Region colours
The Regions tab of the configuration window colours regions according to their names. For example, a rule can colour every region whose name contains chorus yellow, so that the song structure is visible at a glance.
Region rules
Each row on the Regions tab is one rule. A rule says which regions it matches and what colour they get:
| Column | What it does |
|---|---|
| Match | How the pattern is compared with the region name: contains (default), glob or regex. See Match modes. |
| Pattern | The text to look for in the region name. An empty pattern matches every name. |
| Aa | On by default: upper and lower case are ignored. |
| Filter | Only one filter is available for regions: has no name. See Filters. |
| Colour | The colour the matching regions get. Click + to add a second colour, which spreads a gradient across the regions. |
| Hits | How many regions this rule colours in the current project. See The Hits column. |
To add a rule, click + region rule on the action bar. Common controls describes how to reorder, duplicate and delete rules.
Which rule colours a region
AutoColor compares each region name with the rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches colours the region. Rules further down the list do not affect that region. To give a rule priority over another, move it higher in the list.
A region gradient runs from left to right along the timeline. By default, one gradient covers every region the rule colours, even when regions of other names lie between them. For example, with one rule for verse and another for chorus, the regions Verse 1, Chorus 1, Verse 2 and Chorus 2 get two gradients: one across the verses and one across the choruses. To start a new gradient after each interruption instead, see Spread across.
When regions are coloured
Editing a rule does not change the project. AutoColor writes the colours into the project when the rules are applied:
- Apply now on the Regions tab colours every region in the project. One undo reverts the whole change.
- Selection on the Regions tab colours only the selected regions.
- While auto-apply is running, a new region is coloured as soon as you stop editing. A renamed region is coloured within a few seconds; see How quickly changes are applied.
AutoColor does not remove colours unless you ask it to. To remove colours, use Clear, or the option Reset to the default colour when no rule matches.
While auto-apply is running, a colour that you set by hand stays until you rename the region or click Apply now. See Colours and icons set by hand.
Applying colours and icons describes the apply buttons and actions in full.
Limitations
On REAPER older than 7.62, Selection leaves regions unchanged. See REAPER versions before 7.62.