Sony Acid 7 Manual

							CHP. 4EDITING EVENTS
69
The following table describes each of the settings in the Event Properties dialog.
Using event envelopes
ACID enables you to use envelopes on individual events. Envelopes give you the ability to control each 
event’s fade-in, fade-out, and overall volume. Envelopes are useful for transitional effects between events by 
subtly fading out one event’s volume while another fades in.
These envelopes are different than track envelopes because they affect only the event whereas track 
envelopes can affect multiple events on the track. For more information, see Using track envelopes on page 97.
The event’s volume level and fade curves are represented by a line on the event.
Setting an event’s volume envelope
You can control an event’s overall volume by setting an envelope at the desired decibel (dB) level.
1.Place the mouse pointer at the top of the event. The envelope cursor ( ) appears.
2.Drag the volume line to the desired level. As you drag the volume line, ACID displays the event’s decibel 
level.
3.Release the mouse to set the event’s dB level.
After you set the event volume level, you may change it later by dragging the envelope line.
Item Description
Start offset The Start offset for an event specifies a playback starting position that is 
different than the beginning of the file. This is especially useful for loops; you 
can change the feel of a loop by simply starting on beat two rather than beat 
one.
Pitch shift The Pitch shift value specifies a pitch shift for the selected event. Event-based 
pitch shift is calculated after the project key and any pitch shift assigned to a 
track. 
For more information, see Changing tempo, time signature, and key on 
page 79.
Speed The Speed setting allows you to change the playback speed of an event on a 
one-shot track. Changing the speed also changes the pitch.
Quick fade edges to 
prevent clicksWhen you add an offset to an event so that it does not end on a loop point, you 
can introduce an audible click at the edges of the event. Select the Quick fade 
edges to prevent clicks check box, and ACID performs a quick fade-in or 
fade-out on the event edges. 
To adjust a quick fade, zoom into the event and hover over the upper-left or 
upper-right corner of an event until the cursor is displayed as  . Drag the 
edge of the fade to adjust its duration. 
For more information, see Setting an 
event’s fade-in and -out envelope curve on page 70. 
						

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EDITING EVENTSCHP. 4
Setting an event’s fade-in and -out envelope curve
You can control an event’s envelope fade-in and -out characteristics by adjusting the event’s envelope 
handles. These handles allow you to control the length and dB level of fade-ins and fade-outs. Also, you can 
change the type of curve that the event uses to control the volume’s fade characteristics.
1.Place the mouse pointer on the upper corner of the event. The envelope cursor ( ) appears.
2.Drag the envelope cursor and position the envelope curve. As you drag the cursor, ACID displays the 
following information:
The event decibel level.
The length (in measures.beats.ticks) of the fade-in or fade-out.
3.Release the mouse to set the fade-in or fade-out characteristics.
Changing the event’s fade curve type
You can set an event’s fade curves (fast, linear, slow, smooth, or sharp) that are used to raise or lower the 
volume over time. Right-click the fade region, select 
Fade Type from the shortcut menu, and choose the 
appropriate fade curve from the submenu.
Creating crossfades between events
ACID allows you to quickly create crossfades between overlapping events painted on different tracks.
1.Select two events. The events must overlap, but do not need to be on adjacent tracks.
2.Press  . The end of the first event fades out, and the second event fades in.
For creative ways to use crossfades, see Creating DJ-style crossfades on page 194.F 
						

							5
CHP. 5WORKING IN THE TRACK VIEW
CHAPTER71
Working in the 
Tr a ck V i e w
This chapter introduces you to several ACID features that increase your productivity, such as markers, 
regions, and snapping options. You’ll also learn about the different ways to change a project’s tempo, key and 
time signature. Finally, you’ll learn several options for adjusting the project timeline.
Using project markers and regions
ACID markers and regions identify areas of your project and provide navigational cues for quickly finding 
those areas. After you insert markers and regions, you may adjust their position along the project’s timeline 
and label them with meaningful names for your reference.
Working with standard markers
Markers are tools that can make creating music easier by identifying specific points along the project’s 
timeline. They can be named, moved, and serve as snap and navigational points for the cursor and events. 
When you place markers, ACID automatically numbers them in the order that you place them.
Placing markers
Markers are placed at the cursor position. You may place a marker in one of the following ways:
From the 
Insert menu, choose Marker.
Right-click the marker bar, choose 
Markers/Regions from the shortcut menu, and choose Insert Marker 
from the submenu.
Press  . You may use this method to place a marker while the project is playing.
Marker type Description
Marker (standard) Markers identify specific reference points in your project. Points that you may 
want to identify are introductions, bridges, refrains, choruses, or whatever 
you choose.
Time marker Time markers are fixed to the time ruler and mark absolute time in your 
project. They are very useful when scoring video.
Command marker Command markers indicate when an instruction or function occurs in a 
streaming media file.
Regions Regions subdivide your project into time segments. Regions have in and out 
points, which allow them to function as permanent time selections.
M
Marker barMarker
5 
						

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WORKING IN THE TRACK VIEWCHP. 5
Moving markers
1.
Place the mouse pointer on the marker to be moved. The hand cursor ( ) appears. 
2.Drag the marker to the desired position.
Naming markers
ACID allows you to name markers in your project. You may want to name markers based on parts of the 
project. For example, you may want to identify choruses, refrains, bridges, or instrument solos as reference 
points along the timeline. 
1.Place the mouse pointer on the marker to be named. The hand cursor ( ) appears.
2.Right-click the marker and choose Rename from the shortcut menu. A box appears next to the marker.
3.Type a marker name in the box and press   to save the name. 
Tip: You can use the same steps to rename a marker. 
Alternately, you can double-click the marker and enter a new 
name.
Navigating to markers
While you are working on your project, you may have scrolled to a portion of the project where the cursor is 
not visible. There are two ways to move the cursor directly to the selected marker: 
Right-click the marker and choose 
Go To from the shortcut menu.
Click the marker once.
Press the number key (not on the numeric keypad) corresponding to the marker number.
Tip: You may also navigate from one marker to the next by 
pressing  +left/right arrow key.
Adjusting tempo to match cursor to marker
Position the cursor, right-click the marker tab, and choose Adjust tempo to match cursor to marker from the 
shortcut menu. The project tempo changes so that the cursor position matches the selected marker.
Deleting markers
You may remove markers from the project at any time. Because markers are automatically numbered when 
they are placed, ACID does not renumber the remaining markers when one is deleted. Rather, the remaining 
markers retain their numbers. However, if you add markers later, ACID begins numbering to fill the 
sequence gap. 
For example, if you have five markers in your project and delete markers three and four, the remaining 
markers are listed as one, two and five. When you add markers again, ACID begins numbering the markers as 
three and four.
1.Place the mouse pointer on the marker to be deleted. The hand cursor ( ) appears.
2.Right-click the marker and choose Delete from the shortcut menu. The marker is removed from the 
project.
Enter
Ctrl 
						

							CHP. 5WORKING IN THE TRACK VIEW
73
Working with time markers
Unlike standard markers, time markers are tied to absolute time within your project. They are added 
differently than standard markers and appear on the time ruler at the bottom of the track view. Otherwise, 
time markers can be manipulated just like other markers. 
Placing time markers
Time markers are placed at the cursor position. You may place a time marker in one of the following ways:
From the 
Insert menu, choose Time Marker.
Press  . You may use this method to place a time marker while the project is playing back.
 
Note: ACID does not number time markers. 
Adjusting tempo to match marker to cursor 
Using this function with time markers is particularly useful when scoring video. For more information, see 
Scoring video with ACID on page 156.
Position the cursor, right-click the marker tab, and choose 
Adjust tempo to match marker to cursor from the 
shortcut menu. The project tempo changes so the time marker matches the cursor position.
You can also align the marker and cursor by holding   while dragging the marker. For example, hold   
while dragging a time marker to a location on the beat ruler. The project tempo adjusts so the time at the 
marker occurs on a specific beat. For example, if you place a time marker at 10 seconds on the time ruler and 
hold   while dragging the marker to 5.1 on the beat ruler, ACID adjusts the project’s tempo so the first 
beat of measure five occurs at ten seconds.
Working with command markers
Command markers add interactivity to a multimedia presentation streamed over the Internet. As your media 
plays, any number of other actions can be programmed to execute. These commands are a part of the 
Windows Media and RealMedia streaming formats. Most frequently, these actions add text or open a related 
Web site. The specific commands available vary depending on the final format of your project. 
Note: Streaming media files can be played back from a hard 
drive or CD-ROM, but in order to stream properly across the 
Internet, the file must be on a streaming media server. Check 
with your internet service provider for details and availability 
of this service.
H
Time marker
Alt Alt 
Alt  
						

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WORKING IN THE TRACK VIEWCHP. 5
Placing command markers
Command markers appear on the command ruler, which is above the marker bar. 
1.Position the cursor where you want to place the command marker.
2.From the Insert menu, choose Command, or press  .
3.Complete the Command Properties dialog:
From the 
Te m p l a t e drop-down list, choose a custom 
template. For more information, see Saving command 
properties as a custom template on page 74.
From the 
Command drop-down list, choose the type of 
command. For more information, see Defining streaming 
media commands on page 75.
Enter parameters in the 
Parameter box to define the 
behavior of the command.
Enter your own notes or comments in the 
Comment 
box.
Specify the timing of the command in the 
Pos it i o n box. Command markers are automatically set to the 
current cursor position unless you change this value.
4.Click OK. The new command marker appears on the command bar.
After you create a command marker, you can move the marker by dragging it to a new location.
Editing command marker properties
Double-click any command marker to open the Command Properties dialog and edit its contents. You can 
also right-click a command marker and choose 
Edit from the shortcut menu.
Saving command properties as a custom template
If you plan to use a command more than once, you can save command properties as a template. You can then 
reuse the command properties by selecting the template from the 
Te m p l a t e  drop-down list.
1.Create a command and complete the Command Properties dialog.
2.Click in the Te m p l a t e box and enter a name for the template.
3.Click the Save Template button ( ).
Tip: ACID saves your metadata command templates in the 
cmdtemp.xml file in the ACID program folder. You can edit 
this file directly to modify your templates.
Marker bar Command ruler
URL command marker
C 
						

							CHP. 5WORKING IN THE TRACK VIEW
75
Defining streaming media commands
In a streaming media file, command markers can be used to display headlines, show captions, link to Web 
sites, or any other function you define. 
ACID includes several command types that you may add to a streaming media file. Some command types are 
exclusive to either the Windows Media (WMA or WMV) or the RealMedia (RM) file types.
Defining HotSpot commands
Hotspots are defined using the following parameter syntax:
HotSpotPlay MM:SS (LEFT, TOP, RIGHT, BOTTOM) LABEL FILENAME
HotSpotBrowse MM:SS (LEFT, TOP, RIGHT, BOTTOM) LABEL URL
HotSpotSeek MM:SS (LEFT, TOP, RIGHT, BOTTOM) LABEL MM:SS
The 
Parameter box for a typical HotSpotBrowse command for a hotspot rectangle that is 50 pixels wide by 20 
pixels tall and lasts for 10 seconds would look like this:
HotSpotBrowse 00:10 (0, 0, 50, 20) Sonic Foundry http:\\www.sonicfoundry.com
All parameters are optional except the last. The hotspot defaults to the entire duration of the file and the 
entire video frame if the duration and dimensions are not specified.
Adjusting tempo to match cursor to marker
Position the cursor, right-click the marker tab, and choose Adjust tempo to match cursor to marker from the 
shortcut menu. The project tempo changes so that the cursor position matches the selected command 
marker.
Deleting command markers
To delete a command marker, right-click the marker and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.
Command Player Type Description
URLWindows Media 
and RealMediaIndicates when an instruction is sent to the user’s Internet browser to change 
the content being displayed. With this command, you enter the URL that 
displays at a specific time during the rendered project’s playback.
TEXT Windows Media Displays text in the captioning area of the Windows Media Player located 
below the video display area. You enter the text that displays during playback.
WMClosedCaptionWindows MediaDisplays the entered text in the captioning window defined by an HTML 
layout file.
WMTextBodyText Windows Media Displays the entered text in the text window defined by an HTML layout page.
WMTextHeadlineWindows MediaDisplays the entered text in the headline window defined by an HTML layout 
file.
Title Windows Media 
and RealMediaDisplays the entered text on the player’s title bar.
AuthorWindows Media 
and RealMediaDisplays the entered text (author’s name) when a user selects About this 
Presentation from the RealPlayer’s shortcut menu or Properties from the 
Windows Media shortcut menu.
Copyright Windows Media 
and RealMediaDisplays the entered copyright information when a user selects About this 
Presentation from the RealPlayer’s shortcut menu or Properties from the 
Windows Media shortcut menu.
HotSpotPlayRealMediaAllows you to define an area in the RealPlayer video display that users can 
click to jump to another RealMedia file.
HotSpotBrowse RealMedia Allows you to define an area in the RealPlayer video display that users can 
click to jump to a Web page that you specify.
HotSpotSeekRealMediaAllows you to define an area in the RealPlayer video display that users can 
click to jump to a point in the current RealMedia file. 
						

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WORKING IN THE TRACK VIEWCHP. 5
Working with regions
Regions are useful tools that allow you to subdivide your project into time sections by designating in and out 
points along the timeline. Regions can function as permanent time selections for playback and editing 
purposes. Like markers, regions can serve as reference points and may be moved, named, and provide snap 
points for the cursor and events.
When you place regions, ACID automatically numbers them in the order that you place them.
Placing and moving regions
Regions are placed at the start and end points of a loop region (time selection). You may place a region in 
one of the following ways:
From the 
Insert menu, choose Region.
Right-click the marker bar, choose 
Markers/Regions from the shortcut menu, and choose Insert Region 
from the submenu.
Press .
After you place a region, you may change its position by dragging the region tag to the desired position.
Tip: You can move a region without changing its size by 
holding   while dragging either region tag.
Naming regions
ACID allows you to name the placed regions in your project. You may want to name regions based on parts 
of the project or to define the amount of time that the regions encompass. For example, you may want to 
identify introductions, solos, or special time-related features in your project as reference points. 
1.Right-click the region’s start tag and choose Rename from the shortcut menu. A box appears next to the 
tag.
2.Type a region name and press   to save the name.
R
Region start
Loop regionRegion end
Alt 
Enter 
						

							CHP. 5WORKING IN THE TRACK VIEW
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Navigating to regions
While you are working on your project, you may have scrolled to a portion of the project where the cursor is 
not visible. You may click in the track view to move and view the cursor or you may use region tags to bring 
the cursor into view. 
To move the cursor to the selected region tag, right-click the region tag and choose 
Go To from the shortcut 
menu.
Tip: You may also navigate between regions in your project 
by pressing  +left/right arrow key or the number key (not 
on the numeric keypad) corresponding to the region number.
Selecting regions
You may use the region’s start and end tags to make a time selection across all tracks in your project. The 
information within the time selection can then be used for playback or editing.
To select a region, right-click a region tag and choose 
Select Region from the shortcut menu. The loop bar 
appears between the region tags and the tracks are highlighted.
Deleting regions
You may remove regions from the project at any time. Because regions are automatically numbered when 
they are placed, ACID does not renumber the existing regions when one is removed. Rather, the existing 
regions retain their numbers. However, if you add regions later, ACID begins numbering to fill the sequence 
gap that exists. 
For example, if you have six regions in your project and delete regions four and five, the remaining regions 
are listed as one, two, three and six. When you add regions again, ACID begins numbering the regions as 
four and five.
To remove a region from a project, right-click the region tag marker and choose 
Delete from the shortcut 
menu.
Ctrl
Loop bar 
						

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WORKING IN THE TRACK VIEWCHP. 5
Using snapping
Snapping helps you to align events in your project with other items. ACID is preset to snap event edges to 
the project’s grid lines as you drag an event along the track. If snapping is enabled and the 
Grid Only option is 
turned off, the event’s edges automatically align to these designated snap points:
Cursor position
Grid lines
Markers
Regions start and end points
Loop region (time selection) in and out points
You may turn on snapping for these elements in the project or limit snapping to grid lines. 
Choosing snapping options
If the snap function is preventing you from placing an event precisely where you want it, you may turn 
snapping off. Turning off snapping prevents events from automatically aligning to the cursor, grid lines, 
markers, regions, and time selections.
The 
Options menu allows you to toggle snap functions. The button image next to the Enable command 
indicates when snapping is turned on. The button image next to the 
Grid Only command indicates the type 
of snapping in use.
Tip: You can temporarily suspend snapping while dragging by 
holding down the   key.
Turning snapping on and off
You may turn snapping on and off in one of the following ways:
Click the 
Enable Snapping button ( ) on the Toolbar.
From the 
Options menu, choose Snapping, and choose Enable from the submenu.
Press .
Snapping to grid lines
With snapping turned on, you may choose to snap only to grid lines. From the Options menu, choose 
Snapping, and choose Grid Only from the submenu. The button image next to the command indicates that it 
is active.
Snap point examples
Select to turn all snapping on/off
Select to toggle between snapping
to grid lines only and snapping to all
elements. 
Shift
F8