When you set record and source clips, you must decide what source clip channels you want to use, and to which tracks you want to record them. To connect the source channels to the timeline tracks, you use patching. You can use the patch identifiers on the timeline or you can use the patch panel.

For instance, assume that you have a source clip with one video channel and two audio channels. You want to record it to a timeline that has two video tracks and eight audio tracks. Use patching to point the source channels to the destination timeline tracks. Perhaps you usually insert video on track V1 and audio on tracks A1 and A2, but now you want to switch destination tracks to V2, A3, and A4. Patching allows you to do this.

When you use the patch identifiers, patching information is kept with the record clip. If you patch a source clip, then add a new layer to the timeline, the source clip follows the track to which it was originally patched. This allows for a natural workflow of setting up the patch for a source clip, adding a new layer, then setting up the patching for another source clip. For a protocol in which the source does not move with its destination track, use the patch panel instead.