position in both timecode units and BBT time.
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</p>
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<h2>Special Modes for the Transport Clocks</h2>
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<p>
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In addition to the time-unit modes, each of the two transport
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clocks (if you work on a small screen, you may only have one) can be
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independently set to display <dfn>Delta to Edit Point</dfn> in whatever time
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units its current mode indicates. This setting means that the clock shows the
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distance between the playhead and the current edit point, and it may show a
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positive or negative value depending on the temporal order of these two points.
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The clocks will use a different color when in this mode to avoid confusion.
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</p>
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<p>
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To switch either (or both!) of the transport clocks into this mode, use
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<kbd class="menu"> Edit > Preferences > Transport</kbd> and select
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the relevant checkboxes.
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</p>
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<p>
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Note that when in <samp>Delta to Edit Point</samp> mode, the transport clocks
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cannot be edited.
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</p>
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<h2>The Big Clock</h2>
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<p>
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To show the current playhead position in a big, resizable window, activate
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<kbd class="menu">Window > Big Clock</kbd>. The big clock is very useful
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when you need to work away from the screen but still want to see the playhead
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position clearly (such as when working with a remote control device across
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a room). The big clock will change its visual appearance to indicate when active
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recording is taking place. Below on the left is a screenshot showing a fairly
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large big clock window filling a good part of the display, and on the right,
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the same clock during active recording.
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</p>
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<a href="/images/bigclock.png"><img src="/images/bigclock.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock filling a screen"></a>
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<a href="/images/bigclock-recording.png"><img src="/images/bigclock-recording.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock while recording"></a>
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