3 Tracks and busses can be put into <dfn>groups</dfn>. Members of a group
4 can share various settings—useful for managing tracks that are closely
5 related to each other. Examples might include tracks that contain
6 multiple-microphone recordings of a single source (an acoustic guitar,
7 perhaps, or a drum-kit).
11 <img src="/images/track-in-group.png" alt="Track headers for a group">
13 Track headers for a group
18 Tracks and busses can be grouped in various ways. In the editor window,
19 a track's controls might look like the adjacent image.
22 The green tab to the left of the track header indicates that this track
23 is in a group called <samp>Fred</samp>. These tabs can be dragged to add
24 adjacent tracks to a group.
27 <h2>Create New Groups</h2>
29 There are several ways to <dfn>create groups</dfn> for tracks and busses:
32 <li><kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking on the group tab and using one of the <kbd
33 class="menu">Create…</kbd> options there. A group can be created with
34 no members, or one that starts with the currently selected tracks, or
35 record-enabled tracks, or soloed tracks.</li>
36 <li>Alternatively, clicking the <kbd class="menu">g</kbd> button on a track header to open the
37 Group menu. The menu lists the available groups. Selecting one of these
38 groups will add the track or bus to that group. The menu also allows creating
40 <li>Finally, the <a href="@@groups-list">Groups list</a>
41 has a <kbd class="menu">plus (+)</kbd> button at the
42 bottom of the list that can be clicked on to create a new group.</li>
45 <h2>Remove Groups</h2>
47 Context-clicking on a <dfn>group tab</dfn> and selecting <kbd class="menu">Remove
48 Group</kbd> from the menu removes it. Removing a group does <em>not</em> remove
49 the members of a group.
52 Groups can also be removed by selecting them in the <a href="@@groups-list">Groups list</a>
53 and then pressing the <kbd class="menu">minus (−)</kbd> button at the bottom of the list.
56 <h2>Add/Remove Tracks and Busses From a Group</h2>
58 Clicking the <kbd class="menu">g</kbd> button displays a menu with a list
59 of the available groups. Selecting one of these groups adds the track or bus
60 to that group. Selecting <kbd class="menu">No Group</kbd> removes it.
63 Alternatively, a group tab can be dregged to add or remove tracks from
67 <h2>Activate/Deactivate Groups via the Group Tab</h2>
69 Clicking on a group tab toggles the group between being active and inactive.
70 An inactive group has no effect when editing its members. An active group
71 will share its configured properties across its members. Tabs for disabled
72 groups are coloured grey.
75 <h2>Modify Group Properties</h2>
77 <figure class="right">
78 <img src="/images/route-group-dialogue.png" alt="The Track/bus Group dialog">
80 The Track/bus Group dialog
85 Edit the properties of a group is done by <kbd class="mouse">right</kbd>-clicking
86 on its tab and choosing <kbd class="menu">Edit Group…</kbd>. This opens
87 the track/bus group dialog, which is also used when creating new groups.
92 Clicking on the color selector button changes a group's color. This affects
93 the color of the group's tab in the editor and mixer windows. The color does
94 <em>not</em> affect the color of the group members unless the shared
95 <kbd class="menu">Color</kbd> property is enabled.
98 <h3>Shared Properties</h3>
100 <kbd class="option">Gain</kbd> means that the track faders will be synced to
101 always have the same value; <kbd class="option">Relative</kbd> means that the
102 gain changes are applied relative to each member's current value. If, for
103 example, there are two tracks in a group with relative gain sharing, and their
104 faders are set to −3 dB and −1 dB, a change of the first track to a
105 gain of −6 dB will result in the second track having a gain of
106 −4 dB (the <em>difference</em> of the gains remains the same).
109 <a href="@@bus-controls#mute"><kbd class="option">Muting</kbd></a>,
110 <a href="@@bus-controls#solo"><kbd class="option">Soloing</kbd></a>,
111 <a href="@@audio-track-controls#record"><kbd class="option">record enable</kbd></a>,
112 <a href="@@the-tracks-and-busses-list"><kbd class="option">active state</kbd></a>,
113 <a href="@@track-color"><kbd class="option">color</kbd></a> and
114 <a href="@@monitoring"><kbd class="option">monitoring</kbd></a>
115 are all straightforward. They simply mean that all member tracks or busses will
116 share the same settings in these respects.
119 <kbd class="option">Selection</kbd> means that if a region is selected or
120 deselected on one member track, <a href="@@corresponding-regions-selection">corresponding
121 regions</a> on other member tracks will be similarly selected. Since region
122 editing operations are applied to all currently selected regions, this is the
123 way to make edits apply across all tracks in the group.
126 <h3>Group Tab Context Menu</h3>
127 <p>Context-clicking on the group tab offers a further menu of group-related actions. </p>
129 <tr><th>Create a New Group</th>
130 <td>create a new group</td></tr>
131 <tr><th>Create New Group from…</th>
132 <td> create a new group and automatically add …</td></tr>
133 <tr><th class="sub1">Selected</th>
134 <td>all currently selected tracks and busses</td></tr>
135 <tr><th class="sub1">Rec-enabled</th>
136 <td>all currently record-enabled tracks</td></tr>
137 <tr><th class="sub1">Soloed</th>
138 <td>all currently soloed tracks and busses</td></tr>
139 <tr><th>Collect Group</th>
140 <td>moves all the member tracks so that they are together in the editor window</td></tr>
141 <tr><th>Remove Group</th>
142 <td>removes the group (and only the group, not its members).</td></tr>
143 <tr><th>Add New Subgroup Bus</th>
144 <td>creates a bus (giving it the name of the group) and connects the output of each member to the new bus.</td></tr>
145 <tr><th>Add New Aux Bus</th>
146 <td>adds a bus and gives each member a send to that bus. There are two options for this, specifying whether the sends should be placed pre- or post-fader.</td></tr>
147 <tr><th>Fit to Window</th>
148 <td> will zoom the member tracks so that they fill the editor window.</td></tr>
149 <tr><th>Enable All Groups</th>
150 <td>makes all group active, including any hidden groups.</td></tr>
151 <tr><th>Disable All Groups</th>
152 <td>makes all groups inactive, including any hidden groups.</td></tr>