Steinberg Wavelab Elements 8 Manual

							Program Overview
Time Ruler and Level Ruler
41
Clock Tab
On this tab, you can configure the appearance of the Clock option.
Show Units
Adds time units to the time format of the ruler.
Compact
Shows the time without unit indicators.
Meter Tab
On this tab, you can configure the appearance of the Bars and beats 
option.
Time signature
Lets you edit the time signature used to display the time 
represented as a musical notation.
Tempo
Lets you edit the tempo used to display the time represented as a 
musical notation.
Ticks per quarter note
Lets you edit the number of ticks per quarter note that are used to 
display times that are compatible with your sequencer. 
						

							Program Overview
Time Ruler and Level Ruler
42
Setting the Cursor Position
Many operations, such as playback and selection, depend on the 
current cursor position. For example, playback often starts at the cursor 
position. The current cursor position is indicated by a vertical flashing 
line.
There are various ways to move the cursor:
• Click somewhere in the wave window, the montage window, or the 
time ruler. If you have made a selection, click the time ruler to 
prevent deselecting.
• Click and drag in the time ruler.
• Use the transport controls.
• Select View > Move cursor to, and select an option.
• Use the cursor keys.
• Double-click a marker.
Working With a Meter-Based Display
If your working material is tempo-based, you can select the meter format 
(bars, beats, and ticks) for the ruler legend. This makes it easier to find 
musically related cutting points.
PROCEDURE
1.In the wave window or the montage window, right-click the time 
ruler, and select Bars and beats.
2. Right-click the time ruler, and select Time format.
3. On the Meter tab, set the Time signature and Tempo to values 
that match your audio file.
4. Set the Ticks per quarter note setting to a number that you feel 
comfortable with.
For example, this can be the same value that is used by your MIDI 
sequencer.
5. Click OK. 
						

							Program Overview
Value Editing
43
Value Editing
At various places in the program, numerical values can be edited by 
using a combination of text fields and spin controls.
These values are sometimes composed of several parts, for example, 
12
 mn 30 sec 120 ms. Each value can be edited by using any of the 
following methods:
• To change a value, click in a value field and type a new value, or 
click the small arrows in the value field.
• To change the value by one unit at a time, press the [Left Arrow] 
and [Right Arrow] keys.
• To change the value by several units, press the page up and page 
down keys.
• To change the value using the mouse wheel, position the mouse 
cursor over a value, and spin the mouse wheel, or use the AI knob 
of your MIDI controller.
• To change the value with the mouse, click a value and drag the 
mouse up or down.
• To jump to the maximum and minimum values, press the [Home] 
and [End] keys.
• To move from one part of the value to another, press the [Left 
Arrow] and [Right Arrow] keys.
Drag Operations
WaveLab Elements makes much use of drag-and-drop techniques to 
perform various operations, some of which cannot be performed otherwise. 
These are referred to as drag operations in this documentation.
•To drag an object, click and hold with the mouse when positioned 
on the object and drag it. Drop the object by releasing the button.
Many types of objects can be dragged between different source and 
destination locations including files, text, clips, items in a list, and markers.
NOTE
It is also possible to drag and drop files from WaveLab Elements to 
Steinberg
						

							Program Overview
Drag Operations
44
Drag objects within and between workspaces to perform the following 
operations:
• To dock a tool window, drag its title bar to any side of the 
workspace, beside or above another tool window.
• To move a command bar, drag the bar grip at the left-hand end of 
a command bar and reposition it.
• To reorder a tab within its own tabbed group, drag horizontally. To 
move a tab to another workspace, drag vertically.
• To drag any object to another workspace, use the Central 
Switcher bar. Drag the object over the corresponding workspace 
icon in the Central Switcher bar, wait until the new workspace 
becomes active, and drag the tab in the target workspace.
• To open a file, drag a compatible file from the File Browser 
window of WaveLab Elements, from the file browser of the 
operation system, or from another application to the tab bar.
• To create a copy of a file, drag its tab vertically to another position 
of the tab bar, then press [Ctrl]/[Option], and release the mouse 
button.
Dragging in the Audio Files Workspace and Audio Montage 
Workspace
• To insert an audio file in another audio file, drag the title bar tab or 
document button of the file onto the waveform area of another file. 
You can also drag an audio file directly from the File Browser 
window, the file browser of your system, or from another 
application into the Audio Files workspace.
• To move a marker, drag it along the time ruler.
• To create a copy of this marker, press [Shift], and drag it to another 
position on the time ruler.
• To delete a marker, drag it above the time ruler.
• To copy an audio selection, drag a selected region of audio onto 
the waveform area of the same file or another file.
• To change the extent of a selection range, position the edit cursor 
at the start/end of the selection range, and drag to the left or right.
• To move the edit cursor without losing the current selection, and 
to snap it to an anchor, press [Shift], and move the mouse near the 
audio file/montage cursor. The mouse cursor shape changes and 
you can drag the cursor left and right. 
						

							Program Overview
Undoing and Redoing
45
• To move the edit cursor without changing or losing the current 
selection, press [Shift], click the edit cursor, and drag it to another 
position.
• To scroll the waveform horizontally, click the bar above the time 
ruler and drag left or right. You can also click anywhere on the 
waveform using the 3rd mouse button, and drag left or right.
• To create a generic marker from a selected text, drop text that you 
have selected in an external application onto the time ruler. The text 
becomes the marker’s name.
• To create a stereo copy of a mono file, or a mixed copy of a stereo file, 
drag a tab to another position of the tab bar, press [Ctrl]-[Alt] 
(Windows) or [Options]-[Ctrl] (Mac), and release the mouse button.
Dragging in the Podcast Workspace
• To reorder episodes in the episodes list, drag them to another position.
Dragging in the Master Section
• To change the order of processing, drag effects between different 
effects slots.
Undoing and Redoing
You can undo and redo as many steps as you like. The only limitation is 
the available hard disk space.
By default, when undoing or redoing any operation in the Audio Files 
workspace or the Audio Montage workspace, the zoom factor, cursor 
position, scroll position, clip selection status, and time range are 
restored to the state before the operation occured.
• To undo a step, in the Audio Files workspace or Audio Montage 
workspace, select Edit > Undo.
• To redo a step, in the Audio Files workspace or Audio Montage 
workspace, select Edit > Redo. 
						

							Program Overview
Zooming
46
Zooming
There are several zooming functions in the Audio Files workspace and 
Audio Montage workspace.
Horizontal Zooming
• When you zoom out as far as possible, the entire file fits in the 
window.
• When you zoom in as far as possible, each sample occupies 
several pixels on the screen. This allows for single 
sample-accurate editing of waveforms.
Vertical Zooming
• When you zoom out as far as possible, the height of the wave fits 
in the window.
• As you progressively zoom in, the display only shows a part of the 
total height. The vertical scrollbars lets you adjust exactly which 
section is shown. Check the ruler to see which part of the 
waveform is currently shown in the display.
• To optimize the vertical zoom of the waveform, press 
[Ctrl]/[Command], click and hold the time ruler, and move the 
mouse up or down.
High Zoom Level
• When the zooming level is very high, each sample is shown with a 
step and a bullet. The steps show the real digitized state, while the 
bullets make it easier to see the samples, especially for zeroed 
samples.
• The curve also represents an estimation of the analog 
reconstructed signal to give hints on true peaks. 
						

							Program Overview
Zooming
47
Zooming in the Overview and Main View Sections  
(Audio Files Workspace Only)
• You can have different zoom levels in the overview and main view 
section. In the overview, a range indicator on the time ruler 
indicates which section of the file is currently displayed in the main 
view. The range indicator is only shown if the option Sync with 
other view is deactivated.
• To adjust the zoom level, drag the edges of the range indicator.
• To scroll in the main view, drag the range indicator.
Range indicator at the top of the overview display
• To adjust the zoom level using the scrollbar, drag the edges of the 
scrollbar. 
						

							Program Overview
Zooming
48
Zooming Using the Zoom Controls
Both the main view and the overview have horizontal and vertical zoom 
controls.
• To zoom horizontally, click the Horizontal zoom control, and drag 
left or right, or use the mouse wheel.
• To zoom vertically, click the Vertical zoom control, and drag up or 
down, or use the mouse wheel.
• To fully zoom-out, double-click the zoom controls.
Zooming Using the Magnifying Glass Tool
The Magnifying Glass tool is used to zoom in a specific section of the 
waveform so that is occupies the entire wave window. This is only 
available in the Audio Files workspace.
Using the Magnifying Glass Tool in the Main View
The selection that you make in the main view of the wave window is 
magnified and fills up the entire main view.
PROCEDURE
1.In the Audio Files workspace, activate the Magnifying Glass tool by 
doing one of the following:

						

							Program Overview
Zooming
49
Using the Magnifying Glass Tool in the Overview
The selection that you make in the overview of the wave window is 
displayed in the main view.
PROCEDURE

						

							Program Overview
Zooming
50
Zooming Using the Keyboard
A quick way to zoom the active wave or montage window is to use the 
arrow keys on the computer keyboard.
•To zoom horizontally in the active wave window or montage 
window, press [Arrow Up] or [Arrow Down].
• To zoom vertically in the active wave/montage window, hold [Shift], 
and press [Arrow Up] or [Arrow Down].
• To zoom vertically to fit the available height, press 
[Ctrl]/[Command]-[Shift]-[Arrow Up].
• To zoom out fully, press [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Arrow Down]. To zoom 
in fully, press [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Arrow Up].
Zoom Menu
The zoom menu allows you to quickly access various zoom settings.
In the Audio Files workspace or the Audio Montage workspace, select 
View > Zoom.
View all
Zooms out as far as possible.
Zoom in on 1 minute/30 seconds/10 seconds/.../500 ms
Adjusts the zoom to display the selected time range.
Zoom in 1:1
Zooms in so that one pixel on the screen represents one sample.
Microscope
Zooms in as far as possible.
Zoom selection
Zooms the window so that the current selection occupies the 
entire wave/montage window.
Zoom in on selected clips (Audio Montage workspace only)
Zooms in to display all selected clips in the wave/montage 
window.
Zoom in audio
Zooms in in small steps.
Zoom out audio
Zooms out in small steps.