Bars & Pipes Professional: Tool Trays

ToolTrays

ToolTrays offer a convenient method for organizing your Tools. Bars&Pipes Professional includes eight ToolTrays, each of which can hold up to sixteen Tools. You can define a Tools parameters by double-clicking on the Tool in the ToolTray, and give each instance of a Tool an original name.

Bars&Pipes Professional integrates ToolTrays into your Song. When you save a Song, Bars&Pipes Professional saves your ToolTrays along with it.

To set up a default environment with ToolTrays, select New from the Song menu, arrange your ToolTrays, and then select Save As Default from the Song menu. Please see the chapter, Customizing Your Environment, for more information.

The ToolTray Windows

Open a ToolTray from the ToolTray menu in the ToolBox or the Tool menu in the Main screen. Choose the menu option corresponding to the particular ToolTray that you'd like to open. By default, ToolTrays are named numerically, however, you can rename a ToolTray however you'd like.

The ToolTray window is divided into two areas by a horizontal grey line. Above the grey line is space for the names of Tools. Below the grey line is room for up to sixteen instances of Tools.

Placing A Tool In A ToolTray

To install a Tool in a ToolTray, grab a Tool from the ToolBox, PipeLine, or other ToolTray, and drag it to a space beneath the gray line. When you release the mouse button to drop the Tool into the ToolTray, the name of the Tool appears in the space above the grey line.

Note
By dropping a Tool into a ToolTray, you create a unique instance, or copy, of the Tool,just as you do when you drop a Tool Into a PipeLine.

Editing A Tool

If the Tool has a Control window, double-click on the Tool's icon to open it. Then edit the Tool's parameters as you desire. Once you've changed a Tool, the changes stay with the Tool when you copy it into a PipeLine, ToolPad, MacroTool, or another ToolTray.

Naming A Tool

Once you've edited a Tool, you can rename it for easy reference. Click once on the Tool to select it, then enter the new name above the gray line.

Note

When you click on a Tool in a PipeLine, the name of the Tool is displayed in the Title bar of the Tracks window. Even though you can rename Tools in the ToolTrays, Tools in the PipeLine are still displayed as their original names in the Tracks Title bar. This is because only the ToolTray knows about the names that you've given the instances of the Tools within it. The Tracks window has no access to this information.

Using The ToolTray Tools

You can work with ToolTrays as you do the ToolBox. Copy Tools from ToolTrays into PipeLines, MacroTools, and ToolPads by clicking and dragging them to their appropriate destination. Unlike Tools from the ToolBox, the Tool copies retain the settings that you provided in the ToolTray.

Copying Tools In ToolTrays

Copy a Tool by grabbing it and dropping it in an empty space in the ToolTray. This is similar to copying a Tool in a PipeLine by picking it up and dropping it in another PipeLine. Because you can have several copies of Tools in ToolTrays, renaming Tools help you avoid confusion. For instance, you can have a ToolTray that you call "Quantize Tools.", In this ToolTray, you might have one Quantize Tool that you call "Sixteenth Notes," that quantizes to sixteenth notes, and one called "Eight Notes" that quantizes to eight notes.

If you drag a Tool and place it on top of an existing Tool in the ToolTray, it replaces the Tool beneath it.

Loading ToolTrays

The Load ToolTray option in the ToolTray menu allows you to load in previously saved ToolTrays. If there are any Tools in the ToolTray that are not in the ToolBox, Bars&Pipes Professional automatically loads them into the ToolBox. If the Bars&Pipes Professional is unable to find a Tool, it asks you to load it manually.

Saving Tool Trays

The Save ToolTray command in the ToolTray menu allows you to save your ToolTrays to disk. The Load ToolTray command allows you to load ToolTrays from disk.

Renaming ToolTrays

The Rename ToolTray menu command in the ToolTray menu allows you to rename the ToolTray. When you select this option, a requester appears, displaying the ToolTray name.

Enter the new name and click okay. The new name displays not only in the ToolTray window, but in all menus that refer to the ToolTray as well, such as the menu options in the Main menu's Tool menu.

Loading Instances Of Tools Into ToolTrays

The Load Tool command in the ToolTray menu allows you to load a Tool into the ToolTray that was previously saved with the Save Tool command from a ToolTray. Each Tool loads with its parameters set to the values they had when it was saved.

Saving Instances Of Tools From ToolTrays

Use the Save Tool command in the ToolTray menu to save the Tool. Doing so saves the Tool, along with the parameters you've set.

Removing Tools From ToolTrays

Use the Remove Tool command to remove a Tool from a ToolTray. Do to so, activate the Tool by clicking on it, then select the Remove Tool command in the ToolTray menu.

If you drag a Tool from any source and drop it on a Tool in a ToolTray, it replaces the Tool beneath it, effectively removing that Tool.