Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual

							WAVELAB
Customizing 32 – 731
Creating startup preferences
To make sure the program starts with the same preference settings each 
time you launch it, proceed as follows:
1.Set up all preferences as desired and make sure “Save preferences on 
exit” is activated.
2.Quit the program.
3.Launch the program again, and deactivate “Save preferences on exit”.
Now you can change the preferences for this session, but the settings you had when you 
last quit will be the ones you get next time you launch the program.
Folder editing
Navigating to the right folder via file dialogs can sometimes be time con-
suming, but WaveLab gives you the option to optimize these operations.
If you select “Edit folders” from the Options menu, a dialog opens where 
you set for the saving and opening of preferences for WaveLab’s various 
folders. 
To the left in the dialog is a tree list with two root folders; “Work folders” 
and “Document folders”. Work folders are the folders associated with 
temporary files, and Document folders are all folders associated with 
WaveLab specific files and documents (Wave, Audio Montage, etc.).   
						

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32 – 732 Customizing
Work folders
The Work folders are usually set up after installing WaveLab, as the fold-
ers specified for temporary files have an important bearing on WaveLab’s 
overall performance. See “Temporary files” on page 28 for a description 
of how to set up these folders.
Document folders
For each WaveLab document type, you can specify paths to open and 
save folders (given that the document can be saved). This is done in the 
following way:
1.Click on the plus sign for a document type in the tree list.
All document types will have Open and Save sub-items. Archive, Audio Database and 
Workspace items only have Open entries as these documents do not have a special save 
command.
2.Select either Open or Save.
Now you can specify a path to a folder which will be automatically selected when opening 
or saving a document of this type.
For each folder, you can specify the following:
Item  Description
Current folder Here you can specify a path to a folder to use for Saving or Opening 
documents of the selected type.
Keep last used The last folder used for saving or opening documents of the selected 
type will be selected the next time you open or save from the file dialog.
Change when save/
open folder changesUse this if you want the folder to be redefined if the opposite operation 
is performed (open vs save). If you set this option both for the Open 
and Save folders, then these folders will always be the same.
When opening Wave-
Lab set this folderIf you want to reset the folder to a specific folder each time you open 
WaveLab you can specify a path here. 
						

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Customizing 32 – 733
Saving the window layout
If “Open last window layout on startup”, on the Preferences–General tab 
is activated, the program will open in exactly the same state as it was 
when you last quit (with the option activated). The snapshots, and even 
the document windows you had open (and their “layout”) will automati-
cally be reopened.
You can use this to create a startup “layout” that will always appear when 
you launch WaveLab:
1.Set up all windows as desired.
2.Make sure “Open last window layout on startup” is activated and quit the 
program.
3.Launch the program again, and deactivate “Open last window layout on 
startup”.
The next time you launch the program, it will open with the windows set up as in step 1 
above, regardless of whether you have changed the window layout since.
• If you hold down [Ctrl] when quitting the program, the effect of the “Open 
last window layout on startup” setting is reversed. If it was activated, it will 
be deactivated and vice versa.
• If you hold down [Ctrl] when launching the program, no window layout is 
loaded. 
						

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32 – 734 Customizing
Styling WaveLab – Wave windows
It’s possible to “style” the Wave windows to your liking, by adjusting col-
ors (of waveforms, background, cursor lines, etc.) and changing the look 
of the ruler and other window details. This can be done in two ways:
• By changing the default style.
This is the style that is normally used when you open or record an audio file in a Wave win-
dow.
• By having the program assign different styles to different Waves, according to 
specific conditions.
You could for example have all files of a certain file type or with a certain name be shown 
with their own style.
On the following pages, we will first describe the general procedure for 
how to change the default style or set up style conditions, then describe 
the elements you can change.
Changing the default style
1.Set up a Wave window to look the way you want it.
Note that this also includes the ruler formats – see “Units of time and level” on page 61.
2.Select “Audio window styles…” from the View menu.
3.In the dialog that appears, make sure “Default style” is selected and click 
“Save”.
4.Close the dialog.
Now, all Wave windows (which do not match any style condition you may have set up) will 
be shown in the style you specified. 
						

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Customizing 32 – 735
Setting up style conditions
In the Audio Window Styles dialog, there are 15 additional style “slots” 
(apart from the default style), some of which already hold pre-defined 
styles to use or overwrite, as you see fit. For each of these styles, you can 
specify that it should be applied to all Wave windows with audio files that 
meet certain criteria, called conditions:
1.Open the Audio Window Styles dialog from the View menu.
2.Select one of the style slots.
This could hold a pre-defined style or one that you have saved yourself (see below).
•To make sure you select the correct style, you can click the “Apply to cur-
rent window “button to temporarily apply the style to the active Wave win-
dow.
This is just a way to check what style settings are stored in the style slot.
3.Click the Condition button to open the “Style condition” dialog.
4.Activate the desired conditions by ticking their radio buttons, and fill in the 
settings as required.  
						

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32 – 736 Customizing
The following settings are available:
5.Click OK to close the “Style condition” dialog, and close the Audio Win-
dow Styles dialog.
Now, if you open or record a new file that meets all conditions specified 
for a style slot, it will automatically be shown in that style.
Note that the conditions are set for the style slots – not for the actual style 
settings stored in the slot. This means you can set up your conditions first if 
you like, and then change the style settings for the slots (see below), with-
out having to redefine the conditions.
Saving your own styles for use with conditions
To save your own settings in the style slots, you proceed just as when 
changing the default style: set up the Wave window as desired, select the 
style slot in the Audio Window Styles dialog and click Save. It’s also pos-
sible to rename a style slot by clicking and typing.
The elements of a style
• Again: When you change any of these style settings (apart from ruler for-
mats), you need to save them in a style (either the default style or one of the 
conditional styles – see “Changing the default style” on page 734). 
If you don't do so, the window will automatically be reset to the default style (or a condi-
tional style) as soon as you perform any editing (because the style to apply is evaluated af-
ter each edit)!
Setting Description
File extension Here you can specify files of certain types, by entering their file exten-
sions (e.g. mp3 or wav). Separate several extensions with a blank 
space or comma.
Name Allows you to specify keywords in the file names. For example, by en-
tering the keyword “bass”, all files with “bass” in the name can be 
shown with a separate style.
Separate keywords with a blank space or comma.
Sample Rate If this is activated, only files with a sample rate in the range specified 
will be shown with this style.
Bit Resolution If this is activated, only files with a bit resolution in the range specified 
will be shown with this style.
Number of channels Lets you specify that only mono (1 channel) or stereo (2 channels) 
files should be shown with this style. 
						

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Customizing 32 – 737
Waveform elements
To change the waveform elements, right-click on a waveform (in the over-
view or in the main display), select Elements and then select the desired 
item from the submenu that appears.
Note that you make separate settings for the main waveform display, the 
overview and for the two channels in a stereo file! Which section you make 
settings for depends on where you click.
Colors
To set the color of a certain element in the display, right-click in the Wave 
window, select Colors and then select an element from the submenu that 
appears. In the standard Windows color dialog that appears, select or de-
fine a color and click OK.
• For the display background colors, there are separate “top” and “bottom” 
settings – the resulting display background will be a gradient “fade” from 
the top color to the bottom color.
Item Description
Time Ruler Specifies whether or not the display should have a time ruler.
Level Ruler This only applies to the Main view display. It is used to set whether or 
not there should be a ruler showing levels.
Solid/Dotted
MarkersThese two (mutually exclusive) items are used to set the style of the 
marker lines extending across the waveform. If neither is activated, the 
marker lines are hidden.
Range Indicator 
at top/bottomThe range indicator is a small “barber shop striped” bar that indicates 
which part of the waveform is shown in the main display. These two 
items are used to set whether it should appear at the top or bottom of 
the overview.
Thin/Medium/
Fat CursorThese three items are used to set the thickness of the cursor line.
Solid/Dotted 
zero level axisThese two (mutually exclusive) items are used to set the style of the 
line crossing the waveform at zero level (in the middle). If neither is ac-
tivated, the zero level axis is hidden.
Solid/Dotted 
half level axisAs above, but for the two lines crossing the waveform at ±50% level.
End of file indicator Allows you to show/hide the line that indicates the end of the file. 
						

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32 – 738 Customizing
If you prefer a single background color (or if you need to speed up display 
redraws, typically with slower graphic cards), you can turn this feature off 
by activating “Do not use gradient backgrounds” in the Preferences–En-
vironment tab. The background color will then be a 50/50 mix of the top 
and bottom color.
Again, when changing colors for the waveform images, you make separate 
settings for the main waveform display, the overview and for the two chan-
nels in a stereo file, depending on where you click.
Ruler style
To change the look of the rulers (done separately for the Overview and 
Main view), right-click on the ruler, select style and then select one of the 
options from the submenu that appears:
Option Description
3D/Mingled These two (mutually exclusive) items allow you to select whether the 
ruler should have its own looks (3D) or whether it should “inherit” the 
color of the waveform background.
Font Opens up a dialog box that allows you to set a font for the text/num-
bers on the ruler. Select a font, style, size, effect and color and click 
OK.
Tick Color This allows you to set the color for the tick marks on the ruler. A stan-
dard Windows color dialog is used. 
						

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Customizing 32 – 739
Styling WaveLab – Audio Montage windows
Using custom colors
You can create and assign different color schemes to different clips, 
tracks or groups to make it easier to find your way through the Montage:
•To assign a color scheme to a track, open the Track menu and select a 
color scheme from the Color submenu.
The selected color scheme is used for all current clips on the track, as well as for clips you 
add later on. However, note that this color selection is overridden by the group and clip colors.
•To assign a color scheme to a group, use the “Color selected group” op-
tions in the Grouping menu on the Groups tab (see “Coloring groups” on 
page 491).
The group color (if other than default) supersedes the track colors, but is overridden by in-
dividual clip color scheme selections.
•To assign a color scheme to an individual clip, right click on the clip to 
bring up the clip speed menu, and select a color scheme from the Color 
submenu.
Clip color selections (if other than default) override track and group color selections.
•The Lock and Mute colors override all color settings above.
If a clip is both locked and muted, the Mute color is used.
It’s also possible to have different color schemes automatically applied to 
different clips, according to their names or properties of their audio files. 
This is described in the section “Automatic coloring – Setting up condi-
tions” on page 742. 
						

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Defining custom colors
You can redefine all colors on the Color pop-up menus, as well as the 
colors for various other elements in the Audio Montage. This is done in 
the Audio Montage Colors dialog, using the following procedure:
There are many items of different color displayed in a Montage. If you rede-
fine colors, be careful not to choose colors which cause some elements to 
“disappear” (e.g. black marker lines on a black background).
1.Pull down the View menu and select “Audio Montage colors…”.
The Audio Montage Colors dialog appears. For the menu item to be available, the active 
window must be a Montage window.
2.In the Items list, select the element for which you want to edit the colors.
By clicking the plus sign next to a heading, you display the sub elements for that item. The 
available elements are described in the section “The color elements” on page 742.
3.Use the three sliders (red, green and blue) to adjust the color of the se-
lected element.
The current color is displayed in the field to the right. You can also see the changes in the 
Audio Montage window while you are editing.