path: root/manual/xml/other_windows.xml

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<section id="sn-other-windows">
  <title>Other Windows</title>
  <para>
    This page summarises various windows you will find in your travels
    through Ardour that aren't available from the
    <guimenuitem>windows</guimenuitem> menu in the editor. They aren't
    available because they are specific to a particular object, like a mixer
    strip, and are launched from the object itself.
  </para>

  <section id="input-output-connections-editor">
    <title>Input/Output Connections Editor</title>
    <para>
      Selecting <guimenuitem>edit</guimenuitem> from the input drop-down
      menu on a mixer strip will open this window, as will selecting
      <guimenuitem>edit</guimenuitem> from the output button. The
      Input/Output connections editor is one of the strangest interfaces
      known to man. After a small amount of use, however, you will find it
      quite natural to use. Because these two windows are identical except
      for 'input' being transposed with 'output', we will cover the Input
      Connections Editor here and leave it up to your imaginative self to
      work out what it all means in the output window.
    </para>

    <para>
      When the window opens, you will be see that it is divided into two
      main areas marked <guilabel>Inputs</guilabel> and <guilabel>Available
      Connections</guilabel> . A third area contains buttons marked
      <guibutton>rescan</guibutton>, <guibutton>OK</guibutton> and
      <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton>.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <guilabel>Inputs</guilabel> area has two buttons marked
      <guibutton>add input</guibutton> and <guibutton>clear
      connections</guibutton>. The <guibutton>add input</guibutton> button
      adds an audio stream to the mixer strip.
    </para>

    <para>
      In other words, if you currently have a two input channel, pressing
      <guibutton>add input</guibutton> will make it a three input channel.
      If you subsequently record on the corresponding track, each region
      will comprise of three channels of audio taken from the inputs you
      have set in the area below.
    </para>

    <para>
      Pressing <guibutton>clear connections</guibutton> will remove all
      connections you have assigned in the area below.
    </para>

    <para>
      Speaking of "the area below", if you've used a template to create your
      new session with, the input fields will aready be filled in with
      default values that are determined by the number of channels your
      hardware supports. It should be noted that by default, inputs are
      initially set to hardware ports, as presumably you will be recording
      from a hardware device initially. This doesn't indicate a preference
      on Ardour's part, as software inputs are just as valid to Ardour as
      hardware ones.
    </para>

    <para>
      Anyway, in "the area below", notice that one input (probably labelled
      <literal>in 1</literal>) is a lighter colour than the other. If you
      only have one input at the moment, press <guibutton>add
      input</guibutton> just to see the difference. You can remove an input
      by holding the control key while right-clicking on the input name.
    </para>

    <para>
      The lighter coloured input is the one that will be added to when an
      output in the <guilabel>Available connections</guilabel> area is
      clicked. If the wrong input is highlighted, you can highlight the
      correct one by left-clicking the text of the input name you desire.
    </para>

    <para>
      Note that you can "mux" as many inputs together as you like when doing
      this, they just pile up on top of the last one. Be warned, though,
      that they are all summed at unity gain. You can reach some fairly
      astonishing levels by doing this a lot.
    </para>

    <para>
      If you click an output from the <guilabel>Available
      connections</guilabel> area, the connection is added to that input's
      list, the connection is made active, and the next input is made a
      lighter colour, indicating that it is ready to accept your selection.
      This makes it a simple matter to assign many connections rapidly. The
      transport does not have to be stopped to change inputs or outputs (or
      anything, really) in Ardour.
    </para>

    <para>
      Removing assignments is achieved by left-clicking the relevant output
      in the <guilabel>inputs</guilabel> area. As with most objects in
      Ardour, you can also remove an assignment by holding the shift key
      while right-clicking it.
    </para>

    <para>
      The Available connections area lists all available connections, sorted
      into tabs which represent their associated hardware or software ports.
      The front tab is always <literal>alsa_pcm</literal>. this represents
      the physical ports on your computer. It should contain as many ports
      as hour hardware has inputs.
    </para>

    <para>
      The next tab is Ardour. This tab lists all the connections that Ardour
      has available, including inserts and sends. If you have some other
      Jack aware programs running, they will be given tabs in this area
      which will correspond to their Jack output ports.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <guibutton>rescan</guibutton> button searches for any new
      available outputs. It may be necessary to use it if you have started a
      Jack application after you open the window.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> button closes the window
      <emphasis>XXX what really happens?</emphasis> , as does the
      <guibutton>OK</guibutton> button.
    </para>
  </section>

  <section id="ladspa-plugin-window">
    <title>The LADSPA Plugin Window</title>
    <para>
      This window opens when you double-left-click or control right-click a
      plugin on a mixer strip. It allows you to adjust, store and automate
      the controls presented by any LADSPA plugin. Because LADSPA plugins do
      not contain graphical interface information, this window adapts itself
      to suit the various controls presented by the plugin. The advantage of
      this system is that each plugin appears consistently within Ardour.
      The disadvantage is that with a few plugins, the controls seem to be
      laid out in a haphazard fashion. This is not usually the case,
      however.
    </para>

    <para>
      Each plugin window will have a <guibutton>bypass</guibutton> switch in
      the top left. Whenever you add a plugin, it's initial state will be
      bypass. The button will be red and appear depressed. To activate the
      plugin, press the <guibutton>bypass</guibutton> button. you should
      immediately hear the plugin inserted in the signal path. All plugins
      that report their latency are automatically time compensated
      sample-accurately.
    </para>

    <para>
      To the left of the bypass switch you will see the name of the plugin,
      the author and the number of inputs and outputs that the plugin makes
      use of. To the right will be a text entry area, a list selector and a
      <guibutton>Save</guibutton> button. To save a combination of settings,
      press the <guibutton>Save</guibutton> button. A window will appear
      asking for the name of the preset. Enter a name, press
      <guibutton>OK</guibutton>, and your new preset will appear on the list
      of saved settings.
    </para>

    <para>
      To restore a saved preset, select it from the list. The settings
      should immediately be restored as you release the mouse button.
    </para>

    <para>
      The rest of the window consists of sliders and buttons which represent
      the various controls available for the plugin. To move a slider, left
      click it and slide the mouse horizontally over the range of the
      control. You can see the numeric value and the bar change as you move
      the mouse. You can also press the control key while moving for finer
      adjustments.
    </para>

    <para>
      Next to each control is an automation mode button. The default state
      is <guimenuitem>off</guimenuitem>. To write automation information,
      press the button and select <guimenuitem>write</guimenuitem> from the
      drop-down list. After engaging the transport, movement of the control
      will be recorded for playback when the <guimenuitem>play</guimenuitem>
      automation mode is selected. <guimenuitem>Touch</guimenuitem> mode
      automatically switches from <guimenuitem>play</guimenuitem> to
      <guimenuitem>write</guimenuitem> as the control is first selected with
      the mouse button and released, respectively. The automation data is
      accessible from the editor window, along with the other automation
      data for the track.
    </para>
  </section>

  <section id="export-window">
    <title>The Export Window</title>
    <para>
      The export window appears when either <guimenuitem>export session to
      audiofile</guimenuitem> or <guimenuitem>export range to
      audiofile</guimenuitem> have been selected from the session menu. This
      window enables an audio file to be rendered from either the master bus
      or individual tracks in freewheel mode. A large range of audio file
      formats are supported, as is the ability to export a CUE or TOC file
      representing any CD index or track markers you may have in the
      session. Bit depth reduction can be performed with three types of
      dither, or no dither.
    </para>
  </section>

  <section id="crossfade-editor-window">
    <title>The Crossfade Editor Window</title>
    <para>
      The crossfade editor will appear whenever you select <menuchoice>
      <guimenu>crossfade</guimenu> <guisubmenu>edit</guisubmenu>
      </menuchoice> from any active or inactive crossfade in the editor
      window. This window allows you to customise the default crossfade that
      is automatically applied when two regions overlap. Provision is made
      for auditioning different elements of the crossfade, or the crossfade
      as a whole.
    </para>
  </section>

  <section id="locations-window">
    <title>the Locations Window</title>
    <para>
      The locations window provides a means to locate to and define points
      and ranges in your session. Points and ranges may also be 'promoted'
      to be CD Index or CD Track markers, respectively. Once promoted, they
      may be exported to a standard T.O.C. or CUE file along with the
      exported audio using the export window. The locations window will
      appear when <menuchoice> <guimenu>windows</guimenu>
      <guisubmenu>locations</guisubmenu> </menuchoice> is selected from the
      editor window.
    </para>
  </section>
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