+
+ The patchbay is the main way to make connections to, from and within Ardour's mixer.
- Notable exceptions are internal aux sends and connections to the monitor bus (if - you are using one): these cannot be controlled from a patchbay, and are + Notable exceptions are internal aux sends and connections to the monitor bus + (when using one): these cannot be controlled from a patchbay, and are basically not under manual control at all.
-
The patchbay presents two groups of ports; one set of sources - (which produce data), and one of destinations (which consume - data). Depending - on the relative number of each, the sources will be placed on the left - or the top of the dialogue, and the destinations on the right or the - bottom. Thus, in general, signal flow is from top or left to right or - bottom. + (which produce data), and one of destinations (which consume data). + Depending on the relative number of each, the sources will be placed on the + left or the top of the dialogue, and the destinations on the right or the + bottom. Thus, in general, signal flow is from top or left to right or bottom.
- Both sources and destinations are divided up into groups, with each - group being given a tab: + Both sources and destinations are divided up into groups, with each group + being given a tab:
+| Hardware | -- These are ports which are connected to a physical piece of hardware - (a sound card or MIDI interface). | These are ports which are connected to a physical piece of hardware + (a sound card or MIDI interface). |
|---|---|
| Ardour Busses | -All ports belonging to busses. | All ports belonging to busses. |
| Ardour Tracks | -All ports belonging to tracks. | All ports belonging to tracks. |
| Ardour Misc | -- These are other ports that do not fit into the previous two - categories; for example, the ports on which the metronome click - is output, and MIDI ports for things like control surfaces and - timecode. - | These are other ports that do not fit into the previous two + categories; for example, the ports on which the metronome click + is output, and MIDI ports for things like control surfaces and + timecode. |
| Other | -- If you have other JACK clients running, their ports will be found - here. If there are no such ports, the tab will not exist (on one or - both axes of the grid). | + If you there are other JACK clients running, their ports will be found + here. If there are no such ports, the tab will not exist (on one or + both axes of the grid). |
- The main part of the patchbay is a matrix grid. Within this - grid, green dots represent connections, and you can click in any of the - squares to make or break connections. You can also click and drag to - draw a line of connections, which is sometimes useful for making many - connections at once. + The main part of the patchbay is a matrix grid. Within this grid, + green dots represent connections, and any of the squares can be clicked on to + make or break connections. Clicking and dragging draws a line of connections, + which is sometimes useful for making many connections at once.
In the example patchbay shown above we can note various things. We are @@ -70,8 +70,8 @@
Slightly different versions of the patchbay are available from different - places in Ardour. For a global view of all JACK audio connections, use - Window > Audio Patchbay, or press + places in Ardour. A global view of all JACK audio connections is available, in + Window > Audio Connections, or by pressing P. A corresponding MIDI Connection Manager can be opened using P.
@@ -84,42 +84,43 @@
- Context-clicking on a port name in the connection manager opens a menu - which provides a few handy options: + right-clicking on a port name in the connection manager + opens a context menu which provides a few handy options:
| Add audio port and Add MIDI port | - These options add audio or MIDI ports to the thing that you opened - the menu over, if this is possible. In this way, for example, tracks - and busses can be extended to have more inputs or outputs. + These options add audio or MIDI ports to the clicked source, if this is + possible. In this way, for example, tracks and busses can be extended to have + more inputs or outputs. |
|---|---|
| Remove | +|
| Remove port_name | Removes the given port, if possible. Right-clicking a port will do the same. |
| Disconnect all from⦠| +|
| Disconnect all from port_name | Disconnects everything from the given port. |
| Rescan | Ardour will try to keep abreast of any changes to the JACK ports on - your system, and reflect them in any connection managers which are open. - If for some reason this fails, use this to re-scan the list of ports and + the system, and reflect them in any connection managers which are open. + If for some reason this fails, this can be used to re-scan the list of ports and update the manager. |
| Show individual ports | - If you have a session which has lots of multi-channel tracks or busses, - it may be an unnecessary detail that you have to connect left to left and - right to right every time you make a connection. This obviously gets worse - with higher channel counts (such as for 5.1 or Ambisonics). To make life - easier with such sessions, you can untick Show individual ports. After that, - the channels of tracks and busses will be hidden, and any green dots you add - in the connection manager will automatically connect each channel of the source - to the corresponding channel of the destination (left to left, right to right - and so on). In this mode, a half-circle in the connection grid indicates that - some (but not all) of the source's ports are connected to the destination. + If a session has lots of multi-channel tracks or busses, it may be an + unnecessary detail that left has to be connected to left and right to right + every time a connection is made. This obviously gets worse with higher + channel counts (such as for 5.1 or Ambisonics). To make life easier with + such sessions, Show individual ports can be unticked. After that, the + channels of tracks and busses will be hidden, and any green dots added in + the connection manager will automatically connect each channel of the source + to the corresponding channel of the destination (left to left, right to + right and so on). In this mode, a half-circle in the connection grid + indicates that some (but not all) of the source's ports are connected to the + destination. |
| Flip | @@ -127,8 +128,7 @@ horizontal. If, for example, the top of the connection manager is showing Ardour Busses and the right is showing Hardware, flip will swap the view to the - opposite. You can also flip by pressing f. Note that if there are - no matching tabs on both axes, flipping will be impossible. + opposite. Flipping can also be done by pressing f. Note that if + there are no matching tabs on both axes, flipping will be impossible. |