Sync regions with tracks when navigating the track list

Getting Stuff Done How do I .... ?
#1

Sync regions with tracks when navigating the track list in the arranger.

Example.

2 tracks, each with a region. I’m on track 1 and the region is active. I switch to Track2 with a shortcut, and the region in track 1 becomes inactive, and the region in track 2 becomes active.

In other words, the active region follows the track selection.

Can this be done in Ardour?

#2

You could write a Lua script for this, but in general we assume that “1 track, 1 region” is much less common than “1 track, N regions” (*), and your idea breaks down there. Lua scripting is specifically designed to let people cook up behavior that works well for them, but might not be more broadly appropriate.

(*) we could be wrong

#3

Ok, thanks. I’m not a scripter, but i’ll have a look.

#4

@alextone: ardour only allows you to have one ‘kind’ of thing selected at a time.

This removes ambiguity when you do an action (like Mute, or Zoom, or Delete). If you are allowed to have both the Region and a Track selected, it is sometimes unclear what the action should apply to.

At any moment, you can only have one ‘kind’ of thing selected:

  • Track(s) and optionally an associated Time Range
  • Region(s)
  • MIDI Note(s)
  • Automation Control Point(s)
  • Plugin(s)

For that reason, you won’t be able to achieve what you are asking, even with Lua.

However, you could achieve this: I have a region selected on track 1, and I want to press a key and have a region selected on track 2 (presumably trying to find a region with similar boundaries as the one you had selected on track 1). That would be possible with Lua.

#5

Ben, thanks for the expanded answer.