- Ardour offers a number of different ways for you to interact with it. - This chapter provides information on basic techniques for entering - text, making selections, and using shortcuts. + By default, Ardour will show helpful tooltips about the purpose + and use of each GUI element if + the pointer is positioned over it and hovered there for a short while. These + little pop-up messages can be a good way to discover the purpose of many + aspects of the GUI.
-{% children %} ++ Pop-ups can also be distracting for experienced users, who may wish to + disable them via Edit > Preferences > GUI > Show + tooltip if mouse hovers over a control. +
+ ++ Ardour follows the conventions used by most other computer software + (including other DAWs) for selecting objects in the GUI. +
+ ++ Clicking on an object (sometimes on a particular part of its on-screen + representation) will select the object, and deselect other similar objects. +
+ ++ A left-click on an object toggles its selected + status, so using left on a series of objects + will select (or deselect) each one of them. A completely arbitrary set of + selections can be constructed with this technique. +
+ ++ In cases where the idea of "select all objects between this one and that one" + makes sense, select one object and then left-click on another to select both of them as well as all objects in between. +
+ ++ To select a time range in the Editor, Left-click and drag the mouse. A Left drag then lets you create other ranges and a left-click extends a range to cover a wider area. +
+ ++ The set of objects (including time range) that are selected at any one time + is known as the selection. Each time an object is selected or deselected, the + new selection is stored in an undo/redo stack. This stack is cleared each + time the content of the timeline changes. +
+ ++ If a complex selection has been built up and then accidentally cleared it, + choosing Edit > Undo Selection Change will restore + the previous selection. If a selection is undone and a return to the state + before the undo is desired, choosing Edit > Redo + Selection Change will take the selection back to where it was before + Edit > Undo Selection Change was chosen. +
+ ++ The clipboard is a holder for various kinds of objects (regions, + control events, plugins) that is used during cut-and-paste + operations. +
+ ++ A cut operation removes selected objects and places them in the + clipboard. The existing contents of the clipboard are overwritten. The default + key binding is x. +
+ ++ A copy of the selected objects are placed in clipboard. There is + no effect on the selected objects themselves. The existing contents of the + clipboard are overwritten. The default key binding is c. +
+ ++ The current contents of the clipboard are pasted (inserted) into + the session, using the current edit point as the destination. The + contents of the clipboard remain unchanged—the same item can be pasted + multiple times. The default key binding is v. +
+ ++ Within the Editor window (and to some extent within the Mixer window too), + there are several techniques for deleting objects (regions, + control points, and more). +
+ ++ Select the object(s) to be deleted and then press the Del key. + This does not put the deleted object(s) in the clipboard, so + they cannot be pasted elsewhere. +
+ ++ Select the object(s) and then press x. This puts the + deleted object(s) in the clipboard so that they can be pasted elsewhere. +
+ ++ By default, Shift Right will delete the clicked-upon + object. Like the Del key, this does not put the + deleted object(s) in the clipboard. +
+ ++ The modifier and mouse button used for this can be controlled via Edit > Preferences > User Interaction > Delete using + …. Any modifier and mouse button combination can be used. +
+ ++ While editing, it sometimes happens that an unintended change is made, or a + choice is made that is later decided to be wrong. All changes to the + arrangement of session components (regions, control points) along the + timeline can be undone (and redone if necessary). +
+ ++ The default keybindings are Z for Undo and R for Redo. These match the conventions of most other + applications that provide undo/redo. +
+ ++ Changes are also saved to the session history file, so that + undo/redo is possible even if the session is closed and reopened later, even + if Ardour is exited in between. +
+ ++ The maximum number of changes that can be undone can be configured under Edit > Preferences > Misc > Undo. The maximum + number of changes stored in the history file is a separate parameter, and can + also be set in the same place. +
+ ++ In addition to the normal undo (which works only on actions that change the + timeline), there is a visual undo which will revert any command + that affects the display of the editor window. Its shortcut is Z. There is also an undo for selection; see "Selection + Techniques" above. +