Sony Vegas 6 Manual

							CHP. 3USING THE MEDIA MANAGER
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Tips: If an item in the Search Results pane displays a   
button, you can click it to find related media. For example, 
clicking the button in the following example adds an item to 
the Advanced section to help you find other media with a beat 
count of 16.
You can also drag a column heading from the Search Results 
pane to the Advanced section of the Search pane.
2.Set parameters for each of your search criteria. If the item displays an edit box, type the parameter you 
want to search for. If the item is displayed as a hyperlink, click the value to display a control you can use 
to set the value.
3.Choose whether you want to display files that match any or all of your search criteria:
 Choose Match Any from the Match Any/Match All drop-down list if you want to display all media that 
matches any of your keyword, tag, or advanced search criteria.
—or—
 Choose Match All from the Match Any/Match All drop-down list if you want to display only media that 
matches all of your search criteria.
4.Select the check boxes for the advanced search criteria you want to include in your search, or clear a 
check box to exclude that item.
Previewing media
You can use the transport controls in the Media Manager window to preview media files.
1.Select files in the Search Results pane to choose the files you want to preview:
 To select a single file, click the file.
—or—
 To select multiple consecutive files, click the first file, hold the  key, and then click the last item.
—or—
 To select multiple files that are not consecutive, hold the  key and click each file.
2.Start playback:
 If the Auto Preview button () is selected, playback will begin automatically. 
 If the Auto Preview button is not selected, click the Start Preview button () to begin playback.
If you have multiple files selected, they will be played back sequentially. Each file’s icon will change to a 
play icon (
) during playback.
Shift
Ctrl 
						

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3.Click the Stop Preview button () to stop the preview, or turn off the preview feature by deselecting the 
Auto Preview button.
If the file is offline, you’ll be prompted to locate the file or choose a replacement.
Tip: To preview a media file in its associated media player, 
right-click the file and choose 
Open with  
from the shortcut menu.
Media relationships
When you’re searching or browsing the contents of your media library, you may be overwhelmed by the 
amount of media you’ve amassed. How can you possibly remember how and where you’ve used your media? 
No problem. The Media Manager tool takes care of the details.
Media relationships are maintained only when the Save media-usage relationships in active media library check 
box is selected on the General tab of the Vegas Preferences dialog.
1.Right-click a media file in the Search Results pane.
2.Choose Find Related Items from the shortcut menu, and then choose a command from the submenu:
Media files matching the selected command are displayed in the Search Results pane.
3.Click the Previous Search button () to return to the previous contents of the Search Results pane. 
CommandDescription
Used withDisplays all media files that use the selected media.
Previewed withDisplays all media that has been previewed in a project containing the selected media.
Rendered toDisplays all media files that were created from the selected media file using the Render As command.
Rendered fromDisplays the original media files that were used to create the selected media file if the file was created using 
the Render As command.
Chopped toDisplays all media files that were created from the selected file using the Chop to New Track command in 
ACID software.
Chopped fromDisplays the original media file that was used to create the selected media file if the file was created using the 
Chop to New Track command in ACID software.
Rendered track toDisplays all media files that were created from the selected file using the Render to New Track command.
Rendered track fromDisplays the original media files that were used to create the selected media file if the file was created using 
the Render to New Track command. 
						

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Adding media to your project
After you’ve added media to your library, tagged it, and searched for specific files or related media, you’ve 
probably found just the right piece of media for your current project.
You can add media to your project from the Search Results pane by performing any of the following actions:
 Dragging a file from the Search Results pane to the project timeline. The file is added wherever you drop 
it.
Tip: You can also drag files from the Search Results pane to 
the Windows desktop, a folder, or to another application that 
is an OLE (object linking and embedding) drop target.
 Double-clicking a media file in the Search Results pane (if the Double-click in Search Results pane adds media 
to project 
check box is selected in the Media Manager Options dialog). The file is added to the track list. 
 Right-clicking a media file in the Search Results pane and choose Add to Project from the shortcut menu. 
The file is added to the track list.
If the file is offline, you’ll be prompted to locate the file or choose a replacement. For more information, see 
Resolving offline media files below.
Resolving offline media files
An offline media file is a file that is no longer available to the Media Manager. Media may be classified as 
offline if you eject removable storage after adding a file to your library or change a file’s name or location. 
1.Add media to your project or preview media files. If any of the files are not accessible, the Resolve Offline 
Media dialog is displayed with a listing of offline files and their status:
2.Select the files you want to resolve:
 To select a single file, click the file.
—or—
 To select multiple consecutive files, click the first file, hold the  key, and then click the last item.
—or—
 To select multiple files that are not consecutive, hold the  key and click each file.
3.Specify how you want to resolve the selected files:
 Click the Smart Search button to search quickly and allow the Media Manager tool to suggest the 
replacement file.
 Click the Browse button to choose a specific replacement file.
 Click the Leave Offline button to leave the file offline. The file will not be added to your project.
 Click the Remove button to remove the file from the media library. The file will not be added to your 
project. The original media file is not deleted.
IconStatusDescription
Offline The file listed in the Offline File column cannot be found. The status will be Offline if you did 
not search or browse for a replacement file.
Probable 
MatchThe file listed in the Offline File column will be replaced by the file listed in the Replacement 
File column. A status of Probable Match indicates that the Media Manager tool found a likely 
replacement file when you clicked Smart Search.
FoundThe file listed in the Offline File column will be replaced by the file listed in the Replacement 
File column. A status of Found indicates that you chose the file you want to use after clicking 
the Browse button.
Shift
Ctrl 
						

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4.Repeat step 3 for each file in the list.
5.Click the OK button to preview the files or add the files to your project and update the media library with 
the replacement files.
Customizing the Media Manager window
Much of what you see in the Media Manager window can be customized to suit your preferences.
Automatically hiding the Search pane
Click the push pin button () in the title bar of the Search pane if you want to save space in the Media 
Manager window by automatically hiding the search pane:
 The push pin is displayed as a  when the Search pane is anchored in the Media Manager window.
 The push pin is displayed as a  when the Search pane is set to hide automatically.
When the Search pane is set to hide automatically, you can hover over the Search tab on the left edge of the 
Media Manager window to show the pane. When you move your mouse away from the Search pane, it hides 
automatically.
Docking and undocking the Search pane
You can undock the Search pane from its location in the Media Manager window to float it over the Vegas 
window, or you can change the docking position of the pane within the Media Manager window. To undock 
and move the Search pane, drag its title bar to the desired location.
Resizing columns
You can resize the columns in the Search Results pane by dragging the splitter between columns to the 
desired size. To resize a column automatically, double-click a splitter.
Moving columns
To move a column in the Search Results pane to a different location, drag the column header to the desired 
location. A red indicator shows where the column will be dropped.
Showing or hiding columns
1.Right-click the column headings and choose Column Chooser from the shortcut menu.
2.Drag the columns you want to see from the Column Chooser dialog to the Search Results pane.
3.To hide a column, right-click a column heading and choose Remove this Column from the shortcut menu. 
						

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Adding custom columns
You can add custom columns to the Search Results pane to store additional information about media files. 
When you add custom columns, they are added to the current library only.
For example, if you wanted to keep track of which removable hard drive contained a media file, you could 
create a custom 
Drive Number column to assign any numeric rating to a media file. You could then use the 
Advanced section of the Search pane to search using the 
Drive Number value.
When adding media to a library, you can choose to add this information by selecting the Add tags and custom 
columns from files
 check box in the Add Files to Media Library dialog.
1.Right-click the column headings and choose Custom Columns from the shortcut menu. The Custom 
Columns dialog displays.
2.Click the Add New Column button () to add a custom column. A new entry is added to the list.
3.In the Name box, type the name you’d like to display as a column heading.
4.Select the Ty p e box and choose Te x t  or Integer from the drop-down list to indicate whether you’ll store text 
or numeric data in the column.
5.If you want to remove a custom column, select an entry in the list and click the Delete Selected Columns 
button (). The column and all data stored in the column is removed from the library.
6.Click the OK button. The column is added to the media library, and the Search Results pane is scrolled to 
the right to display your new column.
Editing a column’s contents
Some columns in the Search Results pane can be edited. When an entry in the Search Results pane is 
selected, click a box to make it editable. You can then type new information in the box.
Changing a column’s contents affects only the entry in the current media library. Click the Save Tags and 
Properties to Files
 button () to save the properties with the media file.
Showing thumbnails
If you’re working with videos or still-images, the thumbnail view helps you see the files that match your 
search criteria.
To switch to thumbnail view, click the down arrow () next to the Change Search Results View button () 
and choose 
Thumbnail.
You can drag the slider at the bottom of the Search Results pane to adjust the size of the thumbnails.
When you select a file, the thumbnail is magnified. You can change the zooming behavior on the 
Thumbnail tab of the Media Manager Options dialog.
You can choose which frame you want to use as a thumbnail for video files:
1.Right-click a thumbnail in the Search Results pane and choose Choose Thumbnail from the shortcut menu. 
The Thumbnail Chooser dialog is displayed.
2.Drag the slider in the Thumbnail Chooser dialog to set the frame you want to use.
3.Click the OK button. 
						

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USING THE MEDIA MANAGERCHP. 3
Using the Properties pane
The Properties pane displays extended information about the selected file in the Search Results pane. You 
can view and edit file attributes and view a listing of all tags that have been applied to the file.
Note: Properties that are editable are displayed in black.
Right-click a file in the Search Results pane and choose Show Properties Pane from the shortcut menu to 
toggle the display of the window.
Automatically hiding the Properties pane
Click the push pin button () in the title bar of the Properties pane if you want to save space in the Media 
Manager window by automatically hiding the pane:
The push pin is displayed as a  when the Properties pane is anchored in the Media Manager window.
The push pin is displayed as a  when the Properties pane is set to hide automatically.
When the Properties pane is set to hide automatically, you can hover over the Properties tab on the right 
edge of the Media Manager window to show the pane. When you move your mouse away from the pane, it 
hides automatically.
Moving the Properties pane
Drag the title bar of the Properties pane if you want to move it from its current position. You can float the 
pane over the Media Manager window, or drag to one of the edges of the window to dock it in a different 
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Setting Media Manager options
Use the Media Manager Options dialog to set options for working with the Media Manager tool.
To display the Media Manager Options dialog, click the Media Library Actions button () and choose 
Options from the menu.
General tab
Media Library tab
PreferenceDescription
Reference libraryChoose the library you want to load when you click the Switch to Reference Library button in the upper right 
corner of the Search Results pane. For more information about using reference libraries, see 
Opening a 
Reference Library on page 83
.
Search results limitType the maximum number of media files you’d like to have returned in the results of your searches.
Note: Increasing the Search results limit setting increases the amount of time required to search a library 
and can significantly decrease performance if set excessively high.
Double-click in Search Results 
pane adds media to projectSelect this check box if you want to add files to the current project by double-clicking a file in the Search 
Results pane.
Shut down database service on 
exitSelect this check box if you want to stop the database service when you close Vegas software.
Note: Stopping the service can conserve system resources when you aren’t using any applications that use the 
Media Manager tool. However, the application will take longer to start when the check box is selected.
Add tags and custom properties 
from filesSelect this check box if you want to add tags and custom columns saved in the media files to your library. For 
more information about tagging media, see 
Tagging media files on page 77. For information about 
adding custom columns to the Search Results pane, see 
Adding custom columns on page 91.
Use file and folder names to 
apply tags automaticallySelect this check box if you want to automatically tag files based on the file path. 
For example, when this check box is selected, a loop saved in the d:\loops\drums\hi-hats\ folder would have 
the tags Drums and Hi-Hats applied when it is added to the library. Some synonyms (and variant spellings) will 
be resolved automatically. If you need to modify the pattern-matching, you can edit the AutoTagPatterns.xml 
file, which is created in your My Documents\Sony Media Libraries folder the first time the application starts.
PreferenceDescription
DeleteClick this button to remove information about media relationships from your database.
Media relationships are maintained only when the Save media-usage relationships in active media library 
check box is selected on the General tab of the Vegas Preferences dialog.
UpdateClick this button to scan the media files in your library and compare them to the files on disk to look for 
updated media properties.
If the values stored in the media library and the files on disk do not match, the Media Manager will prompt 
you to choose the values you want to keep. 
Select the Ignore file dates when checking for changes check box if you want to scan all files. When the 
check box is cleared, only files that have been modified since the last update will be scanned.
You can also use the Update button to check your media library for offline files. 
						

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Thumbnails tab
Thumbnail (*.sftb) files are used to represent image and video files in the Media Manager. Use the 
Thumbnails tab to edit settings for saving and using thumbnails
About tab
Use the About tab to view information on the version of the Media Manager that is currently installed. This 
information can be useful when troubleshooting issues with the Media Manager.
Using the Media Manager with multiple computers
If you have multiple computers in your production environment, you can easily share media libraries.
The following guidelines will help you make the most of your media libraries in a multicomputer setup:
 Save your media in shared folders where all necessary users have access.
 Use common drive letters or UNC (universal naming convention) paths for the folders where your media 
files and libraries are stored on all computers.
For example, your media files could be in a shared folder called \\studio_a\media (“studio a” is the computer 
name, and “media” is the name of the shared folder), or you could map the shared folder “media” to drive 
letter M for all computers.
 After tagging your media or otherwise changing properties, save the metadata to the media files by 
clicking the 
Save Tags and Properties to Files button (). Saving this information in the files makes the 
information more portable across computers.
PreferenceDescription
Thumbnail CachingChoose a setting from the drop-down list to indicate how you want to store thumbnails for image and video 
files.
Store thumbnails in common folder: choose this setting if you want to store all thumbnails in a single 
folder. When you store thumbnails in a common location, you can view media thumbnails even if the media is 
not available (if you store media on a removable drive or network folder, for example).
Store thumbnails with media files: choose this setting if you want to store thumbnails each media files 
thumbnails in the same folder as the media. When you store thumbnails with media files, adding media files 
from a removable drive or network folder can be much faster because the Media Manager does not need to 
generate thumbnail files for each media file.
Store thumbnails in common folder and with media files: choose this setting if you want to duplicate 
thumbnail files in a common folder and with the media. When you add media files, the Media Manager will not 
need to generate thumbnails for media files that already have thumbnails in the media folder; existing 
thumbnail files are copied to the common folder.
Do not store thumbnails: choose this setting if your disk space is limited and you do not want to store 
thumbnails. Thumbnails will be generated as needed.
Common Thumbnail FolderDisplays the path to the common thumbnail folder. Click Browse to choose a different folder.
Limit Common Folder SizeSelect this check box and type a value in the box if you want to limit the amount of storage used for thumbnail 
files.
Click the Empty button to clear all thumbnails from the common location.
Enable Thumbnail ZoomSelect this check box if you want to zoom thumbnails when you select them in the Search Results pane.
Delay before zooming thumbnailsType a value in the box to set the delay before a thumbnail image is zoomed when you select it.
Smooth thumbnail zoomingSelect this check box if you want to animate thumbnail zooming. 
						

							4
CHP. 4BASIC EDITING TECHNIQUES
CHAPTER95
Basic Editing 
Te c h n i q u e s
Vegas® projects are multitrack compilations of events that occur over time. The events in your project are 
references (pointers) to source media files. Vegas software is a nondestructive editor, so editing events in 
your project does not alter the source media files in any way. 
Getting around
When editing and playing back the project, the cursor identifies where you are along the project’s timeline. 
Moving the cursor
Use the following keyboard commands to move the cursor in the timeline.
Changing focus
Focus is used to describe which objects have the attention of a program. For example, when you click a file in 
the Project Media window, that window has focus. To instantly switch the program’s focus to the track view 
(timeline), press 
 or, from the View menu, choose Focus to Track View.
In Vegas software, it matters which track has focus when you perform a task. For example, when you double-
click a media file in the Explorer, it is inserted into the track that has focus. You can click a track on its track 
number to make it the focus track. A blinking white line under the track number and shading in the track 
list indicates a track has focus.
DescriptionKeysDescriptionKeys
Go to beginning of projectCtrl+Home 
or WMove left/right to marker(s)Ctrl+Left/Right Arrow
Go to end of projectCtrl+End 
or EMove to marker #0-9 keys (not numeric 
keypad)
Go to beginning of selection 
or view (if no selection)HomeMove left/right to event edit points 
including fade edges (see figure below)Ctrl+Alt+Left/Right 
Arrow
Go to end of selection or view 
(if no selection)EndNudge cursor on timelineLeft or Right Arrow
Move right by grid marksPage DownMove left/right one frameAlt+Left/Right Arrow
Move left by grid marksPage UpMove left/right one frameCtrl+Alt+Shift+Mouse 
wheel
Go toCtrl+GCenter in view\
Event edit point cursor jumps
Alt +0
4 
						

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Making selections
You have the flexibility to select one or more events, a time range, or events and a time range. All selection 
options can apply to a single track or to multiple tracks.
To select an event, click it.
Selecting multiple events
You can select multiple events in your project using several methods. 
Tip: Once you have selected multiple events, you can group 
them together. For more information, see Grouping events on 
page 179.
Note: You can select multiple video events, multiple audio 
events, or a combination of both video and audio events. 
However, you can only use commands and operations that 
apply to both types of events for selections composed of both 
audio and video events. 
Selecting nonadjacent events
1.Hold the  key.
2.Select the events by clicking them. 
To deselect an event, simply click it again to 
toggle the event selection on or off. 
Selecting a range of events
1.Hold the  key.
2.Click the first event that you want to select. 
3.Click the last event that you want to select.
Tip: Click the right mouse button while holding 
the left mouse button switch from rectangular 
selection, time selection, and track selection.
All events between the first and last selected events are highlighted and selected.
Selecting a block of events
1.Click the Selection Edit Tool button ().
2.Position the cursor in a corner of the area that you want to select.
3.Click and hold the left mouse button.
Selected events
Selected events
Ctrl
Shift