> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.oryx.mechatronstudio.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Signal modes

> Digital and analog: which one to use and what each gives you.

You pick the mode when you create a project, and switch whenever you want from
**Menu → Switch to digital / analog mode**.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Digital" icon="binary">
    Pulses that are high or low on a grid of steps.

    For clocks, data, enables, protocol frames and position-sensor signals.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Analog" icon="audio-waveform">
    Curves built from points and chords.

    For ramps, peaks, plateaus and any shape that needs intermediate heights.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What each one has

|                                                | Digital                     | Analog                     |
| ---------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| What you draw with                             | High / low cells            | Points and chords          |
| Labels                                         | Yes                         | Yes                        |
| Step numbers                                   | Yes, with mode and counting | Yes                        |
| Count and repetition dividers                  | Yes                         | —                          |
| [Serial protocols](/en/protocols/introduction) | Yes                         | —                          |
| [Templates](/en/editor/templates)              | Yes                         | —                          |
| [CKP / CMP generator](/en/generators/ckp-cmp)  | Yes                         | —                          |
| Repeat / invert / toggle the channel           | Yes                         | Invert mirrors the heights |
| Resolution on export                           | —                           | 8, 10, 12 or 16 bits       |
| Open-loop warning                              | —                           | Yes                        |
| ESP32 outputs                                  | 8 pins                      | 2 DAC outputs              |

<Note>
  When a feature only exists in one mode, the button is still there but disabled,
  and the tooltip tells you why: *"Templates are only available in digital mode"*.
</Note>

## They are two separate projects

This matters and surprises people the first time: **digital and analog are not
two views of the same thing**. Each mode keeps on its own:

* Its channels and its signal.
* Its own undo history (undoing in digital does not touch the analog work).
* Its labels, dividers and marks.
* Its document name — the header title changes when you switch modes.
* Its zoom, its channel page and its view settings.

Switching modes **converts nothing**: it stores one project and opens the other,
exactly as you left it.

What is shared between both: the light/dark theme, the language, your session
and the protocol settings.

<Warning>
  The clipboard is shared too, but it is tagged: **what you copy in digital cannot
  be pasted in analog**, or the other way round. The *Paste* button only lights up
  when what you copied matches the mode you are in.
</Warning>

## View mode

Beyond the two signal modes, the bottom bar has a **view mode** switch: it hides
the grid and the cells, leaving only the waveform on a clean background.

While it is on, nothing can be edited — the buttons tell you so with *"Locked in
view mode"*.

Use it to present or compare shapes without the noise of the grid.