An Introduction to FL Studio 12: The Menu Bar
File → New from Template → Minimal → Basic
Welcome to the first part of a series dedicated to helping you become familiar with FL Studio 12. When you first open open the DAW, it may be intimidating with the massive amount of buttons, sidebars, and tools available for your selection, but my job is to help you understand it all.
To get started, you must first become familiar with the Menu Bar in the top left corner. The Menu Bar contains many tools and functions that you’ll need.
Edit
Like most programs, the File tab is where you can create a new project, open a project, save a project, import/export a project, and quickly access your 10 most recent projects that you’ve worked on.
Starting out, there is one important button you should know more about.
Clicking “New from template” will open an additional window where you can open a blank project with specific pre-determined features.
Add
These pre-determined features include a kick, clap, hi hat and snare and the type of master output you’d like. Each template includes a description, so you can read through the different templates and select the one that best suits your needs for your project.
The commands from the File tab can be accessed through these shortcuts (I highly suggest you memorize these):
Open = Ctrl + O
Save = Ctrl + S
Save as = Shift + Ctrl + S
Save new version = Ctrl + N
Recent Projects = Alt + (1,2,3, etc.)
The Edit tab is one of the most important parts of the program and, if used properly, can greatly improve workflow. These are the shortcuts:
Patterns
Undo = Ctrl + X
Cut =Ctrl + X
Copy = Ctrl + C
Paste = Ctrl + V
View → Arrange windows → Realign (Shift+Cmd+H)
The Add tab is where you can add audio plugins (a.k.a VST’s (Virtual Audio Plugins)) to your channel rack from your plugin database. Another way you can do this is by clicking the “+” in the channel rack and a menu will appear. Personally, I use this method instead of using the Add tab. However, the Add tab is helpful in case you want to add You can also click “More plugins…” to search for newly VSTs.
The Patterns tab is where you can create, select, and edit patterns you’ve created. It can be found in the top of the screen in the center of the control bar up top. When pressed with a right mouse button, a drop down menu will drop down with more options to chose from.
Options
The View tab is where you can manage all your windows and change the layout of the DAW tools to keep things organized. To start off, from “View“ select “Realign” to put the windows in their default position. Additionally, an important tool to use when the CPU is overloaded with information is to select “Close all windows” (Hotkey F12).
The Option tab is used to customize your DAW and manage midi, audio input/outputs, and file settings. (Note that if you are using a midi device such as a keyboard or drum pad, restart FL and select your device from the “inputs” dropdown menu in “Audio settings”.)
Within the Tools tab is one of the most helpful tools in all of FL. If you want to find a specific sound or sample from your browser but can’t seem to remember the name, click on “Browser smart find“ or press Ctrl+F.
Tools
If you need to learn more, press the “?“ to the right of the Tools tab to access the full user guide.