Waveform and Ruler

The waveform lets you inspect and scrub local detail, the ruler selects loop ranges, and the progress bar seeks through the full track.

Information on the Waveform

• The playhead marks the current position.
• Highlighting between A/B marks the current loop.
• Saved clips appear as ranges in their assigned colors.
• Beat lines can be shown after beat detection.

With stem playback enabled, the waveform responds to stem volume, mute, solo, and pan changes. It does not represent the final output of all playback effects; for example, changing the whole-track channel does not redraw it. See Stem Waveform.

Follow Playhead / Centre Playhead On: Scrub

With Follow Playhead / Centre Playhead lit in the bottom bar, the playhead stays in the waveform's middle while both playing and paused. Blank space to the left at the beginning or to the right at the end is normal.

Drag the waveform with one finger or a mouse to hear the positions you pass. Drag left to move later in the track, or right to move earlier. Drag slowly to hear details around a note. Zooming in makes the same drag distance cover less audio.

Coasting on release uses the disc inertia setting. If playback was running before the drag, it resumes afterward; if paused, it stops at the new position. Press again while coasting to continue dragging.

Clicking the waveform moves that position to the playhead. Browsers also support forward/backward scrubbing with the mouse wheel or horizontal trackpad scrolling; see Browser Controls.

Follow Playhead / Centre Playhead Off: Pan the View

With it off, dragging with one finger or a mouse pans the view without changing playback position. Clicking a point still seeks there.

Use this mode to inspect another section before deciding where to seek.

Zoom and Waveform Style

Pinch with two fingers on touchscreens. In browsers, use Ctrl + wheel or a trackpad pinch; Alt + wheel zooms in steps, and + / − keys also adjust zoom.

Settings offers Classic and Modern waveform styles. The choice applies to the main waveform, related thumbnails, trimming screens, and pads. The amplitude slider on desktop and tablet layouts changes waveform height without changing volume. Double-click to reset it.

Ruler and Loop Edges

Drag horizontally on the ruler to set A/B. Fine-tune an existing loop by dragging its edges; for a saved clip, select “Edit” first to unlock the range. Loop endpoint dragging takes priority over ordinary waveform gestures. See Loops.

Progress Bar

The progress bar represents the full track. Dragging previews the target position while the sound remains at its original position; release to seek. Use it to skip longer passages directly.

On phones, time and the project name appear near the progress bar. Wide layouts open Project Info from the project name at the top.

Common Questions

Dragging only moves the picture, with no sound. Check whether Follow Playhead / Centre Playhead is off.

I want to inspect another section, but the view keeps returning to the playhead. Turn Follow Playhead / Centre Playhead off, then pan.

Dragging changes a loop edge instead. Your finger landed near an endpoint. Start farther from the edge or leave clip editing first.