3 Names and functions of parts

3-1 The main window

1. Menu bar — The Dawesome, File, Edit, Window and Preferences menus (3-2). On macOS they are at the top of the screen.
2. Top bar — Transport keys, toggles, tempo and the position counter (3-3).
3. Notice bar — Appears under the top bar when there is something to report about the project: samples (or plugins) a project couldn't find, a save or open that failed, or where a take was saved. Click × to dismiss it.
4. Sidebar — A rail of keys down the left edge, and the browser for the key that is latched (3-4).
5. Workspace — Tabs in panes that you can split and rearrange (3-5).

The window's title bar shows the project's name, or Untitled before the project is saved.

3-2 Menu bar

3-2-1 Dawesome menu

Item	Key	Function
Preferences…	⌘, (Ctrl+,)	Opens the Preferences tab. See 2-4.
Quit	—	Quits Dawesome.

3-2-2 File menu

Item	Key	Function
New Project	⌘N (Ctrl+N)	Starts an empty project.
Open…	⌘O (Ctrl+O)	Opens a project file.
Open Recent	—	Lists up to eight recently opened or saved projects, and Clear Recent.
Save	⌘S (Ctrl+S)	Saves the project.
Save As…	⇧⌘S (Ctrl+Shift+S)	Saves the project under a new name.
Mixdown…	—	Opens the Mixdown tab. See Mixdown.

See Projects.

3-2-3 Edit menu

Item	Key	Function
Undo	⌘Z (Ctrl+Z)	Undoes the last change to the project.
Redo	⇧⌘Z (Ctrl+Shift+Z)	Redoes what was undone.
Cut	⌘X (Ctrl+X)	Cuts the selected clips (or text) to the clipboard.
Copy	⌘C (Ctrl+C)	Copies the selected clips (or text).
Paste	⌘V (Ctrl+V)	Pastes clips (or text).
Repeat	⌘R (Ctrl+R)	Repeats the selected clips after themselves.
Select All	⌘A (Ctrl+A)	Selects every clip (or all the text).
Join	—	Joins the selected clips into one.

In a text field, Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste and Select All act on the text instead. Join has no menu shortcut; press Shift+J with the playlist active. See Playlist.

3-2-4 Window menu

Each item opens its tab, or selects it if it is already open.

Item	Key
Playlist	—
Sample	—
Mixer	⇧⌘M (Ctrl+Shift+M)
Transport	—
Pattern Sequencer	⇧⌘E (Ctrl+Shift+E)
Piano Roll	—
Effects Rack	—

3-2-5 Preferences menu

Item	Function
Appearance…	Opens the Preferences tab (the same as Dawesome ▸ Preferences…).
Audio Settings…	Opens the Audio tab. See 2-3.
Controls…	Opens the Controls tab: where plugins open, and the command bar. See Controls.

3-3 Top bar

1. Record — Records every armed track from the playhead. The key stays down while recording; press it again to stop. Arm a track first, with the R key on its mixer strip. See Basic recording.
2. Play / Pause — Starts playback, and pauses it. The key stays down while playing. Same as Space. When the Pattern Sequencer (or Piano Roll) tab is the one you are working in, it loops the selected pattern instead.
3. Stop — Stops playback and goes back to the start.
4. Metronome — Turns the click on and off. The blue LED above the key is lit when it is on.
5. Count in a bar before recording — When on, recording starts after one bar of clicks.
6. Loop — Turns looping on and off.
7. Tempo — The tempo in beats per minute, from 1 to 1000, on counter wheels. Drag up to speed up and down to slow down (hold Shift for finer moves); a whole drag is one step to undo. Or double-click it (or press Enter while it's focused) and type a value, taken up on Enter or when you leave the field (Esc cancels). ↑ / ↓ change it by 1, by 10 with Shift. It can't be changed while recording.
8. Bar / Beat — The playhead's position in bars and beats, from 1.
9. Time — The playhead's position in minutes, seconds and tenths (m:ss.t).

NOTE

Snap to grid and the Snap length are on the playlist's own tray, not the top bar. See Playlist.

3-4 Sidebar

Each key on the rail shows its browser. Press the latched key again to hide the sidebar. Every browser has a Search field at the top; press Esc to clear it.

1. Samples — The samples folder as a tree. Click a folder to open it, click a sample to hear it, drag a sample into the playlist to add it, or into the Pattern Sequencer to add it as a row. The Refresh samples key lists the folder again. See Samples.
2. Patterns — The project's patterns, in one tree of folders. Badges show whether a pattern plays samples, instruments or both. Click a pattern to show it in the Pattern Sequencer; drag it into the playlist to place it. Right-click for New folder, Rename and Delete. See 7-6 The pattern browser.
3. Recordings — The project's recorded takes. Click a take to hear it; drag it into the playlist, the Pattern Sequencer or a folder. Right-click for Rename, Move to Trash and New folder. A dot marks takes the project uses; takes it doesn't use are dimmed. A take in use can't be moved to the Trash.
4. Clips — Files Dawesome wrote itself, with Deep copy and Join, in the project's clips folder. It works like Recordings. See Playlist.

5. Effects — The effect plugins found on your computer, in folders by category. Drag an effect onto a mixer channel or into the Effects Rack. The Rescan plugins key looks for plugins again. Couldn’t be read lists plugins that failed during the scan. See Instruments and effects.
6. Instruments — The instrument plugins found, in folders by category. Drag an instrument into the Pattern Sequencer to add it as a synth row, or onto a track's strip in the Mixer to start a pattern there. It has Rescan plugins and Couldn’t be read too.

3-5 Tabs and panes

1. Tab — Click to show that view. The blue LED is lit on the selected tab of the pane you are working in.
2. Close — The × on a tab closes it. It shows on the selected tab, and on others when you hold the pointer over them.
3. Split right — Moves the selected tab into a new pane to the right.
4. Split down — Moves the selected tab into a new pane below.
5. Divider — Drag to resize the panes on either side.

Split right and Split down need at least two tabs in the pane.

To move a tab, drag it:

• onto another tab, to put it before that tab;
• onto the empty space after a pane's tabs, to put it at the end;
• onto the middle of a pane, to move it into that pane;
• onto the edge of a pane, to split the pane on that side.

The tabs are:

Tab	Shows	Opened from
Playlist	The arrangement: tracks and clips.	Window menu
Sample	A clip's sample, and how it plays.	Window menu
Mixer	Every track's channel strip, and the master.	Window menu
Transport	The tape deck (3-6).	Window menu
Pattern Sequencer	A row per sample or synth, and its steps or notes in the selected pattern.	Window menu
Piano Roll	A pattern's notes against a keyboard.	Window menu
Effects Rack	One channel's effects, in order.	Window menu
Audio	Audio settings.	Preferences ▸ Audio Settings…
Mixdown	Export to WAV or MP3.	File ▸ Mixdown…
Preferences	Appearance preferences.	Dawesome ▸ Preferences…
Controls	Where plugins open, and the command bar.	Preferences ▸ Controls…
plugin name	A plugin's own interface, when plugins open in a tab.	The plugin's open key

A new window opens with Playlist, Mixer and Pattern Sequencer in one pane.

3-6 Transport tab

The Transport tab is a tape deck. The cassette's reels turn as the song plays and wind as you rewind or fast forward.

1. Cassette — The label shows the project's name (untitled before it is saved). Double-click the cassette, or press Enter on it, to rename the project: type a name and press Enter or click away; Esc cancels. Renaming saves the project; see 4-4.
2. Rec — Lights its red LED (blinking while stopped, lit while playing). It does not record; use Record on the top bar.
3. Rew — Click to go back to the start of the bar (or the bar before); hold to rewind. Rewinding is silent; playback carries on when you let go.
4. F Fwd — Click to go forward a bar; hold to wind forward.
5. Play — Starts playback.
6. Stop — Stops playback and goes back to the start.
7. Pause — Pauses playback. Stays down while paused; press it again to carry on.
8. Show the cassette / Hide the cassette — Shows or hides the cassette, leaving just the keys.
9. Show the tape over the heads / Hide the tape over the heads — Draws the tape pulled out across the deck's heads, under the cassette. Only shown while the cassette is.
10. Side — The side letter (A) in the label's corner.

The playhead's position is shown on the top bar's counter (3-3).