---
layout: default
title: Track and Bus Groups
----
+---
<p>
- Tracks and busses can be put into <dfn>groups</dfn>. Members of a group
- can share various settings — useful for managing tracks that are closely
- related to each other. Examples might include tracks that contain
- multiple-microphone recordings of a single source (an acoustic guitar,
+ Tracks and busses can be put into <dfn>groups</dfn>. Members of a group
+ can share various settings — useful for managing tracks that are closely
+ related to each other. Examples might include tracks that contain
+ multiple-microphone recordings of a single source (an acoustic guitar,
perhaps, or a drum-kit).
</p>
<p>
- You can group tracks and busses in various ways. In the editor window,
+ You can group tracks and busses in various ways. In the editor window,
a track's controls might look like these:
</p>
<img class="left" src="/images/track-in-group.png" alt="track headers for a group" />
-<p>
- The green tab to the left of the track header indicates that this track
- is in a group called <samp>Fred</samp>. You can drag these tabs to add
+<p>
+ The green tab to the left of the track header indicates that this track
+ is in a group called <samp>Fred</samp>. You can drag these tabs to add
adjacent tracks to a group.
</p>
</p>
<ul>
<li>Context-click on the group tab and use one of the <kbd
- class="menu">Create...</kbd> options there. You can create a group with
- no members, or one that starts with the currently selected tracks, or
+ class="menu">Create...</kbd> options there. You can create a group with
+ no members, or one that starts with the currently selected tracks, or
record-enabled tracks, or soloed tracks.</li>
- <li>Alternatively, click the ‘g’ button on a track header to open the
- Group menu. The menu lists the available groups. Selecting one of these
- groups will add the track or bus to that group. The menu also lets you
+ <li>Alternatively, click the ‘g’ button on a track header to open the
+ Group menu. The menu lists the available groups. Selecting one of these
+ groups will add the track or bus to that group. The menu also lets you
create a new group.</li>
- <li>Finally, the Groups tab of the
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists/">Editor Lists</a>
- or the Mixer Window has a <kbd class="menu">plus (+)</kbd> button at the
+ <li>Finally, the <a href="/ardours-interface/the-mixer/the-groups-list/">Groups list</a>
+ has a <kbd class="menu">plus (+)</kbd> button at the
bottom of the list. Click on the plus sign to create a new group.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Remove Groups</h2>
<p>
Context-click on a <dfn>group tab</dfn> and select <kbd class="menu">Remove
- Group</kbd> from the menu. Removing a group does <em>not</em> remove
+ Group</kbd> from the menu. Removing a group does <em>not</em> remove
the members of a group.
</p>
<p>
- You can also remove groups by selecting them in the Groups tab of the
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists/">Editor Lists</a>
- or Mixer Window and then pressing the <kbd class="menu">minus (-)</kbd>
- button at the bottom of the list.
+ You can also remove groups by selecting them in the <a href="/ardours-interface/the-mixer/the-groups-list/">Groups list</a>
+ and then pressing the <kbd class="menu">minus (-)</kbd> button at the bottom of the list.
</p>
<h2>Add/Remove Tracks and Busses From a Group</h2>
<p>
- Click the <kbd class="menu">g</kbd> button to display a menu with a list
- of the available groups. Select one of these groups to add the track or bus
+ Click the <kbd class="menu">g</kbd> button to display a menu with a list
+ of the available groups. Select one of these groups to add the track or bus
to that group. Select <kbd class="menu">No Group</kbd> to remove it.
</p>
<p>
- Alternatively, you can also drag a group tab to add or remove tracks from
+ Alternatively, you can also drag a group tab to add or remove tracks from
the group.
</p>
<h2>Activate/Deactivate Groups via the Group Tab</h2>
<p>
- Clicking on a group tab toggles the group between being active and inactive.
- An inactive group has no effect when editing its members. An active group
- will share its configured properties across its members. Tabs for disabled
+ Clicking on a group tab toggles the group between being active and inactive.
+ An inactive group has no effect when editing its members. An active group
+ will share its configured properties across its members. Tabs for disabled
groups are coloured grey.</p>
<h2>Modify Group Properties</h2>
<p>
- To edit the properties of a group, context-click on its tab and choose
- <kbd class="menu">Edit Group…</kbd>. This opens the track/bus group dialog,
+ To edit the properties of a group, context-click on its tab and choose
+ <kbd class="menu">Edit Group…</kbd>. This opens the track/bus group dialog,
which is also used when creating new groups:
</p>
<h3>Group Color</h3>
<p>
- Click on the color selector button to change a group's colour. This affects
- the colour of the group's tab in the editor and mixer windows. The color does
- <em>not</em> affect the color of the group members unless you also enable the
- shared <kbd class="menu">Color</kbd> property.
+ Click on the color selector button to change a group's colour. This affects
+ the colour of the group's tab in the editor and mixer windows. The color does
+ <em>not</em> affect the color of the group members unless you also enable the
+ shared <kbd class="menu">Color</kbd> property.
</p>
<h3>Shared Properties</h3>
<p>
- <kbd class="option">Gain</kbd> means that the track faders will be synced to
- always have the same value; <kbd class="option">Relative</kbd> means that the
- gain changes are applied relative to each member's current value. If, for
- example, there are two tracks in a group with relative gain sharing, and their
- faders are set to -3 dB and -1 dB, a change of the first track to a
+ <kbd class="option">Gain</kbd> means that the track faders will be synced to
+ always have the same value; <kbd class="option">Relative</kbd> means that the
+ gain changes are applied relative to each member's current value. If, for
+ example, there are two tracks in a group with relative gain sharing, and their
+ faders are set to -3 dB and -1 dB, a change of the first track to a
gain of -6 dB will result in the second track having a gain of
-4 dB (the <em>difference</em> of the gains remains the same).
</p>
<p>
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/bus-controls/#mute"><kbd class="option">Muting</kbd></a>,
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/bus-controls/#solo"><kbd class="option">Soloing</kbd></a>,
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/audio-track-controls/#record"><kbd class="option">record enable</kbd></a>,
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists/tracks--busses-list/#active"><kbd class="option">active state</kbd></a>,
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-appearance/track-coloring/"><kbd class="option">colour</kbd></a> and
- <a href="/recording/monitoring/"><kbd class="option">monitoring</kbd></a>
- are all straightforward. They simply mean that all member tracks or busses will
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/bus-controls/#mute"><kbd class="option">Muting</kbd></a>,
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/bus-controls/#solo"><kbd class="option">Soloing</kbd></a>,
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/audio-track-controls/#record"><kbd class="option">record enable</kbd></a>,
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/the-editor/the-editor_s-lists/tracks-and-busses-list/"><kbd class="option">active state</kbd></a>,
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-appearance/track-coloring/"><kbd class="option">colour</kbd></a> and
+ <a href="/recording/monitoring/"><kbd class="option">monitoring</kbd></a>
+ are all straightforward. They simply mean that all member tracks or busses will
share the same settings in these respects.
</p>
<p>
- <kbd class="option">Selection</kbd> means that if a region is selected or
+ <kbd class="option">Selection</kbd> means that if a region is selected or
deselected on one member track, <a
href="/working-with-regions/corresponding-regions-selection/">corresponding
- regions</a> on other member tracks
- will be similarly selected. Since region editing operations are applied to all
- currently selected regions, this is the way to make edits apply across all tracks
+ regions</a> on other member tracks
+ will be similarly selected. Since region editing operations are applied to all
+ currently selected regions, this is the way to make edits apply across all tracks
in the group.
</p>
<dt>Remove Group</dt>
<dd>removes the group (and only the group, not its members).</dd>
<dt>Add New Subgroup Bus</dt>
-<dd> creates a bus (giving it the name of the group) and connects the output of each member to the new bus.
+<dd> creates a bus (giving it the name of the group) and connects the output of each member to the new bus.
</dd>
<dt>Add New Aux Bus</dt>
<dd>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.</dd>
projects / ardour-manual-diverged / blobdiff