+---
+title: The Transport Clocks
+---
+
+<img src="/images/new_main_clocks.png" alt="An image of the transport clocks in Ardour" />
+
+<p>
+ <dfn>Clocks</dfn> in Ardour are used to display <dfn>time values</dfn> precisely.
+ In many cases, they are also one way to edit (change) time values, and in a few
+ cases, the only way. All clocks share the same basic appearance and functionality,
+ which is described below, but a few clocks serve particularly important roles.
+</p>
+<p>
+ In the transport bar of the editor window there are two clocks (unless you
+ are on a very small screen), that display the current position of the playhead
+ and additional information related to transport control and the timeline. These
+ are called the <dfn>transport clocks</dfn>; the left one is the primary
+ transport clock and the right one is the secondary transport clock.
+</p>
+<p>
+ All the clocks in Ardour share the same powerfull way of editing time. Refer to
+ <a href="/introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/editing-clocks/">Editing Clocks</a> to learn how.
+</p>
+<p>
+ Editing the time in the transport clocks will reposition the playhead in the same
+ way that various other editing operations will.
+</p>
+
+<h2>The Special Role of the Secondary Transport Clock</h2>
+
+<p>
+ On a few occasions Ardour needs to display time values to the user, but there
+ is no obvious way to specify what units to use. The most common case is the big
+ cursor that appears when dragging regions. For this and other similar cases,
+ Ardour will display time using the same units as the secondary clock.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Why are there two transport clocks?</h2>
+
+<p>
+ Having two transport clocks lets you see the playhead position in two different
+ time units without having to change any settings. For example, you can see the
+ playhead position in both timecode units and BBT time.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Special Modes for the Transport Clocks</h2>
+
+<p>
+ In addition to the time-unit modes, each of the two transport
+ clocks (if you work on a small screen, you may only have one) can be
+ independently set to display <dfn>Delta to Edit Point</dfn> in whatever time
+ units its current mode indicates. This setting means that the clock shows the
+ distance between the playhead and the current edit point, and it may show a
+ positive or negative value depending on the temporal order of these two points.
+ The clocks will use a different color when in this mode to avoid confusion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ To switch either (or both!) of the transport clocks into this mode, use
+ <kbd class="menu"> Edit > Preferences > Transport</kbd> and select
+ the relevant checkboxes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ Note that when in <samp>Delta to Edit Point</samp> mode, the transport clocks
+ cannot be edited.
+</p>
+
+
+<h2>The Big Clock</h2>
+
+<p>
+ To show the current playhead position in a big, resizable window, activate
+ <kbd class="menu">Window > Big Clock</kbd>. The big clock is very useful
+ when you need to work away from the screen but still want to see the playhead
+ position clearly (such as when working with a remote control device across
+ a room). The big clock will change its visual appearance to indicate when active
+ recording is taking place. Below on the left is a screenshot showing a fairly
+ large big clock window filling a good part of the display, and on the right,
+ the same clock during active recording.
+</p>
+
+<a href="/images/bigclock.png"><img src="/images/bigclock.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock filling a screen"></a>
+<a href="/images/bigclock-recording.png"><img src="/images/bigclock-recording.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock while recording"></a>
projects / ardour-manual-diverged / commitdiff