Steinberg WaveLab 7 Operation Manual

							6.2 Tools 157
Related topics
Meta-normalizer
Configure external tools
6.2.1 Meta-normalizer
This dialog allows you to adjust the loudness of each Clip so that they get the same loudness.
You can use it to equalize the volume of all the Clips within a montage, either by peak level
or loudness. This can be an easy way to ensure that all Clips playback at a similar volume.
You can choose to only equalize the volume of selected Clips, and effects can be excluded
if you wish.
This tool is to achieve the samelevel of loudness in all Clips (the highest loudness found, if
possible), while ensuring that no Clip will cause sample clipping.
For each Clip, a specific gain is computed by the algorithm after allClips have been analyzed
(and prior to changing the Clip gain to achieve the common loudness). If it is not possible to
match the highest found loudness, the level of the Clip with the highest loudness is reduced,
so that other Clips can achieve the same loudness.
To avoid clipping the Master Section you can also normalize the mixdown output of the mon-
tage (before it goes into the Master Section), and/or the Master Section output.
You can access this dialog from the Audio Montage Workspace by choosing Tools>Meta-
normalizer... .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
Related topics
Master Section
6.2.2 Configure external tools
This dialog allows you to configure WaveLab to work with external applications. You can pass
command line arguments to the external applications so that they can process the current
file/folder you are working on, or even the WaveLab's settings folder. This function can be
useful if you wish to edit an Audio File in another application, or wish to compress all your
settings files into a backup zip file, for example.
Note that an external tool only works within the Workspace in which it is defined. This is by
design, so that each type of Workspace can have its own external "toolkit".
To define an external tool you need to:
ˆ Give the command a title
ˆ Specify the path to the application's executable file
ˆ Choose which arguments you wish to pass to the external application
ˆ Additionally you can specify an initial folder to direct the external application to
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ˆ Select how you wish WaveLab to behave before the external tool is launched.
Once you have defined an external tool in this way, you can run it by selecting its title from
the Tools menu from within its Workspace.
You can access this dialog by choosing Tools>Configure external tools... .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
6.3 Transport controls
The transport controls allow you to control playback within an Audio File or montage, and to
open the record window. It can be accessed via the Transport menu or the Transport toolbar.
See
Command bars for more information.
The Transport menu gives access to (and shows keyboard shortcuts to) the same functions
that are available in the transport toolbar.
The Transport toolbar gives quick access to most of these functions. If the toolbar is hid-
den, select Workspace >Command bars >Transport commands . Transport functions
operate on the current Audio File.
The basic transport functions are:
ˆ Loop On/Off
- Toggles looping on/off for the currently selected Audio File or montage.
ˆ Start of file / End of File
- Move the cursor to the beginning or end of the currently selected Audio File.
ˆ Skip forward / Skip backward
- Skip the cursor forwards or backwards within the currently selected Audio File.
ˆ Play
- Begin playback of the current Audio File.
ˆ Stop
- Stop playback of the current Audio File. A second click moves the cursor to the
beginning of the last start position. A further click returns the cursor to the start of the
file.
ˆ Record
- Opens the recording window from which you can start recording.
Additional transport functions such as start, skip and stopping playback options are also
available from the transport command bar. In WaveLab additional playback speed and
jog/shuttle shortcuts are also provided.
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
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							6.4 Specific tool windows 159
Related topics
Playback speed
Recording Dialog
Command bars
6.4 Specific tool windows
Specific tool windows are windows that are specific to the current Workspace. They perform
useful tasks in the active Workspace.
They can be docked and un-docked, and saved in your custom layouts.
Audio Montage Workspace specific tool windows
The following specific tool windows are available within the Audio Montage Workspace:
File
CD
File Browser
Marker Window
History
Clips
Focused Clip window
Notes
Master Project
Scripting window (Audio Montage Workspace)
Groups
DVD-Audio
Navigator
Zoom
Effects
Snapshots
6.4.1 File
This specific tool window helps you to manage files that are used in the current Audio Mon-
tage.
It displays all current files that are being used by Clips in the current montage, along with their
location, size and last modified date. In addition a number of file operations are available:
ˆ add one or more Audio Files to a montage, this will open the Insert Audio Files window
when one than one file is selected
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ˆ replace individual files in a montage (this will update any Clip references)
ˆ rename a file (this updates all internal Clip references)
ˆ select Clips that are referenced by a specific file
ˆ open a file in the Audio File Workspace, and view the file in your computer's file browser.
This window is a useful tool to use when constructing and editing your montage.
You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace by choosing Workspace>
Specific tool windows >Files .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
Related topics
Specific tool windows
Insert Audio Files
6.4.2 CD
This specific tool window brings together all the functions for creating an audio CD or DVD-A
within WaveLab.
It displays a list of CD tracks along with information about each track. You can edit each track
and the CD's playback properties as well as access functions to check its conformity to
Red
Book standards
, add and edit CD-text, add UPC/EAN codes, generate a CD report and
burn the CD. There are also controls to preview skipping between each track and a number
of other options including the ability to choose the "Audio in Pause" mode to determine
whether gaps between track markers are replaced with silence (the normal default) or if they
contain sound.
Adding tracks
To create an audio CD in WaveLab you must at least have a CD start and end marker pair.
You can generate these automatically from audio Clips in the montage using the
CD Wizard
or by adding track markers manually.For more information on creating a CD or DVD-A see
Authoring CDs and DVDs .
The Track list
Once you have created one or more tracks, the CD window displays a list of all tracks in
the currently active montage along with their corresponding properties. From this list of CD
tracks you can use the fields, controls and menus to:
ˆ Audition playback - It is possible to audition playback at the selected track's start
time, with or without pre-roll, by clicking on the leftmost icons. Click on the left hand
button
in the "audition" column to play the track from its start time with a pre-roll.
Click on the right hand button to play the track exactly from its start time.
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							6.4 Specific tool windows 161
ˆ Edit a tracks's name - You can add/edit a name for each track. Double click in a cell
to edit. Note that to change the track name is to indirectly edit the marker name.
ˆ Edit a track's start/end time - You can edit the start and end time for each track.
This is the same as moving the track markers physically but can be done with more
precision. Double-click in a cell to edit.
ˆ Pre-gap time - This displays the gap between the CD track start marker and where
the first track's audio actually begins. It can only be edited by physically moving the CD
track start marker.
ˆ Post-gap time - This displays the gap between the end of the audio of the CD's last
track and the CD track end marker. It can only be edited by physically moving the CD
track end marker.
ˆ Copy protection - Select the checkbox to include a copy protection flag with the
track. This may prevent it from later being imported by software that recognises this
flag.
ˆ Emphasis - This setting is used to indicate if the track was recorded with emphasis
or not. Please note that this does not apply/remove emphasis from the audio, it is just
an indicator as to how the file was created. Normally it is left off.
ˆ ISRC Code - This allows you to enter an optional
International Standard Recording
Code
. Double-click in a cell to add/edit a code.
ˆ CD-Text - You can optionally enter CD-Text information for each track and the entire
CD/DVD-A. Double clicking a cell will open the
CD Text Editor .
ˆ Add/Edit a tracks's comments - You can add/edit text comments for a track. Double
click in a cell to edit. Note that this text comment is for reference only: nothing is burnt
on CD.
Note that CD tracks can be reorderd by dragging them into new positons: this means Clips
and markers are moved accordingly.
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
Related topics
Specific tool windows
Authoring CDs and DVDs
Write Audio CD
CD Wizard
CD Text Editor
Audio CD Report
CD Pre-emphasis
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Red Book CD-DA
CD Text
ISRC
UPC/EAN
6.4.3 File Browser
This dialog allows you to browse files directly from within WaveLab rather than using your
operating system's file browser.
It provides you with all the standard browsing functions (such as List and Icon views)as well
as additional controls to audition Audio Files and any marker defined regions.You can use
it to open or insert an entire file or a specific region of a file by dragging and releasing the
file in the location you wish to insert the file. In the Audio Montage Workspace you can also
choose to only view certain types of WaveLab specific files. The File Browser can be very
useful in speeding up the process of auditioning a long list of sound files. It can also be used
to drag to windows such as Data CD/DVD, including dragging folders.
The playback functions
Play file
Once you have selected a file in the File Browser list, you can audition it by
clicking Play in the File Browser's toolbar. Click again to stop.
Auto-play
You can also have files play back automatically as soon as they are selected.
To do this, activate Auto-Play mode.
Tip: To audition a long list of Audio Files, enable Auto-play and use the UP and DOWN
cursor keys to step through each Audio File in quick succession.
Opening and inserting a file or region
Once you have chosen a file you wish to open, double-click it to open the file in the current
Workspace. You can also open it by dragging it onto an empty tabbed group, or onto the
tab bar of a tabbed group.
You can also drag the file over a wave view to insertit at a given point. When you drag a file
over a wave view, a beam is displayed so as to clearly display the insertion point.
When browsing Audio Files, the file browser also has a region panel. When you select an
Audio File, its related regions are listed in this panel. You can then drag the region from
the list, to insert only that part of the audio. Double-clicking on a region has the effect of
opening the file in the Workspace and selecting that region. You can access this dialog via
Workspace >Specific tool windows >File Browser .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
Related topics
Specific tool windows
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							6.4 Specific tool windows 163
6.4.4 Marker Window
The marker window is a specific tool window that allows you to create, edit and use markers
while working on an audio waveform.
From the Functions menu you can also access useful functions to
convert marker types ,
rename multiple markers and
export the marker list as text .
The Marker list
The marker window contains a list of any markers placed in the currently active file along
with their corresponding details. Click on a column header to sort the list in ascending or
descending order based on the values in that column. You can also use the Filter menu to
toggle which types of markers are displayed in the list.
From this list of markers you can use the fields, controls and menus to:
ˆ Create a new marker at the playback head position - click on a marker icon (at
the top of the window) or choose a marker type from the Insert menu to drop a marker
at the current playhead location.
ˆ Create a pair of markers from a selection - make a selection in the waveform and
then click on a pair of marker icons (at the top of the window) or choose a "Create
region" command from the Insert menu to drop a pair of markers at either side of the
current selection.
ˆ Start playback - It is possible to start playback at the selected marker position, with
or without pre-roll, by clicking on the leftmost icons. Click on
in the "audition"
column to play the wave from that marker position with a pre-roll. Click on the right
hand button to play the wave exactly from the marker position.
ˆ Change marker types - You can change a marker type by (left) clicking on its icon
and choosing another marker type from the pop-up list that appears.
ˆ Edit a marker's name/time/comments - double click in a cell to edit a value (to
align the marker to an exact time, for instance). You can edit the name of the marker,
its time position and any comments.
ˆ Lock a marker's position - select the checkbox to lock the marker. This prevents it
from being accidentally dragged to a new position in the Waveform window.
For more information on using markers see
Markers . For details on the different marker
types and their uses see
Marker types . Note that there are more marker features available in
the Montage version compared to the Audio File version. See "Using markers in the Audio
Montage Workspace" in
Markers for more details.
You can access this specific tool window within the Audio Files and Audio Montage
Workspaces via Workspace>Specific tool windows >Markers .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
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Related topics
Specific tool windows
Markers
Marker types
Convert marker type
Text format
6.4.5 History
This specific tool window allows you to view a history of all your recent editing operations.
You can revert the current montage to a previous state by selecting the operation you want
to return to and double clicking on it. You can then use the redo command ( Edit>Redo ) to
return to any state. Use the history menu options ( Edit>History >) to undo all operations,
redo all operations, or clear the history.
There are a couple of history options available in the
Audio Montage preferences window.
You can choose to empty the history each time you save a montage file and also to group
similar types of sequential operations into a single operation. Both of these options enable
you to use less memory when storing the operation history.
You can access this window in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific
tool windows >History .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
Related topics
Audio Montage Preferences
6.4.6 Clips
This specific tool window contains a list of any Clips placed in the currently active montage
file together with their corresponding details.
Click on a column header to sort the list in ascending or descending order based on the
values in that column. Clicking on any row of the list will move the main window's view to
show the selected Clip. To change a value, double click in a cell to begin editing (to align
the Clip to an exact time, for instance). Clips may be dragged into new positions in the list.
From this list of Clips you can use the input fields and controls to:
ˆ Start playback - It is possible to start playback at the selected Clip position, with
or without pre-roll, by clicking on the leftmost icons. Click on
in the "audition"
column to play the montage from that Clip's position with a pre-roll. Click on the right
hand button to playback the montage exactly from the start of the Clip.
ˆ Edit a Clips's name/start/end/length/comments - edit the name of the Clip, its
start/end time position and any comments.
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ˆ Lock a Clips's position - select the checkbox to lock the Clip. This prevents it from
being accidentally edited or dragged to a new position.
ˆ Change Gain - use this control to increase/decrease the gain of the Clip. Double click
in the cell to edit the value.
ˆ Mute- select this to mute the Clip. Its color changes in the track view and it is no
longer audible during playback.
A wide range of Clip selection features, Clip functions, and Clip display options are available
from the Clips menu. Use "What's This?" help for information on individual menu entries.
You can access this window in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific
tool windows >Clips .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
Related topics
Specific tool windows
Audio Montages
Clip
6.4.7 Focused Clip window
The Focused Clip window is an accordion control that contains some sophisticated editing
commands. Each collapsible panel can be expanded by clicking on its title and allows you
to access a range of tools for working with the selected or "focused" Clip.
Using the Focused Clip window
To use the Focused Clip window you first need to select a Clip. Once you have selected a
Clip with your cursor its name will highlight in red. You can now choose one of the Focused
Clip accordion's tabs. The accordion will open to reveal options for that particular pane's
selection of editing shortcuts and tools. There are a number of panes including:
ˆ Edit- provides you with a range of common playback shortcuts and editing tools for
working with Clips.
ˆ Cue Point - a cue point is a defined position marker that belongs to a Clip. It helps to
align Clips together by making Clips snap to other Clips at the cue point position. Cue
points are displayed as dotted vertical lines. This pane provides you with a number of
shortcuts for creating and working with Cue Points.
ˆ Envelope - allows you to access a number of controls for editing and working with a
Clip's different envelopes.
ˆ Fade-in - provides you with a range of tools for adjusting a Clip's Fade-in curve.
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ˆ Fade-out - provides you with a range of tools for adjusting a Clip's Fade-out curve.
ˆ Colors- up to 20 colors may be assigned to help distinguish particular Clips visually.
Select a Clip then click on a color. Custom colors can be defined with great subtlety
from Options >Colors... Select the Custom color to be defined, then the parts to which
it is applied, then define the color value using the color wheel (or type a set of RGB -
Red, Green, Blue values). See
Audio Montage Colors for more information.
When you choose a different Clip the properties in the Focused Clip window will update.
So for example, if you select "Envelope" the corresponding controls will update to reflect the
selected Clip's envelope information.
The Focused Clip window can be docked or floated. You can reveal or hide the focused Clip
window in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific tool windows >
Focused clip .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
Related topics
Clip
Audio Streaming Settings
Customize Commands
Audio Montage Colors
6.4.8 Notes
This specific tool window allows you to keep notes about the current Audio Montage session.
You can type into the window and use the standard HTML text editor controls to format your
text, add images, hyperlinks and lists. These notes are saved along with the Audio Montage
file.
You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific
tool windows >Notes .
For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?'
question mark icon. For more information see
Getting Help
Related topics
Specific tool windows
6.4.9 Scripting window (Audio Montage Workspace)
This window allows you to write and execute scripts in the Audio Montage Workspace.
The inbuilt text editor helps you when writing scripts by highlighting the different parts of
the script with colors, making it more readable. A script can also be written in another text
WaveLab 7