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A FamiStudio project contains:
- A list of Songs
- A list of Instruments
- A list of DPCM samples
Songs are made of Patterns, which are on one of the 5 Channels supported by the NES. Patterns contain Notes which are played by an Instrument (DPCM samples do not require an instrument). Instruments may have some of their attributes (pitch, volume) modulated by Envelopes.
Most of the operations are performed with the mouse. In general:
- The left mouse button adds stuff
- The right mouse buttons removes stuff.
- The middle mouse buttons (and wheel) pans and zoom
If you are working on a trackpad, all actions requiring the middle mouse buttons can be done with Alt+Left click.
The UI was designed to be a simple as possible, there are almost no context menus.
The main window has 4 main components:
- The Toolbar (on top)
- The Project Explorer (on the right) is where you add/remove/edit songs and instruments.
- The Sequencer (below the toolbar) is where you schedule your patterns on one of the 5 channels. It gives a high-level view of the song.
- The Piano Roll (below the sequencer) is where you edit your patterns.
At any given moment there is always:
- A selected channel, in bold in the sequencer
- A selected song, in bold in the project explorer song list
- A selected intrument, in bold in the project explorer instrument list.
The sequencer and piano roll will display the information for the currently selected song. The piano roll will play notes for the currently selected instrument, and output it on the currently selected channel.
The project explorer displays the list of songs and instruments in the current project.
You can add a song or instrument by pressing the "+" sign, and you can delete a song or instrument by right-clicking on it. Deleting an instrument will delete all notes used by that instrument. Note that there always needs to be at least one song in a project.
Double-clicking on a song or instrument will allow you to change its name, color and other attributes. Names must be unique.
Clicking on an instrument name and dragging it over another instrument will allow you to replace all notes of the first instrument by the second. This is useful prior to deleting an instrument.