Bitwig Studio User Guide
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Keyboard Editing with Automation

The Pointer and Time Selection tools work together to allow various workflows (see Arranger View Toggles & Editing Tools). This is true both in the Automation Editor Panel and on automation lanes within the Arranger Timeline Panel. Each paradigm offer unique options for editing. And remember that you are free to switch back and forth between your selection type.

To switch between object and time selection (or vice versa): choose Switch between Object and Time Selection in the Edit menu. Or press CTRL+T.

[Note]Note

Key commands mentioned all thru this section (including the one above) reference Bitwig's Default keyboard mappings (see Shortcuts Settings).

Object Navigation with Automation

With automation points selected directly, the default left–right behavior is for making a selection.

To select the previous or next automation point: press LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW.

To extend your current selection to include the previous or next automation point: press SHIFT+LEFT ARROW or SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW.

While modifying selection is the default behavior when working directly with automation points, selected points can be moved as well.

To move selected automation points by the current editor's beat grid value: press ALT+LEFT ARROW or ALT+RIGHT ARROW.

To move selected automation points by a fine amount (one-sixteenth of the current editor's beat grid value): press SHIFT+ALT+LEFT ARROW or SHIFT+ALT+RIGHT ARROW.

Additionally, the value of automation points can be directly adjusted.

To move selected automation points up by a coarse (larger) amount: press UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW.

To move selected automation points up by a fine (smaller) amount: press SHIFT+UP ARROW or SHIFT+DOWN ARROW.

Time Selection Navigation with Automation

Making a time selection in an automation lane is as simple as clicking anywhere with the Time Selection tool (or with the Pointer tool, clicking away from the current automation line). Once time is selected, key commands default to moving between relevant events, as these are likely good editing points.

For automation lanes, these events include:

  • The times of all automation points on the current lane

  • Arranger Loop start and end times

  • Arranger Cue Marker positions (if cue markers are visible in the current editor)

Keyboard navigation with time selection defaults to moving between these relevant events.

To move to the previous or next relevant event: press LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW.

To create or extend a selection to the previous or next relevant event: press SHIFT+LEFT ARROW and SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW.

To jump to the first or last relevant event: press CTRL+LEFT ARROW or CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (CMD+LEFT ARROW or CMD+RIGHT ARROW on Mac). Additionally, you can add SHIFT to create a selection, or to extend your current selection.

And again, an alternate gesture allows for a different idea — in this case, moving relative to the current beat grid interval.

To move using the current editor's beat grid marker value: press ALT+LEFT ARROW or ALT+RIGHT ARROW.

To move by a fine amount (one-sixteenth of the current editor's beat grid value): press SHIFT+ALT+LEFT ARROW or SHIFT+ALT+RIGHT ARROW.

On automation lanes within the Arranger Timeline Panel, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW move the selection between neighboring automation lanes of the current track. And adding SHIFT would extend the current selection to include the neighboring lane.

Note that this is useful, even when only a single point in time is selected. Various functions available in the Time menu (or the context menu) support quick editing in this fashion.

  • Split (CTRL+E [CMD+E on Mac]) inserts a new point at the current time for all selected automation lanes, preserving playback as it was but with new breakpoints in place.

    When a longer time selection is made, this function will create new points at the start and end of the time selection, and then make an object selection these points, as well as any points in between on this lane. You can then directly adjust the value of these points with the arrow keys (see Object Navigation with Automation).

Finally, CTRL+UP ARROW or CTRL+DOWN ARROW (CMD+UP ARROW or CMD+DOWN ARROW on Mac) jumps to the first or last automation lane of the current track. And again, adding SHIFT extends your current selection to include all lane between the current track and the first or last, even if only a single point in time is selected.

< The Automation Editor Panel   10. Working with Audio Events >
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