manual/include/clips-overview.html

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<p>
The <dfn>Clips</dfn> browser provides a way to easily reuse little pieces
of music across sessions. You can also drop audio and MIDI clips on a
timeline in the <a href="@@clips-in-the-editor">Editor window</a> or use
them in trigger slots in the <a href="@@clips-in-the-cue-window">Cue window</a>.
</p>
<h2>Clips Browser Interface</h2>
<p>
In the Editor window, the Clips browser is part of the Editor sidebar
and thus can be hidden from the main window. In the Cue window, the Clips
browser is an essential part of the workflow and is always visible.
</p>
<figure class="right">
<img src="/images/clips-browser.png" width="400px" alt="The Clips browser">
<figcaption>
The Clips browser
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>
The Clips browser has three main parts:
</p>
<ol>
<li>Selector of clip library locations</li>
<li>List of clips, with a treeview where necessary</li>
<li>Preview options</li>
</ol>
<h2>Library Locations</h2>
<p>
The <dfn>Clips</dfn> browser is capable of handling multiple locations
of clips and loops. There are several types of locations supported by the
browser:
</p>
<ol>
<li>
<dfn>Ardour Bundled Content</dfn>: these are all the audio and MIDI
files shipped along with an official Ardour build.
</li>
<li>
<dfn>FreeSound</dfn>: all clips previously downloaded from FreeSound.org.
</li>
<li>
<dfn>Custom folder</dfn>: it's a single user-defined location
on a local or remote disk that you can write to. The folder is defined
on the <kbd class="menu">Triggering</kbd> page of the
<kbd class="menu">Preferences</kbd> dialog and is preserved across
sessions.
</li>
<li>
<dfn>Additional locations</dfn>: typically those are locations where
you store existing clips/loops libraries acquired elsewhere. You can
have as many as you like, please see <a href="@@adding-3rd-party-clip-libraries">Adding 3rd Party Clip Libraries</a> chapter for more info. These locations
are also preserved across sessions.
</li>
<li>
<dfn>Other locations</dfn>: this is a one-off access to a location
where clips and loops are stored. This location is not preserved across
sessions.
</li>
</ol>
<h2>List of Clips</h2>
<p>
The Clips browser will provide access to all supported media file types
available in a selected location. Typically those would be, WAV, FLAC,
and MID files.
</p>
<p>
If there are subfolders in the clip library's folder, the Clips browser
will display them using as a tree view. The browser will also lazy-load
subfolders: instead of loading the entire list of all supported files
in the library location, it will only display top-level folders and load
their content when you start expanding subfolders you are interested in.
</p>
<h2>Preview Options</h2>
<p>
The preview section has simple playback controls as well as an option
to automatically play back a clip when you click it in the list.
For MIDI clips, you can also select a virtual instrument (Ardour defaults
to ACE Reasonable Synth).
</p>
<p>
When playing a clip, Ardour will automatically pause the transport
and resume playback when the clip playback is done. Ardour will also
use the audition channel for playback, so you can control the preview
volume using the monitor level control in the
<a href="@@monitor-section">Monitor</a> section of the <dfn>Mixer</dfn>.
</p>