Composer menus

Where possible, we've moved OOM functions where they're needed to maximize user workflow, so our menus are, where possible, small, and don't extend to any more than one sub-menu, with many previous menu functions prioritized and moved out the Orchestral Pit, and Toolbars. The Composer menus are as follows:

This page contains the following sections:

• File Menu
• Edit Menu
• Views Menu
• Midi Menu
• Audio Menu
• Settings Menu

File Menu

These are common functions, plus the import and export options for midi and audio.

• New This opens a new OOM project.
• Open This opens an existing OOM project.
• Open Recent If you've had multiple projects open in previous OOM sessions, then follow the arrow into a submenu which will list your most recent projects.
• Save This will save your project, at any time you invoke this command.
• Save As You can save your project under a different name, and location, with this command. OOM will open projects from any directory, and can open projects if they're moved to a different location.
• Import Midifile You can import a midifile into an existing project, either to existing tracks, or create a new set of tracks for the midifile in addition to your existing tracks.
• Export Midifile Use this command to export your midi project as a midifle to be read in another app, for example a midi player. Note that if you're using an OOM project with non GM related bank and patches in your midi tracks, then the exported file may not sound the same.
• Import Audiofile This command is used to import an audiofile into your project. Select an audio track first, that you wish the file to be imported to, and remember the import will appear as a part, at the playback cursor location.
• Quit Use this command to close your project, and quit OOM.

Edit Menu

The Edit menu list is as follows:

• Undo This will undo the last action you performed. If you press it again, it will undo the next previous and so on.
• Redo This will redo the last action you performed.
• Cut This action cuts the specified part or event.
• Copy This action copies the currently selected part or events, as well as a selected group of events. like automation nodes, when in automation mode.
• Paste This action takes events or parts copied to the clipboard, and pastes them where you specify.
• Insert, this action inserts events, parts or groups of events into the timeline, moving everything else further along the timeline.
• Paste Clone when a part is cloned, meaning the clone reads from the original part, the cloned part is pasted at the playback cursor, in the specified track.
• Paste to Track Use this command when selecting a group of parts, and pasting them to a new or existing track.
• Paste Clone to Track As above but you're pasting cloned parts.
• Insert Empty Measure As the name implies, this action inserts an empty measure at the playback cursor position into the timeline across all tracks, and moves any existing parts further along the timeline. Note that this a measure insert, and as such requires some care to ensure the playback cursor is positioned over a bar, and not elsewhere in a bar, or you'll get odd length bars.
• GLOBAL SPLIT We highlight this one, as it is a project wide command that should be used with care. The Global Split will split all parts, midi and audio, across all tracks, at the playback cursor timeline position. The Global Split command is particularly useful when intending to insert an empty measure, as the user can first split any parts that lie across the intended point of empty measure insertion, and ensure that parts that are moved, as a result of inserting an empty measure, accurately.
• Delete Selected Tracks This command will completely delete any selected track, or tracks.
• Add Track This entry points to a sub-menu listing the OOM track types.
• Select This entry points to a sub-menu of Select commands for various functions.
• Performer This action opens the Performer showing the currently highlighted part or parts.
• List This action opens the list editor for the currently selected part.

The Add Track sub-menu:

• Add Midi Track This action will add a Midi track to your project.
• Add Audio Track This action will add an Audio track to your project. Audio tracks can be routed to Audio Busses, and Audio Output busses, including MASTER. Audio tracks, when created, are routed to MASTER by default.
• Add Audio Output This action will add an Audio Output buss to your project, in addition to the hardwired MASTER output buss.
• Add Audio Buss This will add an Audio buss to your project. you can route Audio input busses, and audio tracks to an Audio buss.
• Add Audio Input This will add an Audio Input Buss to to your project. You can route the Audio Input buss to Audio tracks, Audio Busses, and Audio Output Busses, including the MASTER.
• Add Aux Send This will add an Aux send to your project, and each Aux added will appear in Audio Input Busses, Audio Tracks, and Audio Busses, in the Aux tab of mixer strips.

The Select sub-menu:

• Select all tracks This action will select all tracks in the current View setting.
• Select All This is a standard select all command, and can be used, for two examples as select all parts in the Composer canvas, and select All events in a part displayed in the Performer.
• Deselect All The reverse of Select All, where any selected parts or events are deselected.
• Invert Selection This command inverts or reverses the current selection.
• Inside Loop This action selects all parts and events inside a loop, as defined by the punch in and out indicators.
• Outside Loop This action selects all parts outside of a Loop, as defined by the punch in and out indicators.
• All parts on Track This action selects all parts on a selected track.

Views Menu

The Views menu is as follows:

• Tempo Editor This entry leads to a submenu, listing Tempo related functions.
• Transport Panel This action opens the Transport Bar.
• Mixer A This action opens OOM's main mixer.
• BigTime Window this action opens the large Time display window.
• Cliplist This action opens the cliplist, a directory of audio parts in the project. (Please note this is on our to-do list, and may not display entries correctly at time of release.)
• Marker View This action opens the Marker window, where users can add or delete project markers.

The sub-menu for Tempo Editor:

• Graphical Tempo Editor This action opens the Graphical Tempo Editor, a visual controller lane design interface for the tempo and time signature mastertrack.
• Metronome This action opens the Metronome window.
• List Tempo Editor This action opens the List Tempo Editor, a text list based window for tempo and time signature entries.

Midi Menu

The midi menu is as follows:

• Edit Instrument This action open the Instrument Definition window, where user can create instrument sets for projects. An Instrument Set is required when creating a midi port. OOM has 3 default .idf set files, being GM, GS, and XG.
• Local Off This action sends a Local Off command, which will be familiar to those users using external devices, like Synthesizers, keyboard with inbuilt sounds, etc..

Audio Menu

The Audio menu is as follows:

• Bounce to Track This action, when applied to a track, tracks, or parts, gives the user the option to bounce the audio to a track. This is useful for saving computer resources, when you've recorded, edited and finished with audio parts, and want to condense them into a "finished" track, playing back one track, instead of several.
• Bounce to File This action, commonly used with the MASTER output for example, will open a dialog where the user can set values, then bounce audio to an external file.
• Restart Audio This action will restart the audio engine in OOM, if for some reason it's not functioning properly. This can occasionally happen when another JACK client you may be using decides to die, or JACK falters for some reason, as just two possible examples.

Settings Menu

The Settings menu is as follows:

• Global Settings This action opens the global settings or preferences window, where the user can configure some OOM settings which will apply to OOM generically.
• Configure Shortcuts This action opens the Shortcuts window, where the user can tweak or change shortcuts for actions in OOM.
• Follow Song This entry leads to the follow song sub-menu, where the user selects which visual playback option they want to use for the playback cursor.
• MidiFile Import/Export This action opens a window where the user can configure preferred settings for midifile import and export.
• Connections Manager this action opens the Connections Manager. Users will configure their audio ports connections, midi ports creation and connections, midi sync, and midi assign settings in this window.

The Follow Song sub-menu:

• Don't follow Song This action enables the playback cursor to run across the window and out of sight, without any movement from the canvas. This is the most efficient settings of the three in this menu, as there's no redrawing of canvasses involved in the playback process.
• Follow Page This action enables the playback cursor to travel across the current canvas page in view, then changes the canvas to the next "page' so the playback cursor, and underlying canvas timeline position is in view all the time, per page.
• Follow Continuous This action is the most "expensive" of the three follow song settings, as once the playback cursor reaches halfway across the screen, the canvas starts scrolling under the PB cursor, and is constantly redrawn as a result.