Here's the thing.
I'm currently doing a track, and the main composition is about three quarter's done.
The problem is; in about a week or so, I'm gonna have to sit and do a mixdown of it.
My question is this:
When one makes a track on a DAW, and the main composition is all done, should I add a compressor/limiter to every track in the mixdown stage, or at some other time?
Should I also be compressing/limiting the entire track when the final mixdown is done; i.e. after each track is (maybe) compressed or limited, or both?
If any of the above applies, can some kind soul out there tell me how to operate a compressor and a limiter.
I have Steinberg's onboard compressor in Nuendo, and I've also got a couple of Waves plugins (L1, etc for limiting).
I just don't have a clue when (and if) I should be using these badboys, cause I don't really know what they do. Actually, that's a fib, cause I know the VERY basic principals of limiting, but not really exactly how to use them. I actually know a tiny bit about compressors as well i.e. they compress things

I'm dead serious, that's as much as I know.
How do you use these things?
Any help guys, would be really, really cool.
I've been looking all over the web, but I just can't get my head'round these things. Can somebody please explain in plain English, how (and when) these apply.
I'll dance at your wedding if you help me with this.....