Steinberg WaveLab Essential 6 Operation Manual

5
Basic methods 

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Basic methods
Why you should read this chapter
This chapter describes general methods that you will use 
when working with WaveLab Essential. Getting accus-
tomed with these procedures will allow you to work more 
effectively with the program.
Getting help
WaveLab Essential comes with a detailed help system, 
making it easy to look up procedures and descriptions 
from within the program. There are two ways to access 
the help system:
By selecting “Operation Manual” from the Help menu.
This takes you...

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Basic methods
Working with windows
Basic window handling
WaveLab Essential follows the basic guidelines for the 
Windows interface, which means standard “Windows 
procedures” apply.
Closing Wave windows
You can close a document window by clicking its close 
button, by selecting Close from the File menu or by press-
ing [Ctrl]-[W]. If document window(s) contain unsaved 
changes, you will be asked whether you want to save 
those changes before closing.
ÖIf you hold down [Ctrl]+[Shift] when clicking the...

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Basic methods
Adjusting the size of a pane
1.Position the mouse over the divider between the two 
panes.
The pointer turns into a two-way arrow.
2.Drag the divider to adjust the pane size.
Hiding and revealing a pane
In some windows, a pane can be hidden altogether. 
To hide a pane, drag the border between the two panes all 
the way up or double click it. To reveal the pane again, 
drag the miniature divider symbol down or double click it.
You can also hide/show the Overview pane in the Wave 
window...

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Basic methods
Working with multiple windows
You can edit the same data in more than one Wave win-
dow. Among other things this allows you to work on differ-
ent sections of a wave file (for example the start and end), 
without scrolling back and forth.
ÖThe two windows are views of exactly the same data. 
Any change you make in one Wave window is immediately apparent in the 
other.
Creating a second window using menus
1.Make sure the desired window is the active one.
If it isn’t, click once in its...

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Basic methods
Please note that you can stack control bars and put them 
side by side, to create any type of layout you desire.
In this example, the Standard Commands, Toolbox and Transport con-
trol bars have all been docked to the upper part of the application win-
dow.
Turning a docked control bar into a separate 
window
To “un-dock” a control bar, drag it out from the docked 
position, or double click somewhere on its handle.
ÖControl bar windows are moved by dragging the title 
bar, just as with...

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Basic methods
The Marker toolbar
This is used for various commands related to markers, see 
“Introduction” on page 98.
Speed menus
Most displays have speed menus associated with them.
ÖTo bring up a speed menu, right-click in the desired 
area.
In the Wave windows for example, there is one speed menu for the level 
ruler, one for each of the time rulers and one for each of the waveform 
displays.
The Wave window main view “speed menu”
The Speed menus contain the same items that can be 
found on the...

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Basic methods
Units of time and level
For rulers
You can specify the time and level (amplitude) formats for 
each ruler in each window, by right-clicking on the ruler and 
selecting a format from the pop-up menu that appears.
Time formats
Level formats
ÖTo make a ruler format the default (to be used in new 
Wave windows), you need to save it as part of the default 
window style.
See “Styling WaveLab Essential – Wave windows” on page 180.
Setting values
In dialog boxes, you will find yourself adjusting...

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Basic methods
Using sliders and pop-ups
Many times, the most convenient way of changing a value is 
using WaveLab Essential’s proprietary sliders and pop-
ups:
1.Click with the right mouse button on the spin control 
(in some windows you can also double-click with the left 
mouse button).
2.If a pop-up menu appears, select one of the options 
on it.
3.If one or more sliders appear, drag the handle(s) or 
click the arrows to set the value.
The setting is shown in the value box “behind” the slider...

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Basic methods
Presets
Many dialogs in WaveLab Essential have either a Presets 
tab or a Presets pop-up menu. If you think of the dialogs 
as forms, presets allow those forms to be filled out auto-
matically. WaveLab Essential comes with a selection of 
presets for most dialogs that use them, but the real power 
of presets becomes evident when you start creating your 
own!
ÖFor some WaveLab Essential effect panels there is a 
Preset button instead of a Presets tab or pop-up menu. 
Clicking the button...