Head Chef 1 User Guide · Chapter 21

Keyboard shortcuts

Applies to Head Chef 1.0 and later 1.x releases

This chapter helps you work faster from the keyboard. It shows how to open Head Chef's own searchable shortcut reference, how the single-letter keys in Arrange work, and lists every shortcut in the same categories the app uses.

Read the key symbols #

Head Chef shows shortcuts with the standard Mac key symbols.

Symbol	Key
⌘	Command
⌥	Option
⇧	Shift
⌃	Control
Num	A key on the numeric keypad, such as Num 7

Keys marked Num are separate from the number keys above the letters. On a Mac keyboard without a numeric keypad, use the other shortcut listed for the same action, or the toolbar and menus.

Open the Keyboard Shortcuts reference #

Choose Help > Keyboard Shortcuts… or press ⌃⇧K.
Type in Search by key, action or category… to filter the list. You can search for a key such as F4, an action such as Mute, or a category such as Clip Gain. The count beside the field shows how many shortcuts match.
Press Esc or click Close when you are done.

The reference groups shortcuts under category headings. Each row shows the keys, the action and a short note on what it does. Because the reference reads the shortcuts the app actually uses, it always matches your copy of Head Chef.

You can also browse the shortcuts on the web with the searchable shortcut explorer. Help > Head Chef 1 User Guide opens this guide.

Turn the Arrange letter shortcuts on or off #

In Arrange, single letter keys can trim, fade, zoom and move around without a modifier. They are on when you first open Head Chef.

Choose Options > Arrange Letter Shortcuts (A–Z), or
click Letter keys under CLIP EDITING in the edit toolbar.

The letter keys work only while the Arrange timeline has keyboard focus. Click an empty part of the timeline, or press ⌥⌘1, to give it focus. Typing in a text field is never affected.

Check the keyboard readout in the status bar to see the current recipient. Keys: Arrange means the timeline has focus; Keys: Text entry means you are typing in a field. The readout follows the active window and control, so it can differ from the track you selected. Letter keys enables the shortcuts; the readout shows which area currently receives your keys.

With letter shortcuts off, the track height, waveform size and nudge keys in Arrange are off too.

Sessions #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌘N`	New Session	Opens the New Session dialog.
`⌘O`	Open Session	Opens a saved session.
`⌘S`	Save Session	Saves the current session.
`⌃⌘S`	Save Session As	Saves the session under a new name.
`⌥⌘B`	Render Mix	Opens the Render Mix dialog.
`⌘ Num 2`	Tempo, Time Signature & Session Setup	Opens Session Settings for tempo, time signature, sample rate and pan depth.

File #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⇧⌘I`	Import Audio	Imports the audio files you choose, each on its own track, as one Undo step.

Edit #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌘Z`	Undo	Undoes one session edit.
`⇧⌘Z`	Redo	Redoes one session edit.

Edit Modes #

Keys	Action	What it does
`F1` or `⌥1`	Ripple Mode	Moving a clip closes the gap it leaves.
`F2` or `⌥2`	Free Mode	Clips move anywhere.
`F3` or `⌥3`	Place Mode	Moves a clip to a time you type.
`F4` or `⌥4`	Grid Mode	Clips snap to the grid. Press F4 again in Grid to switch between Absolute and Relative Grid.
`	Cycle Edit Modes	Steps through Ripple, Free, Place and Grid, skipping Ripple while Ripple Lock is on.

See Editing audio for how each edit mode behaves.

Clip Editing #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌘L`	Toggle Clip Edit Lock	Locks or unlocks the selected audio clip against timeline edits.

Clip Gain #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌃⇧↑` / `⌃⇧↓`	Raise / Lower Clip Gain	Changes the selected audio clip's clip gain by 0.5 dB.
`⌃⇧B`	Clear Clip Gain	Restores unity gain and removes the selected clip's gain points.
`⌃⇧=`	Show / Hide Clip Gain Badges	Shows or hides the clip gain controls on audio clips in Arrange.
`⌃⇧-`	Show / Hide Clip Gain Line	Shows the selected audio clip's editable gain line in Arrange and in the Region Editor.

Arrange Letter Shortcuts (A–Z) #

These keys need Options > Arrange Letter Shortcuts (A–Z) on and the Arrange timeline focused.

Keys	Action	What it does
`A` / `S`	Trim Start / End to Cursor	Trims the selected audio clip's start (A) or end (S) to the cursor.
`R` / `T`	Zoom Out / Zoom In	Zooms the timeline around the cursor.
`Q` / `W`	Center Cursor	Centers the view on the cursor.
`P` / `;`	Previous / Next Track	Selects the track above or below.
`L` / `'`	Previous / Next Clip Boundary	Moves the cursor to a start or end of the selected track's clip.
`Z` / `⇧Z`	Undo / Redo	Undoes or redoes one session edit.
`D` / `G` / `F`	Fade In / Fade Out / Crossfade Clip	Adds a fade in up to the cursor (D), a fade out from the cursor (G), or matching fades at both ends (F).
`H` / `U` / `K`	Snap Clip Start / Sync / End to Playhead	Moves the selected audio clip so its start (H), sync point (U) or end (K) lines up with the playhead.

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌘[` / `⌘]`	Zoom Out / Zoom In	Zooms the Arrange timeline when it has focus.
`⌥A`	Fit Session	Shows the whole session in the Arrange timeline.
`⌘↑` / `⌘↓`	Taller / Shorter Selected Track	Steps the selected track through Micro, Tiny, Small, Medium, Large and Jumbo. Undo restores the previous height.
`⌥⌘]` / `⌥⌘[`	Taller / Shorter Waveforms	Magnifies quiet audio waveforms up to 16 times. Playback level does not change.
`⌥⌘↑` / `⌥⌘↓`	Taller / Shorter All Tracks	Steps every track height together.
`Space` / `Num 0`	Play / Pause / Finish Recording	Starts playback or a ready recording. Pauses playback or finishes an active recording.
`Num 1` / `Num 2`	Rewind / Forward Two Seconds	Moves the cursor back or forward two seconds.
`F12` / `⌘Space` / `Num 3`	Record	Starts recording on the armed track when its input is ready.
`Num 7` / `Num 8`	Toggle Metronome Click / Count-In	Turns the click or the count-in on or off. Neither adds an Undo step.
`Return`	Go to Start	Stops and returns the cursor to the session start, from Arrange.
`⌥Return`	Seek to Session End	Moves the cursor to the session end, from Arrange.
`Tab` / `⌥Tab`	Next / Previous Clip Boundary	Moves the cursor between the selected track's clip boundaries.

Mix #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⇧R`	Record Arm Selected Track	Arms an empty audio track, or disarms the selected armed track.
`⇧S` / `⇧M`	Solo / Mute Selected Track	Turns solo or mute on or off for the selected track.

Workspaces & Windows #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌘W`	Close Active Window	Closes the active separate window, or asks to close the main window.
`⌥⌘1`	Focus Arrange Canvas	Shows Arrange and gives the timeline keyboard focus.
`⌘=`	Toggle Arrange and Mix	Switches the main window between Arrange and Mix.
`⇧⌘=`	Mix Window	Opens or closes the separate Mix Window.
`⌘ Num 1`	Floating Transport	Opens or closes the Floating Transport.

Settings #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌘,`	Audio Engine	Opens audio device, buffer, latency and meter settings.

Help #

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌃⇧K`	Keyboard Shortcuts	Opens the searchable shortcut reference.

More keys in Arrange #

These Arrange keys work alongside the ones above.

Keys	Action	What it does
`⌥F`	Fit Selected Clip	Fills the timeline with the selected clip, like View > Fit Selected Clip.
`⇧F4`	Snap to Grid	Turns snapping to the grid on or off.
`Num -` or `⌥,`	Nudge Earlier	Moves the selected audio clip earlier by the nudge size. Needs letter shortcuts on.
`Num +` or `⌥.`	Nudge Later	Moves the selected audio clip later by the nudge size. Needs letter shortcuts on.
`⌘M`	Mute Clip	Mutes or unmutes the selected audio clip.

When a shortcut does nothing #

Shortcuts step aside so they never get in your way:

while you type in a text field, keys type text;
while a dialog is open, or while you drag a control or clip, most shortcuts wait until you finish;
during a recording, editing shortcuts are paused;
shortcuts marked "from Arrange" need the Arrange timeline to have focus. Press ⌥⌘1 to give it focus.