From: Len Ovens Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2017 03:58:32 +0000 (-0800) Subject: Added a directories Ardour knows about page X-Git-Url: http://shamusworld.gotdns.org/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?a=commitdiff_plain;h=f9a3ba9ec2c04070f4e768e960fcdcab4f9e8cd2;p=ardour-manual Added a directories Ardour knows about page --- diff --git a/_manual/28_appendix/03_files-and-directories.html b/_manual/28_appendix/03_files-and-directories.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..123a2fe --- /dev/null +++ b/_manual/28_appendix/03_files-and-directories.html @@ -0,0 +1,146 @@ +--- +layout: default +title: Files and Directories Ardour Knows About +--- + +

Configuration Directories

+

+ Ardour stores configuration files in two places. The system configuration + directory and the user configuration directory. The system configuration + directory is used for stock configuration files and is used by all + users on any one system. The user configuration directory is used by + Ardour to store configuration changes made in the GUI as well as being + a place the user can add control surface device files, scripts etc. +

+ +

+ Ardour tries to use standard places for these directories for the platform + it is running on. +

+

Linux

+

+ Linux is the most variable of the platforms mainly due to Ardour obtained from + a distro package. If Ardour is obtained from ardour.org as a ready to install + and run bundle, the system configuration directory will always be in + /opt/Ardour-major.minor.sub/share/ That is it will match the name of the + file you downloaded. If Ardour is self built and installed with the + default install path (yes you can change this) then system configuration + will be in /usr/local/share/ardour*/ where * is the major number such as + /usr/local/share/ardour5/ for Ardour 5.6. If you have installed Ardour + as a package from your distro, then distro policy will dictate where + it is installed. /usr/share/ardour*/ is quite common and a good place to start + looking. However, the Ardour development team does not support these + distro builds nor keep track of where they may put things. +

+

+ The user configuration directory will be somewhere inside the user's + home directory. A normal place to find this is ~/.config/ardour*/ where + * is the major version. However this can be set by the system with the + $XDG_CONFIG_HOME environment variable to something else. If you can not + find ~/.config/ on your system try echo ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME} to see if your + distro is using something else. +

+

OSx or MacOS

+

+ maybe someone who has a MAC can complete this section. +

+

Windows

+

+ This section also needs someone with real knowledge to complete it. +

+ +

Plugins

+

+ Plugins will be installed in various places, some by standard and some + by developer whim. Some are installed incorrectly by distro policy. +

+ +

Linux

+

+ In linux there are 3 kinds of plugins Ardour can use. LADSPA, LV2 (LADSPA version 2) + or lxvst (VSTs compiles as native linux binaries). While it is possible + with some strange magic to run Windows VSTs + on linux, their whereabouts would follow the Windows info below. +

+ +

LADSPA

+

+ LADSPA plugins should be found in /usr/lib/ladspa/, /usr/local/lib/ladspa/ + or in a directory mentioned in your LADSPA_PATH environment variable. + The most common mistake made by distro packagers, is to use a path + like /usr/lib/$ARCH/ladspa/ and find that Ardour will not find that by + default. The user can either add a link from this actual directory to + the standard directory or add this path to LADSPA_PATH. +

+ +

LV2

+

+ LADSPA plugins should be found in /usr/lib/lv2/, /usr/local/lib/lv2/ + or in a directory mentioned in your LV2_PATH environment variable. + The most common mistake made by distro packagers, is to use a path + like /usr/lib/$ARCH/lv2/ and find that Ardour will not find that by + default. The user can either add a link from this actual directory to + the standard directory or add this path to LV2_PATH. +

+ +

Linux VST or lxvst

+

+ They are typically installed in /usr/lib/lxvst, /usr/local/lib/lxvst or + a directory mentioned in your LXVST_PATH environment variable. However, + this is not a standard and the VST plugin developer may install the plugin + just about anywhere. Therefore Ardour allows the user to set extra VST + paths in the preferences GUI under Plugins>VST. +

+ +

OSX or MacOS

+

+ On the Mac, plugins are expected to be installed correctly Ardour uses + the system tool to scan for AU style plugins and LV2s should be in the right + place. LV2 should be in $HOME/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LV2 + /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LV2 + /usr/local/lib/lv2 + /usr/lib/lv2 + If an AU or LV2 plugin does not show up on a Mac it is probably + a development fault with the plugin and the plugin will not work with anything. + Ardour in Ardour 5.6 has support for native VST plugins. That is VST + plugins built for OSX. I am not sure if these have a standard place to + be, but as with other VSTs the search path can be edited at Plugins>VST. +

+ +

Windows

+

+ The most common plugins on Windows are VSTs. However, LADSPA and LV2 + plugins are available for windows as well. In fact Ardours built in + plugins are LV2s. The biggest advanatage of LV2 plugins is that they are + the most likely to be cross platform and therefore allow the same Ardour + project to be worked on in Windows, OSX and Linux. +

+ +

VST

+

+ As with other platforms, VSTs on Windows do not have a standard place + to reside. Ardour Preferences>Plugins>VST allows setting the VST path + from the GUI. +

+

LV2

+

+ The LV2 standard for Windows is %APPDATA%/LV2 or %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%/LV2 +

+ +

LADSPA

+

+ While there are LADSPA plugins for Windows, I have been unable to find + the standard path for them... perhaps someone knows? +

+ +

Project Directory

+

+ Ardour places a project directory where the user tells it to. This + directory is chosen when creating a project. In most cases the user + does not need to know about the files inside of the project directory. + However there are a few subdirectories worth noting. +

+

export

+

+ This is the subdirectory where exported files end up. +