Steinberg WaveLab 7 Operation Manual

							6.5 Shared tool windows 177
ˆ The current frequency spectrum is shown as a linear graph.
ˆ Spectrum "peaks" are shown as a short horizontal lines, indicating recent peak/maxi-
mum values.
Snapshots
By using the "Add snapshot" and
"Erase last snapshot" buttons, you can take and erase
snapshots of the current spectrum. These will be superimposed over the current peak spec-
trum graph, in a color you can customize, until you click the icon again to take a new snapshot.
One use for this is to check the effects of adding EQ, for example. Up to five snapshots can
be superimposed on the display; the sixth snapshot replaces the earliest one in the display,
and so on. (Don't confuse the order of snapshots with the numbered buttons - these are
Spectrometer presets, see below.)
Zooming
You can adjust the frequency scale and range in the Settings dialog as described below,
but it's also possible to temporarily zoom in on a frequency area of interest. This is done by
clicking and dragging a rectangle in the Spectroscope display. When you release the mouse
button, the display is zoomed in so that the enclosed frequency range fills the window. To
return to full-scale display, select "Zoom-out fully" from the Functions menu, or double-click
anywhere on the display.
Making settings
You can adjust the behavior and display of the meters as desired, and assign up to five sets
of Spectrometer settings to the Preset buttons, for instant access. Open the Settings dialog
by selecting "Settings" from the Functions menu or clicking the
"tool" icon. Note that you
can apply your settings without closing the dialog, by clicking the Apply button.
If you want to store your settings for later use (or assign them to a Preset button), select "Save
as..." from the pop-up menu in the lower part of the dialog, and specify a name for the preset
in the file dialog that appears. Now, you can choose to make the settings instantly available
for selection in the FFT Meter window, by using the "Assign to preset button" submenu on
the pop-up menu.
ˆ When you are finished, click OK to close the dialog.
Selecting Spectrometer presets
If you have assigned your settings to the Preset buttons in the Settings dialog, you can quickly
switch between different level scales and display modes, by clicking one of the Preset icons
[1]-[5], or selecting the desired preset from the Options pop-up menu.
Exporting FFT data as ASCII text
When using the Spectrometer in off-line mode ("Monitor Edit cursor Position" or "Analyze
audio election" mode) you can export the displayed FFT data as a text file, by selecting
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"Export FFT data as ASCII" from the Options pop-up menu. The resulting text file can then
be imported into applications that allow graph plotting from text files (Microsoft Excel, for
example).
The Spectrometer can be found in the Metersmenu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage
Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the
Control Window .
Related topics
Metering
Spectroscope
6.5.7 Wavescope
The Wavescope meter displays a real-time waveform drawing of the audio signal being mon-
itored.
It can be useful when recording or rendering a file if "Monitor File rendering" mode is active.
Making settings
You can adjust settings for the display via the Wavescope Settings dialog. This can be
accessed via Functions>Settings... menu, or by using the
icon. Here you can set
various color options for the background, grid and waveform display, as well as setting the
waveform rendering speed and vertical zoom. If "Clear waveform when reaching right of
pane" is checked the waveform display is cleared each time the cursor reaches the right end
of the display. If unchecked, the previous waveform is overwritten.
Tip: Wavescope is a useful meter for visualizing audio during recording. The Wavescope
meter can be found in the Metersmenu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces.
It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the
Control Win-
dow
.
Related topics
Metering
6.5.8 Timecode
This shared tool window displays the current time of the playback head (or the cursor position
if not playing back), in the timecode format currently selected in the Time Format dialog.
The current time can be in a range of standard SMPTE formats, CD or DVD specific formats,
or a custom one - see
Time Format dialog .
The most common use for this window is for working with video or film. You can use it to
display the playback head position of the current Audio File in a SMPTE format to frame level
resolution (i.e. hours:minutes:seconds:frames). You can also use it to display CD frames
(minutes:seconds:frames) when you are authoring CD or DVDs.
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You can access this window by choosing Workspace>Shared tool windows >Time-
code . It is available in the Control Window, Audio File Workspace and Audio Montage
Workspace.
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
Time Format dialog
CD Frame
SMPTE timecode
Authoring CDs and DVDs
6.5.9 Background task monitor
This specific tool window allows you to view all background rendering processes that are in
progress.
You can adjust the priority with which they are processed, pause or cancel them. It is useful
if you have a number of lengthy processes underway and want to free up some processing
power to focus on editing. You can either lower the priority of a task so it does not use as
much of the computer processor's capacity, or pause the task temporarily.
You can access this window by choosing Workspace>Shared tool windows >Back-
ground task monitor . It is available in the Control Window, Audio File Workspace and
Audio Montage Workspace. You can also access this window in the Control Window by
choosing Utilities>Background task monitor .
You can choose to automatically open the Background task monitor when a rendering pro-
cess begins. To enable this option, select the checkbox via Options>Global Preferences
> Options >Make the Background Task Monitor visible when a task starts . Since
this window is a Shared
tool window, the location where it opens may vary.
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
Control Window
Rendering
6.5.10 Log window
This shared tool window allows you to view log messages that have been issued by WaveLab.
When using WaveLab's scripting language for example, the logWindow( )function outputs
messages to this window. There are a number of toggle buttons and these allow you to filter
the types of messages displayed.
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Note: When using the logWindow( ) method you need to have the
"Show informal notes"
button selected for the messages to be visible. If no log messages are displayed, make sure
all the toggle buttons are selected -
.
You can access this window via Workspace>Shared tool windows >Log . It is available
in the Control Window, Audio File Workspace and Audio Montage Workspace. You can also
access this window in the Control Window via Utilities>Log .
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
Control Window
Specific tool windows
Scripting
6.6 Audio Montage Colors
You can create and assign different color schemes to different Clips and parts of a Clip, to
help you find your way through the Montage.
Default colors are provided, but you can also define custom colors. To define a new color
scheme, select the color name to be defined (click once and overtype to rename), select 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).
You can use the Copy color and Paste buttons to transfer colors between various parts of
the montage. In addition, you can drag groups of color settings onto another location in the
list - you are asked to confirm. You could, for example, copy "Custom 1" to "Custom 3" as a
time saver, before customizing details of "Custom 3".
Color settings made in this dialog apply to all montages.
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 Montages
6.7 Audio Montage contextual information
When working in the Audio Montage window there is a multitude of editing actions available.
In order to learn them all you can take advantage of the contextual information displayed in
the status bar (which is enabled by default). This display at the bottom of the main window
shows hints to all the possible actions you can perform as you move the cursor around the
main Audio Montage window. The info line will also display positions and lengths when you
are moving, copying or resizing Clips.
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							6.7 Audio Montage contextual information 181
The object you are directly over is indicated, along with any possible actions you can perform
and any modifier keys that will enable further functions. These hints are displayed using icons
and text descriptions from left to right.
This option is enabled/disabled in the Audio Montage Workspace via Options>Audio
Montage preferences >All Audio Montages >Display indications of possible ac-
tions .
Icons
The following symbols are used in the contextual information display:
ˆ - if this appears, this means there is a context menu available
ˆ - indicates a left mouse click
ˆ - indicates a double click
ˆ - indicates the object can be dragged in any direction inside the montage
ˆ - indicates the object can be dragged in any direction inside or outside the montage
ˆ - indicates the object can be dragged vertically
ˆ - indicates the object can be dragged horizontally
Modifier keys
All hints are displayed along with any possible modifier key combinations. Modifier keys are
represented by the following symbols:
ˆ -[Alt]/[Option] key
ˆ -[Shift] key
ˆ -[Ctrl]/[Command] key
Example
From left to right, the example below describes the following possible actions:
ˆ a context menu is available
ˆ a single left mouse click will select the Clip
ˆ a double click will select the Clip underneath (if it exists)
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ˆ clicking and dragging will move the click in any direction
There are a number of modifier keys available also including (from left to right):
ˆ the[Alt]/[Option] key
ˆ the[Ctrl]/[Command] key
ˆ the[Shift] key
Various combinations also exist:
ˆ the[Alt]/[Option] key + the[Ctrl]/[Command] key
ˆ the[Alt]/[Option] key + the[Shift]key
ˆ the[Ctrl]/[Command] key + the[Shift]key
Related topics
WaveLab 7 
						

							Chapter 7
Batch Processing
This special Workspace allows you to process any number of audio or audio montage files
with Master Section plug-ins and presets, offline effects, and other plug-ins that are unique
to Batch Processing. Each file is processed and then saved to a folder of your choice. You
can choose a different file format, rename the file according to a set of rules, and
run an
external application
when the batch is finished.
You can process as many files as you wish taking advantage of multi-processing on multi-
core processors, if available. You can save batch process files: this allows you to run batches
repeatedly if required.
For example, you may have a folder of 24-bit Audio Files which you wish to Normalize, add a
fade out to and dither down to 16-bit 44.1kHz. You could save this as a batch process file
and then each time you update the original higher sample rate files, you can re-run the batch.
Creating and running a batch process
To set up and run a batch, follow these steps:
ˆ Create a new batch processor file - use theSpecial>Add to Batch Processor
menu entry in another Workspace, or simply use the File>New command. You can
save the newly created batch at any time for later reuse.
ˆ Add files to the batch - from within the Batch processor Workspace either use the
File Browser , theEdit >Add files from folder... command, drag a file directly from
another Workspace or your computer's file browser, or right-click in the "Files to pro-
cess" pane and choose Insert all open Audio Files .
ˆ Add plug-ins and effects - drag any plug-in processors/effects you wish from the
Batch Processing Plug-ins to the "Audio Plug-in chain" pane. Right click on any effect
(and select Edit) to adjust its settings, and drag the plug-ins to change the order in
which they are processed.
ˆ Define an output folder - from the "Output" tab define a location for the resulting files.
In addition you can select "Renaming" to change the name of output files according to a
number of conditions. The resulting names are previewed in the "File to process" pane.
ˆ Choose a file format - use the "Format" tab to define the file format that files are
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							184 Batch Processing
ˆ Run an external task - you can choose to run an external application after batch
processing has completed using the "External Tool" tab. The external tool must be
set up first via the
Configure external tools dialog . You can access this fromTools>
Configure external tools .
ˆ Define any options - choose any options using the "Options" tab and/or annotate
your batch using the "Comments" tab.
ˆ Choose any Multitasking options - if you have a multi-core processor in your com-
puter you can also choose how many tasks are completed simultaneously. You can
choose how many cores of your processor to dedicate to batch processing, adjusting
this setting even during processing.
ˆ Start processing - when you are happy with all the settings, choose Process>Start
or click the shortcut button
to begin processing the batch. You can monitor the
progress of each task (and pause, cancel or reassign priorities on lengthier tasks) using
the Background tasks window. From the built-in Progress pane you can choose to
pause or cancel the batch at any time.
Batch the batch processor
As you may have noticed in the Plug-ins window, you can access Master Section plug-ins
and many of WaveLab's built in offline processes. In addition there are some plug-ins which
are unique to the Batch Processor Workspace and each is explained in more detail in
Batch
Processing Plug-ins
. Obviously the order in which you process plug-ins is important. You
can change the sequence by dragging the plug-in to the position you wish within the "Audio
Plug-in chain" list and releasing the mouse button.
For example, a typical batch processing effects chain might resemble the following:
DC Remover >Normalizer >Denoiser >Compressor >Limiter >MPEG Encoder
The batch processor operates using a number of processing passes. The number of passes
depends on the type of plug-ins you use. Some plug-ins require multiple passes of the
Audio File in order to determine how to process the audio, others can process in a single
pass. Besides the plug-ins shared with the Master section, there are three other types of
plug-in types available in the Batch Processor Workspace:
ˆ Monopass - these plug-ins only require one pass when processing.
ˆ Multipass - these plug-ins require two or more passes (an analysis and a process
pass). The Normalizer is an example of a Multipass effect.
ˆ Metapass - these plug-ins are unique to the Batch Processor and require several
passes before processing the audio. After analysing ALL Audio Files, a metapass
plug-in takes into account the analysis performed by itself on ALL these files, before
processing them individually in a second round. The Meta Normalizer is an example of
a Metapass effect.
Once all passes have been completed, the resulting file is written to your hard disk. It is
useful to note that WaveLab keeps the audio in the 32-bit domain for all calculations before
writing a file to disk. To optimize performance, all batch process calculations are performed
and stored in RAM rather than using temporary files.
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							7.1 Specific tool windows 185
Understanding the signal path
To understand how the signal flow of your plug-in chain is processed you can look closely at
the audio signal path display, which consists of a number of colored arrows in columns and
rows. Each arrow represents how each plug-in processes any audio passed into it. Each
vertical column represents a processing pass. Use the
"What's this?" arrow on that
column for more information.
Re-using a batch
Once you have created and run a batch file you can re-use it by:
ˆ Choosing Edit>Reset the status of all files and then running your batch again.
This will process all of the files in the batch.
ˆ Alternatively you can selectively re-run a batch process on certain files by right-clicking
on the "Files to process" pane, choosing "Reset status" or "Remove" and then running
your batch again.
Related topics
Specific tool windows
Shared tool windows
Batch Processing Plug-ins
Batch Conversion
Batch Renaming
7.1 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.
Batch Processing Workspace specific tool windows
The following specific tool windows are available within the Batch Processor Workspace:
Master Project
File Browser
Batch Processing Plug-ins
7.1.1 File Browser
This dialog allows you to browse files directly from within WaveLab rather than using your
operating system's file browser.
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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
7.1.2 Batch Processing Plug-ins
The Batch Processor Workspace allows you to add a sequence of plug-ins that can be used
to process a batch of Audio Files. Some of these plug-ins are standard plug-ins available
from the Master Section; others are offline processes available in the Audio File Workspace,
and there are others that are only available within batch processing.
To add a plug-in: First create a new Audio Plug-in chain window: click on the Create an
empty document icon in the Batch Processors Workspace. Select a category of plug-ins
from the Plug-ins accordion (Double-click to add the plug-in at the end, or drag the plug-in
into position in the batch processor chain).
WaveLab 7