382 lines
17 KiB
HTML
382 lines
17 KiB
HTML
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<p>
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Since version 5.8-290, Ardour supports for the
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<a href="https://www.presonus.com/products/FaderPort-8" rel="external">Presonus FaderPort™ 8</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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The FaderPort™ 8 is a production control surface with 8 touch-sensitive, motorized faders,
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monochromatic digital scribble strips and more than 60 buttons with fixed labels.
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</p>
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<h2>Connecting the FaderPort 8</h2>
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<p>
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The FaderPort 8 (FP8) comes with a USB socket on the back. Connect a
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suitable USB cable from there to a USB port on your computer.
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The FP8 will be automatically recognized by your operating
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system, and will appear in any of the lists of possible MIDI ports
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in both Ardour and other similar software.
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</p>
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<p class="well">
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Ardour uses the FaderPort 8 in what PreSonus calls "Studio One" or
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"native" mode.
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(If you would like to change the mode at any point, power on the unit while
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holding down the first two Select buttons, see the FaderPort 8 manual
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for further details, also note that at least Firmware version 1.01 is
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required.)
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<br/>
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While the FaderPort provides a Mackie Control Universal (MCU) mode,
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MCU does not support various elements available on the FP8.
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e.g. colored buttons, and the custom mode scribble strips.
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</p>
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<p>
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To connect the FP8 to Ardour, open the Preferences dialog,
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select "Control Surfaces" and enable "PreSonus FaderPort 8".
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Then open the "Protocol Settings" dialog for the FP8. Which
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(among other things) allows to select the the MIDI ports
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corresponding to the FP8.
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</p>
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<p>
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Once you select the input and output port, Ardour will initialize
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the FP8 and it will be ready to use. You only need do this
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once: Once these ports are connected and your session has been
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saved, the connections will be made automatically in this and other
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future sessions.
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<p>
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<figure class="center">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Control Surface Settings Dialog"
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src="/images/fp8_settings.png"/>
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</figure>
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<h2>Using the FaderPort 8</h2>
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<p>
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The FaderPort's controls can be divided into five groups:
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</p>
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<ul class="inside">
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<li>Transport buttons</li>
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<li>Session Navigation controls</li>
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<li>Fader modes</li>
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<li>Mix management</li>
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<li>Channel strip</li>
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</ul>
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<p class="well">
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In general the control mapping described in the FaderPort 8
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Owner's Manual for Studio One (chapter 2) applies to Ardour as well.
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There are however subtle differences where the DAWs differ.
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</p>
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<p class="note">
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All buttons act on release (not press), exceptions are mentioned below.
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</p>
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<h3>Transport Buttons</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Transport Buttons"
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src="/images/fp8_transport.png"/>
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</figure>
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<ol class="inside">
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<li><kbd class="def">Stop</kbd>: Stops the transport. Press twice to return to
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session start.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Loop</kbd>: Toggles loop playback. A loop-range needs to
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be defined in the session for looping to be engaged.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Play/Pause</kbd>: Roll/Stop the transport (note that
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Ardour has no "pause" mode: Pause is equivalent to stop). During vari-speed
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playback, pressing "play" resets to 100% forward speed.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Rewind</kbd>: Rewind, roll backwards. Successive presses
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or holding the button incrementally changes the speed.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Fast Forward</kbd>: Roll forward. Successive presses or
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holding the button accumulate speed.
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Pressing (<kbd>Rewind</kbd> and <kbd>Fast Forward</kbd>) simultaneously
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stops playback and returns the playhead to zero.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Record</kbd>: Toggles the global record enable
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setting.</li>
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</ol>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Session Navigation</h3>
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<p>
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Session Navigation allows quick navigation and provides access to
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session-wide controls. Each of the eight buttons alters the function
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of the push-button encoder and the "Prev", "Next" buttons.
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With exception of "Click" the seven modes are exclusive (radio buttons).
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</p>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Navigation Buttons"
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src="/images/fp8_navigation.png"/>
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</figure>
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<!-- This could be a table: | MODE | prev/next | encoder action | encoder-press action | !-->
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<!-- Except a table does not flow nicely around the figure !-->
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<ol class="inside">
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<li><kbd class="def">Channel</kbd>: The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd>
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buttons select the previous/next mixer-strip. If no strip is selected,
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<kbd>Next</kbd> selects the first, <kbd>Prev</kbd> the last mixer-strip in
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the session. Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> moves the most recently selected
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mixer-strip into view on the FP8. The encoder scrolls the editor-canvas
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up/down.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Master</kbd>: The encoder controls the master-bus level.
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If a session includes a monitor-section, the encoder controls monitor-out by
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default. Hold the button to control the master-bus level. Press the
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<kbd>encoder</kbd> to reset the gain to 0dB. The
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<kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd> navigation buttons bank the visible strips on
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the FP8 by one track left/right.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Zoom</kbd>: The encoder controls horizontal zoom of the
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editor. Press the <kbd>encoder</kbd> to <em>zoom to fit</em> the session.
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<kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd> navigation buttons zoom selected track(s)
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vertically (or all tracks if none are selected).</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Click</kbd>: Toggle the metronome on/off. While holding
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the <kbd>Click</kbd> button, the encoder modifies the volume of the
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metronome click (press the <kbd>encoder</kbd> while holding <kbd>Click</kbd>
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to reset the metronome level to 0dBFS).</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Scroll</kbd>: The encoder scrolls the timeline (hold
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<kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> <em>zooms
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to fit</em> the session. The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd> navigation
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buttons bank the visible strips on the FP8 by one track left/right.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Section</kbd>: The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd>
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navigation buttons nudge the selected region by the time configured in the
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nudge-clock. If no region is selected the playhead position is nudged. The
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encoder always nudges the playhead position.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Bank</kbd>: Encoder and navigation buttons scroll through
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mixer-strips in banks of eight. Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> moves the
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most recently selected mixer-strip into view on the FP8.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Marker</kbd>: The encoder scrolls the timeline (hold
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<kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd>
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navigation buttons jump to prev/next markers. Press the <kbd>encoder</kbd>
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to drop a new marker.</li>
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</ol>
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<p>
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When combined with <kbd>Shift</kbd>, the eight buttons will access custom
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functions, which can be configured in the Preference Dialog. The buttons will
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light up if an action has been assigned to a button.
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</p>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Shift Button</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="the FaderPort8 Shift Button"
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src="/images/fp8_shift_large.png"/>
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</figure>
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<p>
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The two <kbd>Shift</kbd> buttons are identical, they're copied to provide
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convenient access to the modifiers. Pressing and holding the <kbd>Shift</kbd>
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button updates the lights (and colors on RGB buttons) to indicate the modified
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control.
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<br/>
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Pressing and holding the <kbd>Shift</kbd> button for one second without
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pressing any other button enters shift-lock mode. Press <kbd>Shift</kbd> again
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to reset.
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The <kbd>Shift</kbd> button engages directly on press. Activating an action
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while the button is held will void the shift-lock mode.
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</p>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Fader Modes</h3>
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<p>
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The eight faders on the FP8 can be assigned to various automatable
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controls present in the current session. The four fader-mode buttons
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change the behavior of the mixer-strip and scribble strip displays.
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(Note: with the 1.01 firmware these buttons always act on press.)
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</p>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Fader Mode Buttons"
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src="/images/fp8_fadermode.png"/>
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</figure>
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<ol class="inside">
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<li><kbd class="def">Track</kbd>: In Track-mode, the motorized faders display
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and control a mixer-strip's signal level. The Pan/Param encoder modifies the
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azimuth of the panner (hold <kbd>Shift</kbd> to control the width, if the
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track's panner supports it). <kbd>Mute</kbd> and <kbd>Solo</kbd> affect the
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respective mixer-strip.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Edit Plugins</kbd>: When Edit Plug-ins mode is active, the
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motorized faders will control the parameter settings. Press the <kbd>Edit
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Plugins</kbd> button to view all available plugin-inserts on a strip. If
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no plugins are available, <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> will not engage and the
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FP8 automatically switches back to Track-mode. Use the <kbd>Select</kbd>
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buttons under the scribble strip to pick a plugin to edit. The faders and
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<kbd>Select</kbd> buttons will respectively control the parameters and toggles
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of the selected plugin. Press the <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> button again to return
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to the insert select view. (Once a plugin has been selected, it stays in edit
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mode regardless of selection). If there are more than eight, the Pan/Param
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encoder allows to scroll through available control-parameters.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Sends</kbd>: In Sends mode, each of the faders is mapped
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to the send-level of aux-sends of the selected track. If there are more than
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eight sends on a given track, the Pan/Param encoder can scroll through them.
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Send-mode follow the selection. If there are no sends on a given track, the
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FP8 automatically switches back to Track-mode.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Pan</kbd>: When Pan mode is active, the motorized faders
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will display and control the panner's azimuth. The Pan/Param controls the
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pan-width of the selected mixer-strip.</li>
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</ol>
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<p>
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<kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Track</kbd> toggles timecode display on/off (middle
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row of the scribble-strip).
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</p>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Channel Strip</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="The FaderPort8 Channel Strip"
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src="/images/fp8_strip.png"/>
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</figure>
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<ul class="inside">
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<li><strong>Touch-Sensitive Fader</strong>: The fader can be used to control
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volume levels, aux send levels, panning, or plugin parameters, depending on
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the fader-mode (see above).</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Mute</kbd>: Toggle the mute-control of the corresponding
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mixer-strip. Mute engages on press, and disengages on release. Press and
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hold the button for at least 0.5sec for momentary.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Solo</kbd>: Toggle the solo or listen (AFL,PFL) control
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of the corresponding mixer-strip. Solo engages on press, and disengages on
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release. Press and hold the button for at least 500ms for momentary.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Select</kbd>: In Track and Sends and Pan mode the Select
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button select/de-select a given mixer-strip. Since selection is not limited
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to a single mixer-strip, the button acts in tri-state. A mixer-strip light
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indicates selection:
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<ul class="inside">
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<li><strong>Any Selected Track</strong>: The select button is lit with the
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track's color.</li>
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<li><strong>Any Not Selected Track</strong>: The select button is off
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(dimly showing the track's color).</li>
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<li><strong>Most Recently Selected Track</strong>: Only one track at a
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time. The select button is blinks width the track's color.</li>
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</ul>
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Operations such as <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> or <kbd>Sends</kbd> use the
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most-recently-selected track. To modify the selection, the button's action
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depends on the current selection:
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<ol class="inside">
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<li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> any unselected track</strong>: The track is
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added to the selection and becomes the most-recently selected.</li>
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<li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> the most-recently-selected
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(blinking)</strong>: Removes the track from selection (most-recent
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falls back).</li>
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<li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> any other selected track</strong>: Make it
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most-recently-selected track.</li>
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<li><strong><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Select</kbd> any selected
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track</strong>: Deselect the track.</li>
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<li><strong><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Select</kbd> any unselected
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track</strong>: Exclusively select the given track (and make it
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most-recently selected).</li>
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</ol>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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While holding the <kbd>ARM</kbd> button the Select button light changes to red
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and the <kbd>Select</kbd> buttons controls the record-arm of the given track.
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Mixer-strips that cannot be record-armed have a dim white light.
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<kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>ARM</kbd> record-arms all tracks in the session.
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</p>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Mix Management</h3>
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<p>
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These buttons allows to select which mixer-strips are spilled on the FP8
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channel-strips.
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</p>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Mix Management Buttons"
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src="/images/fp8_mixmanage.png"/>
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</figure>
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<ol class="inside">
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<li><kbd class="def">Audio</kbd>: View Audio Tracks only.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">VI</kbd>: Show tracks with virtual instrument
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plugins.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Bus</kbd>: Display only Busses.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">VCA</kbd>: Show VCAs.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">All</kbd>: Display all Tracks, Busses (incl master-bus)
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and VCAs.</li>
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</ol>
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<p>
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In combination with the <kbd>Shift</kbd> modifier ten total
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filters are available:
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</p>
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<ul class="inside">
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Audio</kbd> <strong>Inputs</strong>:
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shows all record-armed tracks (Audio and MIDI).</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">VI</kbd> <strong>MIDI</strong>: View
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all MIDI tracks.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Bus</kbd> <strong>Outputs</strong>:
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Show the Master and Monitor Bus.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">VCA</kbd> <strong>FX</strong>: Shows
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Aux-Busess.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">All</kbd> <strong>User</strong>:
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Display all currently selected mixer-strips only.</li>
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</ol>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Automation Controls</h3>
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<p>
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The Automation Controls provide access to the currently selected mixer-strips.
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The automation enable lights indicates the mode of the most recently selected
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mixer-strip (blinking selection button). The action affects all selected
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mixer-strips. The automation controls are currently only available in
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<kbd>Track</kbd> and <kbd>Pan</kbd> fader modes where they affect the fader
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and pan automation modes respectively.
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</p>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Automation Buttons"
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src="/images/fp8_automation.png"/>
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</figure>
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<ol class="inside">
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<li><kbd class="def">Latch</kbd>: Currently not available in Ardour.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Trim</kbd>: Currently not available in Ardour.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Off</kbd>: Select "Manual" automation mode.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Read</kbd>: Select "Play" automation mode.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Write</kbd>: Select "Write" automation mode (note at the
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end of a write pass, Ardour automatically puts the track into "Touch"
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mode.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Touch</kbd> Select "Touch" automation mode.</li>
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</ol>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<p>
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The Automation Controls also double as session state controls
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when combined with <kbd>Shift</kbd>.
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</p>
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<ol class="inside">
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Latch</kbd> <strong>Save</strong>:
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Save the session. The button lights up red if the session is modified.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Trim</kbd> <strong>Redo</strong>: Redo
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a previously undone operation. The button lights up green if redo is
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possible.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Off</kbd> <strong>Undo</strong>: Undo
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the most recent operation. The button lights up green if undo is
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possible.</li>
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</ol>
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<p>
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With <kbd>Shift</kbd>, the bottom row allows to bind three custom user
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actions.
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</p>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Miscellaneous</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Misc Buttons"
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src="/images/fp8_misc.png"/>
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</figure>
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<ul class="inside">
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<li><kbd class="def">Solo Clear</kbd>: Reset all solo controls in the
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session.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Mute Clear</kbd>: Unmute all mixer-strips in the
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session.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Bypass</kbd>: A/B bypass toggle any plugins on all
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selected mixer-strips.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Bypass</kbd> <strong>Bypass
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All</strong>: currently the same as "Bypass".</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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The labels of the following buttons have no direct corresponding action in
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Ardour and are currently mapped to convenient functions:
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</p>
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<ul class="inside">
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<li><kbd class="def">Macro</kbd>: Show the Editor Window.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Link</kbd> <strong>Open</strong>:
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Show the Import Audio Dialog.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Link</kbd>: Switch to the Mixer Window.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Link</kbd> <strong>Lock</strong>:
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Lock the GUI (alike Session > Lock) to prevent accidental changes.</li>
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</ul>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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