3 <img src="/images/toolbar-tools.png" alt="Editor toolbar's tools, aka toolbox">
4 <figcaption>Editor toolbar's tools, AKA toolbox.</figcaption>
7 <h2>Global Edit mode</h2>
10 Ardour has a global <dfn>Edit Mode</dfn> selector at the left side of the
11 Editing toolbar, which affects how regions are moved or copied:
15 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Slide</kbd></th>
16 <td>Regions move freely. Ardour creates overlaps when necessary.</td></tr>
17 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Ripple</kbd></th>
18 <td>Editing affects the regions to the "right" of the edit (see below).</td></tr>
19 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Lock</kbd></th>
20 <td>No region motion is permitted (except for "nudge").</td></tr>
24 The general idea behind the Ripple edit mode is this:
26 <li>Deleting a range will move later regions to compensate for the deleted time</li>
27 <li>Deleting a region will move later regions to compensate for the deleted region's length</li>
28 <li>Moving a region will move later regions to compensate for the length of the move</li>
29 <li>Inserting a new region (via dragging or via Paste) will move later regions to the right to compensate</li>
34 Within this general behavior several variations are available
40 <dfn>Selected</dfn>. Only applies the ripple logic to currently selected
41 tracks. After making a selection, you can use the
42 <kbd class="button">Alt</kbd> modifier and click on tracks to add or remove
43 them to/from the selection. Markers will stay intact.
46 <dfn>All</dfn>. Applies the ripple logic to all tracks on the timeline
47 and shifts location, CD, and cue markers accordingly. Selecting a range
48 with this mode will automatically make a time-constrained selection in all tracks of the project.
51 <dfn>Interview</dfn>. This mode works just like the <dfn>Selected</dfn>
52 mode with one exception: when you select a range and press
53 <kbd class="button">Del</kbd>, this will remove the selected portion
54 of either audio or MIDI without shifting other clips to the left to match
55 the freed space on the timeline. The main use case for this mode is editing
56 interviews where you want the ripple behavior to edit out e.g. periods
57 of silence, while being able to just delete e.g. an out-of-place
58 noise or an exclamation by the interviewer.
63 If <kbd class="menu">Snap To Grid</kbd> is enabled, then regions can
64 only move so that they align with locations determined by the current
65 snap settings (beats, or seconds, or other region boundaries, etc).
66 See <a href="@@grid-controls">Snap To the Grid</a> for details.
69 <h2 id="edit-point">The Edit Point selector</h2>
72 Numerous editing operations require the definition of an Edit Point,
73 that is chosen in this selector. More information about the Edit Point
74 can be found <a href="@@edit-point-control">here</a>.
77 <h2>The <em>Smart</em> mode toggle switch</h2>
80 The <dfn>Smart Mode</dfn> toggle button (shortcut: <kbd>y</kbd>) to the left
81 of the mouse mode buttons modifies the behavior of <dfn>Grab Mode</dfn>: when
82 enabled, the mouse behaves as if it is in <dfn>Range Mode</dfn> in the upper
83 half of a region, while behaving as if it is in <dfn>Grab Mode</dfn> in the
84 lower half. This makes it possible to avoid constant switching between these
91 Editing <a href="@@working-with-regions">regions</a> and their contents
92 is very complex and, by virtue of this, requires different <dfn>Mouse
93 Modes</dfn> in order to be able to perform typical editing chores in a
94 way that is powerful and makes sense.
98 <tr><th><strong>Mode</strong></th><td><strong>Keyboard Shortcut</strong></td></tr>
99 <tr><th>Grab</th><td><kbd>g</kbd></td></tr>
100 <tr><th>Range</th><td><kbd>r</kbd></td></tr>
101 <tr><th>Cut</th><td><kbd>c</kbd></td></tr>
102 <tr><th>Audition</th><td>None</td></tr>
103 <tr><th>Stretch</th><td><kbd>t</kbd></td></tr>
104 <tr><th>Draw</th><td><kbd>d</kbd></td></tr>
105 <tr><th>Internal Edit</th><td><kbd>e</kbd></td></tr>
109 Changes to the mouse pointer only occur when hovering over the track canvas;
110 the mouse pointer <em>always</em> changes to a hand in the ruler area
111 regardless of what mode is selected, and always moves the <a
112 href="@@controlling-playback">playhead</a> to the position <kbd
113 class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicked on—as long as there is no marker
114 or other tag under the mouse position clicked on.
117 <h3 id="object">Grab Mode</h3>
120 <dfn>Grab Mode</dfn> is used for selecting, moving, deleting and copying
121 objects. In this mode, the mouse pointer appears as a hand and can be used
122 to select and perform various operations on objects such as regions, markers
123 etc…. This is the most common mode to work in, as it allows the
124 for selection and moving of <a href="@@working-with-regions">regions</a>,
125 as well as the modification of control points in <a href="@@automation-lanes">automation lanes</a>.
128 <h3 id="range">Range Mode</h3>
131 In <dfn>Range Mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer appears as a vertical line;
132 <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking on the track canvas will display
133 the time at the position clicked on. <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking
134 and dragging on the track canvas will create a time range for the track
135 clicked and dragged on; adjacent tracks can be selected as well by dragging
136 the mouse into them. Once a time range has been defined, it can be resized
137 by <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking on either the left-hand or right-hand
138 side of the range and dragging the mouse to the desired position.
141 <h3 id="cut">Cut Tool Mode</h3>
144 In <dfn>Cut Tool Mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer appears as a pair of scissors
145 and allows for the separation of any region into two distinct regions by
146 <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking at the desired point of separation.
147 If more than one track is selected, then all the regions on the selected
148 tracks will be split at the point clicked on. If no track is selected,
149 then only the region hovered by the mouse cursor will be split.
152 <h3 id="stretch">Stretch Mode</h3>
155 In <dfn>Stretch Mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer appears as an expanding
156 square symbol and is used to resize regions using a timestretch algorithm.
157 Resizing a region is done by <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking on
158 the right-hand side of the region and dragging the edge to the desired
159 position; once the button is released a <kbd class="menu">Time Stretch
160 Audio</kbd> dialog will appear, as detailed in the dedicated <a href="@@stretching">
164 <h3 id="audition">Audition Mode</h3>
167 <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking on a given region using <dfn>Audition
168 Mode</dfn> will play the the session for the time span of that region.
169 The regions can also be <dfn>scrubbed</dfn> by
170 <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking and dragging in the direction
171 desired; the amount dragged in one direction or the other will determine
175 <h3 id="draw">Draw Mode</h3>
178 In <dfn>Draw Mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer will change to a pencil; the
179 effect it will have depends on the type of track or region it is utilized
184 In an <a href="@@audio-track-controls">audio track</a>, a green line will
185 appear in the region which is that region's <a href="@@gain-envelopes"><dfn>gain
186 envelope</dfn></a>. <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking anywhere in
187 a given region between two existing <dfn>control points</dfn> will add
188 one to the region at the X-coordinate clicked on with the Y-coordinate
189 being on the line connecting the control points on either side of the
190 new one. <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking on a control point will
191 allow it to be moved to any point in the region in between the control
192 points that bound it on either side of itself. And finally,
193 <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking on a control point and pressing
194 the <kbd>delete</kbd> key or holding down the <kbd class="mod3n"></kbd>
195 key while <kbd class="mouse">right</kbd>-clicking on it will delete the
200 In an <a href="@@automation-lanes">automation lane</a>, if any automation
201 is defined in it, a green line connecting its control points will appear
202 in the lane. Control points in the lane are manipulated in exactly the
203 same way as they are in a region's gain envelope (see previous paragraph
208 In a <a href="@@midi-track-controls">MIDI track</a>,
212 <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking in a part of the track that has
213 no region, creates a one-bar long region, while <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-dragging
214 will create a region of arbitrary length.
217 <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking on a region in Percussive mode
218 creates a diamond indicating a hit.
221 <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-clicking on a region in Sustained mode
222 creates a note whose duration is one <a href="@@grid-controls">Grid unit</a>,
223 while <kbd class="mouse">left</kbd>-dragging creates a note of arbitrary
228 <h3 id="edit-internal">Internal Edit Mode</h3>
231 In <dfn>Internal Edit Mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer will change to
236 On an automation lane, it allows to edit the automation
240 On a MIDI region, it allows to lasso-select multiple notes at a time.
243 On an audio region, it displays the current level of the signal
244 and allows to edit the region gain like the Draw tool.