title: About Ardour documentation
---
+<h2>Conventions Used In This Manual</h2>
+<p>
+ This section covers some of the typographical and language conventions
+ used in this manual.
+</p>
-
-
-<h3>Conventions Used In This Manual</h3>
-<p>This section covers some of the typographical and language conventions used in this manual.</p>
<h3>Keyboards and Modifiers</h3>
-<p>Keyboard bindings are shown like this: <kbd>s</kbd> or <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>. <kbd>Ctrl-x</kbd> means "press the <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>, keep it pressed and then also press the <kbd>x</kbd> key. You may also see key combinations such as <kbd>Ctrl-Shift-e</kbd>, which mean that you should press the <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> key, then while keeping it pressed also press the <kbd>Shift</kbd> key and then while keeping them both pressed, finally press the <kbd>e</kbd> key.</p>
-<p>Note that different platforms have different conventions for which modifier key (Control or Command) to use as the primary or most common modifier. When viewing this manual from a machine identifying itself as running OS X, will see <kbd>Cmd-</kbd> where appropriate. On other machines you will see <kbd>Ctrl-</kbd></p>
+<p>
+ <dfn>Keyboard bindings</dfn> are shown like this: <kbd>s</kbd> or
+ <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>.
+</p>
+<p>
+ <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd> means "press the <kbd class="mod1"> </kbd> key, keep it pressed
+ and then also press the <kbd>x</kbd> key.
+</p>
+<p>
+ You may also see key combinations
+ such as <kbd class="mod12">e</kbd>, which mean that you should hold down
+ the <kbd class="mod1"> </kbd> key <em>and</em> the
+ <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd> key, and then, while keeping them both
+ down, press the <kbd>e</kbd> key.
+</p>
+<p>
+ Note that different platforms have different conventions for which
+ modifier key (Control or Command) to use as the primary or most common
+ modifier. When viewing this manual from a machine identifying itself as
+ running OS X, you will see <kbd>Cmd </kbd> where appropriate (for instance
+ in the first example above). On other machines you will see
+ <kbd>Ctrl </kbd> instead.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Mouse Buttons</h3>
+<p>
+ We refer to <a href="/setting-up-your-system/the-mouse">mouse buttons</a> as
+ <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>, <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> and
+ <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>. Ardour can use additional buttons, but they have
+ no default behaviour in the program.
+</p>
+
+<h4>Mouse click modifiers</h4>
+<p>
+ Many editing functions are performed by clicking the mouse while holding a
+ modifier key, for example <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>.
+</p>
+
+<h4>Mouse wheel</h4>
+<p>
+ Some GUI elements can optionally be controlled with the mouse wheel when
+ the pointer is hovering over them. The notation for mouse wheel action is
+ <kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd> <kbd class="mouse">⇐</kbd></dt>
+ <kbd class="mouse">⇓</kbd> <kbd class="mouse">⇒</kbd></dt>
+</p>
+
+<h4>"Context-click"</h4>
+<p>
+ Many times the term <kbd class="mouse">context-click</kbd> is used to indicate
+ that you should (typically) right-click on a particular element of the graphical
+ user interface. Although right-click is the common, default way to do this, there
+ are other ways to accomplish the same thing - this term refers to any of them,
+ and the result is always that a menu specific to the item you clicked on will be
+ displayed.
+</p>
+
+<h4>"The Pointer"</h4>
+<p>
+ When the manual refers to the "pointer", it means the on-screen representation
+ of the mouse position or the location of a touch action if you are using a touch
+ interface.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Other user input</h3>
+<p>
+ Ardour supports hardware controllers, such as banks of
+ <kbd class="fader">faders</kbd>, <kbd class="knob">knobs</kbd>, or
+ <kbd class="button">buttons</kbd>.
+</p>
+
<h3>Menu Items</h3>
-<p>Menu items are indicated like this: <code>Top > Next > Deeper</code> Each >-separated item indicates an item on a nested (sub) menu.</p>
+<p>
+ Menu items are indicated like this:<br />
+ <kbd class="menu">Top > Next > Deeper</kbd>.<br />
+ Each ">"-separated item indicates one level of a nested (sub-)menu.
+</p>
+
<h3>Preference/Dialog Options</h3>
-<p>Choices in various dialogs, notably the Preferences and Properties dialog, are indicated like this: <code>Edit > Preferences > Audio > Some Option</code> Each successive >-separated item indicates either a (sub) menu or tabbed dialog navigation. The final item is the one to choose/select/deselect, etc.</p>
+<p>
+ Choices in various dialogs, notably the Preferences and Properties dialog, are
+ indicated like this:<br />
+ <kbd class="option">Edit > Preferences > Audio > Some
+ Option</kbd>.<br />
+ Each successive item indicates either a (sub-) menu or a tabbed dialog
+ navigation. The final item is the one to choose or select.
+</p>
+<p>
+ If you are requested to deselect an option, you will see something like
+ this:<br />
+ <kbd class="optoff">Edit > Preferences > Audio > Some other
+ Option</kbd>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<h3>User Input</h3>
+<p>
+ Some dialogs or features may require you to type in some <kbd class="input">data
+ such as this</kbd>. In rare cases, you will be required to perform certain
+ operations at the command line of your operating system:
+</p>
+<kbd class="lincmd">cat /proc/cpuinfo</kbd>
+<kbd class="maccmd">sleep 3600</kbd>
+<kbd class="wincmd">ping www.google.com</kbd>
+
+<h3>Program Output</h3>
+<p>
+ Important messages from Ardour or other programs will be displayed
+ <samp>like this</samp>.
+</p>
+
<h3>Notes</h3>
-<blockquote><p>Important notes about things that might not otherwise be obvious are shown in this format</p></blockquote>
-<h3>"Context-click"</h3>
-<p>Many times the term <code>context-click</code> is used to indicate that you should (typically) right-click on a particular element of the graphical user interface. Although right-click is the common, default way to do this, there are other ways to accomplish the same thing - this term refers to any of them, and the result is always that a menu specific to the item you clicked on will be displayed.</p>
-<h3>Mouse Buttons</h3>
-<p>We refer to <a href="/setting-up-your-system/the-mouse">mouse buttons</a> as <kbd>Left</kbd>, <kbd>Middle</kbd> and <kbd>Right</kbd>. Ardour can use additional buttons, but they have no default behaviour in the program. </p>
-<h3>"The Pointer"</h3>
-<p>When the manual refers to the "pointer", it means the on-screen representation of the mouse position or the location of a touch action if you are using a touch interface.</p>
-
+<p class="note">
+ Important notes about things that might not otherwise be obvious are shown in
+ this format.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Warnings</h3>
+<p class="warning">
+ Hairy issues that might cause things to go wrong, lose data, impair sound
+ quality, or eat your proverbial goldfish, are displayed in this way.
+</p>
+
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