-<figure class="right">
- <img src="/images/add-track-or-bus.png" alt="the add-track dialog">
+<figure class="left">
+ <img class="mini" src="/images/add-track-or-bus.png" alt="the add-track dialog">
<figcaption>
The Add Track/Bus/VCA dialog.
</figcaption>
<p>
Any of these actions will open the Add Track/Bus/VCA dialog.
</p>
+
+<p>
+ The list of available track templates (both factory and user-created ones)
+ in the left panel allows to choose the <a href="@@track-types">track(s) type</a>
+ (e.g. Audio, MIDI, bus, VCA etc.). Some templates can do even more, like the
+ factory-provided <kbd class="menu">Live Band</kbd> that automatically creates
+ a number of usual tracks for a common band setup. See <a
+ href="@@newopen-session-dialog">New Session</a> for more information about
+ templates.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ The common templates have parameters to tweak:
+</p>
+
<table class="dl">
<tr><th>Add</th>
- <td>Selects the number of tracks, busses or VCAs to create, and their <a
-href="@@track-types">types</a>.</td></tr>
+ <td>Selects the number of tracks, busses or VCAs to create.</td></tr>
<tr><th>Name</th>
<td>Defines the name of the new track(s). If multiple tracks are created, or if
a track with the same name already exists, a space and number will be happened
-at the end (e.g.: Audio 1, Audio 2…)</td></tr>
+at the end (e.g.: Audio 1, Audio 2…).</td></tr>
<tr><th>Configuration</th>
<td>This menu allows to choose from a number of route templates, which determine
the number of input ports and optionally contain plugins and other mixer strip
configuration. The most common choices here are <em>mono</em> and
<em>stereo</em>.</td></tr>
- <tr><th>Record mode</th>
- <td>This option is only available for audio tracks and affects how it behaves
-when recording. See <a href="@@track-types#trackmodes">Track Modes</a> for
-details.</td></tr>
<tr><th>Instrument</th>
<td>This option is only available for MIDI tracks and busses and allows the
selection of a default instrument from the list of available plugins.</td></tr>
operations are applied to all members of a group at the same time (selecting
record enable, or editing, for example). This option assigns the new track/bus
to an existing group, or create a new group.</td></tr>
- <tr><th>Insert</th>
+ <tr><th>Pin Mode</th>
+ <td>Defines how the number of output responds to adding a plugin with a
+ different number of outputs than the track itself. in <em>Strict I/O</em> mode,
+ the track will only use a few of the plugins I/O and will keep its own number of
+ output fixed, while in <em>Flexible I/O</em> mode, it will automatically adapt
+ to the I/O of its plugins. See <a href="@@trackbus-signal-flow">Signal flow</a>
+ to learn more about those options.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th>Record mode</th>
+ <td>This option is only available for audio tracks and affects how it behaves
+ when recording. See <a href="@@track-types#trackmodes">Track Modes</a> for
+ details.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th>Position</th>
<td>Defines where in the track list is the track created. The default is
<em>Last</em>, i.e. after all the tracks and busses, and can also be
<em>First</em>, <em>Before Selection</em> (to place it just above the selected
track) or <em>After selection</em>.</td></tr>
- <tr><th>Output Ports</th>
- <td>Defines how the number of output responds to adding a plugin with a
-different number of outputs than the track itself. in <em>Strict I/O</em> mode,
-the track will only use a few of the plugins I/O and will keep its own number of
-output fixed, while in <em>Flexible I/O</em> mode, it will automatically adapt
-to the I/O of its plugins. See <a href="@@trackbus-signal-flow">Signal flow</a>
-to learn more about those options.</td></tr>
</table>
+<p>
+ Multiple tracks of different types can be created by using the <kbd
+ class="menu">Add selected items (and leave dialog open)</kbd> button, which, used
+ in conjunction with the <kbd class="menu">Add</kbd> field, allows for a very efficient
+ and fast way to create a base track setup.
+</p>
+
<p>
New tracks appear in both the editor and mixer windows. The editor window
shows the timeline, with any recorded data, and the mixer shows just the
</figcaption>
</figure>
+<figure class="right">
+ <img class="mini" src="/images/template_setup.png" alt="One of the Template Setup Dialogs">
+ <figcaption>
+ One of the Template Setup Dialogs
+ </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
<p>
This page allows to type in the name of a session, select a folder to save it in, and
optionally use an existing <a href="@@session-templates">template</a>.
</p>
<p>
- Under <dfn>Advanced Options</dfn>, some fine tuning can be done, like selecting
- whether Ardour should create a Master Bus, or a Control Bus, and how many channels
- the output should have.
+ 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.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ 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 <a
+ href="@@session-properties-dialog">session properties</a>, (like the
+ availability of a <a href="@@monitor-section">monitoring section</a>,
+ connection to a Master Bus, etc.), and handle the creation of <a
+ href="@@adding-tracks-busses-and-vcas">tracks</a> of any kind.
</p>
<p>
- Other options also decide whether Ardour should automatically connect all inputs
- to the hardware's physical ports. Ardour will do so
- sequentially and in round-robin fashion, connecting the first track's
- input to the first input of the hardware and so on. When Ardour has used
- all available hardware inputs, it will begin again with the first physical
- input.
+ The <kbd class="menu">Empty Template</kbd> 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.
</p>
<p>
- The number of hardware channels used by Ardour can also be limited.
+ As of Ardour 5.12, which introduced the new template dialog, the factory templates are:
+</p>
+
+<table class="dl">
+ <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Empty Template</kbd></th>
+ <td>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.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Advanced Session</kbd></th>
+ <td>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.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Recording Session</kbd></th>
+ <td>Like the Empty Template, but allows the fast creation of a number of tracks, optionnaly ready to record.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Live Band</kbd></th>
+ <td>Fast tracks the creation of usual tracks for a band setup (vocals, guitars, piano, ...), and optionnaly adds usual effects on these tracks.</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>
+ Selecting a template will display its description in the right-side pannel, 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.
</p>
<p>
- By default Ardour will connect all tracks and busses to the Master Bus if
- there is one. However, it can also be told to automatically connect each
- output to the physical outputs of the interface or sound card, and limit
- the number of physical outputs used, as above.
+ Whether or not a template is used, and before the "Template Setup" dialog, the
+ Audio/MIDI Setup will be shown.
</p>
<h2 class="clear">Audio/MIDI Setup</h2>
<h2>Creating a Session Template</h2>
<p>
The <kbd class="menu">Session > Save Template</kbd> shows a dialog asking
- for the name of the new template.
+ for the name of the new template, and a description.
</p>
<h2>Using a Session Template</h2>
<p>
- In the New Session dialog, a combo selector allows to choose the desired
- template.
-</p>
-<p class="note">
- An existing session can also be used as a template, without saving it as one.
- This is available as an option in the New Session dialog. Doing this will not
- alter the existing session at all, but will use its track, bus and plugin
- configuration just like a template.
+ In the <a href="@@newopen-session-dialog">New Session dialog</a>, a panel lists the different
+ template (factory and user-created).
</p>
<p>
See also <a href="@@adding-tracks-busses-and-vcas">Adding Tracks and Busses</a>
projects / ardour-manual / commitdiff
