Sony Acid 7 Manual

							CHP. 12WORKING WITH 5.1 SURROUND
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Burning AC-3 files to DVD
With the addition of the AC-3 DVD Burner included in the Sonic Foundry 5.1 Surround Plug-In Pack, you 
can burn AC-3 files to a DVD. 
1.From the To o l s menu, choose Start AC-3 DVD Burner. The AC-3 DVD Burner application starts.
2.Follow the instructions for burning a DVD in the AC-3 DVD Burner online help. To access online help, 
click 
Help in the AC-3 DVD Burner screen. 
						

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APPENDIX ACUSTOMIZING ACID
APPENDIX
171
Customizing ACID
You can customize ACID to suit your project needs and working preferences. You may change these settings 
at any time. If you use the same settings for all of your projects, you may set ACID to use your settings as 
defaults.
In this chapter, you will find information about functions that allow you to customize ACID and set the 
application’s preferences.
Working with ACID windows
ACID has various windows that allow you to perform specific tasks related to your project or manage your 
media. These windows can float on the workspace or be docked in the window docking area. All these 
windows may be viewed or hidden via the 
View menu or their respective shortcut keys.
Window Shortcut keys Description
ExplorerAlt+1Allows you to view and access your media files without leaving the work 
area. You may also preview media files and place them in your project from 
this window.
Chopper Alt+2 Allows you to select portions of a media file that can be placed into tracks as 
events.
MixerAlt+3Allows you to work with busses, assignable effect chains, and soft synth 
controls.
Video Alt+4 Displays a project’s video output at the current cursor position in the 
timeline.
Audio Plug-InAlt+5Allows you to view and edit settings for assignable, bus, soft synth, and 
track effect chains.
Track Properties  Alt+6 Allows you to view and edit track attributes. For MIDI tracks, allows you to 
edit MIDI using the piano roll editor, list editor or other OPT plug-ins.
Surround 
PannerAlt+7In a 5.1 surround project, this allows you to control panning for a track or 
mixer control.
Soft Synth 
PropertiesAlt+8 Allows you to change the attributes of a soft synth control in the Mixer 
window.
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CUSTOMIZING ACIDAPPENDIX A
Docking and floating ACID windows
The window docking area allows you to keep frequently used windows available but out of the way while you 
are working with a project. You can dock windows either in a single stack spanning the width of the screen 
or divide the window docking area into sections (e.g., right, middle, and left) and create several stacks. 
Windows that are not visible display a tab that you can click to display it. You can also expand, restore, or 
close a window using the buttons in the window’s upper-left corner.
Note: When the last window in the docking area is closed or 
removed, the docking area minimizes automatically. When 
the docking area is minimized, dragging a dockable window 
over the bottom of the ACID window causes the docking area 
to open again.
Docking windows
1.
If the window is floating on the workspace, grab the window by its title bar and drag it below the track 
view. As you drag the window, the window’s outline appears. 
2.Position the window’s outline in the docking area where you want it and release the mouse.
Floating windows
You may float a window so that it does not appear in the docking 
area.
1.Grab the window by its handle (the border along the left side) and 
drag the window to the workspace. As you drag the window, the 
window’s outline appears.
2.Position the window anywhere in the workspace and release the 
mouse. You can move the floating window by dragging it to a new 
position or docking it again.
Tabs
Close window
Expand/restore window
Handle 
						

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Preventing windows from docking
Press   while dragging a window to prevent it from docking in the workspace.
Note: You can choose to reverse this behavior so that 
windows will not dock unless you press . From the 
Options menu, choose Preferences, and clear the Allow 
floating windows to dock check box on the General tab.
Resizing the window docking area
You can resize the track list, track view and docking area sections of the ACID workspace by dragging the 
dividers between them. 
Tip: You can quickly hide or show the window docking area 
by pressing .
Changing the time ruler format
You may specify a time format for the ACID time ruler to display. The ruler, located below the track view, 
displays real time in several formats. You may change the ruler format in one of the following ways:
From the 
View menu, choose Time Ruler, and choose the desired format from the submenu.
Right-click the time ruler and choose the desired format from the shortcut menu. In addition to right-
clicking the time ruler in the track view, you can use this technique on the time rulers in the Chopper and 
Track Properties windows.
The following table describes the time formats available in ACID.
Using the ruler offset
The ruler offset allows you to change the project ruler to start at a specific time. Typically, this feature is used 
in conjunction with SMPTE and MIDI projects when their timelines are the main reference. Basically, the 
ruler offset allows you to set the ACID time ruler based on another project’s timeline for reference purposes, 
i.e., the SMPTE or MIDI timelines.
Time format Description
SamplesDisplays the time ruler in samples.
Time Displays the time ruler in hours:minutes:seconds.milliseconds.
SecondsDisplays the time ruler in seconds.
Time & Frames Displays the time ruler in hours:minutes:seconds.frames with a frame rate equal to that of your 
video.
Absolute FramesDisplays the time ruler in total frames from the beginning of the project.
Feet & Frames 16 mm Displays the time ruler in feet+frames at a rate of 40 frames per foot.
Feet & Frames 35 mmDisplays the time ruler in feet+frames at a rate of 16 frames per foot.
SMPTE Film Sync 
(24 fps)Displays the time ruler in hours:minutes:seconds:frames with a frame rate of 24 frames per second 
for synchronizing with film.
SMPTE EBU (25 fps)Displays the time ruler in hours:minutes:seconds:frames with a frame rate of 25 frames per second 
for European Broadcasting Union.
SMPTE Non-Drop 
(29.97 fps)Displays the time ruler in hours:minutes:seconds:frames with a frame rate of 29.97 frames per 
second.
SMPTE Drop 
(29.97 fps)Displays the time ruler in hours:minutes:seconds;frames with a frame rate of 29.97 frames per 
second using dropped frame numbers.
SMPTE 30 (30 fps) Displays the time ruler in hours:minutes:seconds:frames with a frame rate of 30 frames per 
second.
Ctrl
Ctrl
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CUSTOMIZING ACIDAPPENDIX A
When you enter a new value along the timeline, ACID adjusts the ruler’s time units at the cursor position 
and at the start of the timeline. For example, if the cursor is positioned at the 2:00 minute mark and you 
enter 15:00 minutes, the start of the project will begin at 13:00 minutes. The ruler offset feature works the 
same for all time formats in ACID.
1.Position the cursor anywhere along the timeline.
2.Right-click the time ruler to display a shortcut menu.
3.From the shortcut menu, choose Set Time at Cur sor. A box opens at the cursor position.
4.Enter a time value.
5.Press   to set the cursor position’s time value. The value that you enter at the cursor position affects 
all time values that precede and follow it.
Using the project grid
The project grid appears on the track view and is mainly used to align the events in your project. The grid 
divides your project into equal units based on the setting that you choose. The grid setting can be based on 
the project type or how you prefer to work.
It is important to remember that in some cases the grid lines and the ruler divisions do not match. This is 
because they are two independent functions. However, you may set the grid to align to the ruler, which is the 
default setting.
The grid can use the following formats:
Setting the grid type
You may change the grid type at any time and apply it to your project. There are two ways to set the grid type 
for your project. 
From the 
Options menu, choose Grid Spacing, and choose the type of grid you want from the submenu. 
Right-click the marker bar, choose 
Grid Spacing from the shortcut menu, and choose the type of grid that 
you want from the submenu. 
Ruler Marks16th Notes
Measures 16th Note Triplets
Half Notes32 Notes
Quarter Notes 32nd Note Triplets
Quarter Note Triplets64th Notes
8th Notes 64th Note Triplets
8th Note Triplets
Enter 
						

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Using the toolbar
ACID is set up to display the toolbar below the menu bar. However, you may hide and customize the toolbar 
to suit your preferences. The settings that you apply to the toolbar remain set until you change them again.
Hiding and displaying the toolbar
If you prefer to use shortcut keys when working with your project, you may hide the toolbar to create more 
workspace. Choose 
Toolbar from the View menu to hide it. The check mark next to the command is 
removed and the toolbar disappears. The toolbar remains hidden until you choose 
To o l b a r from the View 
menu to display it again.
Reordering toolbar buttons
ACID allows you to change the toolbar’s button order to suit your preferences. You may either reorder the 
buttons directly on the workspace or via the Customize Toolbar dialog.
Reordering buttons on the ACID workspace
1.
Hold   and drag the button that you want to move to the new location on the toolbar. A hand 
icon ( ) within an outline of the button indicates that you are moving the button.
2.Release the mouse to drop the button in its new location.
Tip: If you drag the button off the toolbar, the button is 
removed. 
Reordering buttons in the Customize Toolbar dialog
The Customize Toolbar dialog allows you to control the order and functionality available on the Toolbar. 
You may return the toolbar to its default settings by clicking the
 Reset button.
1.From the Options menu, choose Customize Toolbar. The Customize Toolbar dialog appears.
2.On the Current toolbar buttons pane, select the button that you want to move and click Move Up or Move 
Down
.
3.Click Close to save the toolbar changes and close the dialog.
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Adding buttons to the toolbar
ACID includes a series of buttons that you may add to the toolbar. These buttons are listed in the Customize 
Toolbar dialog. You may also add separators on the toolbar to organize the buttons to suit your preferences.
You may return the toolbar to its default settings by clicking the
 Reset button on the dialog.
1.From the Options menu, choose Customize Toolbar. The Customize Toolbar dialog appears.
2.On the Available toolbar buttons pane, use the scroll bars to locate the button that you want to add and 
select it.
3.On the Current toolbar buttons pane, select the button that you want the newly added button to proceed in 
order.
For example, if you want to add the 
Save As button and want it to precede the Publish To button, select the 
Publish To button in the Current toolbar buttons pane.
4.Click Add. The new button is added above the selected button on the Current toolbar buttons pane.
Tip: You may also double-click a button to add it to the 
toolbar.
5.Click Close to save the toolbar settings and close the dialog.
Removing buttons from the toolbar
You may remove buttons and separators from the toolbar. If you have added buttons to the toolbar, removing 
unused or unwanted buttons allows you to maximize the toolbar’s space. You may remove toolbar buttons 
either directly on the workspace or via the Customize Toolbar dialog.
Removing buttons on the ACID workspace
1.
Hold   and drag the button that you want to remove off the toolbar. A hand icon ( ) within an 
outline of the button indicates that you are removing the button.
2.Release the mouse to remove the button.
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Removing buttons in the Customize Toolbar dialog
You may return the toolbar to its default settings by clicking the Reset button on this dialog.
1.From the Options menu, choose Customize Toolbar. The Customize Toolbar dialog appears.
2.On the Current toolbar buttons pane, select the button that you want to remove.
3.Click Remove. The button is removed from the Current toolbar buttons pane and will not appear on the 
toolbar.
Tip: You may also double-click a button to remove it.
4.Click Close to save the toolbar settings and exit the dialog.
Using the time display 
The time display above the track list reflects the cursor’s position on the timeline. 
Changing cursor position
You can edit the cursor position using time as it is displayed on either the beat ruler or time ruler:
To set the cursor’s position based on the beat ruler, right-click the time display and choose 
Edit Cursor 
Position - Beats 
from the shortcut menu.
To set the cursor’s position based on the time ruler, right-click the time display and choose 
Edit Cursor 
Position - Time 
from the shortcut menu.
Once you make your selection from the shortcut menu, a box appears for the appropriate time display. Enter 
the cursor’s new position and press  .
Tip: You can also edit the cursor position directly by double-
clicking the desired time display value and entering the new 
cursor position.
Changing the time display
The time display window always reflects the format of the time ruler. You may change the ruler settings for 
the time ruler via the time display window.
1.Right-click the time display window to display a shortcut menu.
2.Choose Time at Cursor Format to display a submenu.
3.Choose the desired time format.
Both the time window and time ruler display the chosen time format.
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CUSTOMIZING ACIDAPPENDIX A
Monitoring MIDI timecode
You can use the time display to monitor incoming or outgoing MIDI timecode.
ACID can be set to monitor MIDI in the following ways:
Display MIDI timecode generated from external sources. 
Display MIDI timecode and MIDI clock information that ACID is generating.
Within ACID, the time display settings work in conjunction with your project’s properties and MIDI setup 
options. 
1.Right-click the time display window to display a shortcut menu.
2.From the shortcut menu, choose the type of MIDI monitoring for ACID to display. 
Once you have made your selection, the time display window displays both the MIDI code being input or 
output and a status message.
Setting default track properties
Each new track in ACID has certain default properties, including height, volume, pan type, and track effects. 
MIDI tracks also have a default set of MIDI editors that appear in the Track Properties window. You can 
modify these track properties and then use the modified track as a standard for all new tracks you create.
1.Modify a track’s volume (pg. 46), pan type (pg. 103), height 
(pg. 45), track effects (pg. 93), and/or MIDI editors (pg. 147).
2.Right-click the track header and choose Set Default Track 
Properties
 from the shortcut menu.
3.Select the check boxes for properties you wish to set. Clear the 
check boxes for the properties you wish to leave as they are.
Tip: Select the Restore original defaults check box to return to 
the original track properties.
4.Click OK.