Steinberg Wavelab Elements 7 Manual

							Chapter 2
Getting Help
WaveLab's detailed help system makes it easy to look up interface features and get informa-
tion from within the program. There are three main types of help available:
What is this?
Access this by clicking on the
icon, or the question mark icon in a dialog window titlebar,
or by holding down [Shift]+[F1]. Once activated, the cursor changes to a question mark.
Click on an interface feature for information on what it does and details of any settings/-
values/functions involved. This is a quick way to learn about the more detailed features of
WaveLab Elements.
When a Context menu is open, holding down [Shift]+[F1] allows the "What is This?" mode
to activate while the menu is open, and this is actually the only way to get help for Context
menu features.
It is worth noting too that "What is This?" help is sometimes available for sub-parts of controls,
such as List headers.
Tooltips
Hold your cursor over a button to show a brief description of its function wherever available.
Help window
This window provides you with detailed information on WaveLab's features and functionality.
You can access this help window in several ways:
ˆ via the Help menu. See Help menu .
ˆ from each dialog window provided with a Help button. This opens the Help window at
the relevant entry.
ˆ by pressing [F1]/[Command]+[?]. If a window is active, the Help window opens to the
relevant entry. If a dialog box is open, the dialog is described. 
						

							4 Getting Help
Related topics
Help menu
Command bars
2.1 Help menu
The Help menu gives you a convenient point of access to WaveLab's Help system.
ˆ Help about the active window...
Select this (or press [F1]/[Command]+[?]) to give help on the active window. If a dialog
box is open, the dialog is described.
ˆ Contents...
This lists the Help contents as a "tree structure" in the Contents window. Like many
WaveLab Elements windows, you can make this a floating window, if you want to park
it in a convenient place on screen.
ˆ Index...
This accesses an Index to Help entries. Type in the "Look for:" box, or scroll down the
alphabetical list. If there is more than one entry for the Index item, you'll be given a
choice of entries to be displayed, in the "Choose Topic" box.
ˆ Search...
Type the name of the topic you wish to find in the "Search for:" box. If more than one
topic is found to match the search string, a list is displayed: click on the most likely
entry to display the topic. If there are too many entries, you can refine the search by
clicking on [+] "Advanced search".
ˆ Bookmarks...
Click the [+] Add button to add the displayed topic to the list of Bookmarked favorites.
Now you can return to the entry speedily.
ˆ What is this?
This gives a short "Tooltip" explanation by pointing and clicking on the interface feature
you need information on. This can also be used to get help on any menu item. Acti-
vate the question mark icon by selecting "What is this?" from the Help system; using
[Shift] +[F1]; or by selecting
from the command bar button.
ˆ Steinberg on the internet - This fly-out menu opens a window on your browser with
the appropriate URL to support, update, upgrade or register WaveLab Elements. You
can also access the Steinberg Home Page.
Related topics
Getting Help
WaveLab Elements 7 
						

							Chapter 3
Using the interface
This section gives information on interface features that may not be obvious and which may
help to speed up your workflow, especially as your experience with WaveLab Elements in-
creases.
WaveLab Elements is incredibly flexible in the ways that you can set up your working envi-
ronment. Interface elements can be arranged to suit your workflow, the type of project you
are creating and the size and number of your displays.
You can move, reorder and detach windows and tabs from frames and tear off groups of
buttons in the Toolbar. You can slide and quickly partition different panes (areas) of the
WaveLab Elements window. WaveLab Elements has distinct Workspaces where you can
work on a "session". Each Workspace lets you collect a number of files that you want to
keep together. This could be all of the Audio Files used in a single song for instance, or all
the Audio Files that go to make up a Podcast episode.
Tip: If you're a user of Nuendo (a Steinberg product), don't forget that you can drag files
directly from within WaveLab.
Related topics
About Tool Windows
Adjusting Envelopes
Command bars
Context menus
Docking windows
Double clicking
Dragging operations
Playback shortcuts
Select-clicking
Shortcut system
Sliders
Status Bar 
						

							6 Using the interface
Switcher window
Tab Groups
Transport controls
Value editing
Workspaces
Zooming and scrolling
3.1 About Tool Windows
Throughout WaveLab Elements there are various tool windows available that enable you to
view, analyze and edit the current active document. Generally the content of a tool window
is synchronized with the active document, with the exception of the audio meters which can
display information related to other documents.
There are two types of Tool windows:
ˆ Specific tool windows - these are dedicated to a given Workspace type. The File
Browser and Marker windows are examples of specific tool windows.
ˆ Shared tool windows - Only one instance of these windows can exist at any one
time in WaveLab, and it can be shared between Workspaces. The Master Section is
an example of a shared window and as such there is only ever one instance of it.
All tool windows can be accessed via the Workspace menu. See
Docking windows for
information on docking and undocking tool windows.
Specific Tool windows
Specific tool windows are specific to the current Workspace and are dedicated to that
Workspace type. They perform useful tasks in the active Workspace. The File Browser
and Marker windows are examples of specific tool windows.
Specific tool windows can be docked and un-docked anywhere within their Workspace.
They can also float as standalone windows in a specific Workspace.
Shared tool windows
Shared tool windows are shared between certain Workspaces and are independent of any
one Workspace. Like specific tool windows, they can be docked and un-docked. The Master
Section is an example of a shared window.
The main difference with Specific tool windows is that only one instance of a Shared tool
window can exist at any one time in WaveLab. When you open a shared tool window that is
referenced in another Workspace it will "move" from the other Workspace to the active one.
A shared tool window can be moved and docked exactly like a specific tool window, however
in addition Shared tool windows can "float as an independent window", that is, independent
of any Workspace. Each shared tool window has a menu entry to allow this floating mode.
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							3.2 Adjusting Envelopes 7
Differences between Mac and Windows
Floating windows behave slightly differently on Apple Mac and Windows, due to some basic
differences between the platforms:
ˆ Mac- On the Mac, a tool window is always on top of all other windows and a floating
window remains visible even if its dependent Workspace is not active or is minimized.
If WaveLab is no longer the active application, all its floating windows are hidden.
ˆ Windows - A floating window is hidden when its dependent Workspace is minimized
or covered by another window. If WaveLab is no longer the active application, all its
independent floating windows are hidden.
Related topics
Workspaces
Shared tool windows
Specific tool windows
3.2 Adjusting Envelopes
At various places in WaveLab Elements, envelopes are used to constrain the way effects
are expressed. Some offline processes such as
Level Envelope , use envelopes to adjust an
effect over time. You can edit the profile of these envelopes quickly and easily.
Adjusting an envelope
Edit the envelope using the envelope editor window in the following ways:
ˆ Create and erase points by double clicking.
ˆ Select points by clicking on them.
ˆ To select more than one point, press [Ctrl]/[Command]when clicking - you can then
move them together. Selected points don't have to be contiguous. You can also click
anywhere in the window and drag the cursor over the envelope points to select them.
ˆ You can drag any segment to move the whole envelope profile up and down.
ˆ You can drag a single segment vertically by pressing [Ctrl]/[Command]and move the
segment up and down.
ˆ You can drag a single segment horizontally by pressing [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Shift]
and move the segment left and right.
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							8 Using the interface
You can also use the controls at the top of the editor window to delete or reset points in
the envelope. Use the envelope smoothing button to toggle the envelope points between a
linear (polygonal) or a curved path. The envelope is not applied until you click "Apply".
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
Level envelope
Time stretching
Pitch correction
3.3 Command bars
Commonly used tools, shortcuts and commands are represented by "Command buttons",
each with their own icon. Related buttons are grouped into various Command bars. You
can dock Command bars to any window edge and rearrange them. Each Workspace has
an appropriate set of command bars that are available to be displayed. All the commands
accessed via the Command buttons can also be found in the menus.
Hiding and displaying Command bars
To view a list of available command bars right-click on an empty part of the top edge of the
Workspace. More precisely, on Windows computers right click anywhere along the window's
top menu, on Apple Macintosh computers right click in the window's caption bar. This dis-
plays the Peripheral Windows context menu, which you can use to select which Command
bars are displayed.You can also choose which individual Command buttons are displayed
from the
Customize commands dialog .
To move a set of Command bar tools
Drag on the left side of the command, or at top for vertical command bars - the pointer
changes to
when you have "grip". Drag the group of Commands to any side of the appli-
cation window and release the mouse button. The application window and other Command
bars will automatically make space for the Command bar in its new position.
By default, Command bars are docked and don't float. You can make them float individually
or not, by right clicking and selecting the desired option from the menu. Once the option has
been selected, move the command bar.
You can drag Command groups below an existing row to form a new row (or next to an
existing column, to form a new column). You can also reorder their position within a row or
column, to customize your layout.
If a Command bar does not have room to display all of its icons, it will have a double right (or
down) arrow >>. Click on the double arrow to reveal any obscured Command buttons.
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							3.4 Context menus 9
Finding out what a Command button does
Hover over an individual Command button to display its tooltip. If no tooltip appears, make
sure "Show tips when mouse stays over buttons" is activated in Preferences...>Global
Preferences >Display tab .
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
Global Preferences
Customize Commands
Context menus
3.4 Context menus
Throughout WaveLab Elements there are various Context menus available. These menus
group together a range of commands and/or options specific to the window you are working
in. They appear when clicking with the right mouse button in certain places and may be
useful for speeding up your workflow.
Some Context menus have colored title bars (these were formerly known as "Speed menus"
in WaveLab 6), and their title indicates the part of the interface they relate to.
Using Context Menus
To bring up a context menu, right-click in the desired area. This is normally somewhere
along the edges of a window, or in some cases anywhere on the window itself or its title.
Right-clicking on a File tab, for example, shows a context menu with some relevant file op-
tions. Right-clicking on the waveform window header brings up the Time Ruler context menu
allowing you to access a number options for changing the Time Ruler display format.
Tip: Most context menu commands can be found on the normal menu bar but some unique
commands are only found in context menus . As they are not always obvious, when
searching for a function, it may be worth checking for a Context menu in the window in which
you are working by right-clicking on it, or around its edges.
Related topics
Shortcut system
3.5 Docking windows
All of WaveLab's
tool windows can be used as docked windows or as stand-alone "floating"
windows. They can be freely dragged around and docked at various locations. Command
bars can also be freely moved around and docked along the edges of most windows. See
Command bars for more information.
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							10 Using the interface
Undocking a window
Double-click on the title bar. This works with all tool windows, Specific and Shared.
About Specific tool windows
To undock a Specific tool window use one of the following methods:
ˆ double-click on the title bar.
ˆ click on the small double window icon which is located at the top left hand corner of
the window.
ˆ click and drag the window by its title bar.
Once un-docked, you can freely drag the window around by clicking and dragging on the
window's title header bar.
To dock the window again, drag it to any location where you are visually prompted to release
the window. Around the edges and the top of the Workspace is where this normally occurs.
Most windows can be docked horizontally or vertically, but some can only be docked in one
direction, because of the nature of their contents. To dock the window again, you can also
double-click in the title bar.
Tip: To move a window and prevent it from docking, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command]before
you begin to undock the window. This will avoid the window docking again and allow you to
place it anywhere. Once you begin to drag, you can release [Ctrl]/[Command].
About Shared tool windows
Shared tool windows such as the meters and the Master Section are slightly different to
other tool windows as there is only ever one of them available and it can only appear in
one Workspace at a time. As such, when you open a shared tool window from the menus
in another Workspace it undocks and moves from its original Workspace. An empty tab
container with a vertical title bar will remain in its previous Workspace.
To retrieve a window again from another Workspace use the
button at the top left of these
empty containers. For example, if you have the VU Meter displayed in the Audio Montage
Workspace and you wish to display it in the Audio File Workspace, you can simply click the
blue button and the VU Meter window will move back into its tab container.
You can choose to deactivate the default moving behavior by deselecting Workspace>
Auto move shared tool windows . Shared tool windows do not then move when you
switch between Workspaces.
Related topics
Tab Groups
About Tool Windows
Command bars
WaveLab Elements 7 
						

							3.6 Double clicking 11
3.6 Double clicking
A double click is the act of pressing the mouse button twice quickly without moving the
mouse.
Throughout WaveLab Elements you can achieve the following by double clicking in certain
places:
ˆ Create a new empty document - double click on the empty part of a tab bar. See
Tab Groups for more information.
ˆ Edit a marker name - double click at the right side of a marker's icon (in the Audio
File or Montage Workspace) above the time ruler.
ˆ Select a region (Audio File Workspace) - double click to select the whole Audio
File. Where markers exist, the region between the markers is selected. If markers exist
and you wish to select the entire file you can triple-click to select the whole file.
ˆ Set zoom to display entire waveform (Audio File/Montage Workspace) - dou-
ble click on the horizontal zoom wheel to reset the zoom to display the whole Audio
File.
ˆ Set zoom to default value (Audio File/Montage Workspace) - double click on
the vertical zoom wheel to reset the zoom to its default value.
ˆ Center the waveform (Audio File Workspace) - double click on the vertical scroll
bar to center the waveform around the horizontal axis.
ˆ Start playback (Audio File/Montage Workspace) - double click in the time line to
start playback from that point.
In addition to these specific examples, in various places throughout WaveLab Elements,
double-clicking can be used to begin editing certain values. Depending on the context the
type of editing triggered will vary. In most list views for example, double-clicking in a cell will
allow you to edit its value.
Related topics
Tab Groups
Select-clicking
3.7 Dragging operations
WaveLab Elements makes much use of "drag-and-drop" techniques to perform various oper-
ations, some of which can't be performed otherwise. These are referred to as drag operations
in this documentation.
To drag an object, press and hold down the left mouse button while over the object and drag
it to the desired destination. Drop the object by releasing the button.
WaveLab Elements 7 
						

							12 Using the interface
Many types of objects can be dragged between different source and destination locations
including files, text, Clips, the playback head and markers.
Tip: This help entry describes some of the most important drag and drop operations. There
are many other possibilities, especially within the various list views for example where you
can possibly drag from the list to an external window, drag a file into the list (to import), or
reorder, these vary of course according to the context). Therefore we encourage you to try
drag and drop wherever you feel it may make sense.
Within Workspaces
Drag objects within and between Workspaces to perform the following functions:
ˆ Docking a tool window - drag a window's title bar to any side of the Workspace,
beside or above an existing tool window, to dock the window at a new place.
ˆ Moving a Command bar - drag the bar grip at the left-hand end of a command bar
and reposition it. See
Command bars for more information.
ˆ Moving a Document Tab - drag the tab to a new location within its own tabbed group
to reorder.You can also drag a tab to another group of tabs.
ˆ Open a file - drag a compatible file from the WaveLab Elements's File Browser, from
the operating system's file browser or from another application to the tab bar.
ˆ Insert a file in another Workspace - drag an Audio File by its title bar tab between
the Audio File and Audio Montage Workspaces. You can also use the Switcher window
to drag any object to another Workspace. Drag the object over the corresponding
Workspace icon in the Switcher window and wait until the new Workspace becomes
active. Then you can release the file in the target Workspace.
Within the Audio File Workspace
Drag objects within the Audio File Workspace to perform the following functions:
ˆ Paste an Audio File - drag a document's title bar tab or document button
onto the
waveform area of another file, to copy and paste its audio content. You can also drag
a compatible file directly from the File Browser, the operating system's file browser, or
from another application.
ˆ Delete/Move a marker - drag the marker along the time ruler to change its position.
Drag while pressing the [Shift]key to create a copy of this marker. Drag above the
time ruler to delete the marker.
ˆ Copy an audio selection - drag a selected region of audio onto the waveform area
of the same file, or of another file. Left, right or both channels can be copied.
ˆ Create a new file from an audio selection - drag a selected region of audio onto
the empty space of a tab bar to create a new copy of the audio. If dragging happens
right after double clicking, the selection is quantized and extended up to the marker's
"region" under the mouse.
WaveLab Elements 7