# Preferences

The Preferences window contains some general settings:

User Interface:

- Color Theme: Choose a color theme.
- Language: Can be set to English, Deutsch (German), or Nederlands (Dutch). The Auto option uses one of this based on the system language. Language setting changes take effect after restarting MultitrackStudio.
  macOS always displays the help information in the system language, not in the language selected in MultitrackStudio. When changing the language, the computer may need to be restarted for macOS to use the correct language.
- Size: If you have trouble reading or using the user interface, you can make it larger. Changes take effect after restarting MultitrackStudio.
- Layout: 3 predefined layouts are available:
  1. Desktop: Transport control in the center, editors aligned with editor preview panes.
  2. Laptop: Full-width editors.
  3. Classic: Looks like older MultitrackStudio versions (meters on the right, no editor preview panes).
  The 4th option ('Custom') lets you choose your own preferences:
  - Transport at center: Places the transport control in the center, making it easier to reach on large screens.
  - Meters Left: Places the level meters between the Rec button and the Volume fader.
  - Large Meters: Uses larger level meters.
  - Editor Preview panes: Tracks can have an Editor Preview pane that displays a compact view of the data in the track editor. Editor Preview panes appear only if there is enough room.
  - Align Editor with Editor Preview panes: An open track editor will replace the Editor Preview pane.
  - Editor Preview panes replace Edit buttons: If enabled, the editor preview pane can be clicked to open/close the track editor.
  - Hide Editor Preview pane if Editor is visible: This option provides a cleaner look and is enabled by default.
  - Multiple Columns of Mixer Sections: This option arranges mixer sections in multiple columns instead of just one. If the sections do not fit the screen, a horizontal scrollbar appears. This can be used for dual-monitor setups.
- Effect Slots: Mixer sections can have 3, 4, 5, or 6 effect slots. If a song is opened in a version of MultitrackStudio that supports fewer slots, the extra effects will appear in a Multi Effect.
- Name Width: Changes the width of the track name boxes.
- CPU Usage: Shows CPU usage on the bottom bar.
- Free Disk Space: Shows free disk space (available audio recording time) on the bottom bar.
- Show tooltips: Shows a tooltip when the mouse hovers over a control. Note that many tooltips provide helpful information you will not see if this is disabled.
- Keyboards for Pen: Show the onscreen keyboard when tapping a text box with a pen.
- Knob Style: With the Rotary style, you can "grab the dot" and move it. Use the Vertical/Horizontal style if you prefer horizontal or vertical mouse movements.

Transport:

- Stop playback at end of song: Stops transport when it reaches the end of the Overview Bar. That is, the end of the longest track or the last marker, whichever comes last. Reverb tails etc. are played back correctly, so it may play past the end of the overview bar and then jump back. Transport will not stop if any tracks are recording.
- Rewind on stop: When transport stops, it rewinds to the position where playback started.
- Mute click track during playback: Engages the click track's Mute button when playback starts, and unmutes it when transport stops. Use this to hear the click track only during recording.
- Switch counter to bars automatically: Switches the transport counter and overview bar to bars if there is at least one MIDI track in the song.

Editors:

- Scrubber on track editors: Enables or disables scrubbing in the track editor. Also affects MIDI note lassoing.
- Show all buttons (no "More"): Hides the MORE button and displays all available options directly.
- "Wave" tab (MIDI editors): Adds a "Wave" tab to the PIANO/SCORE/DRUM tabs. The Wave editor shows MIDI data as if it were an audio signal.
- Switch grid to bars automatically: Changes the time grid to bars if there is at least one MIDI track in the song.
- Default MIDI Editor: The MIDI editor-type used for new tracks.
- Default Mode (MIDI): Determines which of the three buttons in the bottom-left corner of MIDI editors is enabled by default. Defaults to Select Part, which works similarly to audio editors and is useful for MIDI recording. You might prefer Select Notes or Add Notes if you frequently enter notes using the mouse.

General:

- Save 'everything' in song: By default, songs only remember what is necessary for playback. With this option, songs can remember almost everything visible on screen (open editors, top window buttons, loop points, transport position, etc.). There will obviously virtually always be a "save?" prompt when unloading a song. Undo histories are not saved. Versions and templates do not include these extras.
- Middle C Name: Sets the name of MIDI note 60. Options are C3, C4, or C5 (default is C5).
- Default Instrument: Sets the default MIDI instrument for new tracks. Options are "MultitrackStudio Instruments" and "External MIDI Instrument 1".
- MIDI File Format: Sets the timing resolution for saving MIDI files. "480 ticks per quarter note" (default) is the most compatible option. "30 frames per sec./200 ticks per frame" offers higher resolution but may not be widely supported, especially by music notation software.
- Presets, Export: Saves all presets and templates to a zip file.
- Presets, Import: Reads presets and templates from a zip file.
- Show "Don't show again" messages again: Makes all previously hidden messages appear again.

Folders:

- Root Folder for New Songs: A new subfolder is created here for each new song. Defaults to "/Users/username/Music/MultitrackStudio Songs".
- Sampler patches: Specifies the folder containing sampler patches.
- Convolutor impulse responses: Specifies the folder containing impulse responses. This is empty by default. You can create a folder for your IR files and select it here. Subfolders appear as Categories in Impulse Response Selectors.