Steinberg Wavelab Elements 8 Manual

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About Workspaces
A workspace provides an editing and playback environment for a 
particular audio file type. Each type of workspace has functions for its 
specific file types.
In WaveLab Elements, each file type has its own workspace designed 
for a specific purpose:
• Audio Files workspace for viewing and editing audio files.
• Audio Montage workspace for assembling and editing audio 
montages.
• Podcast workspace for preparing and uploading Podcasts.
A workspace is highly customizable to match your workflow. A 
workspace can appear as a simple window with a single menu or as a 
sophisticated arrangement of command bars, tool windows, tab 
groups, and active meters.
When a file is opened from a given workspace, it is added to the active 
tab group of this workspace.
You can drag files between workspaces if their formats are compatible. 
For example, you can drag an audio file from the Audio Files workspace 
to the Audio Montage workspace by using its tab bar or its document 
button.
Elements of a Workspace
The center of the workspace is about the data that you want to edit, and 
all the menus, command bars, tool windows, controls, and tools to help 
you with that.
Each workspace contains the following elements:
• A menu bar. Each workspace has a different menu bar, but certain 
menus are common for all workspaces and each menu can be 
customized in various ways. The workspace menu has a submenu 
to show/hide the available Command bars and tool windows. 
						

							About Workspaces
Audio Files Workspace
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• One or more Command bars with buttons for instant access to 
functions. Command bars can be customized extensively.
•Tab groups to host the files to edit. This is the central part of the 
workspace. You can move a tab to another workspace, create a 
new empty tab, display the file path, and access other functions by 
right-clicking.
•A set of Specific tool windows. Which tools are available 
depends on the workspace. They can be activated/deactivated 
individually.
•A set of Shared tool windows. The shared tools vary according 
to the workspace, and can be turned on or off individually. A shared 
tool window is a global window that is located in one workspace 
at a time.
Audio Files Workspace
This workspace provides tools and functions for sample-accurate audio 
editing, high-quality analysis, and processing. It is the environment 
commonly known as an audio editor.
It includes various metering tools.
The wave window gives you a graphical representation of the audio file 
and allows you to view, play back, and edit the file.
Audio Montage Workspace
In this workspace, you assemble audio clips into a montage. You can 
arrange, edit, and play back clips on both stereo or mono tracks.
Features include both track- and clip-based effects, volume and pan 
automation, and wide-ranging fade and crossfade functions.
You can place any number of clips, on an audio track. A clip contains a 
reference to a source audio file on your hard disk, as well as start and 
end positions in the file.
The montage window gives you a graphical representation of clips on 
tracks. In it you can view, play back, and edit the tracks and clips. 
						

							About Workspaces
Podcast Workspace
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Podcast Workspace
In this workspace, you assemble, define, and publish your Podcast to 
the internet.
RELATED LINKS:
“Podcasts” on page 293
Opening Files in a Workspace
You can open files in the workspace that you are working in and in any 
other workspace, without having to switch workspaces first.
•To open a file in a workspace, select File > Open. From the file 
browser, select the workspace file that you want to open, and click 
Open.
•On the Central switcher bar, click a workspace icon, and select 
Open. From the file browser, select the file that you want to open, 
and click Open.
Organizing Workspace Windows
For working with several workspace windows, WaveLab Elements 
offers functions to organize the windows.
•To lock a workspace layout, activate Workspace > Lock layout. 
This prevents you from moving or closing tool windows.
• To automatically move the shared tool windows to the newly 
activated workspace, every time you switch between workspaces, 
activate Workspace > Auto move shared tool windows.
• To activate full screen view, select Workspace > Full screen 
view.
• To specify the workspace position on the screen, select 
Workspace > Position on screen, and select an option.
• To bring all workspace windows to front, select Workspace > 
Bring all to front. 
						

							About Workspaces
About Tool Windows
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• To cascade all workspace windows, select Workspace > 
Cascade all.
• To switch between the previously selected workspace window 
and the active workspace window, select Workspace > Switch to 
previous workspace, or press [F5].
• To close the active workspace, select Workspace > Close.
About Tool Windows
Throughout WaveLab Elements there are various tool windows available 
that allow you to view, analyze, and edit the active file.
Generally, the content of a tool window is synchronized with the active 
file, with the exception of the audio meters which displays the audio file 
being played back. Tool windows can be docked and undocked, and 
saved in your custom layouts. There are two types of tool windows 
available:
• Specific tool windows
• Shared tool windows
The tool windows can be accessed via the Workspace menu.
Specific Tool Windows
Specific tool windows are windows that are specific to the current 
workspace. The following specific tool windows are available:
Audio Files  
workspaceAudio Montage 
workspacePodcast  
workspace 
						

							About Workspaces
About Tool Windows
75
Shared Tool Windows
The difference between specific and shared tool windows is that there 
can only be a single instance of a shared window in WaveLab Elements. 
For example, a single Master Section, or a single level meter.
When you open a shared tool window in another workspace it undocks 
and moves from its original workspace, if this option is activated. An 
empty tab container with a title bar remains in its previous workspace. 
You can set the moving behavior by activating/deactivating Workspace 
> Auto move shared tool windows.
A shared tool window, if docked, can only appear in a single workspace 
at a time. To retrieve a shared tool window from another workspace, 
click the tool window. For example, if you have the Level Meter displayed 
in the Audio Montage workspace and you want to display it in the Audio 
Files workspace, click the icon in the Level Meter window of the Audio 
Files workspace.
The following shared tool windows are available:
Opening and Closing Tool Windows
You can close all tool windows you do not need for your project.
•To open or close a specific tool window, select Workspace > 
Specific tool windows, and select a tool window, or use the 
Specific Tool Windows command bar.
• To open or close a shared tool window, select Workspace > 
Shared tool windows, and select a tool window, or use the 
Shared Tool Windows command bar.
• To close a tool window, move the mouse on the left side or the top 
of the window, and on the toolbar that appears, click Close.
Audio Files workspace and Audio Montage workspace 
						

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About Tool Windows
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Tool Windows Command Bar
On the Specific Tool Windows and Shared Tool Windows command 
bars you can quickly switch tool windows on and off, without having to 
navigate through a menu.
To open or close the Shared Tool Windows command bar, select 
Workspace > Command bars > Shared Tool Windows.
Shared Tool Windows command bar in the Audio Montage workspace
To open or close the Specific Tool Windows command bar, select 
Workspace > Command bars > Specific Tool Windows.
Specific Tool Windows command bar in the Audio Montage workspace
Docking and Undocking Tool Windows
Tool windows can be used as docked windows or as 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.
To dock/undock a tool window, use one of the following methods:
• Double-click the title bar, located on the left or the top of the tool 
window.
• Click the double window icon at the top left corner of the window.
• Drag the tool window title bar of a specific tool window. To dock 
the tool window, drag it by its title bar to another position.
To prevent an undocked tool window from docking, use one of the 
following methods:
• Hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] before dragging the tool window.
• Activate the Floating versus docking priority icon on the left or 
the top of the tool window. 
						

							About Workspaces
About Tool Windows
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Differences Between Windows and Mac OS
Floating windows behave slightly different on Windows and Mac OS.
• On Windows systems, a floating window is hidden when its 
dependent workspace is minimized or covered by another window. 
If WaveLab Elements is not the active application, all its 
independent floating windows are hidden.
• On Mac OS X systems, 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 
Elements is not the active application, all its floating windows are 
hidden. 
						

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Playback
WaveLab Elements offers numerous playback functions.
There are 4 playback modes available:
• Traditional playback, with playback starting from the cursor 
position and stopping anywhere when stopping playback.
• Play range, where playback starts from a given point and stops at 
another point of interest.
• Play from anchor, where playback starts from a specific point of 
interest.
• Play until anchor, where playback starts anywhere but stops at a 
given point of interest.
RELATED LINKS:
“Playback Shortcuts” on page 89
Transport Bar
With this command bar you can control playback of an audio file or 
audio montage, navigate between various positions in an audio file or 
audio montage, and open the Recording dialog.
In the Audio Files workspace or the Audio Montage workspace, select 
Workspace > Command bars > Transport bar.
Transport bar in the Audio Files workspace
Transport bar in the Audio Montage workspace
Presets
Lets you save and apply transport bar presets. 
						

							Playback
Transport Bar
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Skip range
If this option is activated, playback skips the selected range and 
any region surrounded by exclusion markers.
On stop, move cursor back
If this option is activated, the edit cursor jumps back to the start 
position when playback stops. If you want to activate this option for 
the options Play from anchor, Play until anchor, and Play range, 
right-click this button, and activate On alternate playback stop, 
move cursor back to start.
Perform pre-roll
Activates pre-roll for the commands Play from anchor, Play until 
anchor, and Play range.
Right-click the button to select the pre-roll length and to specify to 
which commands you want to apply pre-roll to. To edit the pre-roll 
times, select Edit pre/post-roll.
Perform post-roll
Activates post-roll for the commands Play from anchor, Play until 
anchor, and Play range.
Right-click the button to select the post-roll length and to specify 
to which commands you want to apply post-roll to. To edit the 
post-roll times, select Edit pre/post-roll.
Auto selection
If this option is activated, the anchor and/or range are automatically 
selected according to the editing actions. Right-click to open a 
menu with related options and auto selection modes.
Ranges
Lets you select one of the following ranges:
• Selected time range
• Marked region where edit cursor is located
• Range of focused clip (audio montage only)
• Crossfade range (audio montage only)
• Fade-in range (audio montage only)
• Fade-out range (audio montage only)
Play range
Plays the selected range. Post-roll and Pre-roll settings are taken 
into account. 
						

							Playback
Transport Bar
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Anchors
Lets select which anchor to use as reference for the commands 
Play from anchor and Play until anchor. When there are multiple 
possibilities, for example, multiple markers, the last selected item 
is taken into account as a reference anchor or the closest marker 
near the edit cursor position if no marker is selected.
You can select one of the following anchors:
• Start of file
• Start of selected time range
• End of selected time range
• Any marker
• Region start marker
• Region end marker
• Clip start (audio montage only)
• Clip end (audio montage only)
• Selected envelope point in focused clip (audio montage only)
When an anchor is detected, for example, a region marker pair, this 
is indicated by a green anchor marker.
Play from anchor
Plays from anchor. Pre-roll and post-roll settings are taken into 
account.
Play until anchor
Plays until anchor. Pre-roll and post-roll settings are taken into 
account.
Move cursor to previous/next anchor
Moves the edit cursor position to the previous/next anchor. To set 
the type of anchor, right-click the next anchor button and select an 
option from the menu. If you click during playback, playback 
continues from the anchor position.