3 title: Ardour's Interface
7 In Ardour, you work in two main windows: the <dfn>Editor</dfn> and the
10 <img class="right" src="/diagrams/editor-summary.png"
11 alt="Ardour's editor window" />
13 To switch between those windows, use the buttons (in the upper right),
14 the shortcut <kbd class="mod2">M</kbd>, or the menu
15 <kbd class="menu">Window > Editor <em>(or Mixer)</em> > Show</kbd>.
16 Both windows can be visible at the same time (eg. for a multi-monitor
17 setup) using <kbd class="menu">Detach</kbd> in the same menu.</p>
19 The <dfn>Editor</dfn> window includes the editor track <dfn>canvas</dfn>
20 where you can arrange audio and MIDI data along a timeline. This is the
21 window you will be in while editing and arranging a project. The window
22 has a general "horizontal" sense to it: the timeline flows from left to
23 right, the playhead showing the current position in the session moves
24 from left to right — the window really represents <dfn>time</dfn>
25 in a fairly literal way.
27 <img class="right" src="/diagrams/mixer-summary.png"
28 alt="ardour's mixer window" />
30 The <dfn>Mixer</dfn> window on the other hand represents signal flow and
31 is the window you will probably be using most when mixing a session. It
32 includes <dfn>channel strips</dfn> for each track and bus in your session.
33 It has a general "vertical" sense to it: signals flow from the top of each
34 channel strip through the processing elements in the strip to reach the
35 output listed at the bottom.
38 It is possible to show a single channel strip in the editor window, and
39 some people find this enough to work on mixing without actually opening
40 the mixer window. Most of the time though, you will want both of these
41 windows at various stages of a session's lifetime — sometimes
42 you'll be focused on editing, sometimes on mixing and possibly some of