+ Global preferences control general workflow and system
+ configuration, and should apply to all sessions. They are located in Edit > Preferences and stored in Ardour's user
+ configuration file in the user's home directory.
+
+
+
+
+
+ The Preferences window
+
+
+
+
+ Preferences are conveniently grouped by category:
+
+ Show Audio/MIDI Setup window Shows the
+ Audio/MIDI Setup dialog.
+
+
+ Try to auto-launch audio/midi engine allows Ardour to try to
+ automatically launch the audio and MIDI system, driver and device, thus not
+ showing the Audio/MIDI Setup dialog. This
+ can save a little time if the system is always used the same way.
+
+
+
+
+ Editor Undo defines the behaviour of the Undo operations:
+
+
+ Limit undo history sets how many commands can be
+ undone using Z or Edit > Undo.
+ Unchecking will keep an endless memory of operations to undo, at the
+ expense of memory.
+
+
+ Save undo history sets how many commands are saved so
+ they are available to be undone after reopening the session. This can
+ also be unchecked to keep all actions undoable, at the cost of bigger
+ session files.
+
+
+ Verify removal of last capture when enabled prompts to
+ verify removal the last recording capture when
+ Edit > Remove Last Capture is executed.
+
+
+
+
+ Session Management:
+
+
+ Make periodic backups of the session file will create
+ a backup session file after changes to the timeline. The backup file is
+ the session name followed by .ardour.bak. The backup can be
+ used to recover from crashes when the session had not been explicitly
+ saved.
+
+
+ Default folder for new sessions: defaults the folder
+ where Ardour will create new session folders. This is used in the
+ Session Setup dialog displayed by
+ Session > New.
+
+
+ Maximum number of recent sessions: determines how
+ many of the last opened sessions shows in the Recent Sessions
+ dialog displayed by Session > Recent.
+
+
+
+
+ Import:
+
+
+ Drag and drop import always copies files to session
+ selects, and then disables changes to, the Copy files to session
+ option in the Add Existing Media dialog.
+
+
+
+
+ Export
+
+
+ Save loudness analysis as image file after export allows, when the
+ Analyze Exported Audio is checked in the
+ Export dialog, to save the analysis graph
+ as a file named session.png alongside the exported audio
+ file(s) (in the same folder).
+
+
+ Save Mixer screenshot after export creates and exports
+ a graphical image of the Mixer window as a file named
+ session-mixer.png alongside the exported audio file(s)
+ (in the same folder).
+
+
+
+
+ New Version Check
+
+
+ Check for announcements at application start sends an
+ anonymous request to Ardour's server to check for a new version.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Appearance
+
+
+
+ GUI Lock
+
+
+ Lock timeout (seconds): locks the GUI after this many idle seconds (zero being 'never lock').
+ The GUI can also be locked with Session > Lock. When
+ locked, a dialog will display a "Click to unlock" button.
+
+
+ System Screensaver Mode: can be used to prevent the
+ screensaver to be launched by the system, either while recording
+ (e.g. for long and unattended recording session), when Ardour is
+ simply started, or never (the screensaver is then able to start).
+
+
+
+
+ Theme
+
+
+ Draw "flat" buttons: when enabled, button controls
+ in the user interface will be drawn with a flat look. When disabled button
+ controls will have a slight 3D appearance.
+
+
+ Draw "boxy" buttons: when enabled, button controls
+ in the user interface will have square corners instead of being slightly
+ rounded.
+
+
+ LED meter style if checked, the bar meters in the editor and
+ mixer will be styled to look like if they were made of LEDs, with a dotted
+ bar. Unchecking this option makes the bars flat and continuous.
+
+
+ Icon Set: Changes the mouse cursor icons used to indicate
+ different tool modes in the editor. An example would be the icons used to
+ indicate whether the cursor will select a region or change the length of a
+ region.
+
+
+
+
+ Graphical User Interface
+
+
+ Highlight widgets on mouseover, when checked, makes Ardour's
+ widgets (buttons, sliders, …) slightly change color when the mouse
+ hovers them, visually indicating what a mouse action would interact with.
+
+
+ Show tooltips if mouse hovers over a control when checked,
+ displays a little help bubble about the control the mouse hovers. The mouse
+ pointer needs to stay idle for about 1 sec for the tooltip to appear.
+
+
+ Update clocks at TC Frame rate: Ardour updates its clocks every
+ 100 ms. Checking this will make the clock refresh at every TimeCode
+ frame which is more responsive, at the cost of a bit more system stress.
+
+
+ Blink Rec-Arm buttons: when enabled, the record-armed
+ buttons on tracks will blink when they are armed but not currently recording.
+ When disabled, the record-armed buttons on tracks will be outlined in red
+ instead of blinking. The global record-arm button in the
+ Transport bar is unaffected.
+
+
+ Blink Alert indicators: when enabled, the Alert indicators (like
+ the Error Log or the Feedback
+ button) will blink when they are active (when an error or feedback
+ has been detected, respectively). When disabled, the indicators will turn red instead of
+ blinking.
+
+
+
+
+ Graphics Acceleration
+
+
+ Disable Graphics Hardware Acceleration (requires restart):
+ Ardour uses hardware accelerated UI rendering by default for speed.
+ Sometimes though, a buggy driver can cause this to make the system slow or
+ unstable. Checking this will make Ardour draw its UI without
+ hardware acceleration, in software, improving stability and responsiveness
+ on those buggy systems at the expense of speed.
+
+
+ Possibly improve slow graphical performance (requires restart):
+ Wherever gradients appear in the UI, Ardour uses hardware accelerated
+ gradients creation. Checking this will make Ardour draw its own gradients without
+ hardware acceleration for stability on systems with buggy drivers.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Recorder
+
+
+
+ Input Meter Layout
+
+
+ Input Meter Layout: in Recorder mode, determines if audio
+ inputs are displayed horizontally or vertically.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Editor
+
+
+
+ General
+
+
+ Use name highlight bars in region displays (requires a restart):
+ when enabled, the region name is displayed, in the editor, in its own opaque bar
+ at the bottom of the region. When disabled, the region name is overlaid
+ at the top of the region, possibly over audio waveforms or MIDI notes.
+
+
+ Region color follows track color: when enabled,
+ the background color of regions in the editor will be displayed using
+ the color assigned to the track. When disabled the default region
+ background color will be used.
+
+
+ Show Region Names: when enabled, overlays the name of
+ the region over its waveform representation, in the top-left.
+
+
+ Waveforms color gradient depth: determines how much gradient
+ effect is applied to the inner of audio waveforms displayed in the editor.
+ Values range from 0.0, no gradient effect, to 1.0, maximum effect.
+
+
+ Timeline item gradient depth: Determines how much
+ gradient effect is applied to the backgrounds of regions displayed in the
+ editor. Values range from 0.0, no gradient effect, to 1.0, maximum effect.
+
+
+ Track name ellipsis mode: when the track header is not
+ wide enough to display the track's name in full, selects how the
+ name will be shorten between:
+
+
Ellipsize start of name will show only the end of the name
+
Ellipsize middle of name will show only the start and end of the name
+
Ellipsize end of name will show only the start of the name
+
+
+
+ Add a visual gap below Audio Regions: selects whether or
+ not the audio regions fit the height of the track or leave a gap at
+ the bottom, either small or large.
+
+
+
+
+ Waveforms
+
+
+ Show waveforms in regions: when enabled, shows a visual
+ representation of the region's audio waveform.
+
+
+ Show waveforms while recording: when enabled, will draw
+ the audio waveform in regions being recorded, in near real time.
+ When disabled, only a region block will be drawn while recording,
+ reducing CPU requirements.
+
+
+ Show waveform clipping: when enabled, the waveform
+ displayed will show peaks marked in red if they exceed the clip level.
+
+
+ Waveform Clip Level (dBFS): sets the level at which the
+ waveform shown in an audio region will be drawn in red to indicate
+ clipping. Setting lower than 0.0 dBFS can be useful if any tool in
+ the audio chain has problems near 0.0 dBFS.
+
+
+ Waveform scale: when waveforms are shown in audio regions,
+ they can be displayed using a linear or a logarithmic
+ scale. See Waveform display.
+
+
+ Waveform shape: when waveforms are shown in audio regions,
+ they can be displayed using a traditional or a rectified
+ shape. See Waveform display.
+
+
+
+
+ Editor Meters
+
+
+ Show meters in track headers: when enabled, shows
+ a small meter in the Editor's track headers.
+ The meter is shown on the right side area of the header and provides an
+ instant, if unprecise, view of the levels on this track/bus.
+
+
+ Limit track header meters to stereo: if a track has more than
+ two outputs (e.g. with a drum plugin), limits the number of meters in the
+ track header to the first two ones. Only affects audio meters, not MIDI.
+
+
+
+
+ MIDI Regions
+
+
+ Display first MIDI bank/program as 0: when patches and bank changes
+ are displayed in the editor, if this option is checked, the numbering will
+ be zero-based instead of one-based, i.e. banks/programs will be numbered
+ O, 1 ,2… instead of 1, 2, 3…
+
+
+ Don't display periodic (MTC, MMC) SysEx messages in MIDI Regions:
+ if checked, will hide these control messages from the MIDI regions for better
+ legibility.
+
+
+ Show velocity horizontally inside notes: when on, each note
+ of a MIDI region (in Sustained mode) displays its velocity
+ (0-127) with a darker fill proportional to its value.
+
+
+ Use colors to show note velocity: if checked, makes the
+ saturation of the notes color proportional to its velocity, hence making
+ a more veloce note more intense in color.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Mixer
+
+
+
+ Mixer Strip
+
+
+ This table enables (checked) or disables (unchecked) the display of controls
+ in the mixer strip. Controls whose
+ display can be toggled are:
+ Input, Phase Invert,
+ Record & Monitor, Solo Iso/Lock,
+ Output, Comments and VCA Assigns.
+
+
+ Use narrow strips in the mixer for new strips by default When
+ enabled, new mixer strips are created in narrow format. When disabled,
+ they are created in wide format. Existing mixer strips width can be toggled
+ with the width control at the top left of the mixer strip.
+
+
+ Limit inline-mixer-strip controls per plugin : Whether or
+ not, and how many, controls each plugin can show in the mixer strip.
+ These mixer-strip controls are added by checking plugin context-menu
+ > Controls > □ control parameter.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Toolbar
+
+
+
+ Main Transport Toolbar Items: this section allows to toggle the
+ visibility of some elements of the main toolbar:
+
+
+ Display Record/Punch Options toggles the visibility of the
+ punch and record slice of
+ the main toolbar.
+
+
+ Display Latency Compensation Info toggles the visibility of the
+ Latency Compensation slice of the main toolbar.
+
+
+ Display Secondary Clock toggles the visibility of the
+ secondary clocks slice of
+ the main toolbar.
+
+
+ Display Selection Clock toggles the visibility of the
+ selection clocks slice of
+ the main toolbar.
+
+
+ Display Monitor Section Info toggles the visibility of the
+ Monitor Info slice of the main toolbar.
+
+
+ Display Navigation Timeline toggles the visibility of the
+ navigation/mini timeline slice of
+ the main toolbar.
+
+
+ Display Master Level Meter toggles the visibility of the
+ selection clocks slice of
+ the main toolbar.
+
+
+
+
+ Display Action-Buttons
+
+
+ Column n enables or disables the visibility
+ of the six possible columns of Lua script buttons.
+ Each columns contains two user-assignable buttons.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Size and Scale
+
+
+
+ User Interface Size and Scale
+
+
+ GUI and Font scaling: allows the display size of most of the
+ text and buttons in the user interface to be scaled up or down. May
+ require a restart to take effect.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Colors
+
+
+
+ Colors
+
+
+ Color Theme allows to switch between some presets bundled with
+ Ardour, changing both the palette and items colors, hence styling Ardour
+ all at once.
+
+
+ The table allows to change the color settings in Ardour by acting on three
+ parameters:
+
+
+ Items that allow to choose any color from the palette (see below)
+ to color a UI element. Clicking on a color sample in the Color
+ column bring up the Palette, to choose from.
+
+
+ Palette that allows to create a set of colors that will be used
+ in the UI. Using a palette allows for better consistency, instead of
+ picking "free" colors for each UI element. Clicking on a color patch brings
+ up a full color selector, to assign this color to this patch of the palette.
+
+
+ Transparency where possible, allows to select, with a slider,
+ the transparency of the UI element, with 0 (slider to the left) being
+ fully opaque.
+
+
+
+
+ Restore Defaults turns all the palette, item colors and transparency
+ back to Ardour's default base setting, in case Ardour's appearance has turned
+ into a toddler's toy.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Quirks
+
+
+
+ Various Workarounds for Windowing Systems: As Ardour is available
+ on a number of platforms and windowing systems, some specific workarounds are
+ sometimes required to provide a smooth experience to the user.
+
+
+ Use visibility information provided by your Window Manager/Desktop
+ allows the system window manager's rules for the windows visibility to
+ supersede Ardour's.
+
+
+ Show/Hide splash screen instead of setting z-axis stack order:
+ Hides the splash instead of re-layering it. This setting requires a restart
+ of Ardour to take effect.
+
+
+ All floating windows are dialogs: when enabled, Ardour will
+ use type "Dialog" for all floating windows instead of using type
+ "Utility" for some of them. This may help usability with some
+ window managers. This setting requires a restart of Ardour to take effect.
+
+
+ Transient windows follow front window.: when enabled,
+ transient windows will follow the front window when toggling between the
+ editor and mixer. This setting requires a restart of Ardour to take effect.
+
+
+ Float detached monitor-section window: as the
+ monitor section can be detached from the mixer, this option makes it a
+ floating window, which may be handled differently by the windowing system
+ and easier to access.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Translation
+
+
+
+ Internationalization
+
+
+ Use translations sets if Ardour should use a translated
+ version of all the messages. The default (unchecked) is English (US). When
+ checked, and if a language file exists for the system language, this file
+ will be used to translate Ardour.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Editor
+
+
+
+ Region Information
+
+
+ Show xrun markers in regions puts a marker on the region(s)
+ while recording, when a buffer over/underflow happens.
+
+
+ Show cue markers in regions determines if cue markers,
+ that are bounded to regions, are displayed or not.
+
+
+ Show gain envelopes in audio regions: sets in which
+ modes the gain envelope is displayed in audio regions.
+ The gain envelope is superimposed over the region in the selected modes, and
+ hidden otherwise for a better legibility.
+
+
+
+
+ Scroll and Zoom Behaviors
+
+
+ Zoom to mouse position when zooming with scroll wheel: by default,
+ Ardour zooms to the edit point. When this
+ option is checked, and the zoom is done with + mousewheel,
+ the zoom will happen at the mouse cursor position regardless of the edit point
+ chosen.
+
+
+ Zoom with vertical drag in rulers allows, when checked, to click
+ anywhere in an empty zone of the ruler zone and drag
+ up to zoom in or down to zoom out.
+
+
+ Double click zooms to selection allows by double clicking, to zoom
+ on the selection, both on the time and tracks axes. If the selection has been
+ done with or , then this
+ key should still be pressed when double clicking for this to work, otherwise
+ the first click breaks the group selection.
+
+
+ Update editor window during drags of the summary: when
+ enabled the contents of the editor window will redraw the tracks area
+ as the selection rectangle in the summary area is
+ moved or resized.
+
+
+ Auto-scroll editor window when dragging near its edges
+ when enabled will scroll the editor window automatically when dragging a
+ region. This can make it easier to see where to position the region.
+
+
+ Auto-scroll speed when dragging playhead: chooses how fast the canvas
+ scrolls when dragging the playhead outside of the visible canvas.
+
+
+ Limit zoom & summary view beyond session extents to:
+ prevents the zoom out both in the editor and the summary, to show anything past
+ the chosen time after the end marker, restraining the vision to only useful
+ content.
+
+
+
+
+ Editor Behaviour
+
+
+ Move relevant automation when audio regions are moved,
+ when enabled, causes automation data to stay with a region when the
+ region is moved inside the playlist. When disabled, the automation is
+ not affected by movement of regions.
+
+
+ Ignore Y-axis click position when adding new automation-points
+ allows to create new automation points at the x-position of the mouse, without
+ using the Y-position as the value, hence creating a new automation point at
+ its present value.
+
+
+ Automation edit cancels auto hide determines wether automation
+ lanes that have been automatically shown because of the
+ Edit > Show Automation Lane on Touch
+ option should be kept visible if the automation has been touched.
+
+
+ Default fade shape: sets which
+ fade shape is the default.
+
+
+ Regions in edit groups are edited together: sets
+ the criteria to see if editing actions apply to tracks grouped together
+ in an group.
+
+
+ Layering model: Ardour allows layering
+ multiple regions in the same track. This selector defines how these layers are
+ managed, either manually or by placing the latest on top.
+
+
+
+
+ Split/Separate
+
+
+ After a Separate operation, in Range mode: determines what
+ should become of the Range selection after a Separate operations:
+
+
Clear the Range Selection: nothing is selected anymore
+
Preserve the Range Selection: the range selection is kept
+
Force-Select the regions under the range: the regions that
+ were in the range selection are selected in Grab/Object mode
+
+
+
+ After a Split operation, in Object mode: determines which,
+ if any, regions are selected after a split operation. The options are:
+
+
Clear the Region Selection: nothing is selected anymore
+
Select only the newly-created regions BEFORE the split point:
+
if regions have been affected by the split, then the regions
+ created by the split before the split point is selected
+
Select only the newly-created regions BEFORE the split point:
+ same as above, for the regions created after the split point
+
Select the newly-created regions: sum of the two above, i.e. all
+ the regions that are created as a result of the split are selected.
+
Preserve the existing selection, AND select all newly-created regions:
+ same as above (all the parts that have been created by the split) plus
+ the unaffected regions that were selected before the split.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Snap
+
+
+
+ General Snap options:
+
+
+ Snap Threshold (pixels): is the maximum distance between
+ a snap anchor and an object for Ardour to force the object to be
+ placed precisely at that anchor.
+
+
+ Approximate Grid/Ruler granularity (pixels): Ardour tries
+ to show a reasonable number of grid lines at the current zoom level
+ and in the available screen estate. This value tells Ardour what the
+ approximate absolute distance between two closest grid lines should
+ be, so that it displays the most relevant grid scale to approximately
+ fit this distance.
+
+
+ Show "snapped cursor" If the Edit point is not the playhead,
+ shows the currently selected Edit point as a blue line, to indicate
+ where the next editing operation will occur.
+
+
+ Snap rubberband selection to grid makes the highlighted
+ zone created by an area selection also snap to grid, i.e. the beginning
+ and end of the resulting selecting box will both be grid anchors.
+
+
+ Grid switches to alternate selection for Internal Edit Tools
+ Two levels of grid mode can coexist in Ardour, one for global regions
+ manipulations, and one for finer, in-region editing (e.g. for placing
+ MIDI events in a MIDI region). When this option is checked, entering
+ Internal Edit mode makes the grid mode switch from one mode to the other.
+
+
+ Rulers automatically change to follow the Grid mode selection
+ If enabled, changing the Grid mode also makes the relevant
+ ruler visible, while hiding the other ones.
+
+
+
+
+ When "Snap" is enabled, snap to:
+ Lists the different possible anchors to which an object should snap to, among:
+
+
Markers
+
Region Sync points
+
Region Starts
+
Region Ends
+
Grid
+
+
+
+
+
Modifiers
+
+
+ This page allows to choose how things are done in the editor. This is a very
+ flexible way for Ardour to match an existing workflow, or speed up the editing
+ process based on the user's most used actions.
+
+
+ The Reset to recommended defaults button at the bottom
+ provides a way to revert any user made change to its default value.
+
+
+
MIDI
+
+
+
+ Session
+
+
+ Allow non quarter-note pulse: by default, Ardour understands the tempo as the number of quarter notes in a minute.
+ Checking this option allows to set the tempo based on any division of the note,
+ from whole to 1/128th. This is reflected in the Edit
+ Tempo window (accessed by double clicking a tempo marker) that shows a
+ "Pulse" menu when this option is checked.
+
+
+ Initial program change: Ardour will send a MIDI program
+ change message on the ardour:MMC out MIDI port when a session
+ is loaded and whenever this field is changed. A value of -1 means don't
+ send any program change message.
+
+
+
+
+ Audition
+
+
+ Sound MIDI notes as they are selected in the editor will play
+ any selected or added MIDI note when in Draw or Internal Edit modes. The
+ note is sent as MIDI as if Ardour was playing it withe the session, so the
+ processors and signal routing will be applied.
+
+
+
+
+ Virtual Keyboard
+
+
+ Virtual Keyboard Layout: selects which (if any) computer
+ keyboard layout is used to be mapped on the keys of the musical
+ keyboard of the Virtual Keyboard (Window > Virtual Keyboard).
+
+
+
+
+
+ MIDI Port Options
+
+
+ MIDI input follows MIDI track selection allows Ardour to automatically
+ connect the MIDI input to the selected track. Selecting a different MIDI
+ track results in Ardour disconnecting the MIDI device from the former track
+ and connecting it to the newly selected one, so that the MIDI device is
+ always connected to the selected track. Which MIDI device will follow
+ selection can be chosen below.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Modifiers
+
+
+ This page allows to set options for input and output MIDI devices, such as:
+
+
+
+
Music Data: whether Ardour should accept/send note events from/to selected MIDI device
+
Control Data: whether Ardour should accept/send control events (Control Change, or CC) from/to selected MIDI device
+
Follow Selection: whether Ardour should connect this device only to a selected track (only applicable to input devices)
+
+
+
+ You can also give a more meaningful name to any input and output MIDI device
+ here. Double-click the name of the device, enter a new name, then press
+ Enter to confirm.
+
+
+
Transport
+
+
+
+ General
+
+
+ Prompt for new marker names when enabled, popup a dialog
+ when a new marker is created. This allows
+ markers to be named as they are created.
+
+
+ Stop at the end of the session causes the transport to
+ stop during playback when it reaches the end marker. Behavior during
+ recording is not changed.
+
+
+ Keep record-enable engaged on stop leaves the global
+ record-enable engaged after transport is stopped. Does not affect track
+ level record-enable which is never changed on stop.
+
+
+ Reset default speed on stop when the
+ Shuttle speed control is in wheel
+ mode, i.e. the transport speed can be constantly changed, enabling this
+ option makes these changes temporary, and the transport speed reset
+ each time the transport is stopped.
+
+
+ Disable per-track record disarm while rolling, when
+ enabled, will not allow the any track's record-enable to be disarmed
+ during record, preventing accidentally stopping the recording of a take.
+
+
+ 12dB gain reduction during fast-forward and fast-rewind
+ when enabled will reduce the unpleasant increase in perceived volume
+ that occurs when fast-forwarding or rewinding through some kinds of audio.
+
+
+ Rewind/Fast-forward buttons change direction immediately
+ sets wether Rewind and Fast-forward transport operations
+ (Transport > Forward/Rewind) changes the
+ playback direction and speed abruptly, or gradually.
+
+
+ Allow auto-return after rewind/ffwd operations
+ if Auto returnis engaged, sets wether
+ it applies to rewind and fast-forward operations.
+
+
+ Preroll: sets the duration of the preroll for playing and
+ recording when using a preroll. Can be a musical duration (in bars) or a
+ duration in seconds.
+
+
+
+
+ Looping
+
+
+ Play loop is a transport mode changes the behavior of the
+ loop button, turning it into a toggle. When enabled, the loop button does
+ not start playback but forces playback to always play the loop. Looping
+ stays engaged when the transport is stopped. Playback continues where the
+ transport stopped and continues to loop. When disabled, the loop button
+ starts playing the loop but stop then cancels loop playback.
+
+
+ Loop Fades: when the transport moves from the end of the loop
+ range back to the beginning, clicks might be audible. This parameter
+ allows for adding fades (in, out or cross-) to prevent those clicks.
+
+
+
+
+ Dropout (xrun) Handling
+
+
+ Stop recording when an xrun occurs will stop the transport
+ when an xrun occurs during recording, ensuring no audible glitches are
+ recorded.
+
+
+ Create markers where xruns occur will create a new
+ marker when an xrun occurs during
+ recording at the location of the xrun. This marks where possible xruns
+ might produce audible glitches.
+
+
+ Reset x-runs counter when starting to record, when enabled,
+ sets the x-run counter in the Status bar
+ to 0 each time a recording is started, hence showing only the relevant
+ number of x-run while recording.
+
+
+
+
+ Plugins
+
+
+ Silence plugins when the transport is stopped when stopping
+ playback or recording, if this option is checked, the plugins that still
+ emit sound (reverbs, etc…) will be stopped. If unchecked, the plugins
+ will continue playing after the transport stop.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Chase
+
+
+
+ MIDI Machine Control (MMC)
+
+
+ Respond to MMC commands when enabled Ardour will respond
+ to MIDI Machine Control commands received on the ardour:MMC in
+ MIDI port.
+
+
+ Inbound MMC device ID: is the only device ID Ardour will
+ respond to when an MMC command is received on the ardour:MMC in
+ MIDI port.
+
+
+
+
+ Transport Masters
+
+
+ Show Transport Master Window Opens the Transport masters
+ window, where all the timecode sources are shown to be selected
+ and/or synchronized; same as clicking Window >
+ Transport Masters
+
+
+ Match session video frame rate to external timecode
+ controls the value of the video frame rate while chasing
+ an external timecode source. When enabled, the session video frame rate will be
+ changed to match that of the selected external timecode source. When disabled,
+ the session video frame rate will not be changed to match that of the selected
+ external timecode source. Instead, the frame rate indication in the main clock
+ will flash red and Ardour will convert between the external timecode standard
+ and the session standard.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Generate
+
+
+
+ Linear Timecode (LTC) Generator
+
+
+ Enable LTC generator when enabled Ardour will
+ output an LTC timecode signal on its LTC-out port.
+ If this option is checked, the two options below are active:
+
+
+ Send LTC while stopped, (only available when the previous
+ Enable LTC generator is on) when enabled Ardour will
+ continue to send LTC information even while the transport (playhead)
+ is not moving.
+
+
+ LTC generator level [dBFS]: specifies the peak volume of
+ the generated LTC signal in dbFS. A good value is 0dBu=−18dbFS
+ in an EBU calibrated system.
+
+
+ LTC Output Port: selects to which port (if any) the
+ LTC generator will be connected by default.
+
+
+
+
+ MIDI Time Code (MTC) Generator
+
+
+ Enable MTC Generator when enabled Ardour will generate MIDI
+ time code on the ardour:MTC out MIDI port.
+
+
+ Max MTC varispeed (%):
+ MIDI time code generation will be disabled when the transport speed is
+ greater than normal speed plus this percentage or less than normal minus
+ this percentage.
+
+
+
+
+ MIDI Machine Control (MMC)
+
+
+ Send MMC commands when enabled Ardour will send MIDI Machine
+ Control commands on the ardour:MMC out
+ MIDI port.
+
+
+ Outbound MMC device ID: is the MIDI device ID Ardour will
+ use when it sends MMC commands.
+
+
+
+
+ MIDI Beat Clock (Mclk) Generator
+
+
+ Enable Mclk generator when enabled Ardour will generate a
+ (tempo dependant) beat clock at a rate of 24 pulses per quarter note on
+ the ardour:MIDI clock out port.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Plugins
+
+
+ The content of this preference page varies heavily between versions or Ardour:
+ both the platform and the build-time options can make Ardour support some types
+ of plugins and not others. While this documentation tries to show all possible
+ options, most systems will only show a subset of the options hereunder, e.g.
+ AudioUnits are macOS only…
+
+
+
+
+ Scan/Discover
+
+
+ Scan for Plugins will initiate an immediate scan of the system
+ for available plugins. Useful to get a newly installed plugin recognised
+ by Ardour.
+
+
+ Scan Time Out sets the time that Ardour will try to find
+ any plugins in known paths until it gives up.
+
+
+
+
+ General
+
+
+ Scan for [new] Plugins on Application Start When
+ enabled new plugins are searched, tested and added to the cache
+ index on application start. When disabled new plugins will only be
+ available after triggering a 'Scan' manually.
+
+
+ Always Display Plugin Scan Progress When enabled a
+ popup window showing plugin scan progress is displayed for indexing
+ (cache load) and discovery (detect new plugins).
+
+
+ Verbose Plugin Scan: adds information about the plugin in the
+ Log window.
+
+
+ Make new plugins active when enabled, any plugin added to a track
+ will be in active mode. If unchecked, the plugins will be added in inactive
+ mode by default, hence have no processing effect on the track/bus.
+
+
+
+
+ LV1/LV2
+
+
+ Conceal LADSPA (LV1) Plugins if matching LV2 exists When
+ enabled, gives precedence to the LV2 (more up-to-date) version of
+ a plugin over its LV1 version, if both exists.
+
+
+
+
+ Plugin GUI
+
+
+ Automatically open the plugin GUI when adding a new plugin
+ shows the plugins GUI as soon as it is added to the processing box. If
+ unchecked, the plugin will be added in the processor box but the GUI will
+ only be shown when double clicking it.
+
+
+ Show Plugin Inline Display on Mixer strip by default allows Ardour
+ to show, in the mixer strips, a
+ visual rendering of the effect. These Inline Display are a special feature
+ of Ardour, so not all plugins are able to show this display. Most of Ardour's
+ own plugins have an Inline Display.
+ At any time, the plugin's Inline Display can be toggled on or off by
+ double-clicking it.
+
+
+ Don't automatically open the plugin GUI when the plugin has an inline
+ display mode: this option, available only if
+ Automatically open the plugin GUI when adding a new plugin
+ is checked, supercedes it and hides the plugin GUI at creation if it has an
+ Inline Display, like Ardour's own ACE * plugins.
+
+
+
+
+ Instrument
+
+
+ Ask to replace existing instrument plugin: if a MIDI track already
+ has an instrument (i.e. MIDI to audio converter of some sort) and this
+ option is checked, Ardour will detect it and offer to replace the existing
+ instrument with the newly added one, avoiding a possible conflict.
+
+
+ Interactively configure instrument plugins on insert: when inserting
+ a multichannel instrument plugin, if this option is checked, prompts the
+ user for the channel configuration for this plugin.
+
+
+
+
+ Statistics
+
+
+ Reset Statistics: clears the statistics used to determine
+ the most used and most recently used plugins.
+
+
+ Plugin chart (use-count) length: In the Mixer view's
+ favorite plugins section,
+ determines how many plugins are displayed when in Top-10 Plugins
+ mode.
+
+
+ Plugin recent list length: Same as above,
+ when in Recent Plugins mode.
+
+
+
+
+
+
VST
+
+
+
+ VST
+
+
+ Enable Mac VST2 support (requires restart or re-scan) makes a
+ MacOs system able to run VST-Mac plugins. As stated, a new scan for plugins
+ is required, be it manually or by restarting Ardour.
+
+
+ Enable Linux VST2 support (requires restart or re-scan) makes a
+ Linux system able to run VST2 plugins.
+
+
+ Enable VST3 support (requires restart or re-scan) makes any
+ system able to run VST3 plugins.
+
+
+
+
+ VST 2.x
+
+
+ VST 2 Cache: Clicking the Clear button
+ removes all VST plugins from the list of plugins available to be
+ inserted into the processor box. A new VST plugin scan is then required.
+
+
+ VST 2 Ignorelist: Clicking the Clear
+ button makes ignored VST plugins available to be added to the processor
+ box.
+
+
+ Linux VST2 Path: Clicking the Edit button
+ pops up a dialog to manage the directories that will be searched for Linux
+ VST plugins. When modified, Ardour will offer to scan those paths for plugins.
+
+
+ Path: are the paths chosen above.
+
+
+ Windows VST Path: Clicking the Edit button
+ pops up a dialog to manage the directories that will be searched for Windows
+ VST plugins. When modified, Ardour will offer to scan those paths for plugins.
+
+
+ Path: are the paths chosen above.
+
+
+
+
+ VST 3
+
+
+ VST 3 Cache: Same as above, for VST 3
+
+
+ VST 3 Ignorelist: Same as above, for VST 3
+
+
+ Additional VST3 Path: The VST 3 specs clearly define where
+ the host application should look for plugins. Although Ardour provides a
+ way to search other directories for plugin, it is out of spec and not
+ recommanded.
+
+
+ Automatically show 'Micro Edit' tagged controls on the mixer-strip:
+ displays the plugin's UI directly inside each mixer strip (inline), if the plugin
+ has a 'Micro Edit' tag.
+
+
+
+
+ VST2/VST3
+
+
+ Conceal VST2 Plugin if matching LV3 exists When
+ enabled, gives precedence to the VST3 (more up-to-date) version of
+ a plugin over its VST2 version, if both exists.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Audio Unit
+
+
+
+ Audio Unit
+
+
+ Enable Audio Unit support (requires restart or re-scan) When
+ enabled, new AU plugins are searched, tested and added to the cache
+ index on application start. When disabled, new plugins will only be
+ available after triggering a 'Scan' manually.
+
+
+ AU Cache: Clicking the Clear button
+ removes all AU plugins from the list of plugins available to be
+ inserted into the processor box. A new AU plugins scan is then required.
+
+
+ AU Ignorelist: Clicking the Clear
+ button makes ignored AU plugins available to be added to the processor
+ box.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Monitoring
+
+
+
+ Monitoring
+
+
+ Record monitoring handled by: determines whether Ardour provides
+ monitoring of incoming audio or whether monitoring is provided by hardware.
+ See Monitoring for more information.
+
+
+ Auto Input does 'Talkback' when enabled, the
+ Transport > Auto Input option also sets
+ the tracks to monitor its audio input when transport is not rolling.
+
+
+
+
+ Solo contains settings that affect the use of
+ solo, muting, and
+ panning.
+
+
+ Solo controls are Listen controls: when enabled, the
+ soloed track is soloed only on the monitor bus, the master fader mix
+ is not affected by the solo. This option can also be set by enabling
+ pre-fader listen or after-fader listen in the Mixer
+ monitor section.
+
+
+ Exclusive solo when enabled will only solo the last
+ track selected for solo. Previously soloed tracks will be un-soloed.
+ This setting is also available from the Mixer monitor
+ section.
+
+
+ Show solo muting when enabled outlines the mute
+ button on tracks and busses when another track is soloed.
+
+
+ Soloing overrides muting when enabled allows a track
+ to be heard when it is soloed while muted. This setting is also
+ available from the Mixer monitor section.
+
+
+ Solo-in-place mute cut (dB): sets the attenuation of
+ the other tracks when another track is soloed in place. This setting
+ is also available from the Mixer monitor section. The
+ default is "−inf" for −∞, meaning the other tracks are
+ totally muted.
+
+
+ Listen Position: determines what is listened to when
+ the solo controls are used as listen controls. The options are
+ after-fader or pre-fader.
+
+
+ PFL signals come from: determines whether the
+ pre-fader listen position is before or after the pre-fader processors.
+
+
+ AFL signals come from: determines whether the
+ after-fader listen position is before or after the after-fader
+ processors.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Signal Flow
+
+
+
+ Master
+
+
+ Enable master-bus output gain control adds a gain-stage to
+ the master-bus and a Loudness Analyzer & Normalizer button that
+ calculates the Loudness (LUFS) of the session (or a range selection),
+ and normalizes the loudness according to various standards.
+
+
+
+
+ Default Track / Bus Muting Options sets the muting options
+ for a newly created tracks or bus. The mute options for an existing track
+ or bus are changed by the right-click context menu on a mute button.
+
+
+ Mute affects pre-fader sends when enabled pre-fader
+ sends will be muted by default.
+
+
+ Mute affects post-fader sends when enabled post-fader
+ sends will be muted by default.
+
+
+ Mute affects control outputs when enabled control
+ outputs are muted by default.
+
+
+ Mute affects main outputs when enabled main outputs
+ are muted by default.
+
+ Link panners of Aux and External Sends with main panner by default
+ when enabled, sends follow the channel panner. When disabled, sends can panned
+ independently of the channel panner and fader. Double clicking the send in the
+ processor box toggles the main panner and fader between the aux send and the
+ channel.
+
+
+
+
+ Audio Regions
+
+
+ Replicate missing region channels: if a track is N-channel,
+ and the region has fewer channels, this option copies the existing
+ channel's data for this non-existent one. If left unchecked, the missing
+ channels will stay silent.
+
+
+
+
+ Track and Bus Connections
+
+
+ Auto-connect main output (master or monitor) bus to physical ports
+ auto-connects the outputs to the first N physical ports. In a session without a
+ monitor section, the master-bus is
+ connected to the system's playback ports, and if a monitor section exists,
+ the monitor-bus' output are connected.
+
+
+ Connect track inputs: allows to choose when a new track is
+ created whether its inputs will be automatically connected to the physical
+ inputs of the system or not (hence the user has to manually connect it).
+
+
+ Connect track and bus outputs: allows to choose, for any new
+ track or bus created, whether its output will automatically be connected
+ to the master bus, directly to the physical outputs or to nothing (the
+ user has to manually connect it).
+
+
+ Use 'Strict-I/O' for new tracks or busses determines the default
+ choice for the signal flow of a newly created track or bus.
+ This can be overridden in the
+ Add Track/Bus/VCA dialog
+
+
+
+
+
+
Metronome
+
+
+
+ Metronome handles the way Ardour's metronome is played when
+ enabled in the Transport Bar.
+
+
+ Emphasis on first beat plays a different sound when the first
+ beat is played (e.g. 1/4 in 4/4, 1/3 in 3/4,…). When unchecked, all
+ the beats are indistinguishable.
+
+
+ Use built-in default sounds when checked, uses Ardour's own
+ sounds for the metronome click. Unchecking this allows to set some custom
+ sounds below.
+
+
+ Audio file: selects an audio file for the beats, in any
+ format Ardour supports.
+
+
+ Emphasis audio file: in conjunction with
+ Emphasis on first beat, selects an audio file
+ for the first beats of each bar.
+
+
+ Gain level: allows the metronome's click sounds to be boosted
+ or attenuated.
+
+
+
+
+ Options
+
+
+ Enable Metronome only while recording: when enabled, the
+ metronome will remain silent unless Ardour is recording.
+
+ It lists all the Control Surface protocols Ardour knows. To enable a
+ Control Surface Protocol, the Enable checkbox
+ next to its name should be ticked. Editing the settings related to this protocol
+ can be done by double-clicking its name or clicking the Show
+ protocol settings (only for Generic MIDI and Open Sound Control).
+
+
+
Metering
+
+
+
+ Metering
+
+
+ Peak hold time: allows the meter to keep displaying the highest
+ signal level for a period of time before reverting to showing the actual
+ instantaneous value (unless an even higher peak occurs). The longer this
+ time is, the easier it is to spot peaks, at the expense of instantaneous
+ accuracy.
+
+
+ DPM fall-off: describes how fast the Digital Peak Meters can
+ go from a high value to a lower one. Faster values are more accurate but
+ less readable.
+
+
+ Meter line-up level; 0 dBu: chooses a standard for the
+ conversion between dBFS (Full Scale) which represent the numeric signal
+ level, and dBu which represents the analog signal level. This value is used
+ to configure meter-marks and color knee-points, or set the reference levels
+ for various meter-types.
+
+
+ IEC1/DIN Meter line-up level; 0 dBu: sets the reference
+ level for the IEC1/DIN Meter
+
+
+ VU Meter standard: selects which standard to use for the zero
+ value of the vu-meters, i.e. the analog dBu value that will show as 0 on the
+ VU-meter.
+
+
+ Peak indicator threshold [dBFS]: at that value and over, the
+ signal will make the peak meter to turn red, indicating a level too high.
+
+
+
+
+ Default Meter Types sets the default meters when creating a session
+ or track. These meters can be changed afterwards by
+ right-clicking a meter.
+
+
+ Default Meter Type for Master Bus: defines which kind of
+ meter will be used when creating a new
+ session (does not apply to the current session).
+
+
+ Default Meter Type for busses: defines which kind of
+ meter will be used when creating a new bus (applies to the bus created
+ after changing the value).
+
+
+ Default Meter Type for tracks: same as above, for tracks.
+
+
+
+
+ Region Analysis
+
+
+ Enable automatic analysis of audio generates the transient
+ values (used in e.g. the Rhythm Ferret)
+ automatically. When unchecked, the transient values will be generated
+ on demand.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Performance
+
+
+
+ DSP CPU Utilization
+
+
+ Signal processing uses: sets how many cpu processors can be
+ used to do signal processing. It can be set to use one up to all
+ processors.
+
+
+ Power Management, CPU DMA latency: modern processors try
+ to aggressively transition to power saving when idle, even for a few
+ microseconds, hurting realtime performance by needing to wake to a
+ more active state. This setting counters this behaviour by setting
+ a maximum response time while low latency operation is desired.
+ 0 is the fastest response time.
+
+
+
+
+ CPU/FPU Denormals are a specific type of very small numbers that
+ can cause issues with CPU consumption when using some plugins in some
+ circumstances. Ardour provides two methods of handling the issue.
+ Trying different combinations of these settings may minimize CPU consumption.
+
+
+ Use DC bias to protect against denormals adds a small
+ constant value to numbers to move the numbers away from zero.
+
+
+ Processor handling:, if the computer's hardware
+ supports it, offers two methods that can be used individually or
+ combined. Flush to zero and denormals are zero.
+
+
+
+
+ Disk I/O Buffering settings determine how many seconds of
+ audio off of disk will be buffered in memory. Longer settings reduce
+ the risk of buffer under-runs but consume more memory.
+
+
+ Preset: will automatically choose the values for the playback
+ and recording buffer based on the chosen size of the session. The
+ Custom option allows to manually select the buffers with
+ the two sliders below.
+
+
+ Playback (seconds of buffering): sets how many seconds of
+ audio Ardour will buffer during playback.
+
+
+ Recording (seconds of buffering): sets how many seconds of
+ audio Ardour will buffer during recording.
+
+
+
+
+ Memory Usage
+
+
+ Waveform image cache (megabytes): sets the maximum amount of ram that
+ can be used to store the images representing the waveforms in the editor. Past
+ this amount, the images will be regenerated when needed, which can significantly
+ decrease the system's performance.
+
+
+
+
+ Automation
+
+
+ Thinning factor ranges from 0 to 1000 with larger
+ values sending fewer automation changes. Thinning is like lossy
+ audio compression, removing data that is less likely to be noticed,
+ although the more is removed, the more likely the loss will be noticed.
+ The advantage to thinning is reduced CPU usage.
+
+
+ Automation sampling interval ranges from 1 to
+ 1000 ms. Determines how frequently the automation input is
+ sampled. The shorter the interval the higher the accuracy but also
+ the higher the CPU requirements.
+
+
+
+
+ Automatables
+
+
+ Limit automatable parameters per plugin: as some plugins
+ (synthesizers, …) have a lot of parameters, and those parameters
+ can be automated by Ardour, checking this will limit the number of parameters
+ that are listed as automatable, hence making the lists shorter and the GUI
+ more responsive.
+
+
+
+
+
+
Video
+
+
+
+ Video Server
+
+
+ Show Video Export Info before export Shows a warning message
+ when exporting a video about licensing and offers to open the
+ export video section of
+ this manual.
+
+
+ Show Video Server Startup Dialog: when using video inside Ardour,
+ this video is accessed via Xjadeo from a source file through a Video Server.
+ This options shows the server's startup dialog (useful for debugging a
+ malfunctioning video).
+
+
+ Advanced Setup (remote video server) can be used when the setup
+ is more complex than opening a local file with Ardour. The tools used behind
+ the scene by Ardour allow a lot of flexibility, so for a competent user,
+ the options below are provided to access a distant file (i.e. on another
+ machine). The default options for the two following fields ("http://localhost:1554"
+ and "/") are suitable for local files.
+
+
+ Video Server URL: Base URL of the video server delivering the video
+ through the network (http://IP-or-address:port).
+
+
+ Video folder is the server's local path to the document-root,
+ i.e. the files that can be delivered by the server.
+
+
+
+
+ Video Monitor
+
+
+ Custom Path to Video Monitor (xjadeo) - leave empty for default:
+ Ardour bundles offer xjadeo bundled, so it should run flawlessly. Though,
+ for custom builds or if a newer version of xjadeo is available, one can
+ specify a path to the wanted version of xjadeo.
+
+