Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual

							WAVELAB
Editing in the Wave window 6 – 91
Selecting
Almost all types of editing and processing you perform in WaveLab oper-
ate on the selection. There are numerous ways to make a selection:
By dragging or [Shift]-clicking
The standard way to select a range in a Wave window is to click and 
drag. If you drag all the way to the left or right side of the window, it scrolls 
automatically, allowing you to select larger sections than what can be 
shown in the window. The speed of the scrolling depends on how far from 
the window edge you are.
You can also press [Shift] and click in the Wave window to make a selec-
tion between the position of the wave cursor and the click position.
By using the Audio Range dialog
Another way of selecting a range in a Wave window is to use the Audio 
Range dialog. This dialog, accessed by selecting the “Edit…” item from 
the Select submenu on the Edit menu, allows you to define a selection 
range in great detail. See “Using the Audio Range dialog” on page 141.
Selecting in stereo files
If you are working on stereo material you can select either channel or both 
so that you can apply an operation to one channel only or to the entire 
stereo material. Which channel will be selected when you drag or [Shift]-
click depends on where you position the mouse pointer, as indicated by 
the pointer shape:
• To select a single channel by [Shift]-clicking, you need to set the wave cur-
sor in only one channel (by clicking in the upper or lower part of the wave) 
and then [Shift]-click in the same channel.
Position Pointer Shape Description
Upper half of left channel  Only the left channel will be selected.
Middle area Both channels will be selected.
Lower half of right channel  Only the right channel will be selected.       
						

							WAVELAB
6 – 92 Editing in the Wave window
Switching the selection between channels
If you have made a selection, you can move this to the other channel or 
extend it to both channels by selecting the corresponding items from the 
Select submenu (on the Edit menu). Or, you can press [Tab] to move the 
selection between channels (if there is no selection, [Tab] moves the cur-
sor between channels).
Selection shortcuts
There are a number of ways to quickly make certain selections (for many 
options there is more than one method):
To select… You can…
The area between two con-
secutive markers
• Double click between them.
• Depending on the type of marker, use one of the last three options 
on the Select menu (on the Edit menu).
The area between any two 
markers• Double click between two markers, keep the mouse button 
pressed and drag left or right.
The entire waveform• If there are no markers, double click.
• Triple click.
• Press [Ctrl]-[A].
• Select “All” from the Select menu on the Edit menu.
From the cursor to the fol-
lowing or previous marker• Select “From cursor to previous/next edge” from the Select menu 
(on the Edit menu).
• Hold down [Shift] and double click between the cursor and the 
marker.
From the cursor to the be-
ginning or end of the file• Select “From cursor to start/end of file” from the Select submenu 
(on the Edit menu).
• Hold down [Shift] and double click to the left/right of the cursor 
position.
• Press [Shift]+[Home] or [Shift]+[End].
All data between two start/
end CD, loop, 
region or mute markers• Hold down [Shift] and double click on either marker head.
Half or double the current 
selection length• Select “Halve the selection length” or “Double selection length” 
from the Select menu on the Edit menu. These options are useful if 
you are working with measures.
All audio data that makes up 
a CD Track• Click between the markers for the track and select “CD Track” 
from the Select menu on the Edit menu.
• Hold down [Ctrl] and double click between the markers.
What was previously 
selected• Select “Toggle” from the Select menu on the Edit menu.
• Press [Esc]. 
						

							WAVELAB
Editing in the Wave window 6 – 93
Selecting in the Overview
You can select in the Overview, just as in the Main view. To get the selec-
tion tool in the overview, hold down [Ctrl] and move the pointer into the 
overview.
Extending and shrinking the selection
Very often you will have made a selection only to find it isn’t completely per-
fect. In this case you can extend or shrink the selection. In fact you can very 
well use this as a method: make a coarse selection with a lower zoom fac-
tor, then zoom in and adjust the start and end in more detail.
By dragging
1.Move the mouse pointer to the beginning or end of the selection.
It turns into a double arrow.
2.Press the mouse button and drag left/right.
Dragging the end of the selection.
Using [Shift]
•Hold down [Shift] and click outside (extend) or inside (shrink) the current 
selection.
If you click inside the first half of the selection, this will change the start point, if you click in-
side the latter half, this will change the end point.  
						

							WAVELAB
6 – 94 Editing in the Wave window
Using the cursor keys
• If you hold down [Shift] and press the [←] or [→] keys, the start or end of the se-
lection is moved one pixel (screen dot) to the left/right. If you also hold down [Ctrl] 
it is moved twenty pixels instead.
• If you hold down [Shift] and press [Page Up]/[Page Down], it will also move 20 
pixels.
• If you hold down [Shift] and press the [Home]/[End] keys, the selection will extend 
from the current cursor position to the start/end of the file respectively.
Which end of the selection you change depends on which end of the se-
lection the cursor is closest to.
Exactly how much one pixel represents depends on the zoom factor. If for 
example the zoom factor is “x1:64”, the cursor keys alone move 64 sam-
ples, and together with [Ctrl] they move 1280 samples.
Using the Select menu
The Select submenu (on the Edit menu) has a number of options for ex-
tending the selection to various points in the waveform. For details, use 
the help item on the Edit menu.
Moving the selection
If the selection is the right length, but at the wrong position, you can move 
it:
1.Hold down [Ctrl] and [Shift].
2.Point at the selection and drag left/right. 
						

							WAVELAB
Editing in the Wave window 6 – 95
Snapping to zero crossings
About zero crossings
If you cut out a portion of a wave and paste it in somewhere else, chances 
are there will be a discontinuity where the two waves are joined. See the 
example below. This discontinuity will result in a transient in the wave when 
it is played back, which is perceived as a “click” or “bump” in the sound.
To avoid this you need to make the splice at a zero crossing.
A zero crossing is – a point where the wave crosses the zero level axis, 
the point where the wave is considered to have “zero level”.
Furthermore we recommend that joins are made with the splice points of 
the two waves heading from opposite directions to the zero crossing. 
That is, one should be on its way up (below the zero level axis), and the 
other should be on its way down (above the zero level axis).
WaveLab can help!
If you wish, WaveLab can automatically search for zero crossings, and ex-
tend the selection “outwards” (make it bigger at both ends) so that it begins 
and ends at a zero crossing. Normally this will not be noted in the editing 
precision (since there are usually hundreds or thousands of zero crossings 
per second), but it will help avoid “clicks” and “pops” and “bumps”.
But just making the selection start and end at zero crossings is not enough. 
When you actually perform the editing operation (cut and paste or drag-
ging, for example) you need to make sure the material is inserted at a zero 
crossing. See “By dragging” on page 99.
At this point, there will be a 
click in the sound, due to the 
discontinuity in the splice.  
						

							WAVELAB
6 – 96 Editing in the Wave window
Setting up zero crossing detection
1.Pull down the Options menu and activate “Snap to zero crossing”.
2.Select Preferences from the Options menu.
3.Click on the Wave edit tab.
4.Fill out the “Snap to Zero crossing” options.
Click the question mark icon in the respective dialog for details.
Checking the effect of Snap to Zero crossing
1.Make sure that “Off at high zoom factor” is not activated and zoom in until 
the zoom factor is 1:1.
2.Make a selection and observe how it is extended left and right.
If you make a selection like this…
…it is automatically extended at both 
ends, to the closest zero crossings.   
						

							WAVELAB
Editing in the Wave window 6 – 97
Snapping to time units
When “Snap to time units” is activated on the Options menu, selections 
will automatically be extended to the left and right so that they start and 
end at whole time units (and also at the closest zero crossing, if that op-
tion is activated, see above). This allows you to easily make selections 
spanning a certain number of seconds for example.
Note that this means that you must drag across a certain “time area” (for 
example more than half a second) to get any selection at all.
The “time unit” mentioned depends on which type of scale is selected for 
the ruler:
Using Magnetization
If you have “Magnetize bounds” on the Options menu activated and cre-
ate or adjust a selection, it will “snap” to the following positions (or to the 
zero crossing closest to the position, see above):
• The wave cursor.
• The start and end of the entire wave.
• Markers (see “What are markers for?” on page 328).
Option Cursor moves to
Time Closest whole second
Samples Function not available
Time code Closest frame
Meter Closest whole beat
File size Function not available 
						

							WAVELAB
6 – 98 Editing in the Wave window
Level selections
For some of WaveLab’s level processing functions, it is useful to make a 
selection not only in time, but in level.
By dragging
1.Make a regular “time” selection.
2.Hold down [Shift].
3.Move the mouse to the top or bottom of the selection box.
The pointer changes into a vertical double arrow.
4.Press the mouse button and drag up/down.
If you then extend the selection time-wise, the level selection still remains 
the same.
Extend to peaks
To automatically set the level selection to the highest peak in the current 
selection, make a time selection as desired and select “Extend to peaks” 
from the Select submenu on the Edit menu.
Make a regular selection, move the pointer to 
its top or bottom and hold down [Shift]…
…drag up/down, and re-
lease the mouse button.   
						

							WAVELAB
Editing in the Wave window 6 – 99
Basic editing commands
Mono/stereo
WaveLab is totally flexible in its handling of stereo. All editing operations 
can be performed on either channel or both.
Copying audio
The following operations allow you to make copies of sections of audio 
within the same file or from one file to another.
Please note that any existing markers (see “What are markers for?” on page 
328) in the source audio section also will be copied.
By dragging
1.Decide whether you want to use “Snap to Zero crossing” (activated from 
the Options menu) for this operation.
When this is activated, both the selection start and end as well as the drop position will al-
ways occur at zero crossings. See “Snapping to zero crossings” on page 95 for details.
2.Make a selection.
3.Point at the selection, press the mouse button and hold it down.
4.Drag to a position outside the selection (in the same file) or to another 
Wave window.
When you have the cursor over a valid area, the pointer will turn into a single or double 
waveform (see below). The status bar will show the exact position at which the selection 
will be inserted.
Make sure you don’t drop on a selection in the destination window, or you 
will perform a crossfade, see “Crossfade” on page 192. 
						

							WAVELAB
6 – 100 Editing in the Wave window
5.Release the mouse button.
The selection is inserted at the indicated point. The audio that previously began at that point 
is moved forward so that it is now played after the inserted section.
Using “Magnetize Bounds”
If you have “Magnetize bounds” on the Options menu activated when you 
drag, the cursor will “snap” to the following positions:
• The wave cursor.
• The start and end of the entire wave.
• Markers (see “What are markers for?” on page 328).
Make a selection, position the mouse pointer over it…
…drag and drop…
…the dragged section is inserted at the drop point.