Editing Basics

Edit faster by confirming what Miaou will affect before you press a shortcut or drag an item. The same editing model applies to timeline regions, MIDI notes, chord blocks, markers, automation points, and tracks where those objects support the action.

The active editor is the area you most recently clicked or dragged in: timeline, Piano Roll, Chord Track, markers, automation, or track headers.

Know the Active Editor

Miaou can keep several selections at once. For example, a MIDI region can stay selected while notes are selected in the Piano Roll. Shortcuts use the active editor, not stale browser focus.

Last thing you worked on	Cmd+A, copy, paste, duplicate, Delete, nudge affect
Timeline region or empty lane	Timeline regions.
MIDI note or Piano Roll grid	MIDI notes in the selected clip.
Chord block or chord lane	Chord Track blocks.
Marker pin or Markers panel	Markers.
Automation lane or point	Automation points.
Track header	Track-specific actions and regions on that track.

Typing fields, dialogs, menus, and text inputs always win. If you are typing BPM, clip gain, a chord symbol, an effect value, a save name, or a comment, global edit shortcuts stay out of the way.

Select Things

Surface	Fast selection model
Regions	Click a region, marquee across lanes, Cmd+A in the timeline to select all regions.
MIDI notes	Click notes, marquee in the Piano Roll, Cmd+A in the Piano Roll to select notes.
Chords	Click chord blocks, Cmd/Ctrl-click to add/remove, Shift-click for a range.
Markers	Click marker pins, Cmd/Ctrl-click to add/remove, Shift-click for a range.
Automation	Click points or select a lane, then use edit commands in that automation context.
Tracks	Click a track header when you want track duplicate, reorder, or track-target paste.

The footer/status area reports the useful editing state, such as selected item counts, duplicate previews, and playhead movement.

Copy, Cut, Paste, Duplicate

Use the standard shortcuts:

Shortcut	Action
Cmd+C / Ctrl+C	Copy the active selection.
Cmd+X / Ctrl+X	Cut the active selection in one undoable edit.
Cmd+V / Ctrl+V	Paste at the playhead or clicked/context target.
Cmd+D / Ctrl+D	Duplicate to the next sensible position.
Option / Alt drag	Leave the original in place and preview a ghost copy while you drag.
Context menu	Paste or duplicate at the item, lane, track, marker, or grid position.

Right-click a region or lane when you want paste to land at a specific track and time.

Right-click the object you mean to edit when placement or target safety matters.

Duplicated MIDI regions get independent clip IDs, so editing notes in the duplicate does not change the original. Audio duplicates reference the same media file non-destructively.

Where Paste Lands

Paste uses the active editor unless you choose a more exact context-menu target.

Active target	Paste result
Timeline region context	Pastes copied regions at the playhead on the selected compatible track or clicked timeline lane.
Track header	Pastes copied regions onto that track when the copied region type is compatible with the track type.
Piano Roll	Pastes copied MIDI notes into the selected MIDI clip at the playhead or clicked grid position.
Chord Track	Pastes copied chord blocks at the playhead or clicked chord-lane beat.
Marker context	Pastes copied markers at the playhead or clicked marker position.
Automation lane	Pastes copied automation points into the active lane at the playhead or clicked lane position.
Text field, dialog, menu	Uses normal browser text editing, not Miaou project paste.

If timing or track placement matters, right-click where the material should land and choose paste from that context menu.

Move and Nudge

Drag one selected item to move the whole selected group. Dragging an unselected item selects only that item and moves it.

Action	Result
Drag selected group	Moves selected regions, notes, chords, markers, or points.
ArrowLeft / ArrowRight	Nudges by the active grid.
Shift+ArrowLeft/Right	Nudges by a larger grid step.
ArrowUp / ArrowDown	Moves regions between compatible tracks or transposes notes.
Cmd+ArrowUp/Down	Transposes melodic notes by octave or changes chord inversion.
Option+ArrowUp/Down	Moves the selected non-master track up or down.
Shift+Option+ArrowUp/Down	Moves the selected non-master track to top or bottom.

The footer Grid and Snap controls decide how far nudges and dragged edits move. Use Abs when you want edges on grid lines. Use Rel when the item is intentionally ahead of or behind the beat and should keep that offset.

Trim, Resize, and Split

Object	Supported edits
Audio regions	Right trim, non-destructive Trim Start, fades, clip gain, region loop length.
MIDI regions	Right trim and split. To hide earlier MIDI notes, split the region or edit notes in the Piano Roll.
MIDI notes	Drag note edges, use [ and ], or use inspector fields for exact values.
Chord blocks	Drag either edge, type exact start/length, or nudge by the grid.
Markers	Move or duplicate markers; marker duration is section-to-next-marker.
Automation	Move points in time/value and edit interpolation where supported.

Split selected regions at the playhead with Cmd+E, the Selection inspector, or the region context menu. If several selected regions cross the split point, Miaou splits them together in one undo step.

Playback Loop vs Region Loop

Miaou has two separate loop concepts:

Feature	What it does
Transport loop range	Playback wraps between two timeline positions while enabled. It is transport state.
Region loop duration	One region repeats its own source or clip content until the visible region ends.
Loop recording take capture	Recording through the transport range can create separate takes for each pass.

Click or drag the empty ruler to move the playhead. Hold Option / Alt while dragging the ruler to draw a transport loop range. Drag the visible loop brace to move the range, or drag its handles to resize it.

Undo, Redo, Save

Each normal editing gesture should be one useful undo step:

• moving a group;
• trimming a region edge;
• splitting selected regions;
• duplicating or pasting a selection;
• changing MIDI velocity or note length;
• choosing a take for a comp slice;
• reordering or duplicating a track.

Use Cmd+Z and Shift+Cmd+Z to undo/redo. After undo or redo, Miaou keeps the nearest useful selection and active editor so follow-up shortcuts still act on the surface you were editing.

Save when you want the project link to reopen with the current edits. Save/load preserves region edits, MIDI clips, chord blocks, markers, automation, track order, duplicate clips, loop ranges, takes, effects, routing, and media references.

Common Mistakes

Problem	Fix
Delete removed notes when you expected a region	Click the target region or empty timeline first, then press Delete.
Delete removed a region when you expected notes	Click or marquee notes in the Piano Roll first, then press Delete.
Paste went to the wrong track	Click the destination track/lane or right-click and choose a paste-here action.
Duplicate made a new MIDI clip that sounds wrong	Select the duplicated region and confirm the loaded instrument in the right panel.
Audio left trim is available but MIDI left trim is not	Audio Trim Start is non-destructive. For MIDI, split the region or edit notes directly.
Ruler drag moved the playhead instead of the loop	Hold Option / Alt while dragging empty ruler space to draw the transport range.

Related Pages

• Timeline Editing is the full region, ruler, loop, trim, fade, marker, and automation reference.
• MIDI Editor covers note drawing, velocity, drum lanes, computer keyboard input, and MIDI import/export.
• Chords and Scales covers Chord Track editing, analysis, and generation.
• Automation Lanes covers automation point selection, copy/paste, nudge, interpolation, and lane mute.
• Commands and Shortcuts lists every major shortcut and command-search path.