Keyboard shortcuts
On a Mac, shortcuts use ⌘ only. ⌃ (Control) shortcuts aren't used: ⌃C doesn't copy. On Windows and Linux, the same shortcuts use Ctrl.
Letter keys work by the character they type, so they follow your keyboard layout. While you are typing in a text field, keys type text instead of running shortcuts. ⌘R (Ctrl+R) does nothing there (it never reloads the window).
Global and transport
| Mac | Windows/Linux | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Space | Space | Play or pause the playlist. In the Pattern Sequencer or Piano Roll tab, loop the selected pattern (or pause). |
| ⌘N | Ctrl+N | File ▸ New Project |
| ⌘O | Ctrl+O | File ▸ Open… |
| ⌘S | Ctrl+S | File ▸ Save |
| ⇧⌘S | Ctrl+Shift+S | File ▸ Save As… |
| ⌘, | Ctrl+, | Dawesome ▸ Preferences… (opens the Preferences tab) |
| ⇧⌘M | Ctrl+Shift+M | Window ▸ Mixer |
| ⇧⌘E | Ctrl+Shift+E | Window ▸ Pattern Sequencer |
File ▸ Mixdown…, Quit, and the other Window and Preferences menu items have no shortcut.
Command bar
Turn it on in Preferences ▸ Controls… (it's off by default). Then type : anywhere but a text field, and the info bar along the bottom of the window becomes a command line, as in vim. Type a command and press Enter. Esc, clicking away, or Backspace on an empty line closes it. Case doesn't matter; an unknown command is named in the info bar.
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
:playlist, :sample, :mixer, :transport | Open that tab, or select it where it's already open |
:sequencer (:seq, :notes) | Open the Pattern Sequencer |
:piano-roll (:piano), :effects-rack (:fx) | Open the Piano Roll or Effects Rack |
:audio, :mixdown (:export), :controls | Open the Audio, Mixdown or Controls tab |
:preferences (:prefs, :appearance) | Open the Preferences tab |
:play | Play or pause, as Space does |
:stop | Stop, and go back to the start |
:loop, :metronome, :countin | Turn loop, the metronome or count-in on or off |
:w | Save (File ▸ Save) |
:q, :q! | Close the focused tab |
:wq | Save, then close the focused tab |
:qa | Quit, if nothing is unsaved. Otherwise the info bar says so, and Dawesome stays open. |
:qa! | Quit without saving |
:wqa | Save, then quit. If saving is cancelled, Dawesome stays open. |
Edit
| Mac | Windows/Linux | Action |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘Z | Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| ⇧⌘Z | Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| ⌘X | Ctrl+X | Cut the selected clips (Playlist) or notes (Piano Roll) to the clipboard |
| ⌘C | Ctrl+C | Copy the selected clips (Playlist) or notes (Piano Roll) |
| ⌘V | Ctrl+V | Paste clips at the playhead, snapped (Playlist), or notes at the mouse (Piano Roll) |
| ⌘R | Ctrl+R | Repeat: place a copy of the selected clips (Playlist) or notes (Piano Roll) straight after them |
| ⌘A | Ctrl+A | Select all clips (Playlist) or all notes (Piano Roll) |
In a text field, these act on the text. Dawesome's clipboards are its own: copying clips or notes doesn't change your system clipboard.
Playlist
These work while the Playlist is the selected tab in the focused pane.
| Mac | Windows/Linux | Action |
|---|---|---|
| S | S | Select tool |
| D | D | Draw tool: paint pattern clips |
| C | C | Cut tool |
| Delete (or Backspace) | Delete (or Backspace) | Delete the selected clips |
| Shift+J | Shift+J | Join the selected clips (Edit ▸ Join) |
| Shift+E | Shift+E | Explode the selected pattern clips into tracks |
| Esc | Esc | Clear the selection. While dragging a clip edge, cancel the drag. |
Don't confuse Shift+E (explode) with ⇧⌘E (Ctrl+Shift+E) (open the Pattern Sequencer), or the cut tool (C) with Cut (⌘X).
See Playlist.
Piano roll
These work while the Piano Roll is the selected tab in the focused pane.
| Mac | Windows/Linux | Action |
|---|---|---|
| S | S | Select tool |
| D | D | Draw tool |
| C | C | Cut tool |
| Delete (or Backspace) | Delete (or Backspace) | Delete the selected notes |
| Esc | Esc | Clear the selection. While dragging notes, put them back. |
| ⌘A | Ctrl+A | Select all notes |
| ⌘X, ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘R | Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+R | Cut, copy, paste and repeat notes (see Edit) |
| Space | Space | Loop the pattern from the playhead, or stop |
See Piano roll.
Browsers, menus and text fields
| Mac | Windows/Linux | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Enter | Enter | On a sample or take in a sidebar browser: preview it. On a folder: open or close it. |
| Esc | Esc | In a browser's Search field: clear it |
| Enter / Esc | Enter / Esc | While renaming a folder, take, track or pattern: keep the name / cancel |
| Esc | Esc | Close a clip or browser menu |
| Esc | Esc | While dragging something from the sidebar: cancel the drag |
| Enter | Enter | On a step in the Pattern Sequencer: switch it on or off |
Knobs and faders
Click a knob or fader first to give it the keyboard.
| Keys | Knob | Fader |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ / →, ↓ / ← | Small step | 0.5 dB |
| Shift + arrow | Big step (a tenth of the range) | Fine step, 0.1 dB |
| Page Up / Page Down | Big step | 3 dB |
| Home | Minimum | Maximum (+6 dB) |
| End | Maximum | Silent |
| 0 | Center | — |
NOTE
Shift with the arrow keys makes knobs move more but faders move less.
Mouse
| Mac | Windows/Linux | Where | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift-drag | Shift-drag | Knob, fader | Fine adjustment (a quarter of the speed) |
| Drag up/down | Drag up/down | Tempo | Faster/slower (Shift-drag for fine) |
| Double-click | Double-click | Tempo | Type a tempo |
| Double-click | Double-click | Knob | Back to center |
| Double-click | Double-click | Fader | Reset |
| Click | Click | Fader track | Jump there |
| Shift-click | Shift-click | Playlist clip | Add to or remove from the selection |
| Shift-drag | Shift-drag | Playlist | Draw a box to select clips |
| Drag an edge | Drag an edge | Playlist clip | Trim the clip (and the same edge of the other selected clips) |
| Shift-drag an edge | Shift-drag an edge | Playlist sample clip | Stretch the clip |
| Option while dragging an edge | Alt while dragging an edge | Playlist | Ignore snap. Also with the cut tool. |
| Drag empty space | Drag empty space | Playlist | Scroll |
| Click or drag | Click or drag | Playlist ruler | Move the playhead |
| Double-click | Double-click | Playlist clip | Open a sample clip in the Sample tab, or a pattern clip's pattern in the Pattern Sequencer (not with the cut tool) |
| Drag empty space | Drag empty space | Playlist track, Draw tool | Paint clips of the last selected pattern |
| Right-click | Right-click | Playlist clip | Clip menu |
| Right-click | Right-click | Empty playlist | Paste here (when the clipboard has clips) |
| Wheel | Wheel | Playlist | Scroll tracks; sideways along the timeline |
| Shift+wheel | Shift+wheel | Playlist | Scroll along the timeline |
| ⌘+wheel, or pinch | Ctrl+wheel | Playlist | Zoom |
| Click | Click | Pattern Sequencer step | Light it, or clear it |
| Drag | Drag | Pattern Sequencer steps | Light (or clear) every step passed over |
| Click | Click | Pattern Sequencer greyed step | Make the pattern longer, to that bar, and light the step |
| Click | Click | Pattern Sequencer note preview | Edit the row's notes in the Piano Roll |
| Drag the grip | Drag the grip | Pattern Sequencer row | Move the row up or down |
| Right-click | Right-click | Pattern Sequencer row | Rename…, Step pitch…, Sample pitch…, Gated, Remove |
| Double-click | Double-click | Pattern key | Rename the pattern |
| Click | Click | Piano Roll grid, Draw tool | Draw a note; drag right to set its length |
| Drag a note | Drag a note | Piano Roll | Move it (and the other selected notes) in time and pitch |
| Drag a note's end | Drag a note's end | Piano Roll | Change its length |
| Shift-click | Shift-click | Piano Roll note | Add to or remove from the selection |
| Shift-drag | Shift-drag | Piano Roll, empty grid | Draw a box to select notes |
| Click | Click | Piano Roll note, Cut tool | Cut it in two |
| Right-click | Right-click | Piano Roll note | Delete it |
| Click and hold | Click and hold | Piano Roll keyboard | Hear the pitch |
| Click or drag | Click or drag | Piano Roll ruler | Move the playhead (Play starts from there) |
| Option while dragging | Alt while dragging | Piano Roll | Ignore snap |
| ⌘+wheel, or pinch | Ctrl+wheel | Piano Roll | Zoom along time |