{"id":462,"date":"2024-08-17T23:19:10","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T23:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/?page_id=462"},"modified":"2025-08-22T11:51:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T09:51:57","slug":"linking","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/linking\/","title":{"rendered":"Linking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Linking is an advanced feature, so you may want to keep this for later if you&#8217;re new to AT3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have already used STarKos, AT1 or AT2, you must know that all positions had tracks which were directly referred to via a track number. This was, to say the least, rather clumsy. Remember this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"237\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2-1024x237.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2-1024x237.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2-300x70.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2-768x178.png 768w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2-1000x232.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2-230x53.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2-350x81.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2-480x111.png 480w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkerAt2.png 1354w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Yup, this was AT2 with a 9-channel song. Not a pretty sight. Not only you had to remember what was the number of the tracks you wanted to re-use, but you could accidentally modify a track used several times without wanting to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AT3 linker makes it simpler and manages duplicated tracks by itself. However&#8230; sometimes the possibly to have several tracks <em>linked<\/em> together was useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You could work on a track that you know will sound the same somewhere else, so modifying it in one place to see it modified everywhere else is nice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You might want to fine-tune a music for a production with a heavy memory constraint (a 4k demo for example), and here again, ensuring that parts of the songs are the same would facilitate the optimization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In both these cases, <em>linking<\/em> is what you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Linking will allow you to share a track among different patterns. Modifying the track in one of these patterns will have it modified in the other patterns too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to link?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Linking was done via clumsy track numbers in previous software. AT3 does it elegantly via <em>track names<\/em>. As you probably have seen in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/the-pattern-viewer#track-names\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"133\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pattern viewer<\/a>, you can name tracks in every pattern by clicking on its header (this also includes the speed\/event tracks):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"154\" height=\"39\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patternViewerTrackNameHighlight.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patternViewerTrackNameHighlight.png 154w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patternViewerTrackNameHighlight-150x39.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 154px) 100vw, 154px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you&#8217;ve named a track, <strong>other tracks<\/strong> can link to it. Track names replace track numbers! Here is an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Creates a new empty song.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enters a few notes in the first channel of the first position.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Name this track &#8220;Funky&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This could look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking1.png 870w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking1-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking1-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking1-230x128.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking1-350x196.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking1-480x268.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now imagine you want another track to re-use &#8220;Funky&#8221;, and most of all, that modifying &#8220;Funky&#8221; in one place also modifies it on the other. For simplicity&#8217;s sake, we will make this in the same pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice the almost invisible &#8220;chain&#8221; icon on every track:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"213\" height=\"38\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patternViewerLinkHighlight.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-525\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Click on the one of the third channel. It will open a dialog (here with the tree expanded):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking2.png 500w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking2-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking2-230x138.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking2-350x210.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking2-480x288.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This indicates that you can <em>link<\/em> the track of the third channel <em>to<\/em> &#8220;Funky&#8221;, the track of the first channel. If in the future, you&#8217;re not sure about what this track is, you can click on &#8220;Go&#8221; to go listen to it. For now, click on &#8220;Link&#8221;. And watch this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"786\" height=\"268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking3.png 786w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking3-300x102.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking3-768x262.png 768w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking3-230x78.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking3-350x119.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking3-480x164.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 786px) 100vw, 786px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Channel 1 and 3 have the same notes! &#8220;Funky&#8221; is on both! Notice the icons in the headers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>On channel 1, the icon <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"22\" class=\"wp-image-1328\" style=\"width: 25px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkingLinkedToIcon.png\" alt=\"\"> means that this track is <em>linked to<\/em>. Some tracks refer to it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On channel 3, the icon <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"22\" class=\"wp-image-1329\" style=\"width: 25px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkingLinkedIcon.png\" alt=\"\"> means that this track is <em>linked to another one<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In both cases, this is important, because it means that modifying this track will also have consequence in other parts of the song!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just try to add one note to channel 1, say, on line 5. And change a note in the channel 3, on line 1:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"786\" height=\"312\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking4.png 786w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking4-300x119.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking4-768x305.png 768w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking4-230x91.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking4-350x139.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking4-480x191.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 786px) 100vw, 786px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wow, both changes are applied to both channels! This is the magic of linking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s click on the <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"22\" class=\"wp-image-1328\" style=\"width: 25px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkingLinkedToIcon.png\" alt=\"\"> icon of the channel 1:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking5.png 500w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking5-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking5-230x138.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking5-350x210.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking5-480x288.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It indicates that the track is <em>linked to<\/em> by one track: the third one in the same position. Note that there is no &#8220;link&#8221; button here. A <em>linked to<\/em> track can not be linked to another one, that would led to an incomprehensible mess. To do so, you would need to unlink all the referring tracks. We&#8217;ll see that in an instant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now click on the <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"22\" class=\"wp-image-1329\" style=\"width: 25px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linkingLinkedIcon.png\" alt=\"\"> icon of the channel 3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking6.png 500w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking6-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking6-230x138.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking6-350x210.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/linking6-480x288.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This lists the other tracks that are linked to &#8220;Funky&#8221;, including &#8220;Funky&#8221; itself. If another track was linked to &#8220;Funky&#8221;, it would appear in this list too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Linking is safe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice the Unlink button at the bottom-left. If you click on it, the track will return to its original state, that is, the track (and thus the notes!) before we tried to link it to &#8220;Funky&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a worthy note: <strong>linking is non-destructive<\/strong>. You can always undo the linking and &#8220;recover&#8221; the notes that were there before the linking was done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also note that cloning a pattern will, in the new pattern, &#8220;convert&#8221; the <em>linked to<\/em> tracks into <em>linked<\/em> tracks. This is a desired behavior, as it means you can clone a pattern yet not clone the tracks you decided to share to other patterns, but simply use the link. However, the <em>linked<\/em> tracks remain <em>linked<\/em> tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Linking and transposition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On top of that, you can still use transpositions on <em>either<\/em> or <em>both<\/em> the linked to track and linked track. Transposition is independent to linking, so you can still optimize your song by using linking, yet add variety of sounds by using transposition!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Linking is an advanced feature, so you may want to keep this for later if you&#8217;re new to AT3. If you have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-462","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1801,"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/462\/revisions\/1801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}