+ - The initial Session dialog consists of several consecutive pages: -
+ The initial Session dialog, displayed at each start of Ardour, consists + of several consecutive pages: +
+ + On this page, an existing session can be opened. Any snapshot + of a particular session can also be accessed by clicking on the arrow next to + the session name to display all snapshots, and then selecting one. + +
- On this page, you can open an existing session. You can also
- open any snapshot of a
- particular session by clicking on the arrow next to the session name to
- display all snapshots, and then selecting one. If your session is
- not displayed in the Recent Sessions list, the Other
- Sessions button will bring up a file selection dialog to navigate
- your hard drive.
- Alternatively, you can opt to create a New
- Session.
+ If the session is not displayed in the Recent Sessions list, the Other Sessions button will bring up a file selection dialog
+ to navigate the file system.
+ Alternatively, a New Session can be created. +
+ +
+ 
+ - Here you can type in the name of a session, select a folder to save in, and + This page allows to type in the name of a session, select a folder to save it in, and optionally use an existing template.
- Under Advanced Options, you can select whether you wish to create - a Master Bus, or a Control Bus, and how many channels you wish either to have. - You can also decide whether you want Ardour to automatically connect all inputs - to the physical ports of your hardware. Ardour will do so - sequentially and in round-robin fashion, connecting the first track's - input to the first input of your hardware and so on. When Ardour has used - all available hardware inputs, it will begin again with the first physical - input. - You can limit the number of channels on your physical hardware that Ardour - uses. + The different templates, both the "factory" ones and the ones created by the user, + are easily available on the left-side panel. Depending on the chosen template, + a specific Template Settings window may be shown, allowing the user to fine-tune + the details of the template and/or choose between the different options of the + template.
+- By default Ardour will connect all tracks and busses to the Master Bus if - there is one. However you can also tell it to automatically connect each - output to the physical outputs of your interface or sound card, and limit - the number of physical outputs used, as above. + Templates can be huge time savers when working on similar projects, or on + usual projects, as they allow to preset and tweak a lot of the session properties, (like the + availability of a monitoring section, + connection to a Master Bus, etc.), and handle the creation of tracks of any kind. +
++ The Empty Template preset allows to create a session + "from scratch". Everything a session template does can be done manually + —albeit more tediously— and the resulting sessions will not differ + whatsoever. +
++ As of Ardour 5.12, which introduced the new template dialog, the factory templates are:
-
+| Empty Template | +Creates an empty session with no tracks and no monitoring. A stereo Master Bus is created, and any track created defaults to output on this bus. |
|---|---|
| Advanced Session | +Like the Empty Template, but adds the ability to easily manage the Master bus (channels, hardware connection, and track autoconnection), and the creation of a monitoring section. |
| Recording Session | +Like the Empty Template, but allows the fast creation of a number of tracks, optionally ready to record. |
| Live Band | +Fast tracks the creation of usual tracks for a band setup (vocals, guitars, piano, ...), and optionally adds usual effects on these tracks. |
- This page is not displayed if JACK is already running when you start - Ardour. It provides a simple interface to configure JACK, which - will then be started by Ardour. For more control and options regarding - JACK, it is recommended that you start JACK before using Ardour, via a - JACK control application such as QJackCtl (sometimes called "Jack - Control"), JackPilot, etc. + Selecting a template will display its description in the right-side panel, while + hovering over a template name will show a tooltip indicating if it is a factory + template, or, if it is a user-created one, which version of Ardour was used to + create it. +
++ Whether or not a template is used, and before the "Template Setup" dialog, the + Audio/MIDI Setup will be shown.
-- If you are using an Intel Mac running OS X and the builtin audio - interface, you must - first merge - its separate input and output devices into a single "aggregate - device" before Ardour will be able to use it. -
-