9 <dfn>Clocks</dfn> in Ardour are used to display <dfn>time values</dfn> precisely.
11 In many cases, they are also one way to edit (change) time values, and in a few
13 cases, the only way. All clocks share the same basic appearance and functionality,
15 which is described below, but a few clocks serve particularly important roles.
21 <h2>Transport Clocks</h2>
27 In the transport bar of the editor window there are two clocks (unless you
29 are on a very small screen), that display the current position of the playhead
31 and additional information related to transport control and the timeline. These
33 are called the <dfn>transport clocks</dfn>; the left one is the primary
35 transport clock and the right one is the secondary transport clock.
43 <img src="/images/a3_new_main_clocks.png" alt="An image of the transport clocks in Ardour 3" />
49 Editing the time in the transport clocks will reposition the playhead in the same
51 way that various other editing operations will.
57 <h3>The Big Clock</h3>
61 To show the current playhead position in a big, resizable window, activate
63 <kbd class="menu">Window > Big Clock</kbd>. The big clock is very useful
65 when you need to work away from the screen but still want to see the playhead
67 position clearly (such as when working with a remote control device across
69 a room). The big clock will change its visual appearance to indicate when active
71 recording is taking place. Below on the left is a screenshot showing a fairly
73 large big clock window filling a good part of the display, and on the right,
75 the same clock during active recording.
79 <a href="/images/bigclock.png"><img src="/images/bigclock.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock filling a screen" /></a> <a href="/images/bigclock-recording.png"><img src="/images/bigclock-recording.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock while recording"
85 <h3>The Special Role of the Secondary Transport Clock</h3>
89 On a few occasions Ardour needs to display time values to the user, but there
91 is no obvious way to specify what units to use. The most common case is the big
93 cursor that appears when dragging regions. For this and other similar cases,
95 Ardour will display time using the same units as the secondary clock.
99 <h4>Why are there two transport clocks?</h4>
103 Having two transport clocks lets you see the playhead position in two different
105 time units without having to change any settings. For example, you can see the
107 playhead position in both timecode units and BBT time.
113 <h3>Selection and Punch Clocks</h3>
117 The transport bar also contains a set of 5 clocks that show the current
119 <dfn>selection range</dfn> and <dfn>punch ranges</dfn>. Clicking on the punch
121 range clocks will locate to either the beginning or end of the punch range.
123 Similarly, clicking on the range clocks will locate to either the beginning
125 or end of the current selection. In this screen shot there is no current
127 selection range, so the selection clocks show an "off" state.
133 <img src="/images/selectionpunchclocks.png" alt="An image of the the selection and punch clocks in Ardour 3" />
141 Every clock in Ardour has four different, selectable <dfn>clock
143 modes</dfn>. Each mode displays time using different units.
145 You can change the clock mode by <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking
147 on the clock and selecting the desired mode from the menu. Some clocks are
149 entirely independent of any other clock's mode; others are linked so that
151 changing one changes all clocks in that group. The different modes are:
159 <dd>Time is shown as <dfn><abbr title="Society of Motion Picture and Television
161 Engineers">SMPTE</abbr> timecode</dfn> in Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Frames,
163 measured from the timecode zero point on the timeline (which may not
165 correspond to the session start and/or absolute zero on the timeline,
167 depending on configurable timecode offsets).
169 The frames value is dictated by either the session <abbr title="Frames Per
171 Second">FPS</abbr> setting, or, if slaved to an external timecode master,
173 the master's setting. In the transport clocks, the FPS value is shown below
175 the time display, along with an indication of the current timecode source
177 (<samp>INT</samp> means that Ardour is its own timecode source).</dd>
181 <dd>Time is shown as Bars:Beats:Ticks, indicating <dfn>musical time</dfn> measured
183 from the start of the session. The transport clocks show the current tempo
185 in <abbr title="Beats Per Minute">bpm</abbr> and meter below the time
189 <dt>Minutes:Seconds</dt>
191 <dd>Time is shown as Hours:Minutes:Seconds.Milliseconds, measured from the
193 absolute start of the timeline (ignoring the session start and any timecode
199 <dd>Time is shown as a <dfn>sample count</dfn> from the absolute start of the timeline
201 (ignoring the session start and any timecode offsets). The number of
203 samples per second is given by the current sample rate, and in the transport
205 clocks, this rate is shown below the time display along with any
207 pullup/pulldown adjustment.</dd>
213 <h3>Special Modes for the Transport Clocks</h3>
217 In addition to the time-unit modes mentioned above, each of the two transport
219 clocks (if you work on a small screen, you may only have one) can be
221 independently set to display <dfn>Delta to Edit Point</dfn> in whatever time
223 units its current mode indicates. This setting means that the clock shows the
225 distance between the playhead and the current edit point, and it may show a
227 positive or negative value depending on the temporal order of these two points.
229 The clocks will use a different color when in this mode to avoid confusion.
235 To switch either (or both!) of the transport clocks into this mode, use
237 <kbd class="menu"> Edit > Preferences > Transport</kbd> and select
239 the relevant checkboxes.
245 Note that when in <samp>Delta to Edit Point</samp> mode, the transport clocks
253 <h2>Changing clock values with the keyboard</h2>
257 New values for the clock can be typed in after clicking on the relevant clock.
259 Clicking on the clock will show a thin vertical cursor bar just to the right
261 of the next character to be overwritten. Enter time in the same order as the
263 current clock mode—if the clock is in Timecode mode, you need to enter
265 hours, minutes, seconds, frames. So, to change to a time of 12:15:20:15 you
267 would type <kbd class="input">1 2 1 5 2 0 1 5</kbd>. Each number you type will
269 appear in a different color, from right to left, overwriting the existing value.
271 Mid-edit, after typing <kbd class="input">3 2 2 2</kbd> the clock might look like this:
275 <img src="/images/clockedit.png" alt="An image of a clock being edited in Ardour 3" />
279 To finish the edit, press <kbd>↵</kbd> or <kbd>Tab</kbd>. To exit an
281 edit without changing the clock press <kbd>ESC</kbd>. If you mis-type an entry
283 so that the new value would be illegal (for example, resulting in more than 30
285 frames when Timecode is set to 30 frames per second), the clock will reset at
287 the end of the edit, and move the cursor back to the start so that you can
295 <h3>Avoiding the mouse entirely</h3>
299 There is a shortcut available for those who wish to be able to edit the transport
301 clocks entirely without the mouse. It can be found in
303 <kbd class="menu">Window > Key Bindings > Transport > Focus On
305 Clock</kbd>. If bound to a key (<kbd>÷</kbd> on the numerical
309 default), then pressing that key is equivalent to clicking on the primary (left)
311 transport clock, and editing can begin immediately.
317 <h3>Entering Partial Times</h3>
321 One detail of the editing design that is not immediately obvious is that it is
323 possible to enter part of a full time value. Suppose that the clock is in BBT
325 mode, displaying <samp>024|03|0029</samp>, and you want to alter the value to
327 the first beat of the current bar. Click on the clock and type
329 <kbd class="input">0 1 0 0 0 0</kbd>. Similarly, if it is in Minutes:Seconds
331 mode, displaying <samp>02:03:04.456</samp>, and you want to get to exactly 2
333 hours, click on the clock and type <kbd class="input">0 0 0 0 0 0 0</kbd> to
335 reset the minutes, seconds and milliseconds fields.
341 <h3>Entering Delta Times</h3>
345 You can also type values into the clock that are intended as a relative change,
347 rather than a new absolute value. Simply end the edit by pressing
349 <kbd>+</kbd> or <kbd>-</kbd> (the ones on any keypad will also work). The plus
351 key will add the entered value to the current value of the clock, minus will
353 subtract it. For example, if the clock is in Samples mode and displays
355 <samp>2917839</samp>, you move it back 2000 samples by typing
357 <kbd class="input">2 0 0 0</kbd> and <kbd>-</kbd>, rather than ending with
363 <h2>Changing clock values with the mouse</h2>
367 <h3>Using a scroll wheel</h3>
373 Position the mouse pointer over the clock, and move the scroll wheel. Moving
375 the scroll wheel up (<kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd>) increases the value
377 shown on the clock, moving it down (<kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd>)
379 decreases it. The step size is equal to the unit of the field
381 you are hovering over (seconds, hours, etc.).
387 <h3>Dragging the mouse</h3>
393 Position the mouse pointer over the clock, press the left mouse button and drag.
395 Dragging upwards increases the value shown on the clock, dragging downwards
397 decreases it, again with a step size equal to the unit of the field you