User manual
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English Current (1.3.x)
English Current (1.3.x)
  • Welcome to LMMS
  • Getting Started
    • FAQ
    • Installation
    • Settings
    • Troubleshooting
    • Reporting a Bug
  • Navigating LMMS
    • Interface Overview
    • Main Menu Bar
    • Toolbar
    • Sidebar
    • Instrument Window
    • Song Editor
    • Pattern Editor
    • Piano Roll
    • Automation
    • Mixer
    • Project Notes
    • Controller Rack
  • PRODUCTION
    • Safety
    • Jumping Right In
    • Instruments: Samples & Presets
    • Creating a Track
    • Using MIDI
    • Using VSTs
    • Exporting a Song
    • Your First Song with LMMS
  • Instruments
    • AudioFileProcessor
    • BitInvader
    • FreeBoy
    • GIG Player
    • Kicker
    • LB302
    • Mallets
    • Monstro
    • NEScaline
    • OpulenZ
    • Organic
    • PatMan
    • SF2 Player
    • sfxr
    • SID
    • Triple Oscillator
    • Vibed
    • Watsyn
    • ZynAddSubFX
    • VeSTige
  • Effects
    • Effects Prologue
    • Amplifier
    • BassBooster
    • Bitcrush
    • Compressor
    • Crossover Equalizer
    • Delay
    • Dual Filter
    • Dynamics Processor
    • Equalizer
    • Flanger
    • Multitap Echo
    • Peak Controller
    • ReverbSC
    • Spectrum Analyzer
    • Stereo Matrix
    • StereoEnhancer
    • Waveshaper
    • LADSPA Plugins
  • Resources
    • Glossary
    • Key Mappings
    • Video Tutorials
    • Sample Resources
    • SoundFont Resources
    • VST Resources
    • Music Making Resources
    • Miscellany
  • Legal
    • License
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  • File Menu
  • Edit Menu
  • View Menu
  • Tools Menu
  • Help Menu

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  1. Navigating LMMS

Main Menu Bar

PreviousInterface OverviewNextToolbar

Last updated 2 months ago

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File Menu

The file menu allows you to load, save, and export projects and import MIDI files and Hydrogen files.

In this menu, several menu actions have underlined letters. When the menu is open, pressing the respective key triggers the menu action. In the case of Export and Export Tracks, the key triggers are E and Shift+E respectively.

  • New creates a new project (based on the default template).

    • New from template creates a new project from any choice of template.

  • Open opens a file explorer dialogue box to choose an existing project file to open.

  • Recently Opened Projects opens up a sub-menu listing all the recently opened project files.

In LMMS, you can save projects to two formats:

  • <myname.mmp> - creates an XML file that can be read in any text editor.

  • <myname.mmpz> - creates a coded and compressed file (these cannot be read in any text editor).

  • Save saves the current project. For saving the file as a new project file, this functions as "Save As".

  • Save As gives you a dialog to choose a location to name and save your project in. You can also save your project as a template by clicking on the file-type drop-down menu within the dialog.

  • Save as New Version saves the current project to a new file by adding numbers to the end of the original project name, starting with 01.

  • Save as default template replaces the default template that LMMS opens upon initialization.

  • Export allows you to record your project to a file. (Currently, only .wav, .ogg, and .mp3 are supported for Audio exports.)

    • Export Tracks allows you to export the stems of your project file to a selected folder. It exports each track individually as though it were solo'd in the project.

  • Export MIDI allows you to export your project's midi data as a .mid file.

  • Quit exits LMMS. You will be asked if you want to save your project if changes were made since opening the project.

LMMS cannot detect every change, so if you want to save your project, do not rely on quit to give you a save dialogue, please save the file yourself.

Edit Menu

  • Undo/Redo do exactly as their names imply, undoing and redoing the most recent change or undo. They can also be accessed via the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+Z for undo and Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z for redo.

The Undo/Redo feature only works correctly for some forms of editing. In particular, in the Piano Roll Editor the bulk move, copy and paste facilities using the selection tool and/or clipboard do not get undone or redone correctly. The developers are aware of this problem.

  • Scales and keymaps opens the Microtuner Configuration.

View Menu

Song Editor, Pattern Editor, Piano Roll, Automation Editor, FX Mixer, Project Notes, and Controller Rack all focus/open their respective windows.

  • Smooth scroll toggles between instantly snapping to the next part of the project as the playerhead moves out of view of the song editor when playing the project, and a smooth transition.

  • Enable note labels in piano roll toggles labeling natural notes with their note name in the piano roll.

As of 1.3, the window toggles are:

  • Song-Editor (Ctrl+1)

  • Beat & Bassline Editor (Ctrl+2)

  • Piano-Roll (Ctrl+3)

  • Automation-Editor (Ctrl+4)

  • Mixer (Ctrl+5)

  • Project-Notes (Ctrl+7)

  • Controller-Rack (Ctrl+6)

Tools Menu

The only option currently in this menu is the LADSPA Plugin Browser. It can be used to view information about available LADSPA Plugins.

Help Menu

There are three items:

  • Online Help opens the manual (you are here).

  • What's This? changes your cursor into a help cursor that you can use to click on any part of a LMMS window to see its function/purpose.

  • About gives you a dialog that lists the following: LMMS' version, its home page, its key developers, translation information if you are using LMMS in a language other than English, and the GNU GPL license that the software is released under.

Import allows you to import MIDI and files as new instrument and B+B patterns.

Th e Settings option opens the dialog.

Hydrogen
Settings
File menu
The Edit Menu
The View Menu
Tools Menu
Help Menu