---
title: The Editor
---

<figure class="right">

	<img src="/images/editor_split.png" alt="Ardour's editor window">

	<figcaption>

		<ol class="multicol3">

			<li>Main menu</li>

			<li>Status bar</li>

			<li>Transport bar & Times</li>

</ol><ol class="multicol3" start="4">

			<li>Mode switch</li>

			<li>The <dfn>Editor</dfn> window</li>

			<li>a track's mixer strip</li>

</ol><ol class="multicol3" start="7">

			<li>Editors List</li>

		</ol>

	</figcaption>

</figure>


<p>

  The <dfn>Editor</dfn> window includes the editor track <dfn>canvas</dfn>

  where you can arrange audio and MIDI data along a timeline. This is the

  window you will be in while editing and arranging a project. The window

  has a general "horizontal" sense to it: the timeline flows from left to

  right, the playhead showing the current position in the session moves

  from left to right &mdash; the window really represents <dfn>time</dfn>

  in a fairly literal way.

</p>



<p>

  It is possible to show a single channel strip in the editor window, and

  some people find this enough to work on mixing without actually opening

  the mixer window. Most of the time though, you will want both of these

  windows at various stages of a session's lifetime &mdash; sometimes

  you'll be focused on editing, sometimes on mixing and possibly some of

  the time on both.

</p>



<p>

  This section is a description of the Editor window. To learn more about the

  editing workflow, see <a href="/editing-and-arranging/">Editing and Arranging</a>.

</p>