Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual
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WAVELAB Overview 4 – 41 The Audio Database window An Audio Database is a convenient way of storing and organizing audio files in libraries and categories, making it easy to locate and access spe- cific files. What is stored is not the audio files themselves, but instructions on where the files are located. Thus, the files can be located on any storage media connected to your computer. You can read more about this in the chapter “Audio Databases” on page 683. The Workspace window A Workspace lets you collect a number of files that you for one reason or another want to “keep together”. This could be all of the audio files used in a single song for instance. How to create and manage Workspaces is fully described in the chapter “Workspaces” on page 707.
WAVELAB 4 – 42 Overview The Master Section This is a very important part of WaveLab, called the Master Section. It has a number of uses including: • Adding real-time effect plug-in processors such as Chorus, Reverb, etc. • Applying effects to files so that they are permanently made a part of the files (as opposed to using them in real-time). • Monitoring and controlling the output level from every WaveLab channel. • Adding dithering. For details, see “Master Section” on page 217.
WAVELAB Overview 4 – 43 Find your way around in WaveLab Editing and processing Where do I go if I want to… • Edit an existing audio file? When you open an audio file, it appears in a Wave window, in which you can edit it in vari- ous ways. See “Editing in the Wave window” on page 69. • Compile and edit several audio files on multiple tracks? Create an Audio Montage. See “The Audio Montage” on page 371. • Apply processing to a wave file? The Process menu contains a number of options for manipulating wave files, including fade- in/out, normalize, time stretch and much more – see “Off-line processing” on page 175. You can also use the Render function in the Master Section to apply effects to a file. See “Rendering” on page 239. • Apply processing and effects to multiple files in one go? You do this with a function called batch processing. See “Introduction” on page 274. • Convert an audio file into another audio format? There are several ways: You can use either the “Save as” command or the “Save Special” command on the File menu (see “Saving in another format (Save as…)” on page 117), or the “Render” function in the Master Section (see “Rendering” on page 239). Finally, batch file encoding lets you convert multiple files to another format – see “Batch file encoding” on page 303. Playback and recording Where do I go if I want to… • Play back with real-time effects? Effects are added in the Master Section, see “Master Section” on page 217. In Audio Mon- tages you can also add individual track and clip effects, see “Adding effects to tracks and clips” on page 474. • Record new audio files? Use the Record button on the Transport bar. The new file will appear in a Wave window, and can also be added as a new clip in a Montage. See “Recording” on page 146. • Record songs from an audio CD or DVD into WaveLab? You don’t – you import them directly from the disc. On the Tools menu there is an option called “Import Audio CD tracks” (see “Importing audio CD tracks into WaveLab” on page 594), and one called “Import DVD-Audio tracks” (see “Importing DVD-Audio tracks into WaveLab” on page 599).
WAVELAB 4 – 44 Overview CD/DVD creation Where do I go if I want to… • Create an audio CD that can be played back in a regular CD player? You can either create a Basic Audio CD (see “Preparing a Basic Audio CD” on page 347) or an Audio Montage (see “The Audio Montage” on page 371). As the name implies, the Basic Audio CD allows for quick and easy CD creation, while the Audio Montage lets you perform advanced, clip-based editing. • Create a DVD that can be played back in a DVD-A player? A DVD-Audio compatible disc can contain one or several (up to 9) groups. A group corre- sponds to a Montage in WaveLab. You add the Audio Montage(s) to a DVD-Audio project where you also can make various settings, and finally render the project before burning the DVD (see “DVD-Audio projects” on page 551). • Create a data CD/DVD or a Mixed Mode CD/DVD containing audio, data and video? You do this in a Data CD/DVD window. See “Data CD/DVD Projects” on page 583. • Create labels for the CDs/DVDs I make? This is done in the Label Editor. See “Creating labels” on page 603. Miscellaneous Where do I go if I want to… • Use WaveLab for data backup purposes? Create a backup plan, as described in the chapter “Using WaveLab for backup” on page 713. • Use hardware samplers with WaveLab? WaveLab can communicate directly with a number of different sampler models. This is done from the Sampling menu. Read more in the chapter “Using samplers and creating loops” on page 657. The above are just a few pointers to some of the fundamental functions in WaveLab. While using them, you will discover a multitude of other fea- tures and functions that let you make full use of the possibilities of this amazing program. Have fun exploring WaveLab!
WAVELAB 5 – 46 Basic methods Why you should read this chapter This chapter describes general methods that you will use when working with WaveLab. Getting accustomed with these procedures will allow you to work more effectively with the program. Getting help WaveLab comes with a detailed help system, making it easy to look up procedures and descriptions from within the program. There are several ways to access the help system: • By selecting “Operation Manual” from the Help menu. This takes you to the help in Adobe Acrobat format (extension “.pdf”). This PDF file contains all chapters of the printed manual plus additional sections describing plug-ins, sampler de- tails, key commands, and troubleshooting procedures. • By pressing [F1]. If a window is active, you will get help on that window. If a dialog box is open, this dialog is described. • By clicking on the question mark icon in a dialog. This will display information about the available items in that dialog. • By selecting the Help item at the bottom of a menu. This will give you help about the items on that particular menu.
WAVELAB Basic methods 5 – 47 Undo and Redo WaveLab has an extremely extensive Undo function, applicable when work- ing in Wave windows, Audio Montages or the CD Label Editor. You can: • Undo as many steps back as you like, by using the Undo item on the Edit menu. The only limitation is the available hard disk space. You can also use the shortcuts [Ctrl]-[Z] or [F3] to undo. [F3] has the added advantage in that you can undo even if a modal dialog is currently open. • Redo as many steps as you like, by using the Redo item on the Edit menu (or by pressing [Ctrl]-[Y] or [F4]). Furthermore, each window has its own undo “history”, so you can click on any window and undo the last changes made there, even if you afterwards worked in another window. About Undo and disk space Many undo operations require no memory or disk space. However, oper- ations that modify actual wave data (like time stretch, EQ, etc.) require that a file copy of the selected part of the wave is stored, so that it can be brought back when you need to redo. For this reason, WaveLab will need to store files on your hard disk, in the folder you have specified for the temporary files (see “Temporary files” on page 28). These files are automatically deleted each time you close or save the related document. Limiting the Undo function If you run out of hard disk space or if you are applying processing to ex- tremely long sections of waves, you might want to put a limit on the Undo function (applicable to Wave windows only): 1.Select “Preferences” from the Options menu and click the Wave edit tab. 2.Uncheck the “Unlimited” option in the Undo/Redo section. 3.Change the Limit number to the desired value.
WAVELAB 5 – 48 Basic methods Clearing the undo There might be situations where you have “collected” a large number of undo possibilities that you know you don’t need. You might then clear the whole undo “buffer” for one file at a time. This will free up some primary memory (RAM) but more importantly it will also delete all the “undo files” from your hard disk, to free up space. 1.Select “Clear undo” from the Edit menu. A window appears informing you of how much RAM and hard disk space you will gain by this operation. 2.Click OK. Please note that this function works on one document at a time. It is only the undo buffer for the file in the active window that will be cleared. Also note that it only applies to Wave windows.
WAVELAB Basic methods 5 – 49 Working with windows Basic window handling WaveLab follows the basic guidelines for the Windows interface, which means standard “Windows procedures” apply. Closing Wave windows You can close a document window by clicking its close button, by select- ing Close from the File menu or by pressing [Ctrl]-[W]. If document win- dow(s) contain unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save those changes before closing. • If you hold down [Ctrl]+[Shift] when clicking the close button, the window closes immediately. Any changes you have made will not be saved. • You can also close all windows in one go (either all Wave windows, or all windows regardless of type), by selecting the corresponding option from the Windows menu. Minimizing Wave windows WaveLab windows are minimized like any other, but there are also op- tions for minimizing all Wave windows or all windows (regardless of type, as with closing, see above), from the Window menu. Quitting When you quit the program, and have files with unsaved changes, the “Exiting with modified documents” dialog, see “Save All” on page 120, appears. Selecting all files in the list and clicking Save Selected, ensures that all changes made to any and all files, are saved. Quick window switching •To “cycle” between all open windows, press [Ctrl]-[Tab] or [Ctrl]-[F6]. •If you release the [Ctrl] key, and use any of these commands again, you will switch to the previous window, rather than the next window in the stack. This allows you to quickly move back and forth between two windows.
WAVELAB 5 – 50 Basic methods The document switch bar A quick way to switch between the open document windows is to use the document switch bar. In this example, clicking on the tab will bring the “MoonProject” window to front. • You can position the document switch bar at the top, bottom, left or right side of the screen by using the document switch bar submenu on the View menu. This submenu also lets you hide the document switch bar, if you like. List of open files dialog This dialog, opened from the View menu (or by pressing [F5]), is useful when you are working with many open documents. It shows all currently open WaveLab files and documents in a list. The dialog is non-modal and will automatically be updated if any window is closed or opened. • Files with unsaved changes have a red dot before the name. • You can navigate the list using the arrow keys, or by using a-z on your keyboard.