Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual

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By saving (converting an entire file)
1.Open the stereo file.
2.Select “Save as” from the File menu and click the Properties button at the 
bottom of the dialog to open the “Audio File Format” dialog.
3.Change the Channels setting to the “Mono (Mix)” option, but leave the 
other settings as they are.
You can of course change the other settings too, but this will have other effects, see “Sav-
ing in another format (Save as…)” on page 117.
• The other two “Mono...

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Waveform restoration with the Pencil tool 
The Pencil tool allows you to redraw the waveform directly in the Wave 
window. This can be used to quickly repair waveform errors.
This error in the right channel (red waveform) can be corrected quickly by using the 
Pencil tool.
•The Pencil tool can be used if the Zoom resolution is set to at least 1:8 
(one pixel on the screen equals 8 samples) or a higher resolution.
Resolution values can be set in the Zoom pop-up...

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File handling in Wave windows
This section describes file handling in the Wave window (i.e. handling audio 
files). File handling of other document types (e.g. Audio Montages) is de-
scribed in the respective chapter.
Supported file formats
WaveLab can open and save audio files in a number of file formats. The 
table below gives you some basic information about the various formats 
available (note that additional file formats may have been added after this...

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MPEG-1 Layer 3 
(.mp3)The most common audio compression format. The major advantage of 
MPEG compression is that the file size is significantly reduced, while 
there is little degradation of sound quality. WaveLab can both open and 
save files in this format.
- Note that when you open an MPEG compressed file in WaveLab, the 
file is converted to a temporary wave file that is much larger than the 
original compressed file. Therefore, make sure that you have...

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The “$$$” file type is WaveLab’s own temporary file format. In case you ex-
perience a computer crash you may restore some of your work by opening 
any stray “$$$” files on your hard disk(s).
About 20-, 24- and 32-bit float files
You do not need a 20- or 24-bit audio card to take advantage of the fact 
that WaveLab can handle 20- and 24-bit audio files. Any processing or 
editing performed on the files is always done at full resolution, even if your 
card...

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• If you ever plan to export your files, or create high resolution DVD-A discs, in 24-
bit or 32-bit format, use this format or a better one (higher number) for your tem-
porary files as well.
• Use 32-bit if you want to create files with levels exceeding 0dB.
• Even if you only work with 16-bit files, selecting 24-bit for your temporary files can 
improve audio quality slightly.
• For less critical applications where speed and disk space are crucial factors,...

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Opening files
The various methods for opening an audio file in a Wave window are de-
scribed in the section “Opening Waves” on page 71. Importing CD tracks 
from an audio CD is described in the section “Importing tracks from an 
audio CD” on page 75. Importing tracks from a DVD-Audio disc is de-
scribed in the section “Importing DVD-Audio tracks into WaveLab” on 
page 599.
Save and Save as – General information
• When you save a new document for the first time,...

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3.If you wish to change other attributes of the file (e.g. mono/stereo status, 
bit resolution or sample rate), click the button at the bottom of the dialog.
This opens the Audio File Format dialog where you can specify the desired properties of the 
converted file.
The Audio File Format dialog
4.After making the desired settings, close the Audio File Format dialog and 
click Save.
A new file is created. The original file is not affected by the operation. For...

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•For high quality mastering purposes, it is not recommended to change the 
sample rate and number of channels this way, but instead use plug-ins and 
functions of the Master Section (see “The Effects pane” on page 225).
•For the available compressed file formats (MP3, MP2, WMA and Ogg 
Vorbis), you can select “Edit…” from both the Encoding and Attributes 
pop-up menus in the Audio File Format dialog.
This opens additional settings dialogs, where you can specify...

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Save a Copy
This item, also on the Save Special submenu, allows you to save a copy of 
the file, in its current state, without affecting the original. A regular file dia-
log is used as with Save As.
Save left/right channel as
These two menu items are also located on the Save Special submenu. 
They allow you to save each channel individually, into a separate file. A 
regular file dialog is used as with Save As.
This menu command is used when you have been...