[ardour-users] Re: Automation

[Alastair Couper]

John Anderson wrote:

> Where can I find out more about how automation works in Ardour? I
> specifically thinking of off / play / write / touch, which I'm
> completely clueless about.
> 
> thanks
> John
No expert here, either, but so far I get that 

"off" means no automation, level slider works manually

"play" means use the automation that has been recorded,
and the level slider no longer can be grabbed manually

"write" means that the automation is recorded continuously
as you drag the level slider for the track while playing,

"touch" means to only record when the slider actually changes,
which allows one to then edit sections of automation as objects.

Hovering the mouse over the automation lines will change the cursor
and allow you to drag the line up or down. But sometimes the color
schemes make those lines hard to see.

Then there are envelopes that can be drawn in the regions themselves. I
am not sure what this is used for, it seems redundant given the   
automation capability. Click on the "gain" button (upper right cluster)
to cause the mouse to draw gain lines on a region in a track. I haven't
tried this much because  I have not found how to clear an envelope from
a track once it is written. The "clear" button works for that in the
automation track view, but I don't see yet how that works with
envelopes.

I must say, the latest release is working very well so far !

AC