manual/include/editing-clocks.html
2017-11-02 20:56:09 +01:00

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<h2>Clock Modes</h2>
<p>
Every clock in Ardour has four different, selectable <dfn>clock
modes</dfn>. Each mode displays time using different units.
The clock mode can be changed by <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking
on the clock and selecting the desired mode from the menu. Some clocks are
entirely independent of any other clock's mode; others are linked so that
changing one changes all clocks in that group. The different modes are:
</p>
<table class="dl">
<tr><th>Timecode</th><td>Time is shown as <dfn><abbr title="Society of Motion Picture and Television
Engineers">SMPTE</abbr> timecode</dfn> in Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Frames,
measured from the timecode zero point on the timeline (which may not
correspond to the session start and/or absolute zero on the timeline,
depending on configurable timecode offsets).
The frames value is dictated by either the session <abbr title="Frames Per
Second">FPS</abbr> setting, or, if slaved to an external timecode master,
the master's setting. In the transport clocks, the FPS value is shown below
the time display, along with an indication of the current timecode source
(<samp>INT</samp> means that Ardour is its own timecode source).</td></tr>
<tr><th>BBT</th><td>Time is shown as Bars:Beats:Ticks, indicating <dfn>musical time</dfn> measured
from the start of the session. The transport clocks show the current tempo
in <abbr title="Beats Per Minute">bpm</abbr> and meter below the time
display.</td></tr>
<tr><th>Minutes:Seconds</th><td>Time is shown as Hours:Minutes:Seconds.Milliseconds, measured from the
absolute start of the timeline (ignoring the session start and any timecode
offsets).</td></tr>
<tr><th>Samples</th><td>Time is shown as a <dfn>sample count</dfn> from the absolute start of the timeline
(ignoring the session start and any timecode offsets). The number of
samples per second is given by the current sample rate, and in the transport
clocks, this rate is shown below the time display along with any
pullup/pulldown adjustment.</td></tr>
</table>
<h2>Changing clock values with the keyboard</h2>
<p>
New values for the clock can be typed in after clicking on the relevant clock.
Clicking on the clock will show a thin vertical cursor bar just to the right
of the next character to be overwritten. Time should be typed in the same order as the
current clock mode&mdash;if the clock is in Timecode mode, it should be
hours, minutes, seconds, frames. So, to change to a time of 12:15:20:15 one
would type <kbd class="input">1 2 1 5 2 0 1 5</kbd>. Each number typed will
appear in a different color, from right to left, overwriting the existing value.
Mid-edit, after typing <kbd class="input">3 2 2 2</kbd> the clock might look like this:
</p>
<figure>
<img src="/images/clockedit.png" alt="A clock being edited in Ardour">
<figcaption>
A clock being edited in Ardour
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>
Finishing the edit is done by pressing <kbd>&crarr;</kbd> or <kbd>Tab</kbd>.
The <kbd>ESC</kbd> key allows to exit an edit without changing the clock. If an
entry is mis-typed so that the new value would be illegal (for example,
resulting in more than 30 frames when Timecode is set to 30 frames per second),
the clock will reset at the end of the edit, and move the cursor back to the
start to allow for another try.
</p>
<h2>Avoiding the mouse entirely</h2>
<p>
There is a shortcut available to edit the transport
clocks entirely without the mouse. It can be found in
<kbd class="menu">Window &gt; Key Bindings &gt; Transport &gt; Focus On
Clock</kbd>. If bound to a key (<kbd>&divide;</kbd> on the numerical
keypad is the
default), then pressing that key is equivalent to clicking on the primary (left)
transport clock, and editing can begin immediately.
</p>
<h2>Entering Partial Times</h2>
<p>
One detail of the editing design that is not immediately obvious is that it is
possible to enter part of a full time value.
</p>
<p>
As an exemple, supposing that the clock is in BBT
mode, displaying <samp>024|03|0029</samp>, altering the value to
the first beat of the current bar can be done by clicking on the clock and typing
<kbd class="input">0 1 0 0 0 0</kbd>. Similarly, if it is in Minutes:Seconds
mode, displaying <samp>02:03:04.456</samp>, getting to exactly 2
hours can be achieved by clicking on the clock and typing <kbd class="input">0 0 0 0 0 0 0</kbd> to
reset the minutes, seconds and milliseconds fields.
</p>
<h2>Entering Delta Times</h2>
<p>
Values can also be typed into the clock that are intended as a relative change,
rather than a new absolute value, by ending the edit by pressing
<kbd>+</kbd> or <kbd>-</kbd> (the ones on any keypad will also work). The plus
key will add the entered value to the current value of the clock, minus will
subtract it. For example, if the clock is in Samples mode and displays
<samp>2917839</samp>, moving it back 2000 samples is done by typing
<kbd class="input">2 0 0 0</kbd> and <kbd>-</kbd>, rather than ending with
Enter or Tab.
</p>
<h2>Changing clock values with the mouse</h2>
<h3>Using a scroll wheel</h3>
<p>
With the mouse pointer over the clock, moving the scroll wheel changes the
clock values. Moving the scroll wheel up (<kbd class="mouse">&uArr;</kbd>)
increases the value shown on the clock, moving it down (<kbd
class="mouse">&dArr;</kbd>) decreases it. The step size is equal to the unit
of the field hovered over (seconds, hours, etc.).
</p>
<h3>Dragging the mouse</h3>
<p>
With the mouse pointer over the clock, pressing the left mouse button and
dragging also affects the clocks : dragging upwards increases the value shown
on the clock, dragging downwards decreases it, again with a step size equal to
the unit of the field where the drag began on.
</p>