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Track icons, User-definable icons – Apple Logic Express 7 User Manual

Page 94

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94

Chapter 3

Arrange Window

Note: Strictly speaking, tracks don’t need to be routed to an instrument or audio
channel
, as you can assign any Environment Object to the output of a track. The track
data could conceivably be sent to a folder, or directly to a MIDI port (a MIDI Region).
Obviously, audio data would not be understood by a MIDI sound module, so there is no
point in routing a track that contains audio data (in a Region) to an instrument.
Similarly, there is no point in routing a track that contains MIDI data (in a MIDI Region)
to an audio channel.

To aid understanding, we will use the term “instrument” rather than “audio channel” (or
the correct, but long-winded, “track data destination object”) in this section.

A MIDI track is automatically record enabled when selected. The Record Enable button
turns red to indicate this “armed” state. During recording, a MIDI Region (containing the
recorded MIDI events) is created on the selected (and armed) track.

An audio track is not automatically record enabled when selected. You must press the
Record Enable button on the desired track, which will turn red to indicate an “armed”
state. During recording, an Audio Region (a pointer to the recorded audio file) is
created on the selected (and armed) track.

Track Icons

Logic offers high resolution, scalable (from 128

×

128 pixels downwards), and user-

definable icons.

User-Definable Icons

You can create your own icons for tracks. These icons must be of 128

×

128 pixels in size,

must have an alpha channel for transparency and must be saved in the portable
network graphics
format (with the “.png” suffix). The filename must also start with a
three-digit number. If this number is below 325, the corresponding built-in Logic icon
will be replaced with your new graphic (you can check the number of existing Logic
icons by clicking on them in the Object Parameter box).

There are two possible locations for user icons:

The ~/Library/Application Support/Logic/Logic Resources/Icons folder can contain icons
which are only valid for the particular user (~ is the user name). If you save your icons
in the root directory—/Library/Application Support/Logic/Logic Resources/Icons—the
icons are valid for all users. If icons with identical numbers exist in both folders, the
icons found in the user folder have priority.