Head Chef 1 User Guide · Chapter 22

Mouse and trackpad

Applies to Head Chef 1.0 and later 1.x releases

This chapter lists what every pointer gesture does in Head Chef: clicks, double-clicks, drags, scrolling, pinching and drag and drop, with the modifier keys that change them. The tables are grouped by the part of the window you point at.

Modifier keys use the Mac symbols ⌘ (Command), ⌥ (Option), ⇧ (Shift) and ⌃ (Control). "⌘-drag" means hold Command while you drag. Right-click means a secondary click, such as a two-finger click on a trackpad.

Three habits work almost everywhere:

⌘ for fine adjustment. Hold ⌘ while you drag a fader, knob or level to move it in smaller steps.
⌥-click to reset. ⌥-click a fader, knob or level readout to return it to its default.
Esc to cancel. Press Esc during a drag to put things back as they were.

While a recording is in progress, most editing gestures wait until the take is finished.

Scroll and pinch #

These gestures work over the Arrange timeline, the track headers, the piano roll and the audio clip editor.

Gesture	Result
Scroll up or down (mouse wheel or two fingers)	Scrolls the tracks up and down. In the piano roll it scrolls through the pitches.
Swipe sideways with two fingers	Moves along the timeline.
⇧-scroll	Moves along the timeline, using either scroll direction.
⌥-scroll	Zooms in or out around the pointer.
Pinch on the trackpad	Zooms in or out around the pinch.
⌃⇧-scroll	Raises or lowers the clip gain of the audio clip under the pointer, or of the selected audio clip, by 0.5 dB per wheel step. Head Chef records it as one edit when you pause.
⌘-scroll or other combinations	Nothing happens, so you never scroll by accident while using a shortcut.

A trackpad swipe that is mostly up and down scrolls only up and down, and one that is mostly sideways scrolls only sideways. Over the track headers and the piano roll's bar numbers, scrolling never zooms. Scrolling pauses while you drag a clip or a note.

Arrange timeline #

Click #

Gesture	Result
Click an empty part of a track's lane	Selects the track and moves the cursor to that point.
Click the upper half of an audio clip	Selects the track and moves the cursor to that point.
Click an instrument track	Selects the track and the note under the pointer. The cursor does not move.
Double-click an instrument track	Opens its notes in the piano roll.
Right-click an empty part of a lane, or below the last track	Opens the Add Track menu. Right-clicking a clip does nothing.

When the session hosts external plugins, moving the cursor anywhere except the start may be unavailable. Clicking then only selects. While recording, a click only selects the track.

Move and trim audio clips #

An audio clip has three zones. The pointer changes shape to show which one you are over.

Zone	Pointer	Drag result
Within 10 points of the clip's start or end	Left and right arrows	Trims that edge (trim), revealing or hiding audio. The audio itself stays in place.
Lower half of the clip	Open hand	Moves the clip along its track. A movement shorter than 3 points is ignored.
Upper half of the clip	Text cursor	Moves the cursor; no drag.

Modifier	Effect while you move or trim
None	Follows the current edit mode: Ripple closes gaps, Free moves anywhere, Grid snaps to the grid.
Hold ⌘ or ⌃	Ignores the grid for this drag, in Grid mode or with snap on.
`Esc` before you release	Cancels the move or trim.

In Place mode, releasing a moved clip opens Place Audio Clip with the new position filled in, so you can confirm or type an exact time. See Editing audio.

Instrument clips are edited in the piano roll. Dragging them in Arrange does nothing.

Fades are drawn on the clip but have no drag handles. Set them with the D, G and F letter keys, described in Keyboard shortcuts.

Ruler and playhead #

Gesture	Result
Click the ruler	Moves the cursor to that point.
Click a bar number on the ruler	Moves the cursor to the start of that bar.
Drag along the ruler	Scrubs (scrub): the cursor follows the pointer, and with Options > Tape Scrub Sound on you hear the mix forwards or backwards at the speed you drag.
Drag the small handle at the top of the playhead line	Moves the playhead without jumping to where you grabbed it.
`Esc` during a ruler drag	Cancels the scrub.

A scrub also stops if you zoom, scroll the view or switch to another app. Clicking and dragging on the ruler are unavailable when the session hosts external plugins, because the cursor can then only return to the start.

Track headers #

Gesture	Result
Click the track name	Selects the track.
Click S or M	Turns solo or mute on or off. A click with any modifier key held does nothing.
Drag the gain readout up or down	Changes the track's level by 0.25 dB per point, from -60 to +12 dB.
Drag the pan readout up or down	Changes the pan by 1 per point, from L 100 to R 100.
⌘-drag either readout	Moves it at one fifth of the speed.
⌥-click either readout	Resets gain to 0.0 dB or pan to the center (C).
`Esc` during a readout drag	Cancels the change.
Click Plugins…	Opens the plugin browser for the track.
Click the input button on an audio track	Chooses the track's recording input.
Click Open and the instrument's name	Opens the instrument's window.
Right-click the header	Opens Track Actions. See Menu reference.

The gain and pan readouts appear when the track header column is wide enough.

Tracks list and Clips list #

Gesture	Result
Click a name in the TRACKS list	Selects that track.
Click a row in the CLIPS list	Selects that clip.
Drop a plugin below the last name in the TRACKS list	Creates a new track with that plugin.

Clip gain #

Clip gain badge #

Each audio clip shows a clip gain badge when View > Clip Gain Badges is on.

Gesture	Result
Drag the badge up or down	Changes the clip gain by 0.5 dB per point.
⌘-drag the badge	Changes it by 0.1 dB per point.
⌥-click the badge	Resets the clip gain to 0 dB, turns off its bypass and removes all its gain points.
Click without dragging, or right-click	Opens the Clip Gain panel.

In the Clip Gain panel, drag the slider (⌘-drag for fine steps, or click the slider away from its cap to jump there), type a value in Gain / dB, or click Bypass Clip Gain, Reset Clip Gain to 0 dB or Show Clip Gain Line. Clip gain ranges from -144 dB to +36 dB; with gain points the range narrows so no point passes those limits.

Clip gain line #

Turn the line on with View > Clip Gain Line. It runs across the selected audio clip and carries its gain points.

Gesture	Result
Click on the line where there is no point	Adds a gain point and lets you drag it.
Drag a gain point	Moves it in time (left and right) and in level (up and down). A point cannot pass its neighbors.
⌘-drag a gain point	Changes its level at one tenth of the speed.
Click a gain point	Selects it.

With a gain point selected, press Delete to remove it, ↑ or ↓ to change its level by 0.5 dB (0.1 dB with ⌘), ← or → to move it by one sample, and Esc to deselect it. The line does not respond within 10 points of the clip's edges, so trimming still works there.

Faders and knobs #

Gesture	Fader	Knob
Drag	Up and down, in 0.1 dB steps.	Up or right to raise, down or left to lower. The full range takes about 200 points. Some knobs move only up and down.
⌘-drag	One tenth of the speed, in 0.01 dB steps.	More slowly, in finer steps. A pan knob moves at one tenth of the speed, in steps of 0.1.
⌥-click	Resets to 0.0 dB.	Resets to its default, for example the center for pan.
Click away from the cap	Jumps the cap to that point, then follows your drag.	Not used.
Hold ⇧, ⌥ or ⌃ during a drag	Cancels the drag.	Cancels the drag.
`Esc` during a drag	Cancels the drag.	Cancels the drag.

Channel faders range from -60 dB to +12 dB. Pan knobs range from 100 left to 100 right.

After you click a fader or knob, you can use the keyboard: ↑ or → raises it by one step and ↓ or ← lowers it, with ⌘ for fine steps. Press Return to type a value in its box, then Return again to apply it or Esc to cancel. The box under a fader accepts -60 to +12.

Mix channel strips #

Gesture	Result
Click the name at the top of a strip	Selects the channel.
Click S, M or Arm	Turns solo, mute or record arm on or off.
Click Input	Chooses the recording input of an audio track.
Click the instrument or effect name	Opens its controls in the channel panel.
Click the small window icon beside it	Opens its plugin window.
Click the Chicken Strip overview	Opens the channel's controls.
Double-click the Chicken Strip overview, or click its window icon	Opens the Chicken Strip window.
Click Sends above a track's processing controls	Shows that channel's sends in the Inspector. Effect Returns have their effect button above processing; Main has its Chicken Strip controls there.
Click a meter	Clears its held clip indicator.
Right-click the empty space after the last strip	Opens the Add Track menu.

Mix channel strips have no right-click menu of their own.

Gesture	Result
Click RIPPLE, FREE, PLACE or GRID	Chooses that edit mode.
⌘-click RIPPLE	Turns Ripple Lock on or off.
Click GRID while in Grid mode	Switches between Absolute and Relative Grid.
⇧-click GRID	Turns snap to grid on or off.
Click the arrow on GRID	Opens Absolute Grid, Relative Grid and Snap to Grid: On or Snap to Grid: Off.
Click - or + beside GRID or NUDGE	Steps the grid or nudge size down or up.
Click Place… at the right of the bar	Opens Place Audio Clip for the selected audio clip.

Piano roll #

Choose a tool in the piano roll's toolbar: Select, Draw or Erase. The pointer shows the tool: an arrow for Select, a crosshair for Draw and a pointing hand for Erase.

Gesture	Result
Click a note	Selects it. With Erase, deletes it.
Drag a note	Moves it in time and pitch. Positions follow the Snap setting.
Drag a note's right edge	Changes its length. The pointer shows arrows over the edge.
Double-click an empty place	Adds a note one snap step long, with any tool.
Click an empty place with Draw	Adds a note one snap step long. Drag before you release to set its length.
Click an empty place with Select	Clears the note selection.
`Esc` during a drag	Cancels the drag.
⌥-scroll or pinch over the notes	Zooms in or out.

New notes have velocity 100. On Voltage 80 and Voltage 78 they use MIDI channel 10, and on other instruments channel 1. A note cannot start or end beyond the end of its clip. A movement shorter than 3 points is ignored. See MIDI and instruments for the keys.

Audio clip editor #

The audio clip editor, shown by Editor or Window > Region Editor Window, shows the selected audio clip on its own. It takes the same move, trim, click and scroll gestures as the Arrange timeline, except right-click. ⌃⇧-scroll changes its clip gain, and Zoom and Fit change its view.

Gesture	Result
Click the clock	Steps through bars and beats, minutes and seconds, and samples.
Right-click the clock	Opens the metronome and time display settings.
Click ♩	Turns the metronome click on or off.
Right-click ♩	Opens the metronome and time display settings.
Click, or press and hold, the chef's hat	Plays a short or a full sound. See Transport and navigation.
Click the Floating Transport's MAIN CLOCK	Steps its format, like the toolbar clock.
Click the Floating Transport's SECOND CLOCK	Steps the second clock's format on its own.

Drag and drop #

Files from Finder #

Drop files onto the Arrange timeline.

What you drop	Result
Audio files	Each file becomes a new track starting at the beginning of the session, as one Undo step. See File formats.
A folder	Imports the audio and MIDI files inside it, including folders inside it, skipping hidden files.
MIDI files together with audio files	Adds instrument tracks for the MIDI files and audio tracks for the audio files to the current session.
A Head Chef session, a project from another music app, or a MIDI file on its own	Opens it as a session, in place of the current one. Head Chef asks first if you have unsaved changes.

When you drop several files, the first one decides: if it is a session, project or MIDI file, Head Chef opens that file and ignores the rest. Put audio files first to import them all.

Plugins from the Plugin Browser #

Drag a card from the Plugin Browser. The pointer shows a hand while you drag, and the place you are over lights up.

Card	Drop on a track or channel strip	Drop on empty space
A CLAP or VST3 effect	Adds it to the end of that channel's processing.	Creates an audio track named after the plugin, with the plugin on it.
A built-in instrument (INST)	On an instrument track, swaps in that instrument, or chooses its sound if the track already plays it. Refused on an audio track.	Creates an instrument track and opens its window.
A built-in effect (FX BUS)	On a track, adds a send at -6 dB to that effect's Effect Return (effect return), creating the Return if there is none.	Creates an Effect Return and opens its window.
AUDIO	Creates a new audio track.	Creates a new audio track.
Chicken Strip (STRIP)	Opens that channel's Chicken Strip window.	Nothing happens.

A track or channel can be a track's lane in Arrange, a Mix strip or the open channel panel. Empty space can be the area below the last track, the area below the TRACKS list, the space after the last Mix strip, the drop area at the top of the Plugin Browser, or the Add Track… button.

If a session has more than one Effect Return for the same built-in effect, dropping that effect on a track is refused; add the send in the track's sends instead. An effect card dropped on an Effect Return or on Main is refused, because sends start from tracks.

Double-click a card to open the plugin's window. See Plugins.