Merged with trunk R1612.

[ardour.git] / manual / xml / tracks_and_busses.xml

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]>

<section id="sn-tracks-and-busses">
  <title>Tracks and Busses</title>
  <para>
    This chapter covers basic management of tracks. Tracks are probably the
    most important objects in Ardour. They represent the fundamental way to
    playback and record audio, MIDI, and image data.
  </para>
  <mediaobject>
    <imageobject>
      <imagedata fileref="images/signal_flow.png"/>
    </imageobject>
  </mediaobject>
  <section id="creating-tracks">
    <title>Creating Tracks</title>
    <para>
      Tracks may be added to the session at any time.
    </para>
    <orderedlist><title>Creating a new Track</title>
      <listitem>
        <para>
          Choose <menuchoice> <guimenu>Session</guimenu> <guisubmenu>Add
          Track/Bus</guisubmenu> </menuchoice>
        </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>
          add_track.ps Add Track Dialog
        </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>
          In the Add Tracks dialog, choose whether you wish to add a new
          Track or a new Bus.
        </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>
          Enter the number of new tracks/busses you want to add.
        </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>
          Choose the I/O configuration of the tracks/busses you are adding
          using the clickbox.
        </para>
      </listitem>
    </orderedlist>
  </section>
  <xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" 
                href="renaming_tracks.xml" />
  <section id="deleting-tracks">
    <title>Deleting Tracks</title>
    <para>
      Deleting a track is permanent operation that cannot be undone.
      However, since the audio, MIDI, automation and other data associated
      with the track will remain as part of the session, and the actual
      playlist(s) that were in use by the track are still available. for use
      by other tracks. As a result, although inadvertently deleting a track
      is inconvenient, it doesn't result in any significant loss of
      information.
    </para>

    <section id="deleting-a-track">
      <title>deleting a track</title>
      <para>
        Click on the name of the track you want to delete. From the menu
        that appears, select <guimenuitem>Remove</guimenuitem>. A
        confirmation dialog will appear to ensure that you really meant to
        remove the track.
      </para>
    </section>
  </section>

  <section id="hiding-tracks">
    <title>Hiding Tracks</title>
    <para>
      The track list on the left edge of the Editor and Mixer can be used to
      hide or show specific tracks in either or both of those two windows.
      To hide a track, click to on the tracks name in the relevant track
      list. To show a track, click on its name in the track list. Visible
      tracks have their names shown in cyan, hidden ones in orange.
    </para>

    <para>
      You can also hide any track by clicking its hide button
      (images/hidebutton.ps).
    </para>

    <para>
      Hiding a track in the Editor has no effect on its visibility in the
      Mixer, and vice versa. Hiding a track in one or both windows does not
      affect the playback of that track's material.
    </para>
  </section>

  <section id="track-visibility">
    <title>Track Visibility</title>
    <section id="showing-all-tracks">
      <title>Showing all Tracks</title>
      <para>
        Click on the titlebar of the track list of the Editor or Mixer. From
        the menu that appears, select "Show All"
      </para>
    </section>

    <section id="hiding-all-tracks">
      <title>Hiding all Tracks</title>
      <para>
        Click on the titlebar of the track list of the Editor or Mixer. From
        the menu that appears, select "Hiding All".
      </para>
    </section>

    <section id="showing-classes-of-tracks">
      <title>Showing certain classes of tracks</title>
      <para>
        Click on the titlebar of the track list of the Editor or Mixer. From
        the menu that appears, select "Show All Audio Tracks", or "Show all
        Busses" as appropriate.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section id="hiding-classes-of-tracks">
      <title>Hiding certain classes of tracks</title>
      <para>
        Click on the titlebar of the track list of the Editor or Mixer. From
        the menu that appears, select "Hide All Audio Tracks", or "Hide all
        Busses" as appropriate.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section id="reordering-tracks">
      <title>Reordering Tracks</title>
      <para>
        Tracks may be reordered by clicking on their name in one of the
        track lists and dragging it to a new position in the list. Note that
        the order of tracks in the editor is totally independent of their
        order in the mixer.
      </para>
    </section>
  </section>

  <section id="io-configuration">
    <title>I/O Configuration</title>
    <para></para>
  </section>

  <section id="soloing-tracks">
    <title>Soloing Tracks</title>
    <para>
      "Soloing" a track refers to changing some aspect of the signal flow
      through Ardour that makes it possible to listen to one (or just a few)
      tracks at a time. It is often done during mixing and mastering to help
      an audio engineer listen carefully to parts of the mix.
    </para>

    <para>
      Tracks may be soloed at any time. When one or more tracks are soloed,
      all non-soloedntracks will no longer be audible.
    </para>

    <para>
      Soloing tracks does not affect the solo status of busses, nor vice
      versa. That is, soloing a track leaves all busses audible and soloing
      a track leaves all tracks "audible". You may not actually be able to
      hear the "audible" material if it is routed through a non-soloed bus.
    </para>

    <para>
      This design is intended to allow FX busses and master outs to be
      useful even when soloing. Soloing is made significantly more complex
      by the presence of control outs (see control_outs_soloing for more
      details on soloing with control outs).
    </para>

    <section id="rude-solo-light">
      <title>Rude Solo Light</title>
      <para>
        Whenever one or more tracks are soloed, the "rude solo light" in the
        transport window will flash. You can cancel any current solos by
        clicking on the "rude solo light".
      </para>
    </section>

    <section id="solo-modes">
      <title>Solo modes</title>
      <para>
        Ardour has two solo modes.
      </para>

      <variablelist>
        <title></title>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>solo latch</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
              soloing a track adds it to the set of soloed tracks, so you
              may have any number of soloed tracks.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
          <term>solo unlatch</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
              soloing a track unsolos any other soloed track, so you can
              have only one soloed track at a time.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </section>

    <section id="changing-solo-mode">
      <title>Changing Solo Mode</title>
      <para>
        To change the solo mode, goto the Options editor (options_editor)
        and view the <guilabel>Misc</guilabel> tab.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section id="soloing-a-track">
      <title>Soloing a Track</title>
      <para>
        To toggle the solo state of a track, click on the solo button in
        either the mixer strip for the track or the track controls section
        in the editor.
      </para>

      <para>
        To toggle the solo state of all tracks in an edit or mix group, use
        Ctrl1 on the solo button of a track in the group. If you do this in
        the Editor, the edit group will be used; in the Mixer, the mix group
        will be used.
      </para>

      <para>
        To toggle the solo state of all tracks, use
        <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Shift</keycap><mousebutton>Button1</mousebutton></keycombo>
        on a track solo button.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section id="solo-safe">
      <title>Solo safe</title>
      <para>
        To protect a track's current solo status, use Shift1 on that track's
        solo button. The color of the button will change to a pale blue to
        indicate "solo safe" status. No changes to the solo state for that
        track are possible until "solo safe" has been unset for the track.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section id="momentary-solo">
      <title>Momentary solo</title>
      <para>
        Use 2 on a track's solo button to solo the track for as long as the
        mouse button is pressed.
      </para>
    </section>
  </section>

  <section id="track-display-size">
    <title>Track Display Size</title>
    <para>
      In the editor window, tracks always extend across the full extent of
      the track display area, but they can have varying heights. In the
      mixer window, tracks always from the top to the bottom of the mixer
      (as strips), but they can have varying widths.
    </para>

    <section id="changing-editor-track-height">
      <title>Changing editor track height</title>
      <para></para>
    </section>

    <section id="changing-mixer-track-width">
      <title>Changing mixer track width</title>
      <para></para>
    </section>
  </section>

  <section id="track-groups">
    <title>Grouping Tracks</title>
    <section id="creating-a-track-group">
      <title>Creating a Group</title>
      <para></para>
    </section>

    <section id="renaming-track-group">
      <title>Renaming a Group</title>
      <para></para>
    </section>

    <section id="changing-members-of-a-track-group">
      <title>Changing members of a group</title>
      <para></para>
    </section>

    <section id="deleting-a-track-group">
      <title>Deleting a Group</title>
      <para></para>
    </section>
  </section>

  <section id="track-controls">
    <title>Track Controls</title>
    <para></para>
  </section>
  <xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" 
                href="default_track_names.xml" />
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