Latch, Long, and Momentary Key Press Functions

< Previous | Contents | Next >

‌Another important key that you’ll find on a standard computer keyboard as well as the Audio Editor is the Escape key. This key lives up to its name as an all-purpose “escape” that can be used at any time to exit an operation, action, data entry or menu without saving the changes since the last save. The Escape key works as an operational override for a variety of functions including: GoTo functions, naming clips, setting values in dialog boxes, opening, closing and saving files, and any time a Cancel button is shown in a dialog on the computer screen.‌

NOTE: If your Audio Editor is connected to a Fairlight console, the Control key on the Editor works in tandem with the Control buttons on the Fairlight Console Channel Control panel and Channel Fader panels to access secondary functions, parameters and controls. Also, there is an independent ALT key below the built-in Editor screen that is used to toggle between additional parameters on the left- and right-side of the screen. This ALT key is dedicated to the Editor Screen controls.

As you learn your way around the Editor, you’ll soon appreciate the convenient locations of the Transport, Modifier and Escape keys in the lower-right, lower-left, and upper-left positions respectively.

Latch, Long, and Momentary Key Press Functions

Unlike standard keyboard and numeric keypad keys, which deliver the same result whether the keys are typed or held down, many Fairlight Audio Editor keys have multiple operational states which elicit different results depending on how you press or hold the key. The three types of key presses are:

— Latch: Quickly pressing and releasing a key, just as you would with normal typing, is referred to as latching and results in toggling on or off that key’s function.

— Long-press: A long-press is performed by simply pressing a key longer than you would if you were simply typing it. When performing a long-press, you only need to press the key long enough to see the desired result, such as opening or closing a window on the Fairlight page GUI. Long- presses are only slightly longer than typing, about 300 milliseconds, so they don’t slow you

down, they just offer more functions within a fixed number of keys. These long-presses can be real time savers, and in many cases replace the need to reach for the mouse to click the Fairlight page interface.

NOTE: From this point forward, descriptions such as type or press indicate a latched operation, long-press means to press longer than usual until you see the desired result, and instructions to hold and release refer to momentary operations.

— Momentary hold: A momentary hold involves pressing and holding a key with one hand to reveal additional keys and functions that can be quickly latched with the other hand.

Examples of Long-Press and Momentary Key Press Actions

Here are three examples of these types of button presses in action.

Signal Processing keys: Pan, EQ, Dynamics, Aux, and Plug-in with EQ key latched

Using a long-press to open or close GUI windows:

There are five signal processing picture keys, including Pan, EQ, Dynamics, Aux, and Plugin. These correspond with the graphical display in the built-in Editor screen as well as the Fairlight Mixer on the computer screen. If you latch one of these keys, such as EQ, the Editor screen displays EQ parameters for the selected track. In turn, these parameters can be controlled by the adjacent soft buttons and knobs without opening the GUI controls on the computer screen. However, long-pressing the EQ key both selects these controls and opens the EQ window on the computer screen. The EQ window will stay open until you long-press the EQ key again to close it. This works the same as double-clicking the EQ control on the Fairlight Mixer UI, and then clicking the Close button on the EQ window to close it.

Editor screen displaying EQ processing controls assigned to adjacent soft buttons and knobs

NOTE: Once you open a signal processing window using a long-press, the GUI window will automatically change to follow the current latched signal processing displayed in the Editor Screen and vice versa. So if you open the EQ window with a long-press, then latch the Pan key, the GUI window on the computer screen will change to the Pan window and the Editor screen will display controls for the Pan signal processing. If you want to see more than one signal processing window at a time on the computer screen, you’ll need to double-click them independently with the mouse.

DaVinci Resolve Fairlight interface displaying EQ window that can be opened and closed with a long-press on the EQ key

Using a momentary key press to briefly enter a different Editor mode:

Each Editor mode includes a picture key toolset unique to that mode, however, audio work is a fluid process that sometimes requires users to jump back and forth quickly between toolsets while they work. Rather than reach for the mouse to access a menu, panel, setting, or tool via the Fairlight page interface, you can momentarily jump into another mode to access the tool you need, then jump back and continue your current task.

For example, you could be monitoring playback levels and recording automation data in Mix mode when you decide to reset the Loudness meters to check the section that is coming up. The Loudness Reset controls are accessed via the Monitor mode Editor Screen controls. To get to them, momentarily hold the Monitor mode button with your left hand to reveal the Monitor mode picture keys and

Editor screen controls. With your right hand, quickly latch the Loudness soft key below the Editor screen to display the Loudness settings, then press the Reset Loudness toggle key above the Editor screen to reset the Loudness meters. Release the Monitor mode button to return to Mix mode without interruption in playback or automation recording. This type of momentary operation is one of the secrets to harnessing the Fairlight Audio Editor’s speed and power because at any time, in any workflow, you can momentarily jump to a different mode to access a key to do something else and

return to the previous task without stopping. In fact, it is common to momentarily jump into the Setup

< Previous | Contents | Next >