Sony Vegas 5 Manual

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Working with markers
Markers are useful for identifying and navigating to specific locations in longer projects. As you place 
markers in your project, they are automatically numbered (up to 99) in the order that they are placed. 
Markers appear as orange tags above the ruler. You may name them and reposition them along the project’s 
timeline.
Inserting a marker at the cursor
1.
Position the cursor where you want to place the marker.
2.From the Insert menu, choose Marker, or press .
3.Type a name for the marker and press  . If you do not want to name the marker, simply press  .
Inserting a marker during playback
During playback, press  . The marker appears on the marker bar. You may name the marker after it has 
been set.
Naming (or renaming) a marker
1.
Place the mouse pointer on the marker you want to name or rename. The pointer changes to a hand icon 
().
2.Right-click to display a shortcut menu.
3.From the shortcut menu, choose Rename. A text box opens next to the marker.
4.Type the marker name.
5.Press   to set the marker’s name.
You can also double-click an existing name or double-click the space just to the right 
of a marker to rename it.
Moving markers
You can reposition a marker by dragging it on the marker bar.
Navigating to markers
You can jump the cursor to any marker on the timeline by clicking the marker. You can also jump to a 
marker by pressing the number keys along the top of the keyboard (not the numeric keypad).
Tip: Jump the cursor to the next or previous marker by 
pressing  or .
Markers
MarkerRight-click the marker bar
bar
M
EnterEnter
M
Enter
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Deleting markers
1.
Place the mouse pointer on the marker that you want to delete. The pointer changes to a hand ( ).
2.Right-click to display a shortcut menu.
3.From the shortcut menu, choose Delete. The marker is removed from your project. 
The tags are not renumbered as you remove them. For example, if you have five markers in your project and 
delete markers 3 and 4, the remaining markers will be listed as 1, 2 and 5. However, as you add markers 
again, Vegas software begins numbering the missing sequence first, in this case 3 and 4, then 6, 7, 8, etc.
Deleting all markers and regions
1.
Right-click the marker bar.
2.From the shortcut menu, choose Markers/Regions, and choose Delete All from the submenu.
Working with regions
Regions identify ranges of time and provide a way to subdivide your project. A region is defined as the area 
between two region markers that share the same number. Regions can function as semi-permanent time 
selections. You can view region information in the Explorer by clicking the arrow next to the 
View button 
( ) and selecting 
Region View.
Inserting regions
1.
Make a time selection. For more information, see Selecting a time range on page 61.
2.From the Insert menu, choose Region, or press  .
3.Type a name for the region and press  . If you do not want to name the region, simply press  .
Region markers display at the beginning and end points of a time selection. 
Moving regions
Drag a region marker to reposition it. To move both region markers (start and end markers) at once, hold   
while dragging a region marker.
R
EnterEnter
Region startRegion endRight-click the marker bar
Marker
bar
Alt  
						

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Naming regions
1.
Place the mouse pointer on the left region marker you want to name or rename. The pointer changes to a 
hand icon ( ).
2.Right-click to display a shortcut menu.
3.From the shortcut menu, choose Rename. A text box appears next to the region marker.
4.Type the region’s name.
5. Press   or click anywhere in the track view to set the name.
Selecting regions
You may select the events, across all tracks, within the region for editing or playing back. 
1.Right-click one of the region markers to display a shortcut menu.
2.From the shortcut menu, choose Select Region.
Tip: You can also select a region by pressing a number on 
your keyboard (not the numeric keypad) or by double-
clicking a region marker.
Navigating to regions
You can move the cursor to the start or end of a region by clicking either region marker. You may press 
 or   to move the cursor to the next or previous region markers.
Right-click a region marker to display a shortcut menu that allows you to navigate to the beginning (
Go to 
Start) 
or the end (Go to End) of a region.
Deleting regions
1.
Place the mouse pointer on the region marker’s starting or ending point. The pointer changes to a hand 
icon ( ).
2.Right-click to display a shortcut menu.
3.From the shortcut menu, choose Delete. The region is removed from your project. 
The tags are not renumbered as you remove them. For example, if you have five regions in your project and 
delete region 3 and 4, the remaining regions are listed at 1, 2 and 5. However, as you add regions again, Vegas 
software begins numbering the missing sequence first, in this case 3 and 4, and then 6, 7, 8, etc.
Deleting all regions and markers
1.
Right-click the marker bar.
2.From the shortcut menu, choose Markers/Regions, and choose Delete All from the submenu.
Enter
Selected region
Ctrl
+Ctrl+ 
						

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Working with command markers
Command markers add interactivity to a multimedia presentation streamed over the Internet by inserting 
metadata into streaming media files. As your video plays, any number of other actions can be programmed to 
occur. These commands are a part of the Microsoft® Windows Media® and RealMedia® streaming formats. 
Most frequently, these actions add text or open a related Web site where the viewer can find more 
information about the topic at hand. The specific commands available vary depending on the final format of 
your project.
Note: Windows Media Player 9 will ignore metadata 
commands unless the 
Run script commands when present 
check box is selected on the 
Security tab of the players 
Preferences dialog. Be sure to instruct your audience to select 
this check box before playing your file.
You can use command markers to add closed captions to your project. For more information, see Adding closed 
captioning to Windows Media Video (WMV) files on page 196.
Command markers can also indicate when an instruction (function) will occur in a WAV file being used in a 
radio broadcast environment (Scott Studios data). The following two sections define the markers for both 
streaming media and Scott Studios files.
Note: While streaming media files can be played on any hard 
drive or CD-ROM, they require a special streaming media 
server (provided by your Internet service provider) to stream 
properly across the Internet. 
						

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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. Several command types are included that you may add to a streaming 
media file. Some command types are exclusive to either the Windows Media or the RealMedia player.
Defining Scott Studios data commands
For WAV files using Scott Studios data, command markers can be used to define information about the 
WAV file.
Command Player type Description
URL Windows 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.
Te x tWindows MediaDisplays text in the captioning area of the Windows Media Player located below the 
video display area. You enter the text that will display during playback.
Note: To view captions during playback in Windows Media Player 9, choose Captions 
and Subtitles from the Windows Media Player Play menu, and then choose On if 
Available from the submenu.
WMClosedCaption Windows Media Displays the entered text in the captioning window that is defined by an HTML layout 
file.
W M Te x t B o d y Te x tWindow MediaDisplays the entered text in the text window that is defined by an HTML layout file.
WMTextHeadline Windows Media Displays the entered text in the headline window that is defined by an HTML layout file.
TitleRealMediaDisplays the entered text on the RealPlayer’s title bar.
Note: When rendering Windows Media files, title information is based on the settings 
on the Summary tab of the Project Properties dialog or the Index/Summary tab of the 
Custom Template dialog. The summary information from the Project Properties dialog 
will be used if information has been specified in both places.
To view this information during playback, choose Now Playing Options from the 
Windows Media Player View menu and select the items you want to display.
Author RealMedia Displays the entered text (Author’s name) when a user selects About This 
Presentation from the RealPlayer’s shortcut menu.
Note: When rendering Windows Media files, author information is based on the 
settings on the Summary tab of the Project Properties dialog or the Index/Summary 
tab of the Custom Template dialog. The summary information from the Project 
Properties dialog will be used if information has been specified in both places.
To view this information during playback, choose Now Playing Options from the 
Windows Media Player View menu and select the items you want to display.
CopyrightRealMediaDisplays the entered copyright information when a user selects About This 
Presentation from the RealPlayer’s shortcut menu.
Note: When rendering Windows Media files, copyright information is based on the 
settings on the Summary tab of the Project Properties dialog or the Index/Summary 
tab of the Custom Template dialog. The summary information from the Project 
Properties dialog will be used if information has been specified in both places.
To view this information during playback, choose Now Playing Options from the 
Windows Media Player View menu and select the items you want to display.
HotSpotPlay RealMedia Displays the RealMedia file specified in the Parameter box when users click the 
RealPlayer video display.
HotSpotBrowseRealMediaDisplays the Web page specified in the Parameter box when users click the RealPlayer 
video display.
HotSpotSeek RealMedia Jumps to the time specified in the Parameter box when users click the RealPlayer 
video display.
Command Description
SCOTT EOM Calculates when the next queued clip starts playing in a Scott Studios system. For more information, 
please refer to your Scott Studios documentation.
SCOTT Cue InSet the beginning of a file in a Scott Studios System without performing destructive editing. For more 
information, please refer to your Scott Studios documentation. 
						

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Inserting command markers
Command markers appear as blue tags on the command bar, 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:
If desired, choose a custom template from the 
Te m p l a t e drop-down list. For more information, see 
Saving command properties as a custom template on page 
84.
Choose the type of command from the 
Command 
drop-down list.
In the 
Parameter box, enter parameters to define the 
behavior of the command.
Enter your own notes or comments in the 
Comments box.
Specify the timing of the command in the 
Pos it i o n box. Otherwise, command markers are automatically 
set to the current cursor position.
4.Click OK. The new command marker appears on the command bar.
Editing command 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 choosing 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.Enter a name for the template in the Te m p l a t e box.
3.Click the Save Template button ( ).
Note: Your metadata command templates are saved in the 
cmdtemp.xml file in the program folder. You can edit this file 
directly to modify your templates.
Marker bar Command barRight-click to place a command marker
on the command bar
C 
						

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Deleting command markers
1.
Place the mouse pointer on the command marker. The pointer changes to a hand icon ( ).
2.Right-click to display a shortcut menu.
3.From the shortcut menu, choose Delete. The command marker is removed from your project.
Working with CD layout markers
Markers on the CD layout bar indicate the locations of tracks and indices in an audio CD layout project. 
These markers are discussed in a later chapter. For more information, see Understanding tracks and indices on 
page 303.
Working with the marker tool
You can use the marker tool to navigate the marker bars and edit multiple selected markers.
1.Click the Marker Tool button   in the top-right corner of the timeline.
2.Select the markers you want to edit:
Press the Left Arrow/Right Arrow keys to move to the previous/next marker in the active bar (marker/
region bar, CD layout bar, or command bar).
Press Shift+Left Arrow/Right Arrow keys to extend the selection to the previous/next marker.
Press Shift while clicking two marker tags to select all markers between the two tags.
Press Ctrl while clicking marker tags to select or deselect individual markers. 
3.Edit your markers:
Dragging any selected marker will move all selected markers in the active bar as a group.
Pressing Delete will remove all selected markers in the active bar.
The marker tool is inactive when you change focus to another portion of the Vegas window.
Using an external audio editing program
Vegas software is a nondestructive editing environment, which means that the original source files remain 
unchanged by any editing done in the software. Destructive (constructive) edits that modify the actual 
source media file may be done in a separate application such as Sound Forge® software from Sony Pictures 
Digital. By setting up a separate audio editor, you can quickly access the program from Vegas software via the 
Tools menu or by pressing  .
Setting up an audio editing program
If you already have Sound Forge software loaded on your computer when you installed Vegas software, the 
installation should have detected it and made it your default audio editing program. However, if you do not 
have Sound Forge software or want to specify a different audio editor, you may do so in the Preferences 
dialog.
Ctrl+E 
						

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1.From the Options menu, choose Preferences. The 
Preferences dialog appears.
2.In the Preferences dialog, click the Audio tab.
3.Click the Browse button to the right of the Preferred 
audio editor
 box. The Preferred Audio Editor dialog 
appears.
4.From this dialog, navigate to the application to use for 
editing audio files.
5.Select the application’s executable icon (.exe) and 
click 
Open to set the application as your default audio 
editor.
The application’s path displays in the 
Preferred audio 
editor
 box. 
						

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Opening an audio editor from Vegas software
All events in your project are references to media files on a storage device. When you edit an audio event in 
an audio editor, you can choose to open the original media file or a copy of the file. 
Opening a file in an audio editor
You can directly edit the media file to which an audio event is referenced. Any changes you make and save 
in the audio editor are permanent and are reflected in the event in your project. 
1.Select the event to be edited.
2.From the To o l s menu, choose Audio, and choose Open in Audio Editor from the submenu.
Your selected audio editing application opens the event’s referenced media file. Make the necessary changes 
and save the file in the audio editor. If you keep the media file’s name and location the same, its event is 
updated immediately in your project. However, if you change the media file’s name or location (by using 
Save As), you must import the edited (new) file into Vegas software.
Opening a copy of a file in an audio editor
You can also create a copy of an audio file and open it in an audio editor. Opening a copy of a file has the 
advantage of preserving the original file unchanged. The modified copy is inserted into the event as a take 
and is automatically added to the Media Pool. 
1.Select the event to be edited.
2.From the To o l s menu, choose Audio, and choose Open Copy in Audio Editor from the submenu.
When you are finished editing, save the file. “Ta k e  X” is added to the end of the filename to distinguish it 
from the original and adds it to the project as a take. If you save it to a new file (by using Save As), you must 
manually add it as a take into the project. For more information, see Working with takes on page 94. 
						

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