3 Global <dfn>preferences</dfn> control general workflow and system
4 configuration, and should apply to all sessions. They are located in <kbd
5 class="menu">Edit > Preferences</kbd> and stored in Ardour's <dfn>user
6 configuration file</dfn> in the user's home directory.
10 <img class="mini" style="width:600px;" src="/images/preferences.png" alt="The Preferences window">
12 The Preferences window
17 Preferences are conveniently grouped by category:
21 <li><a href="#preferences-general">General</a></li>
22 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance">Appearance</a></li>
24 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance-recorder">Recorder</a></li>
25 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance-editor">Editor</a></li>
26 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance-mixer">Mixer</a></li>
27 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance-toolbar">Toolbar</a></li>
28 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance-size-and-scale">Size and Scale</a></li>
29 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance-colors">Colors</a></li>
30 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance-quirks">Quirks</a></li>
31 <li><a href="#preferences-appearance-translation">Translation</a></li>
33 <li><a href="#preferences-editor">Editor</a></li>
35 <li><a href="#preferences-editor-snap">Snap</a></li>
36 <li><a href="#preferences-editor-modifiers">Modifiers</a></li>
38 <li><a href="#preferences-midi">MIDI</a></li>
40 <li><a href="#preferences-midi-port-config">MIDI Port Config</a></li>
42 <li><a href="#preferences-transport">Transport</a></li>
44 <li><a href="#preferences-transport-chase">Chase</a></li>
45 <li><a href="#preferences-transport-generate">Generate</a></li>
47 <li><a href="#preferences-plugins">Plugins</a></li>
49 <li><a href="#preferences-plugins-gui">GUI</li>
50 <li><a href="#preferences-plugins-vst">VST</a></li>
51 <li><a href="#preferences-plugins-audio_unit">Audio Unit</a></li>
53 <li><a href="#preferences-monitoring">Monitoring</a></li>
54 <li><a href="#preferences-signal_flow">Signal Flow</a></li>
55 <li><a href="#preferences-metronome">Metronome</a></li>
56 <li><a href="#preferences-control_surfaces">Control Surfaces</a></li>
57 <li><a href="#preferences-metering">Metering</a></li>
58 <li><a href="#preferences-performance">Performance</a></li>
59 <li><a href="#preferences-video">Video</a></li>
60 <li><a href="#preferences-triggering">Triggering</a></li>
63 <h2 class="clear" id="preferences-general">General</h2>
67 <dfn>Audio/MIDI Setup</dfn>
70 <dfn>Show Audio/MIDI Setup window</dfn> Shows the
71 <a href="@@audio-midi-setup">Audio/MIDI Setup</a> dialog.
74 <dfn>Try to auto-launch audio/midi engine</dfn> allows Ardour to try to
75 automatically launch the audio and MIDI system, driver and device, thus not
76 showing the <a href="@@audio-midi-setup">Audio/MIDI Setup</a> dialog. This
77 can save a little time if the system is always used the same way.
82 <dfn>Editor Undo</dfn> defines the behaviour of the Undo operations:
85 <strong>Limit undo history</strong> sets how many commands can be
86 undone using <kbd class="mod1">Z</kbd> or <kbd class="menu">Edit > Undo</kbd>.
87 Unchecking will keep an endless memory of operations to undo, at the
91 <strong>Save undo history</strong> sets how many commands are saved so
92 they are available to be undone after reopening the session. This can
93 also be unchecked to keep all actions undoable, at the cost of bigger
97 <strong>Verify removal of last capture</strong> when enabled prompts to
98 verify removal the last recording capture when
99 <kbd class="menu">Edit > Remove Last Capture</kbd> is executed.
104 <dfn>Session Management</dfn>:
107 <strong>Make periodic backups of the session file</strong> will create
108 a backup session file after changes to the timeline. The backup file is
109 the session name followed by <em>.ardour.bak</em>. The backup can be
110 used to recover from crashes when the session had not been explicitly
114 <strong>Default folder for new sessions:</strong> defaults the folder
115 where Ardour will create new session folders. This is used in the
116 <em>Session Setup</em> dialog displayed by
117 <kbd class="menu">Session > New</kbd>.
120 <strong>Maximum number of recent sessions:</strong> determines how
121 many of the last opened sessions shows in the <em>Recent Sessions</em>
122 dialog displayed by <kbd class="menu">Session > Recent</kbd>.
130 <strong>Drag and drop import always copies files to session</strong>
131 selects, and then disables changes to, the <em>Copy files to session</em>
132 option in the <a href="@@import-dialog">Add Existing Media</a> dialog.
135 <strong>Cache Folder for downloaded Freesound clips</strong>: when you try
136 sounds form FreeSound.org before inserting them into the project, they need
137 to be saved locally on your computer; this is where you define the folder
138 for those temporary files.
146 <dfn>Save loudness analysis as image file after export</dfn> allows, when the
147 <kbd class="option">Analyze Exported Audio</kbd> is checked in the
148 <a href="@@export-dialog">Export dialog</a>, to save the analysis graph
149 as a file named <code>session.png</code> alongside the exported audio
150 file(s) (in the same folder).
153 <dfn>Save Mixer screenshot after export</dfn> creates and exports
154 a graphical image of the Mixer window as a file named
155 <code>session-mixer.png</code> alongside the exported audio file(s)
156 (in the same folder).
161 <dfn>New Version Check</dfn>
164 <dfn>Check for announcements at application start</dfn> sends an
165 anonymous request to Ardour's server to check for a new version.
171 <h2 id="preferences-appearance">Appearance</h2>
178 <dfn>Lock timeout (seconds)</dfn>: locks the <abbr title="Graphical User
179 Interface">GUI</abbr> after this many idle seconds (zero being 'never lock').
180 The GUI can also be locked with <kbd class="menu">Session > Lock</kbd>. When
181 locked, a dialog will display a "Click to unlock" button.
184 <dfn>System Screensaver Mode</dfn>: can be used to prevent the
185 screensaver to be launched by the system, either while recording
186 (e.g. for long and unattended recording session), when Ardour is
187 simply started, or never (the screensaver is then able to start).
195 <dfn>Draw "flat" buttons</dfn>: when enabled, button controls
196 in the user interface will be drawn with a flat look. When disabled button
197 controls will have a slight 3D appearance.
200 <dfn>Draw "boxy" buttons</dfn>: when enabled, button controls
201 in the user interface will have square corners instead of being slightly
205 <dfn>LED meter style</dfn> if checked, the bar meters in the editor and
206 mixer will be styled to look like if they were made of LEDs, with a dotted
207 bar. Unchecking this option makes the bars flat and continuous.
210 <dfn>Icon Set:</dfn> Changes the mouse cursor icons used to indicate
211 different tool modes in the editor. An example would be the icons used to
212 indicate whether the cursor will select a region or change the length of a
218 <dfn>Graphical User Interface</dfn>
221 <dfn>Highlight widgets on mouseover</dfn>, when checked, makes Ardour's
222 widgets (buttons, sliders, …) slightly change color when the mouse
223 hovers them, visually indicating what a mouse action would interact with.
226 <dfn>Show tooltips if mouse hovers over a control</dfn> when checked,
227 displays a little help bubble about the control the mouse hovers. The mouse
228 pointer needs to stay idle for about 1 sec for the tooltip to appear.
231 <dfn>Update clocks at TC Frame rate</dfn>: Ardour updates its clocks every
232 100 ms. Checking this will make the clock refresh at every TimeCode
233 frame which is more responsive, at the cost of a bit more system stress.
236 <dfn>Blink Rec-Arm buttons</dfn>: when enabled, the record-armed
237 buttons on tracks will blink when they are armed but not currently recording.
238 When disabled, the record-armed buttons on tracks will be outlined in red
239 instead of blinking. The global record-arm button in the
240 <a href="@@transport-bar">Transport bar</a> is unaffected.
243 <dfn>Blink Alert indicators</dfn>: when enabled, the Alert indicators (like
244 the <kbd class="menu">Error Log</kbd> or the <kbd class="menu">Feedback</kbd>
245 button) will blink when they are active (when an error or feedback
246 has been detected, respectively). When disabled, the indicators will turn red instead of
252 <dfn>Graphics Acceleration</dfn>
255 <dfn>Disable Graphics Hardware Acceleration (requires restart)</dfn>:
256 Ardour uses hardware accelerated UI rendering by default for speed.
257 Sometimes though, a buggy driver can cause this to make the system slow or
258 unstable. Checking this will make Ardour draw its UI without
259 hardware acceleration, in software, improving stability and responsiveness
260 on those buggy systems at the expense of speed.
266 <h3 id="preferences-appearance-recorder">Recorder</h2>
270 <dfn>Input Meter Layout</dfn>
273 <dfn>Input Meter Layout</dfn>: in Recorder mode, determines if audio
274 inputs are displayed horizontally or vertically.
280 <h3 id="preferences-appearance-editor">Editor</h2>
287 <dfn>Use name highlight bars in region displays (requires a restart)</dfn>:
288 when enabled, the region name is displayed, in the editor, in its own opaque bar
289 at the bottom of the region. When disabled, the region name is overlaid
290 at the top of the region, possibly over audio waveforms or MIDI notes.
293 <dfn>Region color follows track color</dfn>: when enabled,
294 the background color of regions in the editor will be displayed using
295 the color assigned to the track. When disabled the default region
296 background color will be used.
299 <dfn>Show Region Names</dfn>: when enabled, overlays the name of
300 the region over its waveform representation, in the top-left.
303 <dfn>Waveforms color gradient depth:</dfn> determines how much gradient
304 effect is applied to the inner of audio waveforms displayed in the editor.
305 Values range from 0.0, no gradient effect, to 1.0, maximum effect.
308 <dfn>Timeline item gradient depth:</dfn> Determines how much
309 gradient effect is applied to the backgrounds of regions displayed in the
310 editor. Values range from 0.0, no gradient effect, to 1.0, maximum effect.
313 <dfn>Track name ellipsize mode:</dfn> when the track header is not
314 wide enough to display the track's name in full, selects how the
315 name will be shorten between:
317 <li><em>Ellipsize start of name</em> will show only the end of the name</li>
318 <li><em>Ellipsize middle of name</em> will show only the start and end of the name</li>
319 <li><em>Ellipsize end of name</em> will show only the start of the name</li>
323 <dfn>Add a visual gap below Audio Regions:</dfn> selects whether or
324 not the audio regions fit the height of the track or leave a gap at
325 the bottom, either small or large.
333 <dfn>Show waveforms in regions</dfn>: when enabled, shows a visual
334 representation of the region's audio waveform.
337 <dfn>Show waveforms while recording</dfn>: when enabled, will draw
338 the audio waveform in regions being recorded, in near real time.
339 When disabled, only a region block will be drawn while recording,
340 reducing CPU requirements.
343 <dfn>Show waveform clipping</dfn>: when enabled, the waveform
344 displayed will show peaks marked in red if they exceed the clip level.
347 <dfn>Waveform Clip Level (dBFS)</dfn>: sets the level at which the
348 waveform shown in an audio region will be drawn in red to indicate
349 clipping. Setting lower than 0.0 dBFS can be useful if any tool in
350 the audio chain has problems near 0.0 dBFS.
353 <dfn>Waveform scale</dfn>: when waveforms are shown in audio regions,
354 they can be displayed using a <em>linear</em> or a <em>logarithmic</em>
355 scale. See <a href="@@waveform-display">Waveform display</a>.
358 <dfn>Waveform shape</dfn>: when waveforms are shown in audio regions,
359 they can be displayed using a <em>traditional</em> or a <em>rectified</em>
360 shape. See <a href="@@waveform-display">Waveform display</a>.
365 <dfn>Editor Meters</dfn>
368 <dfn>Show meters in track headers</dfn>: when enabled, shows
369 a small meter in the Editor's <a href="@@audio-track-controls">track headers</a>.
370 The meter is shown on the right side area of the header and provides an
371 instant, if unprecise, view of the levels on this track/bus.
374 <dfn>Limit track header meters to stereo</dfn>: if a track has more than
375 two outputs (e.g. with a drum plugin), limits the number of meters in the
376 track header to the first two ones. Only affects audio meters, not MIDI.
381 <dfn>MIDI Regions</dfn>
384 <dfn>Display first MIDI bank/program as 0</dfn>: when patches and bank changes
385 are displayed in the editor, if this option is checked, the numbering will
386 be zero-based instead of one-based, i.e. banks/programs will be numbered
387 O, 1 ,2… instead of 1, 2, 3…
390 <dfn>Don't display periodic (MTC, MMC) SysEx messages in MIDI Regions</dfn>:
391 if checked, will hide these control messages from the MIDI regions for better
395 <dfn>Show velocity horizontally inside notes</dfn>: when on, each note
396 of a MIDI region (in <em>Sustained</em> mode) displays its velocity
397 (0-127) with a darker fill proportional to its value.
400 <dfn>Use colors to show note velocity</dfn>: if checked, makes the
401 saturation of the notes color proportional to its velocity, hence making
402 a more veloce note more intense in color.
408 <h3 id="preferences-appearance-mixer">Mixer</h3>
412 <dfn>Mixer Strip</dfn>
415 This table enables (checked) or disables (unchecked) the display of controls
416 in the <a href="@@audiomidi-mixer-strips">mixer strip</a>. Controls whose
417 display can be toggled are:
418 <strong>Input</strong>, <strong>Phase Invert</strong>,
419 <strong>Record & Monitor</strong>, <strong>Solo Iso/Lock</strong>,
420 <strong>Output</strong>, <strong>Comments</strong> and VCA Assigns.
423 <dfn>Use narrow strips in the mixer for new strips by default</dfn> When
424 enabled, new mixer strips are created in narrow format. When disabled,
425 they are created in wide format. Existing mixer strips width can be toggled
426 with the width control at the top left of the mixer strip.
429 <dfn>Limit inline-mixer-strip controls per plugin :</dfn> Whether or
430 not, and how many, controls each plugin can show in the mixer strip.
431 These mixer-strip controls are added by checking <em>plugin context-menu
432 > Controls > □ control parameter</em>.
438 <h3 id="preferences-appearance-toolbar">Toolbar</h3>
442 <dfn>Main Transport Toolbar Items</dfn>: this section allows to toggle the
443 visibility of some elements of the main toolbar:
446 <dfn>Display Record/Punch Options</dfn> toggles the visibility of the
447 <a href="@@selection-and-punch-clocks#punch_controls">punch and record</a> slice of
451 <dfn>Display Latency Compensation Info</dfn> toggles the visibility of the
452 Latency Compensation slice of the main toolbar.
455 <dfn>Display Secondary Clock</dfn> toggles the visibility of the
456 <a href="@@transport-clocks">secondary clocks</a> slice of
460 <dfn>Display Selection Clock</dfn> toggles the visibility of the
461 <a href="@@selection-and-punch-clocks#selection_clocks">selection clocks</a> slice of
465 <dfn>Display Monitor Section Info</dfn> toggles the visibility of the
466 Monitor Info slice of the main toolbar.
469 <dfn>Display Cue Rec/Play Controls</dfn> toggles the visibility of the
470 buttons that enable creating and playing back cue markers.
473 <dfn>Display Navigation Timeline</dfn> toggles the visibility of the
474 <a href="@@mini-timeline">navigation/mini timeline</a> slice of
478 <dfn>Display Master Level Meter</dfn> toggles the visibility of the
479 <a href="@@other-toolbar-items#mode_selector">selection clocks</a> slice of
485 <dfn>Display Action-Buttons</dfn>
488 <dfn>Column <em>n</em></dfn> enables or disables the visibility
489 of the six possible columns of <a href="@@other-toolbar-items#mode_selector">Lua script buttons</a>.
490 Each columns contains two user-assignable buttons.
496 <h3 id="preferences-appearance-size-and-scale">Size and Scale</h3>
500 <dfn>User Interface Size and Scale</dfn>
503 <dfn>GUI and Font scaling:</dfn> allows the display size of most of the
504 text and buttons in the user interface to be scaled up or down. May
505 require a restart to take effect.
511 <h3 id="preferences-appearance-colors">Colors</h3>
518 <dfn>Color Theme</dfn> allows to switch between some presets bundled with
519 Ardour, changing both the palette and items colors, hence styling Ardour
523 The table allows to change the color settings in Ardour by acting on three
527 <dfn>Items</dfn> that allow to choose any color from the palette (see below)
528 to color a UI element. Clicking on a color sample in the <strong>Color</strong>
529 column bring up the Palette, to choose from.
532 <dfn>Palette</dfn> that allows to create a set of colors that will be used
533 in the UI. Using a palette allows for better consistency, instead of
534 picking "free" colors for each UI element. Clicking on a color patch brings
535 up a full color selector, to assign this color to this patch of the palette.
538 <dfn>Transparency</dfn> where possible, allows to select, with a slider,
539 the transparency of the UI element, with 0 (slider to the left) being
545 <dfn>Restore Defaults</dfn> turns all the palette, item colors and transparency
546 back to Ardour's default base setting, in case Ardour's appearance has turned
547 into a toddler's toy.
553 <h3 id="preferences-appearance-quirks">Quirks</h3>
557 <dfn>Various Workarounds for Windowing Systems</dfn>: As Ardour is available
558 on a number of platforms and windowing systems, some specific workarounds are
559 sometimes required to provide a smooth experience to the user.
562 <dfn>Use visibility information provided by your Window Manager/Desktop</dfn>
563 allows the system window manager's rules for the windows visibility to
567 <dfn>Show/Hide splash screen instead of setting z-axis stack order</dfn>:
568 Hides the splash instead of re-layering it. This setting requires a restart
569 of Ardour to take effect.
572 <dfn>All floating windows are dialogs</dfn>: when enabled, Ardour will
573 use type "Dialog" for all floating windows instead of using type
574 "Utility" for some of them. This may help usability with some
575 window managers. This setting requires a restart of Ardour to take effect.
578 <dfn>Transient windows follow front window.</dfn>: when enabled,
579 transient windows will follow the front window when toggling between the
580 editor and mixer. This setting requires a restart of Ardour to take effect.
583 <dfn>Float detached monitor-section window</dfn>: as the <a href="@@monitor-section">
584 monitor section</a> can be detached from the mixer, this option makes it a
585 floating window, which may be handled differently by the windowing system
586 and easier to access.
592 <h3 id="preferences-appearance-translation">Translation</h3>
596 <dfn>Internationalization</dfn>
599 <dfn>Use translations</dfn> sets if Ardour should use a translated
600 version of all the messages. The default (unchecked) is English (US). When
601 checked, and if a language file exists for the system language, this file
602 will be used to translate Ardour.
608 <h2 id="preferences-editor">Editor</h2>
612 <dfn>Region Information</dfn>
615 <dfn>Show xrun markers in regions</dfn> puts a marker on the region(s)
616 while recording, when a buffer over/underflow happens.
619 <dfn>Show cue markers in regions</dfn> determines if cue markers,
620 that are bounded to regions, are displayed or not.
623 <dfn>Show gain envelopes in audio regions:</dfn> sets in which
624 <a href="@@toolbox">modes</a> the gain envelope is displayed in audio regions.
625 The gain envelope is superimposed over the region in the selected modes, and
626 hidden otherwise for a better legibility.
631 <dfn>Scroll and Zoom Behaviors</dfn>
634 <dfn>Zoom to mouse position when zooming with scroll wheel</dfn>: by default,
635 Ardour zooms to the <a href="@@edit-point-control">edit point</a>. When this
636 option is checked, and the zoom is done with <kbd class="mod1n"></kbd> + mousewheel,
637 the zoom will happen at the mouse cursor position regardless of the edit point
641 <dfn>Zoom with vertical drag in rulers</dfn> allows, when checked, to click
642 anywhere in an empty zone of the <a href="@@ruler">ruler</a> zone and drag
643 up to zoom in or down to zoom out.
646 <dfn>Double click zooms to selection</dfn> allows by double clicking, to zoom
647 on the selection, both on the time and tracks axes. If the selection has been
648 done with <kbd class="mod1n"></kbd> or <kbd class="mod3n"></kbd>, then this
649 key should still be pressed when double clicking for this to work, otherwise
650 the first click breaks the group selection.
653 <dfn>Update editor window during drags of the summary</dfn>: when
654 enabled the contents of the editor window will redraw the tracks area
655 as the selection rectangle in the <a href="@@summary">summary</a> area is
659 <dfn>Auto-scroll editor window when dragging near its edges</dfn>
660 when enabled will scroll the editor window automatically when dragging a
661 region. This can make it easier to see where to position the region.
664 <dfn>Auto-scroll speed when dragging playhead:</dfn> chooses how fast the canvas
665 scrolls when dragging the playhead outside of the visible canvas.
668 <dfn>Limit zoom & summary view beyond session extents to:</dfn>
669 prevents the zoom out both in the editor and the summary, to show anything past
670 the chosen time after the end marker, restraining the vision to only useful
676 <dfn>Editor Behaviour</dfn>
679 <dfn>Move relevant automation when audio regions are moved</dfn>,
680 when enabled, causes automation data to stay with a region when the
681 region is moved inside the playlist. When disabled, the automation is
682 not affected by movement of regions.
685 <dfn>Ignore Y-axis click position when adding new automation-points</dfn>
686 allows to create new automation points at the x-position of the mouse, without
687 using the Y-position as the value, hence creating a new automation point at
691 <dfn>Automation edit cancels auto hide</dfn> determines wether automation
692 lanes that have been automatically shown because of the
693 <kbd class="option">Edit > Show Automation Lane on Touch</kbd>
694 option should be kept visible if the automation has been touched.
697 <dfn>Default fade shape:</dfn> sets which <a href="@@create-region-fades-and-crossfades">
698 fade shape</a> is the default.
701 <dfn>Regions in edit groups are edited together:</dfn> sets
702 the criteria to see if editing actions apply to tracks grouped together
706 <dfn>Layering model:</dfn> Ardour allows <a href="@@layering-display">layering</a>
707 multiple regions in the same track. This selector defines how these layers are
708 managed, either manually or by placing the latest on top.
713 <dfn>Split/Separate</dfn>
716 <dfn>After a Separate operation, in Range mode:</dfn> determines what
717 should become of the Range selection after a Separate operation:
719 <li>Clear the Range Selection: nothing is selected anymore</li>
720 <li>Preserve the Range Selection: the range selection is kept</li>
721 <li>Force-Select the regions under the range: the regions that
722 were in the range selection are selected in Grab/Object mode</li>
726 <dfn>After a Split operation, in Object mode:</dfn> determines which,
727 if any, regions are selected after a split operation. The options are:
729 <li>Clear the Region Selection: nothing is selected anymore</li>
730 <li>Select only the newly-created regions BEFORE the split point:
731 </li>if regions have been affected by the split, then the regions
732 created by the split before the split point is selected
733 <li>Select only the newly-created regions BEFORE the split point:
734 same as above, for the regions created after the split point</li>
735 <li>Select the newly-created regions: sum of the two above, i.e. all
736 the regions that are created as a result of the split are selected.</li>
737 <li>Preserve the existing selection, AND select all newly-created regions:
738 same as above (all the parts that have been created by the split) plus
739 the unaffected regions that were selected before the split.</li>
746 <h3 id="preferences-editor-snap">Snap</h3>
750 <dfn>General Snap options:</dfn>
753 <dfn>Snap Threshold (pixels):</dfn> is the maximum distance between
754 a snap anchor and an object for Ardour to force the object to be
755 placed precisely at that anchor.
758 <dfn>Approximate Grid/Ruler granularity (pixels):</dfn> Ardour tries
759 to show a reasonable number of grid lines at the current zoom level
760 and in the available screen estate. This value tells Ardour what the
761 approximate absolute distance between two closest grid lines should
762 be, so that it displays the most relevant grid scale to approximately
766 <dfn>Show "snapped cursor"</dfn> If the Edit point is not the playhead,
767 shows the currently selected Edit point as a blue line, to indicate
768 where the next editing operation will occur.
771 <dfn>Snap rubberband selection to grid</dfn> makes the highlighted
772 zone created by an area selection also snap to grid, i.e. the beginning
773 and end of the resulting selecting box will both be grid anchors.
776 <dfn>Grid switches to alternate selection for Internal Edit Tools</dfn>
777 Two levels of grid mode can coexist in Ardour, one for global regions
778 manipulations, and one for finer, in-region editing (e.g. for placing
779 MIDI events in a MIDI region). When this option is checked, entering
780 Internal Edit mode makes the grid mode switch from one mode to the other.
783 <dfn>Rulers automatically change to follow the Grid mode selection</dfn>
784 If enabled, changing the Grid mode also makes the relevant
785 <a href="@@ruler">ruler</a> visible, while hiding the other ones.
790 <dfn>When "Snap" is enabled, snap to:</dfn>
791 Lists the different possible anchors to which an object should snap to, among:
794 <li>Region Sync points</li>
795 <li>Region Starts</li>
802 <h3 id="preferences-editor-modifiers">Modifiers</h3>
805 This page allows to choose how things are done in the editor. This is a very
806 flexible way for Ardour to match an existing workflow, or speed up the editing
807 process based on the user's most used actions.
810 The <kbd class="menu">Reset to recommended defaults</kbd> button at the bottom
811 provides a way to revert any user made change to its default value.
814 <h2 id="preferences-midi">MIDI</h2>
821 <dfn>Allow non quarter-note pulse</dfn>: by default, Ardour understands the <a
822 href="@@tempo-and-meter">tempo</a> as the number of quarter notes in a minute.
823 Checking this option allows to set the tempo based on any division of the note,
824 from whole to 1/128th. This is reflected in the <kbd class="menu">Edit
825 Tempo</kbd> window (accessed by double clicking a tempo marker) that shows a
826 "Pulse" menu when this option is checked.
829 <dfn>Initial program change:</dfn> Ardour will send a MIDI program
830 change message on the <code>ardour:MMC out</code> MIDI port when a session
831 is loaded and whenever this field is changed. A value of -1 means don't
832 send any program change message.
840 <dfn>Sound MIDI notes as they are selected in the editor</dfn> will play
841 any selected or added MIDI note when in Draw or Internal Edit modes. The
842 note is sent as MIDI as if Ardour was playing it withe the session, so the
843 processors and signal routing will be applied.
848 <dfn>Virtual Keyboard</dfn>
851 <dfn>Virtual Keyboard Layout:</dfn> selects which (if any) computer
852 keyboard layout is used to be mapped on the keys of the musical
853 keyboard of the Virtual Keyboard (<kbd class="menu">Window > Virtual Keyboard</kbd>).
859 <dfn>Default Visible Note Range</dfn>
862 <dfn>Default lower visible MIDI note</dfn>: this note will be the lowest
863 visible one on the timeline unless you tweak that by adjusting the vertical
864 range. E.g. C4 is C on the fourth octave.
867 <dfn>Default upper visible MIDI note</dfn>: this note will be the highest
868 visible one on the timeline unless you tweak that by adjusting the vertical
869 range. E.g. B4 is B on the fourth octave.
874 <dfn>MIDI Port Options</dfn>
877 <dfn>MIDI input follows MIDI track selection</dfn> allows Ardour to automatically
878 connect the MIDI input to the selected track. Selecting a different MIDI
879 track results in Ardour disconnecting the MIDI device from the former track
880 and connecting it to the newly selected one, so that the MIDI device is
881 always connected to the selected track. Which MIDI device will follow
882 selection can be chosen below.
888 <h3 id="preferences-midi-port-config">MIDI Port Config</h3>
891 This page allows to set options for input and output MIDI devices, such as:
895 <li><kbd class="menu">Music Data</kbd>: whether Ardour should accept/send note events from/to selected MIDI device</li>
896 <li><kbd class="menu">Control Data</kbd>: whether Ardour should accept/send control events (Control Change, or CC) from/to selected MIDI device</li>
897 <li><kbd class="menu">Follow Selection</kbd>: whether Ardour should connect this device only to a selected track (only applicable to input devices)</li>
901 You can also give a more meaningful name to any input and output MIDI device
902 here. Double-click the name of the device, enter a new name, then press
903 <kbd>Enter</kbd> to confirm.
906 <h2 id="preferences-transport">Transport</h2>
913 <dfn>Prompt for new marker names</dfn> when enabled, popup a dialog
914 when a new <a href="@@working-with-markers">marker</a> is created. This allows
915 markers to be named as they are created.
918 <dfn>Stop at the end of the session</dfn> causes the transport to
919 stop during playback when it reaches the end marker. Behavior during
920 recording is not changed.
923 <dfn>Keep record-enable engaged on stop</dfn> leaves the global
924 record-enable engaged after transport is stopped. Does not affect track
925 level record-enable which is never changed on stop.
928 <dfn>Reset default speed on stop</dfn> when the
929 <a href="@@transport-bar">Shuttle speed control</a> is in <em>wheel</em>
930 mode, i.e. the transport speed can be constantly changed, enabling this
931 option makes these changes temporary, and the transport speed reset
932 each time the transport is stopped.
935 <dfn>Disable per-track record disarm while rolling</dfn>, when
936 enabled, will not allow the any track's record-enable to be disarmed
937 during record, preventing accidentally stopping the recording of a take.
940 <dfn>12dB gain reduction during fast-forward and fast-rewind</dfn>
941 when enabled will reduce the unpleasant increase in perceived volume
942 that occurs when fast-forwarding or rewinding through some kinds of audio.
945 <dfn>Rewind/Fast-forward buttons change direction immediately</dfn>
946 sets wether Rewind and Fast-forward transport operations
947 (<kbd class="menu">Transport > Forward/Rewind</kbd>) changes the
948 playback direction and speed abruptly, or gradually.
951 <dfn>Allow auto-return after rewind/ffwd operations</dfn>
952 if <a href="@@other-toolbar-items#playhead_options">Auto return</a>is engaged, sets wether
953 it applies to rewind and fast-forward operations.
956 <dfn>Preroll:</dfn> sets the duration of the preroll for playing and
957 recording when using a preroll. Can be a musical duration (in bars) or a
966 <dfn>Play loop is a transport mode</dfn> changes the behavior of the
967 loop button, turning it into a toggle. When enabled, the loop button does
968 not start playback but forces playback to always play the loop. Looping
969 stays engaged when the transport is stopped. Playback continues where the
970 transport stopped and continues to loop. When disabled, the loop button
971 starts playing the loop but stop then cancels loop playback.
974 <dfn>Loop Fades:</dfn> when the transport moves from the end of the loop
975 range back to the beginning, clicks might be audible. This parameter
976 allows for adding fades (in, out or cross-) to prevent those clicks.
981 <dfn>Dropout (xrun) Handling</dfn>
984 <dfn>Stop recording when an xrun occurs</dfn> will stop the transport
985 when an xrun occurs during recording, ensuring no audible glitches are
989 <dfn>Create markers where xruns occur</dfn> will create a new
990 <a href="@@working-with-markers">marker</a> when an xrun occurs during
991 recording at the location of the xrun. This marks where possible xruns
992 might produce audible glitches.
995 <dfn>Reset x-runs counter when starting to record</dfn>, when enabled,
996 sets the x-run counter in the <a href="@@status-bar">Status bar</a>
997 to 0 each time a recording is started, hence showing only the relevant
998 number of x-run while recording.
1006 <dfn>Silence plugins when the transport is stopped</dfn> when stopping
1007 playback or recording, if this option is checked, the plugins that still
1008 emit sound (reverbs, etc…) will be stopped. If unchecked, the plugins
1009 will continue playing after the transport stop.
1015 <h3 id="preferences-transport-chase">Chase</h3>
1019 <dfn>MIDI Machine Control (MMC)</dfn>
1022 <dfn>Respond to MMC commands</dfn> when enabled Ardour will respond
1023 to MIDI Machine Control commands received on the <code>ardour:MMC in</code>
1027 <dfn>Inbound MMC device ID:</dfn> is the only device ID Ardour will
1028 respond to when an MMC command is received on the <code>ardour:MMC in</code>
1034 <dfn>Transport Masters</dfn>
1037 <dfn>Show Transport Master Window</dfn> Opens the Transport masters
1038 window, where all the timecode sources are shown to be selected
1039 and/or synchronized; same as clicking <kbd class="menu">Window >
1040 Transport Masters</kbd>
1043 <dfn>Match session video frame rate to external timecode</dfn>
1044 controls the value of the video frame rate <em>while chasing</em>
1045 an external timecode source. When enabled, the session video frame rate will be
1046 changed to match that of the selected external timecode source. When disabled,
1047 the session video frame rate will not be changed to match that of the selected
1048 external timecode source. Instead, the frame rate indication in the main clock
1049 will flash red and Ardour will convert between the external timecode standard
1050 and the session standard.
1056 <h3 id="preferences-transport-generate">Generate</h3>
1060 <dfn>Linear Timecode (LTC) Generator</dfn>
1063 <dfn>Enable LTC generator</dfn> when enabled Ardour will
1064 output an LTC timecode signal on its <em>LTC-out</em> port.
1065 If this option is checked, the two options below are active:
1068 <dfn>Send LTC while stopped</dfn>, (only available when the previous
1069 <em>Enable LTC generator</em> is on) when enabled Ardour will
1070 continue to send LTC information even while the transport (playhead)
1074 <dfn>LTC generator level [dBFS]:</dfn> specifies the peak volume of
1075 the generated LTC signal in dbFS. A good value is 0dBu=−18dbFS
1076 in an EBU calibrated system.
1079 <dfn>LTC Output Port:</dfn> selects to which port (if any) the
1080 LTC generator will be connected by default.
1085 <dfn>MIDI Time Code (MTC) Generator</dfn>
1088 <dfn>Enable MTC Generator</dfn> when enabled Ardour will generate MIDI
1089 time code on the <code>ardour:MTC out</code> MIDI port.
1092 <dfn>Max MTC varispeed (%):</dfn>
1093 MIDI time code generation will be disabled when the transport speed is
1094 greater than normal speed plus this percentage or less than normal minus
1100 <dfn>MIDI Machine Control (MMC)</dfn>
1103 <dfn>Send MMC commands</dfn> when enabled Ardour will send MIDI Machine
1104 Control commands on the <code>ardour:MMC out</code>
1108 <dfn>Outbound MMC device ID:</dfn> is the MIDI device ID Ardour will
1109 use when it sends MMC commands.
1114 <dfn>MIDI Beat Clock (Mclk) Generator</dfn>
1117 <dfn>Enable Mclk generator</dfn> when enabled Ardour will generate a
1118 (tempo dependant) beat clock at a rate of 24 pulses per quarter note on
1119 the <code>ardour:MIDI clock out</code> port.
1125 <h2 id="preferences-plugins">Plugins</h2>
1128 The content of this preference page varies heavily between versions or Ardour:
1129 both the platform and the build-time options can make Ardour support some types
1130 of plugins and not others. While this documentation tries to show all possible
1131 options, most systems will only show a subset of the options hereunder, e.g.
1132 AudioUnits are macOS only…
1137 <dfn>Scan/Discover</dfn>
1140 <dfn>Scan for Plugins</dfn> will initiate an immediate scan of the system
1141 for available plugins. Useful to get a newly installed plugin recognised
1145 <dfn>Scan Time Out</dfn> sets the time that Ardour will try to find
1146 any plugins in known paths until it gives up.
1154 <dfn>Scan for [new] Plugins on Application Start</dfn> When
1155 enabled new plugins are searched, tested and added to the cache
1156 index on application start. When disabled new plugins will only be
1157 available after triggering a 'Scan' manually.
1160 <dfn>Always Display Plugin Scan Progress</dfn> When enabled a
1161 popup window showing plugin scan progress is displayed for indexing
1162 (cache load) and discovery (detect new plugins).
1165 <dfn>Verbose Plugin Scan</dfn>: adds information about the plugin in the
1166 <a href="@@status-bar">Log window</a>.
1169 <dfn>Open Plugin manager window when missing plugins are found</dfn>:
1170 when enabled</b>, the Plugin Manager is displayed at session load if the
1171 session contains any plugins that are missing, or plugins have been
1172 updated and require a rescan.
1175 <dfn>Make new plugins active</dfn>: when enabled, any plugin added to a track
1176 will be in active mode. If unchecked, the plugins will be added in inactive
1177 mode by default, hence have no processing effect on the track/bus.
1185 <dfn>Conceal LADSPA (LV1) Plugins if matching LV2 exists</dfn> When
1186 enabled, gives precedence to the LV2 (more up-to-date) version of
1187 a plugin over its LV1 version, if both exists.
1192 <dfn>Instrument</dfn>
1195 <dfn>Ask to replace existing instrument plugin</dfn>: if a MIDI track already
1196 has an instrument (i.e. MIDI to audio converter of some sort) and this
1197 option is checked, Ardour will detect it and offer to replace the existing
1198 instrument with the newly added one, avoiding a possible conflict.
1201 <dfn>Interactively configure instrument plugins on insert</dfn>: when inserting
1202 a multichannel instrument plugin, if this option is checked, prompts the
1203 user for the channel configuration for this plugin.
1208 <dfn>Statistics</dfn>
1211 <dfn>Reset Statistics</dfn>: clears the statistics used to determine
1212 the most used and most recently used plugins.
1215 <dfn>Plugin chart (use-count) length:</dfn> In the Mixer view's
1216 <a href="@@favorite-plugins-window">favorite plugins</a> section,
1217 determines how many plugins are displayed when in <em>Top-10 Plugins</em>
1221 <dfn>Plugin recent list length:</dfn> Same as above,
1222 when in <em>Recent Plugins</em> mode.
1228 <h3 id="preferences-plugins-gui">GUI</h3>
1232 <dfn>Plugin GUI</dfn>
1235 <dfn>Automatically open the plugin GUI when adding a new plugin</dfn>
1236 shows the plugins GUI as soon as it is added to the processing box. If
1237 unchecked, the plugin will be added in the processor box but the GUI will
1238 only be shown when <kbd class="mouse">double clicking</kbd> it.
1241 <dfn>Show only one plugin window at a time</dfn>: when enabled, only
1242 one plugin window will be displayed on the screen; when disabled, you
1243 can open as many plugin windows as you like.
1246 <dfn>Closing a Plugin GUI Window</dfn>: this allows users deciding how
1247 Ardour should treat plugin windows aftre closing them. Hiding means a
1248 complex plugin window can be re-opened fast because it's saved in
1249 memory, but it uses sustem resources. Destroying means the window isn't
1250 saved, which frees up system resources, however some plugins will take
1251 longer to showup on the screen.
1256 <dfn>Mixer Strip Inline Display</dfn>
1259 <dfn>Show Plugin Inline Display on Mixer strip by default</dfn> allows Ardour
1260 to show, in the <a href="@@audiomidi-mixer-strips">mixer strips</a>, a
1261 visual rendering of the effect. These Inline Display are a special feature
1262 of Ardour, so not all plugins are able to show this display. Most of Ardour's
1263 <a href="@@plugins-bundled-with-ardour">own plugins</a> have an Inline Display.
1264 At any time, the plugin's Inline Display can be toggled on or off by
1265 <kbd class="mod3n"></kbd>double-clicking it.
1268 <dfn>Don't automatically open the plugin GUI when the plugin has an inline
1269 display mode</dfn>: this option, available only if
1270 <kbd class="option">Automatically open the plugin GUI when adding a new plugin</kbd>
1271 is checked, supercedes it and hides the plugin GUI at creation if it has an
1272 Inline Display, like Ardour's own <code>ACE *</code> plugins.
1279 <h3 id="preferences-plugins-vst">VST</h3>
1286 <dfn>Enable Mac VST2 support (requires restart or re-scan)</dfn> makes a
1287 MacOs system able to run VST-Mac plugins. As stated, a new scan for plugins
1288 is required, be it manually or by restarting Ardour.
1291 <dfn>Enable Linux VST2 support (requires restart or re-scan)</dfn> makes a
1292 Linux system able to run VST2 plugins.
1295 <dfn>Enable VST3 support (requires restart or re-scan)</dfn> makes any
1296 system able to run VST3 plugins.
1304 <dfn>VST 2 Cache:</dfn> Clicking the <kbd class="menu">Clear</kbd> button
1305 removes all VST plugins from the list of plugins available to be
1306 inserted into the processor box. A new VST plugin scan is then required.
1309 <dfn>VST 2 Ignorelist:</dfn> Clicking the <kbd class="menu">Clear</kbd>
1310 button makes ignored VST plugins available to be added to the processor
1314 <dfn>Linux VST2 Path:</dfn> Clicking the <kbd class="menu">Edit</kbd> button
1315 pops up a dialog to manage the directories that will be searched for Linux
1316 VST plugins. When modified, Ardour will offer to scan those paths for plugins.
1319 <dfn>Path:</dfn> are the paths chosen above.
1322 <dfn>Windows VST Path:</dfn> Clicking the <kbd class="menu">Edit</kbd> button
1323 pops up a dialog to manage the directories that will be searched for Windows
1324 VST plugins. When modified, Ardour will offer to scan those paths for plugins.
1327 <dfn>Path:</dfn> are the paths chosen above.
1335 <dfn>VST 3 Cache:</dfn> Same as above, for VST 3
1338 <dfn>VST 3 Ignorelist:</dfn> Same as above, for VST 3
1341 <dfn>Additional VST3 Path:</dfn> The VST 3 specs clearly define where
1342 the host application should look for plugins. Although Ardour provides a
1343 way to search other directories for plugin, it is out of spec and not
1347 <dfn>Automatically show 'Micro Edit' tagged controls on the mixer-strip:</dfn>
1348 displays the plugin's UI directly inside each mixer strip (inline), if the plugin
1349 has a 'Micro Edit' <a hreg="@@plugin-selector">tag</a>.
1354 <dfn>VST2/VST3</dfn>
1357 <dfn>Conceal VST2 Plugin if matching LV3 exists</dfn> When
1358 enabled, gives precedence to the VST3 (more up-to-date) version of
1359 a plugin over its VST2 version, if both exists.
1365 <h3 id="preferences-plugins-audio_unit">Audio Unit</h3>
1369 <dfn>Audio Unit</dfn>
1372 <dfn>Enable Audio Unit support (requires restart or re-scan)</dfn> When
1373 enabled, new AU plugins are searched, tested and added to the cache
1374 index on application start. When disabled, new plugins will only be
1375 available after triggering a 'Scan' manually.
1378 <dfn>AU Cache:</dfn> Clicking the <kbd class="menu">Clear</kbd> button
1379 removes all AU plugins from the list of plugins available to be
1380 inserted into the processor box. A new AU plugins scan is then required.
1383 <dfn>AU Ignorelist:</dfn> Clicking the <kbd class="menu">Clear</kbd>
1384 button makes ignored AU plugins available to be added to the processor
1391 <h2 id="preferences-monitoring">Monitoring</h2>
1395 <dfn>Monitoring</dfn>
1398 <dfn>Record monitoring handled by:</dfn> determines whether Ardour provides
1399 monitoring of incoming audio or whether monitoring is provided by hardware.
1400 See <a href="@@monitoring">Monitoring</a> for more information.
1403 <dfn>Auto Input does 'Talkback'</dfn> when enabled, the
1404 <kbd class="option">Transport > Auto Input</kbd> option also sets
1405 the tracks to monitor its audio input when transport is not rolling.
1410 <dfn>Solo</dfn> contains settings that affect the use of
1411 <a href="@@muting-and-soloing">solo, muting</a>, and
1412 <a href="@@panning">panning</a>.
1415 <dfn>Solo controls are Listen controls</dfn>: when enabled, the
1416 soloed track is soloed only on the monitor bus, the master fader mix
1417 is not affected by the solo. This option can also be set by enabling
1418 pre-fader listen or after-fader listen in the <strong>Mixer</strong>
1422 <dfn>Exclusive solo</dfn> when enabled will only solo the last
1423 track selected for solo. Previously soloed tracks will be un-soloed.
1424 This setting is also available from the <strong>Mixer</strong> monitor
1428 <dfn>Show solo muting</dfn> when enabled outlines the mute
1429 button on tracks and busses when another track is soloed.
1432 <dfn>Soloing overrides muting</dfn> when enabled allows a track
1433 to be heard when it is soloed while muted. This setting is also
1434 available from the <strong>Mixer</strong> monitor section.
1437 <dfn>Solo-in-place mute cut (dB):</dfn> sets the attenuation of
1438 the other tracks when another track is soloed in place. This setting
1439 is also available from the <strong>Mixer</strong> monitor section. The
1440 default is "−inf" for −∞, meaning the other tracks are
1444 <dfn>Listen Position:</dfn> determines what is listened to when
1445 the solo controls are used as listen controls. The options are
1446 after-fader or pre-fader.
1449 <dfn>PFL signals come from:</dfn> determines whether the
1450 pre-fader listen position is before or after the pre-fader processors.
1453 <dfn>AFL signals come from:</dfn> determines whether the
1454 after-fader listen position is before or after the after-fader
1461 <h2 id="preferences-signal_flow">Signal Flow</h2>
1468 <dfn>Enable master-bus output gain control</dfn> adds a gain-stage to
1469 the master-bus and a Loudness Analyzer & Normalizer button that
1470 calculates the Loudness (LUFS) of the session (or a range selection),
1471 and normalizes the loudness according to various standards.
1476 <dfn>Default Track / Bus Muting Options</dfn> sets the muting options
1477 for a newly created tracks or bus. The mute options for an existing track
1478 or bus are changed by the right-click context menu on a mute button.
1481 <dfn>Mute affects pre-fader sends</dfn> when enabled pre-fader
1482 sends will be muted by default.
1485 <dfn>Mute affects post-fader sends</dfn> when enabled post-fader
1486 sends will be muted by default.
1489 <dfn>Mute affects control outputs</dfn> when enabled control
1490 outputs are muted by default.
1493 <dfn>Mute affects main outputs</dfn> when enabled main outputs
1494 are muted by default.
1499 <dfn>Send Routing</dfn> affects <a href="@@aux-sends">aux and external sends</a>.
1502 <dfn>Link panners of Aux and External Sends with main panner by default</dfn>
1503 when enabled, sends follow the channel panner. When disabled, sends can panned
1504 independently of the channel panner and fader. Double clicking the send in the
1505 processor box toggles the main panner and fader between the aux send and the
1511 <dfn>Audio Regions</dfn>
1514 <dfn>Replicate missing region channels</dfn>: if a track is N-channel,
1515 and the region has fewer channels, this option copies the existing
1516 channel's data for this non-existent one. If left unchecked, the missing
1517 channels will stay silent.
1522 <dfn>Track and Bus Connections</dfn>
1525 <dfn>Auto-connect main output (master or monitor) bus to physical ports</dfn>
1526 auto-connects the outputs to the first N physical ports. In a session without a
1527 <a href="@@monitor-section">monitor section</a>, the master-bus is
1528 connected to the system's playback ports, and if a monitor section exists,
1529 the monitor-bus' output are connected.
1532 <dfn>Connect track inputs:</dfn> allows to choose when a new track is
1533 created whether its inputs will be automatically connected to the physical
1534 inputs of the system or not (hence the user has to manually connect it).
1537 <dfn>Connect track and bus outputs:</dfn> allows to choose, for any new
1538 track or bus created, whether its output will automatically be connected
1539 to the master bus, directly to the physical outputs or to nothing (the
1540 user has to manually connect it).
1543 <dfn>Use 'Strict-I/O' for new tracks or busses</dfn> determines the default
1544 choice for the <a href="@@trackbus-signal-flow">signal flow</a> of a newly created track or bus.
1545 This can be overridden in the <a href="@@adding-tracks-busses-and-vcas">
1546 Add Track/Bus/VCA</a> dialog
1552 <h2 id="preferences-metronome">Metronome</h2>
1556 <dfn>Metronome</dfn> handles the way Ardour's metronome is played when
1557 enabled in the <a href="@@transport-bar">Transport Bar</a>.
1560 <dfn>Emphasis on first beat</dfn> plays a different sound when the first
1561 beat is played (e.g. 1/4 in 4/4, 1/3 in 3/4,…). When unchecked, all
1562 the beats are indistinguishable.
1565 <dfn>Use built-in default sounds</dfn> when checked, uses Ardour's own
1566 sounds for the metronome click. Unchecking this allows to set some custom
1570 <dfn>Audio file:</dfn> selects an audio file for the beats, in any
1571 <a href="@@supported-file-formats">format</a> Ardour supports.
1574 <dfn>Emphasis audio file:</dfn> in conjunction with
1575 <kbd class="option">Emphasis on first beat</kbd>, selects an audio file
1576 for the first beats of each bar.
1579 <dfn>Gain level:</dfn> allows the metronome's click sounds to be boosted
1588 <dfn>Enable Metronome only while recording</dfn>: when enabled, the
1589 metronome will remain silent unless Ardour is recording.
1596 <h2 id="preferences-control_surfaces">Control Surfaces</h2>
1599 This tab contains settings for <a href="@@control-surfaces">control surfaces</a>.
1602 It lists all the Control Surface protocols Ardour knows. To enable a
1603 <dfn>Control Surface Protocol</dfn>, the <kbd class="option">Enable</kbd> checkbox
1604 next to its name should be ticked. Editing the settings related to this protocol
1605 can be done by double-clicking its name or clicking the <kbd class="menu">Show
1606 protocol settings</kbd> (only for Generic MIDI and Open Sound Control).
1609 <h2 id="preferences-metering">Metering</h2>
1616 <dfn>Peak hold time:</dfn> allows the meter to keep displaying the highest
1617 signal level for a period of time before reverting to showing the actual
1618 instantaneous value (unless an even higher peak occurs). The longer this
1619 time is, the easier it is to spot peaks, at the expense of instantaneous
1623 <dfn>DPM fall-off:</dfn> describes how fast the Digital Peak Meters can
1624 go from a high value to a lower one. Faster values are more accurate but
1628 <dfn>Meter line-up level; 0 dBu:</dfn> chooses a standard for the
1629 conversion between dBFS (Full Scale) which represent the numeric signal
1630 level, and dBu which represents the analog signal level. This value is used
1631 to configure meter-marks and color knee-points, or set the reference levels
1632 for various meter-types.
1635 <dfn>IEC1/DIN Meter line-up level; 0 dBu:</dfn> sets the reference
1636 level for the IEC1/DIN Meter
1639 <dfn>VU Meter standard:</dfn> selects which standard to use for the zero
1640 value of the vu-meters, i.e. the analog dBu value that will show as 0 on the
1644 <dfn>Peak indicator threshold [dBFS]:</dfn> at that value and over, the
1645 signal will make the peak meter to turn red, indicating a level too high.
1650 <dfn>Default Meter Types</dfn> sets the default meters when creating a session
1651 or track. These meters can be changed afterwards by
1652 <kbd class="mouse">right</kbd>-clicking a meter.
1655 <dfn>Default Meter Type for Master Bus:</dfn> defines which kind of
1656 <a href="@@metering-in-ardour">meter</a> will be used when creating a new
1657 session (does not apply to the current session).
1660 <dfn>Default Meter Type for busses:</dfn> defines which kind of
1661 meter will be used when creating a new bus (applies to the bus created
1662 after changing the value).
1665 <dfn>Default Meter Type for tracks:</dfn> same as above, for tracks.
1670 <dfn>Region Analysis</dfn>
1673 <dfn>Enable automatic analysis of audio</dfn> generates the transient
1674 values (used in e.g. the <a href="@@rhythm-ferret">Rhythm Ferret</a>)
1675 automatically. When unchecked, the transient values will be generated
1682 <h2 id="preferences-performance">Performance</h2>
1686 <dfn>DSP CPU Utilization</dfn>
1689 <dfn>Signal processing uses:</dfn> sets how many cpu processors can be
1690 used to do signal processing. It can be set to use one up to all
1694 <dfn>Power Management, CPU DMA latency: </dfn> modern processors try
1695 to aggressively transition to power saving when idle, even for a few
1696 microseconds, hurting realtime performance by needing to wake to a
1697 more active state. This setting counters this behaviour by setting
1698 a maximum response time while low latency operation is desired.
1699 <kbd class="menu">0</em> is the fastest response time.
1704 <dfn>CPU/FPU Denormals</dfn> are a specific type of very small numbers that
1705 can cause issues with CPU consumption when using some plugins in some
1706 circumstances. Ardour provides two methods of handling the issue.
1707 Trying different combinations of these settings may minimize CPU consumption.
1710 <dfn>Use DC bias to protect against denormals</dfn> adds a small
1711 constant value to numbers to move the numbers away from zero.
1714 <dfn>Processor handling:</dfn>, if the computer's hardware
1715 supports it, offers two methods that can be used individually or
1716 combined. Flush to zero and denormals are zero.
1721 <dfn>Disk I/O Buffering</dfn> settings determine how many seconds of
1722 audio off of disk will be buffered in memory. Longer settings reduce
1723 the risk of buffer under-runs but consume more memory.
1726 <dfn>Preset:</dfn> will automatically choose the values for the playback
1727 and recording buffer based on the chosen size of the session. The
1728 <strong>Custom</strong> option allows to manually select the buffers with
1729 the two sliders below.
1732 <dfn>Playback (seconds of buffering):</dfn> sets how many seconds of
1733 audio Ardour will buffer during playback.
1736 <dfn>Recording (seconds of buffering):</dfn> sets how many seconds of
1737 audio Ardour will buffer during recording.
1742 <dfn>Memory Usage</dfn>
1745 <dfn>Waveform image cache (megabytes):</dfn> sets the maximum amount of ram that
1746 can be used to store the images representing the waveforms in the editor. Past
1747 this amount, the images will be regenerated when needed, which can significantly
1748 decrease the system's performance.
1753 <dfn>Automation</dfn>
1756 <strong>Thinning factor</strong> ranges from 0 to 1000 with larger
1757 values sending fewer automation changes. Thinning is like lossy
1758 audio compression, removing data that is less likely to be noticed,
1759 although the more is removed, the more likely the loss will be noticed.
1760 The advantage to thinning is reduced CPU usage.
1763 <strong>Automation sampling interval</strong> ranges from 1 to
1764 1000 ms. Determines how frequently the automation input is
1765 sampled. The shorter the interval the higher the accuracy but also
1766 the higher the CPU requirements.
1771 <dfn>Automatables</dfn>
1774 <dfn>Limit automatable parameters per plugin</dfn>: as some plugins
1775 (synthesizers, …) have a lot of parameters, and those parameters
1776 can be automated by Ardour, checking this will limit the number of parameters
1777 that are listed as automatable, hence making the lists shorter and the GUI
1784 <h2 id="preferences-video">Video</h2>
1788 <dfn>Video Server</dfn>
1791 <dfn>Show Video Server Startup Dialog</dfn>: when using video inside Ardour,
1792 this video is accessed via Xjadeo from a source file through a Video Server.
1793 This options shows the server's startup dialog (useful for debugging a
1794 malfunctioning video).
1797 <dfn>Advanced Setup (remote video server)</dfn> can be used when the setup
1798 is more complex than opening a local file with Ardour. The tools used behind
1799 the scene by Ardour allow a lot of flexibility, so for a competent user,
1800 the options below are provided to access a distant file (i.e. on another
1801 machine). The default options for the two following fields ("http://localhost:1554"
1802 and "/") are suitable for local files.
1805 <dfn>Video Server URL:</dfn> Base URL of the video server delivering the video
1806 through the network (<code>http://IP-or-address:port</code>).
1809 <dfn>Video folder</dfn> is the server's local path to the document-root,
1810 i.e. the files that can be delivered by the server.
1815 <dfn>Video Monitor</dfn>
1818 <dfn>Custom Path to Video Monitor (xjadeo) - leave empty for default:</dfn>
1819 Ardour bundles offer xjadeo bundled, so it should run flawlessly. Though,
1820 for custom builds or if a newer version of xjadeo is available, one can
1821 specify a path to the wanted version of xjadeo.
1827 <h2 id="preferences-triggering">Triggering</h2>
1831 <dfn>Triggering</dfn>
1834 <dfn>Default trigger input</dfn>: this is where you choose a MIDI device
1835 that will send notes to tiggers boxes in the Cue window. This is typically
1836 a grid controller like monome, Novation Launchpad, Ableton Push etc.
1841 <dfn>Clip Library</dfn>
1844 <dfn>User writable Clip Library</dfn>: this is a folder where your custom
1845 reusable clips will be saved to.
1848 <dfn>Reset Clip Library Dir</dfn>: this will reset the location of your
1849 custom reusable clips to a default location.