287 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
287 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
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! title Non DAW User Manual
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! author Jonathan Moore Liles #(email,male@tuxfamily.org)
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! date June 20, 2008
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-- Table Of Contents
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: User Manual
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:: The Timeline Editor
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/ Timeline Editor
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< tle.png
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The Timeline Editor is what you first see when you start the Non-DAW. Here
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you will add tracks, make captures, and arrange regions.
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Before you can add anything to the timeline, you must create a new project
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(menu item `Project\/New`)
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/ New Project Dialog
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< new-project.png
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::: Display Options
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The display options, found in the `Options\/Display` submenu may be adjusted
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to suit your needs. Set the color scheme, widget style, and other graphic
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options to your liking. These options are global and affect all projects.
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::: Navigation
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:::: Sequences
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A sequence is focused when you click on it. Focus can be moved back and forth
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between sequences with `Tab` and `Shift-Tab`.
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:::: Playhead
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`Shift+Left` and `Shift+Right` move the playhead backward and forward one
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beat, while `Ctrl+Shift+Left` and `Ctrl+Shift+Right` move it by bars.
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::::: Within A Sequence
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The focused sequence accepts additional movement commands with specific
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relevance. `Ctrl+Left` moves the playhead to the beginning of the current or
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previous object in the sequence. `Ctrl+Right` moves it to the beginning of
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the next object in the sequence.
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:::: Range
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/ Selecting a range
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< range.png
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`Ctrl+[` moves the left range cursor (P1) to the position of the playhead.
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`Ctrl+]` moves the right range cursor (P2) to the position of the playhead.
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The range cursors can be set individually with the mouse by positioning the
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pointer over the desired location and pressing `[` or `]`. Alternatively,
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both may be set at once by holding `R` and left-click+dragging the selection
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rectangle.
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::: Projects
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/ Project Info Dialog
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< project-info.png
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A Non-DAW project is a directory where Non-DAW keeps the journal, project
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specific settings, notes, some meta-data, and, last but not least, your audio
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sources. A project is completely self-contained. You can rename a project as
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simply as:
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> $ mv Project-A Project-B
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Non-DAW projects can refer to audio sources outside of the project
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directory--clips dropped onto the timeline from a file-manager, for instance.
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These are not copied into the project by default. This allows the efficient
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use of audio loop libraries, but introduces external dependencies. Beware
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that if you ever move, remove, or change one of these external sources, it
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will affect the Non-DAW projects referencing them.
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/ Note:
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{ To import all the external sources for a project, making it suitable for
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{ distribution or archiving, use the `import-external-sources` script included
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{ with the program.
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:::: Settings
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Project specific settings are found in the `Project\/Settings` submenu.
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::: Transport
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/ Transport Controls
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< transport.png
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The transport controls allow you to control the JACK transport from the
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Timeline Editor. `Home` moves the playhead to 0 and `End` moves it to the
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end of the project. `Space` toggles playback.
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::: Clocks
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/ Clocks
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< clocks.png
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The clocks tell you precisely where the playhead is. There are several clock
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types which can be cycled through by left-clicking. The following clock types
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are available:
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+ Hours Minutes Seconds
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+ Timecode
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+ Sample
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+ Bar Beat Tick
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::: Tempo Map
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/ The Tempo Map
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< tempomap.png
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The tempo map serves a dual purpose. Firstly, it provides enough information
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about the musical structure of your project for Non-DAW to perform
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intelligent snapping and draw helpful measure lines. Secondly, the tempo map
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is communicated to other JACK clients at playback time via the JACK Timebase
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API, so that MIDI accompaniment can follow along to the tempo changes in your
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song.
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Clicking on an empty part of the time or tempo sequences will prompt you for
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the parameters of a new time or tempo point to be inserted at that position.
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Hit `Escape` to cancel the insertion. Right-click on a time or tempo point to
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edit its value. Existing points can be dragged freely.
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::: Tracks
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/ A Track Header
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< track-header.png
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Add a track to the timeline by pressing the `A` key. Right-clicking on the
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track header will bring up a context menu by which you can configure the
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number of channels used by this track. Click on the track name to change it.
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The `T`akes menu lists all the takes associated with a track. The circular
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record-enable button is used to arm a track for recording. Only armed tracks
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will be recorded onto when the master record-enable button on the transport
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is activated and the transport is started. The 'm' toggle button is mute, the
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's' button is solo. Multiple tracks can be soloed at once. `Shift+Mousewheel`
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will adjust the track height. Remove a track by selecting 'Remove' from its
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context menu.
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:::: Recording
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/ Recording onto a Track
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< recording.png
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To initiate recording, first arm some tracks by toggling their record
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buttons, then toggle the global record-enable button on the transport.
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Recording will begin when you press play. During recording, the timeline
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darkens and refuses normal input. Regions being captured are colored bright
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red. The viewport will automatically follow the playhead as the recording
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progresses. Recording stops when you stop the transport or toggle the global
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record-button.
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::: Sequences
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Sequence is the generic term used to describe all distinct sequences of
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objects on the timeline.
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::: Regions
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Regions are the most common object on the timeline. Each region represents
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some portion of an audio source placed at some position in time. Since
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Non-DAW is non-destructive, regions only *represent* the source--altering a
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region does not affect the audio source in any way. Deleting a region does
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not delete the source--as other regions may still refer to it.
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/ Note:
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{ If you decide, for whatever reason, that you no longer wish to retain unused
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{ sources, run the `remove-unused-sources` script included with the program.
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Try this one-liner to clean up many projects in parallel and reclaim disk space:
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> for i in ~/projects/*; do remove-unused-sources "$i" & done
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:::: Editing
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::::: Split
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Position the mouse pointer where you would like the region split and perform
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`Shift+Middle-click`. This will divide the region at the mouse pointer.
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::::: Duplicate
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Drag a region (or selection) with the mousse while holding the `Ctrl` key to
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duplicate it.
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::::: Delete
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`Ctrl+Right-click` removes a region or selection from the timeline.
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::::: Trim
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Hold down `Shift` and click on part of a region with the left mouse button.
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This trims the region start to the position of the mouse pointer. Continue
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holding `Shift` and drag to continuously trim the region start point. Do the
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same with the right mouse button to trim the region end.
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::::: Pan
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Hold `Ctrl+Shift` and drag the region. Instead of moving on the timeline, the
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region will remain stationary as the audio source /behind/ it is panned
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forward or back. This operation is particularly useful in conjunction wiht
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looped regions.
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::::: Normalize
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Hit `N` while a region is focused to normalize it (or `Ctrl+Middle-click`).
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Normalizing a region means automatically setting its gain as high as possible
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without exceeding the standard floating point audio dynamic range of +1 to -1
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(corresponding to 0dBFS). Any peaks exceeding this range at this stage will
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appear in bright red.
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::::: Fade
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/ A Region with Fades
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< fade-in-out.png
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Each region has fade in and out curves. Position the mouse pointer over the
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desired fade-in end location and hit `F3` to set the fade-in duration.
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Position the mouse pointer over the desired fade-out start location and hit
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`F4` to set the fade-out duration. Right click on a region to bring up its
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context menu, then choose the type of curve for each fade. The following
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curves are available:
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+ Linear
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+ Sigmoid
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+ Logarithmic
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+ Parabolic
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::::: Loop
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/ Looped region
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< looping.png
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Instead of requiring you to duplicate a small region 100 times to achieve a
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looping effect, Non DAW supports looping directly. First, adjust the region
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duration to cover the amount of time you would like it to loop for. Then,
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position the mouse pointer over the first place the loop should repeat (i.e.
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the first bar line after the start of the region) and hit `L`. This will set
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the loop point for this region, which will be indicated by two white arrows.
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At playback, the portion of the region before the loop point will loop for
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the duration of the region.
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::: Annotation
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/ Annotations
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< annotations.png
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Add an annotation sequence to a track by right-clicking on the track header
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to bring up the context menu, and choosing /Add annotation/. Any number of
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annotation sequences may be attached to each track. Click on an empty space
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in the sequence to add a new annotation point. Right click on the annotation
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point to rename it. Hold down shift and drag with the right mouse button to
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create a new annotation region of a given duration. Again, right click to
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edit the text. Only the first line of annotation region text will be
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displayed on the timeline. Annotation regions are useful for containing
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lyrics or other cues which have a definite duration. Annotation points are
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more appropriately used to denote points of interest or change.
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::: Automation
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/ Control Sequence
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< automation.png
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Each track may have any number of control sequences attached to it. A control
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sequence comprises a series of points in time (X axis) and intensity (Y
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axis). Add a control sequence to a track by picking /Add control/ from its
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context menu. A control sequence may be named by right clicking on it to
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bring up the context menu, then picking 'Rename'. The output of a control
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sequence is similar control voltages generated by analog equipment. A control
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sequence can be used to control anything that can accept CV style input.
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Useful targets include the Non Mixer, and SpiralSynthModular.
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Click anywhere on the control sequence to add a new control point. Control
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points can be dragged around and selected just like other objects on the
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timeline. They can even be part of the same selection as regions, permitting
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you to move regions and control points together in lock-step.
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# :: The Mixer
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# ::: Tracks
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# ::: Panning
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