ID Title Context Importance Version Text
3 Contextual help General High 200 To get help on any main or pop-up menu item, just select it, and with the menu still up, press [F1].

For selective help in dialogs, click on the [?] button at the top right corner of the dialog, then click on the desired control in the dialog.

For general help about the active window or dialog, press F1.

If you upgrade WaveLab from a previous version, you might want to skip "old tips of the day" from the Help menu.
4 Language UI High 160 You have the option to select what language WaveLab uses (English, German or French). This is set in the Preference dialog. For the change to take effect, you have to restart the program.
5 Virtual Memory System High 160 If you use Windows 95, it is important that your virtual memory settings are correct, especially if you are working with large audio files. In the Windows 95 Control Panel, open the System setup and click on the Virtual Memory button. Then click on the button "Let me specify my own memory settings". As a minimum, you should specify at least 20 Mbytes, or if possible, a value between 2 and 3 times the amount of your RAM memory in your computer.
6 Troubleshooting General Normal 160 If run into any problems using WaveLab, read the "Troubleshooting" section in the On-line Help.
7 Session-8 compatible files General Low 160 For Session-8 users, we recommend that you activate the option "Save session-8 compatible WAV files" in the Preference dialog. This will increase the size of each file by approximately 4000 bytes. However, the files are still compatible with other programs that read Wave files.
9 AudioAccess databases Main Feature Normal 160 WaveLab includes a proprietary database concept called AudioAccess. This allows you to create and maintain databases of audio files. The files can be located regardless of which type of media they are stored on: hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs or even floppies. AudioAccess databases allow you to organize your files into categories for fast retrieval. You can also search any media for files, based on various criteria.
10 Projects Main Feature Normal 160 A Project allows you to collect files that naturally belong together, for example all files used in a song, all files used for one commercial, etc. Furthermore, Projects allow you to organize those files into groups. Projects also remember window settings.
11 Multitasking General Normal 160 WaveLab utilizes true multitasking: you are able to select, cut, copy, paste, process, load, save, etc., while the program is playing, even in Loop mode.
12 Undo/Redo Main Feature Normal 160 WaveLab has unlimited and instantaneous Undo and Redo, even while playing.
13 Extended Stereo support Main Feature Normal 160 Besides supporting mono and stereo files, WaveLab has a third option, called "dual mono". The purpose of this is to support certain computer based recording systems which records stereo into two separate mono files. With WaveLab, you can open two mono files and edit them just as if they were a single stereo file.
14 Multi view concept UI Normal 160 You can edit the same data in more than one window. Amongst other things, this allows you to work on different sections of a wave file without scrolling back and forth, and with different zoom settings if desired. You can create a new view in two ways (assuming a wave window is already open):
-In an empty free area of the WaveLab application window, drag to make up a box (not too small) and release the mouse.
-Select Duplicate View from the View menu.
15 Folding/Unfolding windows UI High 200 In order to save screen space, you can "fold" and "unfold" windows (waveform windows, dialogs, plugins). To do this, just click on the button at the right side of the windows' title bar.

For dialogs and plugins, you can also double-click on the title bar to achieve the same effect.
16 Quick window switching UI Low 160 By pressing [F2] repeatedly you switch between the last two active windows (two wave windows, or a wave window and a non-modal dialog).
17 Toolbars UI Normal 160 A Toolbar can be used as a floating window (a palette) or you can dock it to any the application window's sides. Just drag the Toolbar to the side, or double click somewhere on it (except on a button).
18 Moving Toolbars UI Low 160 To prevent a Toolbar from being docked to the application window, when dragging it, hold down [Control].
19 Changing the appearance of a Toolbar UI Low 160 · To change the shape of a palette Toolbar, between different variations on horizontal, square and vertical, drag the right or bottom edge as when resizing a regular window.
· To change the size of the buttons in the Toolbars, open the Preferences dialog, click the "Toolbars/Control Bar" tab and adjust the "Button size" setting.
20 Speed menus UI Normal 160 When searching for a function, don't forget to check the speed menus in the different sections of the window you are working in. Right click with mouse to bring up the speed menu.

There are plenty of such menus all over WaveLab!
21 Spin Controls UI Normal 160 Many WaveLab dialogs use spin controls. As an alternative to the regular ways of changing values (clicking on the two arrows pointing up/down), try the following:
· Holding down [Control] makes the value change in larger steps.
· Holding down [Control]+[Shift] changes the value to its minimum/ maximum.
· The last adjusted control can be adjusted using the up/down arrow keys on the computer keyboard.
· Use Sliders and pop-ups. Many times, the most convenient way to change a value is using WaveLab's proprietary sliders and pop-ups: just click with the right mouse button on the spin control. A pop-up menu or one or more sliders appears.
· Use the roller of an Intellimouse device, if you have one (you can also use [Control] and [Shift], as described above.
22 Pop-up sliders UI Normal 160 When clicking with the right mouse button on a spin control, one or more sliders appear. You can of course use the mouse to adjust the sliders, but you can also use the keyboard:
· Up/Down arrow keys changes the value by one unit.
· Next/Prev page keys changes the value by several units.
· Home/End sets the slider to its minimum/maximum.
23 Non-modal dialogs UI Normal 160 To speed up your work, many of the dialog boxes in WaveLab are "non-modal". This means that the window behind the dialog can be operated even though the dialog box is up on screen.
24 Special keyboard shortcuts UI Normal 160 Several important key short-cuts are available even when a dialog is open:
· [F3] Undo
· [F4] Redo
· [F5] Flush audio buffer
· [F6] Play Selection
· [F7] Stop
· [F8] Play
25 Opening multiple files UI Normal 160 You can open a number of files at the same time. In the Open dialog, select as many files as you wish. This is done using [Shift] and/or [Control]. You can also use drag-and-drop from the Explorer onto the WaveLab program icon or the running WaveLab desktop window.
26 Opening Dual Mono files General Normal 160 If you have two mono files which are actually the left and right channels of a stereo recording (some systems handle stereo this way), you can open these as if they were a stereo file. Simply select the two mono files (and only those!) in the Open dialog. You can also use drag-and-drop the two files from the Explorer. The dual mono function can be deactivated in the Preferences dialog.
27 Finding the cursor UI Normal 160 If you click on the cursor position field on the Status Bar, the view is scrolled so that the wave cursor becomes visible.
28 Cursor position General Normal 160 If you want to move the Wave cursor position without deselecting (if you have a selection), just point and drag the mouse on the time ruler. This even works while playing.
29 Accurate positioning General Normal 160 To facilitate selecting and positioning the wave cursor and markers, activate Magnetize bounds on the Options menu. Now, the cursor, markers and the selection will snap to the following positions:
· The wave cursor
· Markers
· The selection edges
· The start and end of the audio file
· The timer ruler's origin, if set to anything else than 0.
30 Level selections General Normal 160 When you have a selection "in time", you can hold down [Shift] and point and drag to also change the height of the selection (this is called a level selection). The level value is displayed on the status bar. This feature is used in the Normalize and Dynamics dialogs.
31 Noise level General Normal 160 To check the noise level in a recording, proceed as follows:
1. Make a selection in a silent part of the recording (that is, a place where there's only noise).
2. Select "Extend to peaks" from the Edit / Select menu. The noise level will be displayed in the status bar.
This procedure can be used in combination with the Dynamics dialog to create a noise gate (as a start, use the function "Add point at level selection" in the Dynamics dialog).
32 Copying using drag-and-drop General Normal 160 You can copy audio from one window to another or to a different position in the same window, by dragging. First, select the audio to copy, then simply drag-and-drop it. If you hold down [Alt] or [Shift], the audio is moved rather than copied.
33 Mixing samples General Normal 160 To mix two recordings, copy one of them onto the clipboard and use the "Mix" command in the menu: Edit/Paste special.
34 WaveLab Clipboard General Normal 160 To see the contents of the WaveLab Clipboard (not the main Windows clipboard), select Clipboard from the Edit menu and Show from the sub-menu that appears. The Clipboard is a Wave window like any other (but it is always in stereo) and any type of editing can be applied to it except those involving Cut, Copy or Paste. You can even Undo and Redo operations on the Clipboard.
35 Dragging to create a new mono or stereo wave General Normal 160 · To turn a section of a wave into a new document, make a selection and drag it out of the window and onto an empty section of the WaveLab application window.
· To convert a mono selection to stereo and vice versa, hold down [Control] while dragging. A "Mono to Stereo" conversion is much faster than a "Stereo to Mono" conversion as no mixing is involved. When a "Stereo to Mono" conversion is performed, WaveLab takes care of avoiding any clipping that would result from mixing the two channels.
36 Batch Processing Main Feature Normal 200 Batch Processing is basically an extension of the Master Section Apply function. The big difference is that the Batch Processor can work on any number of files, and process different files with different settings. However, it also allows you to do a few other things you can't do with the Apply function:
· Apply any number of processors .
· Use offline plug-ins not available in the Master Section.
· Work on files that aren’t open, and save the processed files directly to disk.
· Change the file format and filenames.

You open a batch processor dialog from the File menu, or from the "Apply" dialog of the Master Section.

37 Time Stretch Main Feature Normal 160 Time stretch is an operation that allows you to change the length of a recording without affecting its pitch. This function is most often used to make a section of audio fit in with some other material. WaveLab provides a fast and high quality time stretch processor which can be found on the Process menu. WaveLab also provides an useful Tempo/SMPTE/Bars/Time calculator to facilitate length conversions.
38 Pitch Correction General Normal 160 Pitch Correction is an operation which allows you to change the pitch of a sound, with or without affecting its length. WaveLab provides a fast and high quality pitch processor which can be found on the Process menu.
39 Frequency Analysis General Normal 160 If you want to view a section of a wave file in the frequency domain rather than in the time domain, select it and select "Do Frequency Analysis" from the View menu.
40 Window Layout UI Normal 160 If you want to prevent the window layout from being saved/restored, hold down [Control] when quitting/launching WaveLab. The same procedure applies to closing/opening Project files.
41 Window Styles UI Normal 160 You are able to define and save various Styles for how to display the wave files. Check style on the Options menu. In a style you can have different settings for the overview and main view. For stereo waves you can even make separate settings for each channel!
42 Copying layouts between windows UI Normal 160 You can copy layouts between windows. A layout includes cursor position, zoom factor, scroll settings and selection points. Proceed as follows:
1. Press [Alt]+[Control]-[C]. This copies the layout to an invisible "clipboard".
2. Make the window where you want to apply the layout, active.
3. Press [Alt]+[Control]-[V].
43 Playing waves from a Database or a Project General Normal 160 To play a wave from a Database or Project, select it and press [Enter] or click Play on the Transport. Playback starts almost instantaneously, regardless of the file size and format, and even if the file is on a CD-ROM.
You can use the arrow keys to select another file in the list and play it immediately (you don't need to stop the previous wave; this is done automatically).
44 Opening a Database or Project General Normal 160 The Control Bar has an icon that corresponds to "New" and another to "Open". By default, these create/open wave files. But, by holding down [Control] and clicking on these icons, you can also create or open a Project or a Database.
46 Quick Zooming UI Normal 160 To zoom out to quickly get an overview of a recording, simply press [J]. Other useful zooming shortcuts you can try out are [G], [H], [K], with or without [Shift], [Control] and [Shift]+[Control]. In addition, [K] zooms the selection so that it fits the window.
47 Selecting while playing General Normal 160 · While a wave is playing, press and hold [+] on the numeric keypad to set the start of the selection. Release the key to set the end of the selection.
· Alternatively you can press [Shift]-[1] (on the numeric key pad) to set the selection start and [Shift]-[2] to set the end.
48 Getting an optimized vertical zoom General Normal 160 You can automatically adjust the vertical zoom to the level of the peaks in the audio, by double clicking on the level ruler.
49 Default Database categories General Normal 160 The Category hierarchy that appears in new Databases can be changed. Please refer to the manual for detailed instructions.
50 Creating a new empty wave General Normal 160 A quick way of creating a new empty wave is to hold down [Control] and drag to make up a box in some empty free area of the WaveLab application windows. This box must be of a certain minimum size or bigger. The new window "inherits" its attributes from the last active window or from the "New Wave" dialog if no Window was displayed.
51 Converting 16 bit waves to 8 bit General Normal 200 The best way to convert from 16 to 8 bits is to use the batch processor. Insert a plugin such as PeakMaster, and add 8 bit dithering and noise shaping. This configuration allows you to achieve extremely good results.
52 Window List UI Normal 160 To get a list of all open windows, double click in a "free space" in the application window or press [Control] + [F2].
53 Quick Preset selection UI Normal 160 To quickly select a Preset in a dialog with tabs, click on the "Preset" tab with the right mouse button and select from the pop-up that appears.
54 Multiple views of a frequency analysis UI Low 160 When a frequency graph is being displayed, you can create a new view of it by pointing at some "free space" in the application window and dragging to make up a box. You can then change the parameters of this new view, for example to change the point of view.
55 Switching playback between windows General Normal 160 To instantly switch playback between two windows, proceed as follows: Activate playback in one window (possibly in a loop), then click in the time ruler of the other window. Using this technique you can switch playback back and forth between the two windows, for example to compare them.
If you want to click in the other window's time ruler without playing it back, hold down [Control] while clicking.
56 Playback of an individual channel General Normal 160 With the Play tool, you have the possibility to play only the left or the right channel of a stereo file. Just click on the desired channel, and at the desired location.
57 Dropping markers General Normal 160 Use the [Insert] key to drop markers during playback. According to the general preferences, a "temporary" or a "generic" marker will be created.
58 Centering the Wave display vertically UI Low 160 If you have used the vertical scroll bars, you can quickly center the display vertically by double clicking on the level ruler while holding down [Control].
59 Absolute scrolling UI Normal 160 Given a Wave window with the overview displayed, you can scroll the main view to any desired point by just clicking at the desired offset in the overview.
60 Adjusting a short loop General Normal 160 When you edit the boundaries of a (short) loop with playback activated, any changes in the selection does not take effect in playback immediately, but after a short time, according to the playback latency. To get around this, you can empty the playback buffers by pressing [F5], which empties the buffers immediately. Please note that you might hear a small click in the audio when you press the key.
61 Database: file list Database Normal 160 The maximum number of files allowed in a Database file list can be set in the Preference dialog. If you perform a search operation, that finds too many files to display at once, the Status Bar will indicate this by displaying the number of files in red.
62 Pop-up sliders appearance UI Low 160 Pop-up sliders (displayed when you click with the right mouse button on a spin control in a dialog) can be horizontal or vertical (this is set in the Preference dialog, on the Editing tab).
63 Selecting at zero crossings General Normal 160 If you cut out a portion of a wave and paste it in somewhere else, chances are there will be a discontinuity where the two waves are joined. This discontinuity will result in a transient in the wave when it is played back, which is perceived as a "click" or "bump" in the sound. To avoid this you need to make the splice at a zero crossing. WaveLab can automatically search for zero crossings, and extend the selection "outwards" (make it bigger at both ends) so that it begins and ends at a zero crossing.
The option is activated in the Options menu.
WaveLab also searches for zero crossings when you position a marker.
64 Mouse color cursors UI Low 160 The mouse cursors can be in color. This option is activated in the Preference dialog, on the Editing tab.
65 Opening the marker window UI Low 160 To open the marker window, double-click one the time ruler.
66 Recording mixer General Normal 160 To be able to use the mixer in the Record dialog, you have to specify your audio card in the Preferences dialog. A mixer can't be created if "Microsoft Sound Mapper" is selected.
Not all audio card drivers provide access to a mixer.
67 Hiding/showing a wave overview UI Normal 160 You can drag the divider to hide/show the Overview pane in the Wave window. But, you can also double-click on the separator or press [O] on the computer keyboard, to accomplish the same thing.
68 Hiding/Showing Toolbars UI Low 160 An alternative way to show/hide toolbars is to right click on them.
69 Frequency analysis options UI Low 160 If a frequency analysis window is active, you can open the dedicated option dialog by clicking anywhere in the window with the right mouse button.
70 Pasting beyond the end of a Wave General Normal 160 WaveLab allows you to paste data beyond the end of the Wave. You can use drag-and-drop or you can first position the cursor and then use the Paste command. Silence will automatically be added between the end of the file and the pasted data.
71 Positioning the Wave cursor General Low 160 When you move the cursor to the end of the Wave or at the end of the selection, using menu commands or key shortcuts, the cursor is positionned just after the last sample (that is, at the correct position to perform an insertion after selection or at the end of the Wave).
72 Database : opening multiple Wave files Database Normal 160 You can select several wave files in a Database (just as you would do in the Windows 95 Explorer). You can then drag-and-drop those files outside the Database window to open them all at once. An alternative way is to select the Open command from the speed menu. To do this, press the right mouse button anywhere in the list except on a file name (to prevent deselecting items).
You can use the same approach to change the properties (keywords, comments) of several files in a Database, in a single operation.
73 Drag-and-drop between a Database and a Project or a CD program Database Normal 200 You can use drag-and-drop to copy one or more files from a Database to a Project group, or to a CD program window.
74 Toolbar commands and Drag-and-drop UI Normal 160 To perform a Cut/Copy/Delete/Silence/Play operation, you can click on the toolbar buttons, but you can also drag-and-drop the Wave selection over the corresponding toolbar buttons.
75 Opening files from the Explorer UI Normal 160 You can open one or more files from the Explorer by using Drag-and-drop onto the WaveLab application window. You can also open a single file by double-clicking on it.
76 Selecting between markers UI Normal 200 · To select all audio between two adjacent markers, double click between them. Or, depending on the type of marker, use one of the last three options on the Select menu (on the Edit menu).

· To select the area between any two markers, double click between two adjacent markers, keep the mouse button pressed and drag to the left or right.

· To select from the cursor to the following or previous marker, select "From cursor to previous/next edge" from the Select menu (on the Edit menu), or hold down [Shift] and double click between the cursor and the marker.

· To select from cursor to start/end of file, use the select menu (on the Edit menu) or hold down [Shift] and triple click to the left/right of the marker. Also, you can press [Shift]+[Home] or
[Shift]+[End].

· To select all data between two start/end CD, Loop or Mute markers, hold down [Shift] and double click on either marker head.
77 Selecting the Play tool momentarily UI Normal 160 To quickly select the Play tool, you can hold down the [Alt] key while the mouse cursor is over the Wave window.
78 Selecting the magnifying glass tool momentarily General Normal 160 To quickly select the magnifying glass tool, you can hold down [Control] while the mouse cursor is over the Wave window.
79 Selecting samples in the Wave overview UI Normal 160 The default tool for the Wave overview is the magnifying glass tool, but you can also make selections, just hold down [Control].
80 Database: default layout Database Low 160 Each Database automatically remembers its layout when it is closed (its size, position, split bar positions and column widths). If you want to restore to the default layout, just hold down [Control] when you open the Database.
81 Changing the time ruler origin General Low 160 When you change the time ruler's origin (from the time ruler's speed menu), only the corresponding view (main view or overview) will be affected. However, if you hold down[Shift] whenyou perform the operation, the origin is changed in both the main view and the overview.
82 Record Mixer: stereo sliders UI Low 160 By default, stereo sliders in the Record Mixer are "ganged" (if you adjust one, they both move) but you can adjust them separately by holding down [Control].
83 Stopping a process General Normal 160 You can stop Wave processing:
· by pressing [Escape]
· by clicking on the STOP button that appears on the Status Bar while the process occurs.
· by clicking anywhere with the right mouse button.

Note that you can safely do the same with Save operations! Even if you overwrite a file, stopping the Save operation will perfectly restore the overwritten file.
84 Optimizing display speed System Normal 160 Unless you have specific needs, we recommend you set Windows to 256 colors. As a matter of fact, many graphic drivers are optimized for this mode and the difference in speed can be important.
85 Undo/redo marker operations Markers Normal 160 Using the regular undo/redo commands, any operation on markers can be undone/redone (creation, destruction, positioning, renaming, etc.).
86 Duplicating markers Markers Normal 160 To quickly duplicate a marker in an audio window, proceed as follows : press [Shift] and drag-and-drop the marker at another position. A copy of the marker will appear at the drop position (unless the marker's type is invalid for that particular position).
87 Editing markers Markers Normal 160 To edit the marker's attributes from an audio window, right click on the marker triangle and select the Edit option in the menu that appears. An even quicker alternative is to hold down [Alt] and double-click on the marker triangle.
88 Deleting a marker Markers Normal 160 The quickest way to delete a marker is to drag-and-drop it outside the audio window's time ruler.
89 Markers's visibility Markers Normal 160 If you have many markers defined for an audio file, you can choose to display only certain types of them. See the time ruler's speed menu.
90 Marker positions Markers Normal 160 If you cut or paste audio data between markers (or perform time stretching with markers embedded in the processed audio slice), the marker positions are recalculated so that they still point to the right samples. In other words, WaveLab behaves as if the markers were attached to samples rather than time positions.
91 Temporary markers Markers Normal 160 WaveLab has a special type of markers called "temporary". A temporary marker is a marker that is not saved with the audio file. You can create temporary markers for editing purposes and then not have to worry about deleting them. You can also transform temporary markers into any other type of marker (CD track start, or CD sub-index, etc.).
Markers that you drop on the fly with the [Insert] key can be "temporary" or "generic", according to the setting in the Preference dialog (Unit tab).
92 Creating markers while recording Markers Normal 160 While recording, you can add markers on the fly in the Record dialog by clicking on the Marker button. The Markers that you drop can be "temporary" or "generic", according to the setting in the Preference dialog (Unit tab).
93 Marker window Markers Normal 160 · You can start audio playback from any marker by double-clicking on the desired marker in the Marker window.
· Markers can be sorted by position (default) or by name (by clicking on the column headers).
94 Resolution of temporary audio files General Normal 200 Intermediate (temporary) audio files, that are created as a result of some process, can have a resolution of 16, 20, 24 or 32bits. The resolution is determined by this setting. Using 24 bit files is only slightly slower and it will use up 50% more disk space. However it will result in a better sound quality if you apply additional processing to the audio material. You can also use 32 bit float files, but this has little interest unless you need to create intermediary files with a level beyond +6 dB. This will also take more space. The following table lists the possible cases:
Source file -> Output file:
8 bit -> 16, 24 or 32 bit (according to the Preference setting)
16 bit -> 16, 24 or 32 bit (according to the Preference setting)
20 bit -> 20, 24 or 32 bit (according to the Preference setting)
24 bit -> 24 or 32 bit (according to the Preference setting)
32 bit -> 24 or 32 bit (according to the Preference setting)
95 CD track creation CD Normal 160 The quickest way to create a CD track is to make a selection and then drag-and-drop this from the audio window onto the CD Program window.
Alternatively, you can use "Create Track from selection" from the speed menu. This lets you visualize/adjust the CD markers without switching windows. This function is also available from the Marker control bar.
96 CD track selection CD Normal 160 If there is no marker between a CD track Start and end Marker, you can double-click anywhere between the markers to select the whole track. However, if there are some markers in between and you want to achieve the same result, you can either press [Control] and double-click, or you can use the menu option "Edit/Select/CD Track" (also available from the waveform speed menu).
97 Opening an audio file from the CD program CD Normal 160 You can double-click on a Track Start field to open the corresponding audio file at the Track Start marker (the entire track also gets selected). You can do the same thing to jump to a Track end or Sub-index.
You achieve the same result by dragging and dropping a Track point onto the WaveLab desktop.
98 CD track renaming CD Normal 160 To rename a CD track, press [Alternate] and double-click on the track name. In fact, this renames the Track Start and End markers.
99 Number of CD tracks per audio file CD Normal 160 You can define any number of CD tracks within the same audio file. You are not limited to 99 unless you want to burn a CD.
100 CD track files CD Normal 160 If you need to see which audio files are used in a CD program, select the menu option "CD Wizard/Sort by audio file". Alternatively, you can click on the header of the title column (click twice to see/hide the file path).
101 CD track file references CD Normal 160 A CD program stores audio file references: if you move the CD file or/and the audio files, these references might be lost. If this happens, WaveLab requests that you locate the missing files next time you open the CD Program. However, WaveLab does have some "intelligence" for this, both the absolute and relative paths are stored. This means that if you move a complete project (CD program + audio files) from one folder (including sub-folders) to any other place, all references are automatically kept intact. This is useful, for instance, if you backup your projects to removable media.
102 CD track ordering CD Normal 160 To reorder the tracks in a CD program window, you have two options:
· Drag-and-drop any track to any other position.
· Use [Control][Up] and [Control][Down] keys to move the currently selected track.
103 Multiple CD programs CD Normal 160 You can open any number of CD programs simultaneously. You can drag-and-drop CD tracks between CD windows. You can also use Copy/Paste to move items between windows.
104 CD programs used as a general purpose cut list CD Normal 160 You can add any type of audio file to a CD program, not only 16 bit Stereo 44.1 K files. You can also drag-and-drop a "CD track" onto a regular audio window: The Track contents will be inserted into the file at the position you dropped. Please note you must drag to a window displaying another file.
105 Automatic conversions of CD tracks CD Normal 160 If you ad mono files to a CD program, the audio material will be converted on the fly to stereo when you write the CD. 8, 20 and 24 bit files will also be converted to 16 bit in the same way. In ddition, the audio files don't necessarily need to be in WAV format: you can use AIFF and AU files as well. However, the sample rate must be 44.1 kHz.
You can also have dual-mono files in a CD program (two mono files considered as one stereo file). See the option "Allow opening of dual-mono files" in the Preference dialog (File tab).
106 CD time counters CD Normal 160 When playing a CD program, WaveLab displays two time counters in the bottom right corner of the CD program window. By default, these counters show the elapsed and remaining time of the current played track. If you click on these counters, WaveLab displays the global CD times instead.
107 CD program column headers CD Normal 160 You can hide column headers in the CD program window, if you don't need them. To do this, right click on any column header and select the desired option from the menu that appears.
In addition, clicking with the left mouse on the column header has a special effect for some columns:
· Title columm: Toggle the sort mode.
· Start/Length fields: Toggle the time format
· Pre-emphasis and protection status:Toggle the status of each track.
· ISRC column : automatically recalculate the ISRC serial numbers (see also the "ISRC template" parameter in the Preference dialog / CDR page).
108 CD track pause CD Normal 160 Whenever you create a CD track, WaveLab adds a pause before it. This pause has a default length defined in the CD-R tab in the Prefernces dialog. You can change the pause length for each track in the CD Program window, just double click on the pause field (in dark red color). As with any other WaveLab input field, once you have double clicked you can right click on the value to change it via a pop-up slider.
109 CD program playback CD Normal 160 There are several ways to play files in a CD program
· You can right click on any "point" (Track Start, Track End, Pause, Sub-Index) and select from the menu that appears.
· Double-click on a track "point" to start playback from this point.
· Double-click on a track-end "point" to start playback from the end of the previous track (useful for testing track transitions).
· Drag and drop the track onto the Transport bar's Play button.
Not that the files are played back exactly as on the CD.
110 Transport window and CD program CD Normal 160 When a CD Program window is active, you can use the Transport bar to switch between Tracks with the rewind/forward button, as well as to start/stop playback.
111 Deleting a CD track CD Normal 160 There are several ways to delete a CD track from the CD program window. Select the item and:
· Press the [Backspace] key.
· Select "Delete" in the Edit menu.
· Press the toolbar's trash icon.
· Drag-and-drop the track onto the trash icon.
112 Silence at CD track boundaries CD Normal 160 To prevent the music from being cut off, or the listening experience from being disturbed by motor noise in low quality CD-players, it is common to insert some silence between tracks. This is referred to as PQ adjusting. In other systems, adding PQ codes can be difficult. WaveLab does it automatically, thanks to the Advanced Settings dialog, on the CD Wizard menu.
113 UPC/EAN code CD Normal 160 To define a catalog number for your CD, do it in the "Advanced Settings" dialog, from the CD Wizard menu.
114 CD cue-sheet CD Normal 200 If you need a cue-sheet of your CD program, select "Generate cue-sheet" from the CD Wizard menu. This gives you access to a profesionnal looking cue-sheet that you can customize using the templates found in the folder \WaveLab\System\CdCueSheetTemplates.

115 CD graphical overview CD Normal 160 If you want to display your whole CD in a single audio window, including all the markers, use the "Join all tracks into one virtual file" comand. This feature creates a "virtual" CD, very quickly.
116 File optimization CD Normal 160 If you use WaveLab from Windows 95 and burn large CDs we recommend that you select "Optimize for Huge files" in the File tab in Preferences dialog.
117 CD burning CD Normal 160 WaveLab does not create any CD image before writing a CD, everything happens on the fly. This makes the process vary fast and ensures no extra hard disk space is required. However, if your computer system is on the slow side, you might want to switch to a slower writing speed (eg. 2x rather than 4x). The test modes in the Write dialog allows you to check the performance of your system.
118 Audio CD track importation Main Feature High 160 WaveLab allows you to extract audio tracks from any audio CD and save them onto your hard-disk as WAV files (check out the menu option "File/Open/Import audio CD track"). You can also playback the start of a CD track before importing it.
We much recommend the Plextor devices.
119 ActiveMovie Plug-in registration System Normal 160 If you ever need to register a "DirectX" plug-in, drag the plug-in file onto WaveLab's main window. The plug-in will then get added to the Window's registry.
120 File selector dialog UI Normal 160 WaveLab has a custom file open/save dialog box. It allows you to :
· Automatically listen to the selected WAV, AIFF, AU or PAF file before opening it.
· Check the selected file's attributes (format, number of channels, bit resolution and sample rate).
· Instantly acces any of the 15 last used paths. A great time saver!
· Expand the size of the dialog. If you have a large screen and always thought that the Microsoft standard file dialog was too small, then this option is for you!
121 MasterSection / Apply process General Normal 160 When you process to disk you can process several files at once, each with a separate set of plugins if desired, and without waiting for the previous operation to finish. By selecting a low priority for the to-disk processing you can even go on working in WaveLab without noticing that files are being processed in the background.
122 Playing a file processed in the MasterSection General Normal 200 If you want to listen to a processed file, don't forget to switch off the MasterSection's plug-ins, or the file will be processed a second time while being played back! For your convenience, you have the option of automatically switching ON the MasterSection's "Global Bypass" switch after processing to disk.
123 Resetting MasterSection faders UI Normal 160 To reset the MasterSection's faders to 0dB, simply hold down [Shift] and click on the faders. You can use the same technique to reset certain parameters in some plug-ins (eg. the EQ).
124 Plug-in parameter editing General Normal 160 To make coarse changes to a Steinberg or Spectral Design plug-in parameter, click with the right mouse button rather than with the left (before "dragging" to change the value).
125 Grungelizer General Normal 160 The Grungelizer plug-in is not installed with WaveLab. It has its own installer, on the WaveLab CD-ROM.
127 Live Input General Normal 160 WaveLab allows you to process an audio signal while it passes through your audio card. This can be a useful to test the effect of a plug-in without recording (eg. direct from DAT).
When the Live Input window is opened, you can make audio input settings (resolution, channels and sample rate) by double clicking anywhere in the window.
128 Performance Monitor General Normal 160 You can make a very accurate check of the performance of your plugins by looking at WaveLab's monitor window. When plug-ins are used and playback is activated, the purple lines in the window will give you a good idea of how much CPU power is used.
As a reference, the EQ-1 plug-in, with all 3 bands used, processing a stereo 16 bit WAV file, will take 6% of the CPU bandwidth on a Pentium-Pro 200MHZ computer.
129 Selecting the whole file UI Normal 200 To select the entire waveform:
· Double click if there is no marker, else triple click.
· Press [Cntrl]-[A].
· Select "All" from the Select menu in the Edit menu.
130 Finding the last selection again UI Normal 160 If the waveform selection was lost, you can find it again by selecting "Toggle" from the Select menu, in the View menu, or you can simply press [Esc].
131 Global CD pause adjustment CD Normal 200 If you want to apply the same pause length to all tracks of a CD program, do the following: while pressing [Control], double click on the pause of the desired track.
The pause length between all other tracks will be set to this value.
132 Using the batch processor Batch Normal 200 The batch processor is designed as an extension of the Master Section. For example, after testing in real time a configuration of plugins, one might like to call the batch processor from the Master Section to process one or several files to disk. From the batch processor, you can add additional offline plugins such as the normalizer and the meta-normalizer.
133 Saving a file in the background Batch Normal 200 A batch process takes place in the background: you can go on doing other things in WaveLab if you like. You can use this feature to save huge files for example. Add the opened file you want to save into a batch, then specify the destination path, and go... The file is saved progressively in the background, without blocking you from doing other things.
134 Processing multiple files Batch Normal 200 The Batch processor is much more effective than the "Apply" function, especially when a large number of files are to be processed. This is because it is more efficient for the computer to process the files one after the other, rather than sharing the processing power between a number of files, all processed “simultaneously” and therefore stressing the hard-drive.
135 Temporary folder System Normal 200 When specifying the partition where you want the temporary files to be created, you should, if you can, choose a location on a different hard-drive than the one where you store your main files. This is because if the file being read and the file being written lie on the same physical hard-drive, the hard-drive's heads have to move forth and back constantly between the read and the write tracks. By using two different hard-drives, you can in certain instances double the processing speed.
137 Best plug-in compatibility Main Feature Normal 200 WaveLab is compatible with DirectX plugins, VST plugins and of course with its own line of real-time and offline plugins. In other words, WaveLab is the most universal plugin host for audio processing available.
138 Batch processor efficiency General Normal 200 Unlike other applications, WaveLab's batch processor does not create any temporary files. All plugins are chained; the source file is read only once and the only written file is the final one. This results not only in extremely fast processing, but also in best possible audio quality by keeping the audio material in the 32 bit domain.

Refer to the printed manual for further details on WaveLab's unique optimized handling of plugins.

139 ZIP archive Batch Normal 200 The files produced by the batch processor can be archived in a standard ZIP file.

140 Audio Encoding Batch Normal 200 The batch processor can be used to convert a group of files to MPEG Layer 3 or other encoded formats. A very useful feature is that you can at the same time apply other types of audio processing. Everything is done in one pass and no temporary audio file is created.
141 Multi-Pass plugins Batch Normal 200 A "multi-pass" plugin is one that requires more than one reading of the audio stream. The first pass is used to analyze the audio material (eg. to find its peak), while the second pass is used to process the audio according to the result of the analysis (eg. normalize the level).

WaveLab provides 3 such plugins in the batch processor:
· A normalizer
· A DC remover (usually inserted in front of other plugins)
· A "Loudness Restorer"
142 Ultra-pass plugins Batch Normal 200 WaveLab introduces the unique concept of "ultra-pass" plugins. An "ultra-pass" plugin is one that operates accross several files. In a first time, all files are read for analysis, and in a second time, these files are processed according to the result of this analysis.

WaveLab provides one such plugin in the batch processor: the "meta-normalizer". Its purpose is to process a set of files so that they all get the same apparent loudness.

Ultra-pass plugins can be freely combined with multi-pass plugins and other standard plugins to achieve awesome combinations.
143 Document button Main Feature Normal 200 You might have noticed a small button with a purple point at the right side of the title bar of a wave window. It symbolizes the file itself and is used to "drag-and-drop" this file to some other location such as:

· onto the batch processor, to insert the file in a batch.

· onto a CD program window, to insert all its CD tracks in this CD program.

· onto a database, to insert the file in this database.

· onto a project; to insert the file in this project.

· onto the WaveLab desktop, to create a copy of the file (if you press [Control] simultaneously, you convert to mono or stereo).
144 Conditional normalizing Batch Normal 200 The normalizer has a special option called "Only if clipping". This is used in the following case: you want to prevent clipping, but you don't want to change the level if it is not required. In that case, you insert the normlizer plugin after all other plugins and activate that option. This allows you to use the Normalizer as a completely distortion-free limiter.
145 File Comparer Main Feature Normal 200 In the Analysis menu, WaveLab provides a tool that allows you to compare two files for differences and optionally create
a file that contains the difference between the two.
Moreover, markers can be generated at the points of difference.
146 Audio test signal generator Main Feature Normal 200 In the Analysis menu, WaveLab provides a tool that allows you to synthesize audio signals from scratch. You have full controls over up to 64 harmonics thanks to a "layer" approach. The resulting signals can then be used for a number of purposes:

· For testing the specifications of audio equipment.

· For measurements of various kinds, including calibrating tape recorders.

· For testing signal processing methods.

· For educational purposes.

147 Opening a file from the batch processor Batch Low 200 To open a file inserted in a batch, you can simply double click on its name. If you double-click in the output column, you open the output file instead.

Another method is to drag-and-drop the file from the batch list onto the WaveLab desktop window. Moreover, If you press [Control] at the same time, the output file is opened instead.
148 Generating Markers Markers Normal 200 WaveLab allows you to generate markers at specific pause or beat points in a file. To do this, open the dialog to create a marker, from the time ruler's speed menu. Then select the option "Automatic generation".

149 Marker visibility Markers Normal 200 If you have many markers in a file, you can choose to hide some of them using the visibility option available from the time ruler's speed menu.
150 Loop tuners Main Feature Normal 200 WaveLab provides you with high-end tools to produce perfect loops. These are available from the Sampler menu. There you will find:

· A smart Loop point finder, much better than a simple zero-crossing finder.

· 3 types of Cross fades (pre-loop, loop, post-loop).

· Different shapes of cross-fades.

· A "Wave equalizer" to help looping "difficult" sounds by balancing the timbre over the loop region.
151 Screen Layouts UI Normal 200 From the View menu, Screen Layouts are used for creating various “work displays” for different situations. The following items are stored in a Screen layout:

· The size, location and minimize/maximize properties of document windows.

· Positions of “modeless” dialog boxes, such as the off-line processors. This includes opening any such windows.

· Positions of plug-in processor panels.

Moreover, a hot-key can be assigned to any plug-in.

When restoring a windows layout, a "smart" algorithm is used that takes into account the type of documents stored in the preset and the ones currently opened on screen.
152 Customizable Key Commands UI Normal 200 In addition to the fixed key commands, selecting from menus etc, there are a number of operations for which you can set up your own computer Key Sequences. These are all found in the Key Commands dialog, which can be opened from the Options menu.
153 Organizing Plug-in Processors UI Normal 200 You may find that you need to organize your plugins into sensible groups. A host of plug-ins are included with the program, and additional ones can be added. If you have Cubase VST installed on the computer, even more plug-ins appear in WaveLab. And sometimes you also have DirectX plug-ins.

Organizing your plugins in groups is possible using the Plug-ins Manager, which is opened from the Options menu.
154 Batch processor output Batch Normal 200 With the batch processor, you can start from a single file and produce different versions out of it, by specifying a different set of plugins.
155 Multiple batch processors Batch Normal 200 You are not limited to having only one batch processor open at a time. There is no limit on the number of open or running batch processors thanks to the multi-tasking approach utilized by WaveLab.
156 Programmable output path Batch Normal 200 In a batch process, you have several options at your disposal to specify the desired output path. Look at the context menu in the "Output" page of the batch processor for more information.
You can also customize the output file prefix and suffix.
157 Peak Master Main Feature Normal 200 The Peak Master is a high-quality ultra-fast limiter, using a proprietary algorithm. This plug-in provides a safe and transparent way of boosting the percieved loudness of audio material. By limiting transients and simultaneously raising the general level by compression, the Peak Master will increase the subjective loudness of the signal without risk of distortion inducing peaks.

158 Puncher Main Feature Normal 200 The Puncher plug-in works by generating additional high-frequency harmonics on audio material. The result is a more dynamic, "punchier" sound, particularly when applied to drums and percussive material. Compared to the PeakMaster the Puncher plug-in could be described as operating in almost the opposite way. Puncher leaves quiter parts untouched but will add power to the louder portions without causing clipping. The plug-in is optimized for peak signal levels between –10 and 0dB, the closer to 0dB, the better.
159 Externalizer Main Feature Normal 200 The Externalizer is a Master Effect plug-in designed for headphone monitoring. It improves the sound and stereo localization by simulating the effect of two virtual speakers in an ideal listening position. Since the Externalizer window only has one control, it is very simple to use: Listen to a stereo recording in your headphones and use the fader to adjust the sound to your liking. If you are using Externalizer together with any effect that changes the room information, such as the Stereo Expander, you should place the Externalizer after the other effect. However, dynamic processing (such as the Loudness Maximizer) or noise reduction (such as DeNoiser) can be inserted after Externalizer in the signal chain.
160 Global Analizer Main Feature Normal 200 From the Analysis menu, you have access to a sophisticated analysis tool with which you can :

· Find peaks in a file and browse through them.
· Find Loudness minima/maxima and browse through them.
· Find clipping errors and glitches and browse through them.
· Find Pitch.
· Find DC offset.
· Find apparent bit resolution.
161 Sampler Support Main Feature Normal 200 If your system includes a sampler, WaveLab gives you the possibility to transfer samples via SCSI or/and MIDI. Check the sampler menu to see what options are available.
162 Exabyte support Main Feature Normal 200 If you are doing professional CD mastering using Exabyte tapes, there is a separate Exabyte driver available as an option. This features:

· Complete support to create profesionnal CD images in DDP format (according to the DCA standard).
· Complete integration with WaveLab: burn to CDR or Exabyte in the same way. Extract audio from a CD or from an Exabyte tape in the same way.
· Compatible with Sonic Solutions, SADiE and DCA systems
· Automatically creates CD Programs from DDP-Files
· Automatic Verify
163 Finding the right point Markers Normal 200 Thanks to the programmable playback feature available from the transport bar, you can define where the sound should start and stop. This can be a marker, a selection edge, etc...
This feature can help you find the desired point in an audio file.
164 Mute regions Markers Normal 200 WaveLab has a special type of markers called "Mute markers" that allow you to define what regions to skip during playback. These are useful in helping you adjust the edges of a region you want to cut, before actually cutting it. A good idea is to define a loop slightly larger than the region to cut, and to adjust the mute markers while playing the loop.

When applying a process through the Master Section's Apply dialog, you can choose to skip the muted regions. In other words, the output file will not include these regions.
165 Apply process and skip tail General Normal 200 When processing a file through a reverb or echo, you might like to skip the extra sound added at the end because of the reverb/echo. In this case, select the "no tail" function from the Master Section's Apply dialog.
166 Loop markers Markers Normal 200 You can define any number of loops. Loops can be played a specific number of times or endlessly. You can have loops inside other loops. You can also have mute regions inside loops.
When applying a process through the Master Section's Apply dialog, you can choose to "roll out" the loops, provided a finite number of loops has been specifed. For example, if a loop is programmed to be played 3 times, then the audio material of the loop will be reproduced 3 times in the output file.
167 Mouse zooming Main Feature Normal 200 WaveLab provides a very convenient way to zoom quickly to any point and zoom factor:
1. Position the mouse pointer over the ruler in the main view.
2. Press the mouse button and drag up or down.
The zoom factor changes continuously.

This technique works very well in combination with the fact that you can move the song position by dragging horizontally in the ruler. By dragging in both directions, you can quickly find a certain position in the file and display it at the desired magnification factor.

Additional options:
· To freeze the cursor position, hold down [Shift].
· To make vertical zoom adjust automatically to the peaks in the waveform, hold down [Control].
· To switch to scrolling, hold down [Alt].
168 Playback browser Main Feature Normal 200 The Playback browser feature helps you to quickly find certain positions in an audio file, by restarting playback repeatedly when you click or drag to move the wave cursor.
This is how it is done:

1. Start Playback or select the Play Tool.
2. Click or/and drag in the time ruler.

If you click, playback jumps immediately to the position you clicked at. If you drag continuously, playback is automatically restarted several times a second, from the cursor position.
169 Master Section presets Main Feature Normal 200 On the "Options" menu, you can choose to save all the current Master Section settings as a Preset, or load previously saved Presets. The stored settings include which processors were used, the settings for each processor and dithering options, as well as the position of each plugin's window.

These presets can be reused from the batch processor.
170 Pitch correction with formant preservation Main Feature Normal 200 From the Pitch correction dialog, you have the option to preserve the formants in the sound. Changing the pitch of vocal material will give a far more realistic result by avoiding "Mickey mouse effects". When you are processing non-vocal material, you should leave this option deactivated, since it uses a slower processing algorithm.

171 Audio Quantize Time Stretching Main Feature Normal 200 In the Time Stretch dialog, if the option "Audio Quantize" is activated, then the length of the resulting file will be exactly the one displayed in the Result section of the dialog. When it is deactivated, the actual file length may differ by a few milliseconds.
If you don’t need this accuracy, you should leave the option deactivated, for slightly better sound quality.

172 Plugin parameters General Normal 200 For certain plugins, you can double-click on a parameter to open a small box and enter a new value from the keyboard.

173 Status bar UI Normal 200 You can click on the Status bar field to access a certain number of functions. Click:

· with the left mouse button on the cursor field to scroll the wave display up to the cursor (useful if the cursor is out of sight).

· with the right mouse on the cursor field to be able to set accuratly a desired cursor position.

· on the selected level field to see the level at the exact cursor position.

· on the zoom field, to access the zoom menu.

· on the file attribute field in order to adjust these attributes.
174 Intellimouse support UI Normal 200 If you have a Microsoft Intellimouse or compatible pointing
device, you can take advantage of the wheel for various operations in WaveLab :

Scrolling
· If you point at a waveform, the wheel scrolls the view horizontally.

Zooming
· If you hold down [Ctrl] and point at a waveform, the wheel zooms the
view horizontally.
· If you hold down [Ctrl] and [Shift] and point at a waveform, the wheel zooms the view vertically.

Changing Values
· If you point at an edit field in a dialog, the wheel can be used to adjust the value.
· If you also hold down [Ctrl], the value changes in bigger steps and if you hold down [Ctrl] and [Shift] it jumps to the bottom/top values.

Master Section
· When working in the Master Section window, the wheel can be used to adjust the master volume. If you hold down [Shift] the value changes in steps of 6dB (rather than 1dB).
· If you hold down [Alt] you can change the Master Section volume, regardless of which window is active. This can be combined with [Shift] as described above.
175 Snap cursor General Normal 200 When both the option "Snap to time" and "Snap to zero-crossing" are enabled, then "Snap to time" is executed first.
176 Cubase keyboard compatibility General Normal 200 If you are accustomed to Steinberg's Cubase sequencer key commands, there is an option in the general preferences which enables WaveLab to use the same key commands as Cubase for moving the cursor and for zooming.
177 Untitled files UI Normal 200 "Untitled" files generated by the MasterSection's "Apply" function keeps track of the original file from which they were created and displays this (filename) in the title bar.
178 Sample rate and CD programs CD Normal 200 It is possible to play different sample rates from a CD program: the clicked file defines the sample rate.
179 $$$ files General Normal 200 In the event of a program crash, you can recover the temporary files that WaveLab creates, just by reopening them. They have the extension $$$. When doing so, you are requested to specify their format: number of channels, sample rate and bit resolution. The bit resolution to take into account is the one that is set for temporary files in the general preferences.
180 Playing mono files General Normal 200 Certain audio card drivers won't allow mono files to playback directly, for example, because of the bit resolution (20 or 24 bit) used. Some other audio cards will play the audio only through the left loudspeaker.
If you have such an audio card, then you can activate the option "Convert mono to stereo" in the playback page of the general preferences. When doing so, WaveLab converts the mono file to a stereo file on the fly, just before sending it to the audio card.

181 MPEG Layer 3 General Normal 300 WaveLab can open and create MP3 files. WaveLab uses the latest compression technology from Fraunhofer, which produces the world's best audio quality.

There are 3 ways to create MP3 files:

* Menu File/Save Special/Encode (MP3).
(a wave file needs to be the active window).

* From the batch processor (Output page)

* From the MasterSection (Apply), to Mix Down a file or Audio Montage, with all effects, directly to MP3.






182 Time Stretching General Normal 300 WaveLab 3.0 provides a new high-quality Time Stretching and Pitch Shift engine, already known as "TimeBandit" on the Macintosh.
183 Performances General Normal 300 WaveLab 3.0's new audio file engine provides better file read/write performances than ever. Whether you use Windows 98 or Windows NT, one or two processors, WaveLab knows how to best use all the power of your hardware.
Morever, WaveLab uses optimizations depending on your processor. You can see in the "About" box what processor instruction set WaveLab is using. Specific optimizations are used for the Pentium III, Pentium II, Pentium MMX and Pentium Pro.
184 Recording General Normal 300 WaveLab 3.0 provides a completely new full featured recorder. Some of the features: start on sound, stop on silence, scheduled start and stop, pause with buffering, split file mode to record even 24h/24h, automated marker generation, background recording, peak/Vu meter, spectrum analyser, phase meter, DAT Start ID recording, etc...
185 MTC Synchronization General Normal 300 Playback can be synchronized to Midi Time Code. This can be triggered from the transport bar, or simply by pressing F9. Locking is very fast.
For Audio montages, it is also possible to finely adjust the synchronization offset while playback, through the nudge tool.
186 Sample accurate Jog and Shuttle General Normal 300 WaveLab provides a powerful Jog and shuttle tool, to help you locate an audio point. This tool works with any audio card. It can be activated from the transport bar, or with F10. It can be used both for audio files and montages. It is advised to zoom-in properly to use it efficiently. Being demanding on graphical resources, you should reduce the window size if your computer is not powerful enough.

Click and drag the top area of the window (wave), or the purple bar (montage), to jog.

Click and hold down the mouse button in the bottom area of the window (wave) or anywhere in the window (montage), to play the sound forward or backwards, with a speed between 0 and 3 times the regular speed.
187 Tabs General Normal 300 The WaveLab frame window displays tabs for each open window (eg. audio files, montages). This allows you to quickly switch from window to another.

There is also another use: if you need to drag and drop something from window A to window B (eg. audio selection), you can move the mouse over the tab B, while dragging, to activate window B.

You can also position the mouse cursor over a tab, and leave it there one second, to see a popup banner that displays the full path of the file.

You can also double-click on a tab to maximize/restore the window.

From the view menu, you can position the tabs at any border of the frame window. You can also hide them.
188 Scrolling during playback General Normal 300 You can activate waveform scrolling during playback from the option menu. This is even possible for audio montages, provided your computer is powerful enough.

189 Audio Montage Montage Normal 300 The main new feature of WaveLab is the "Audio Montage", a multi-Track non-destructive editing environment, which allows you to arrange, edit, play back and record audio Clips on multiple Tracks. Featuring Clip-based effects, volume and pan automation, wide-ranging fade and crossfade functions, real-time metering, direct creation of CDs and synchronization to MIDI Time Code, the Audio Montage is a great tool for many audio projects.
WaveLab’s Audio Montage is not a "multi-track tape machine emulator". Rather you should think of it as an audio editing system, or a "work-bench" for assembling multi-Track audio pieces.
190 Audio Montage performances Montage Normal 300 The new multi-track engine of WaveLab has been designed to provide unmatched performances. To be able to play a maximum number of tracks, we can advice:

* Use SCSI drives. Though today IDE drives are as fast as SCSI drives for common uses, the later are faster for multi-track playback, because they use less CPU (you can use more effects), and optimize better disk read commands.

* Increase RAM. WaveLab has a proprietary cache engine to optimize audio file access. The more tracks you need to play, the more RAM you need. You can do quite well with 64 MB, but 128 MB or more should be considered.


191 Windows 98 vs 2000 General Normal 300 Though WaveLab works quite well under Windows 98, you get slightly better perforance under Windows 2000.
192 Montage mouse actions Montage Normal 300 There are numerous possible mouse interactions in a montage window. To ease learning, have a look at the bottom of the window: a line provides constant information about what can be done at the current mouse location. To get details about the symbols displayed in this line, simply double-click on it.

193 Multiple montages Montage Normal 300 Multiple audio montages can be simultaneously opened, and you can drag and drop clips and audio selections between each.
194 Creating clips Montage Normal 300 There are multiple ways to create clips in a montage:

* Drag and drop (and copy and paste) between wave windows and montage windows.

* Drag and drop (and copy and paste) between montages or inside a same montage.

* Drag and drop from the montage's explorer window.

* Right click in the free space of a track.

195 Undo/redo in montage Montage Normal 300 All editing operations in the montage can be indefinitely undone/redone. Since WaveLab only stores the differences between each editing step, little memory is used so undo/redo is lightning fast. Moreover, operation logging is smart as it traces similar successive operations and compresses them as one, as soon as a different editing operation is executed.
196 Montage integration in WaveLab Montage Normal 300 Montages are fully integrated with the rest of the editing environment. Some examples:

* No only can you drag-and-drop audio from a wave into a montage, but reciprocally, you can drag-and-drop audio from a montage into a wave.

* Every editing operation you do/undo/redo in a wave which is referenced inside one or more clips of a montage, is immediatly reflected inside the montage.

* For each clip, you can optionally choose to display the markers and the time ruler of the source audio files.

* You can edit the wave used by a clip by a simple double click at the top of the clip (customizable), or by dragging the clip and dropping it onto the WaveLab desktop.
197 Colors in a Montage Montage Normal 300 It is possible to fully customize the colors used in a montage (menu "View", when a montage is the active window).
Moreover, you can assign different colors to tracks, clip groups and individual clips.
198 Montage's nudge tool Montage Normal 300 A very complete nudge tool is provided.
With F11/F12 you can finely adjust many elements of a montage.
The powerful "Auto-select" mode allows you to nudge the item that was last edited with the mouse.
You access the nudge options in the menu "Options" of the Montage Edit page.

199 Fast graphics Montage Normal 300 The montage window offers exceptionally fast graphics. Best performances are obtained in 16 bit color mode, because 24 and 32 bit graphic modes require more memory. This being said, high bit modes are ok with a fast graphical card and enough memory.
200 Customizable hot points in clips Montage Normal 300 Basic rearranging of Clips in the Audio Montage is done by clicking and dragging with the mouse. However, the results of dragging with the mouse depend on where in the Clip you click. The different areas in a Clip are called Mouse Zones and can be redefined in the Edit page.
201 Crossfading of clips Montage Normal 300 Crossfading two clips is as simple as dragging one clip onto another. The result is immediate, both graphically and acoustically.
The number of crossfade features is extremely wide, making WaveLab one of the most powerful tool ever designed in the domain of digital editing.
Some of the features:

* Real-time computation of crossfades
* Unlimited crossfade shapes
* Factory and user presets
* Smart Waveform snaping, to create crossfades with reduced phase cancellations.
* Several automatic crossfade modes
* Mono or stereo crossfades

202 Special ways to move clips and audio in clips Montage Normal 300 If you want to adjust the position in the audio file to which a clip refers, you can do this by "sliding" the audio within the clip.

Reciprocally, you can move a clip in the montage, with the audio source remaining at a fixed position relative to the montage start.

Please refer to the manual for these special procedures.
203 Quick montage cloning Montage Normal 300 By dragging the montage's purple button (caption bar), onto the WaveLab desktop, you instantly create a clone of the montage.
This method is useful if you want to create several versions of the Montage, for example, experimenting with variations.
204 Full montage cloning Montage Normal 300 You can create a full cloning of a montage by both cloning the montage settings and recreating all the audio files used by the montage. See menu function: File/Save special/Full cloning.
205 Montage meta-normalizer Montage Normal 300 The montage meta-normalizer is a powerful non-destructive tool that allows two things:

1) Adjust the level of each clip, so that they all get the same loudness. Very useful when preparing a CD.

2) Adjust the output level of the Master Section, to ensure that the montage mixdown will never clip.
206 Montage and effects Montage Normal 300 Each clip of a montage can be assigned between 1 and 10 VST effetcs. Each effect only uses CPU if playback traverses the clip. The "send-level" of each effect can be automated with a dedicated clip envelope.
Moreover, the output of the MasterSection is fed through the Master Section, allowing you to process the signal through 6 additional VST or DX plugins.

207 Complete Montage Metering Montage Normal 300 WaveLab offers a powerfull metering of the montage output (more exactly, of the Master-Section output). You can monitor:
* Peaks
* Volume (VU)
* Phase
* Spectrum (60 bands)

Colors and ballistics are customizable, and 5 user presets are available.
208 Montage backup management Montage Normal 300 You can keep the trace of up to 1000 backups of a given montage. Moreover, an auto-save function is available. See the History page.
209 CD burning of a montage Montage Normal 300 The montage can be used to prepare and burn CDs.
CD burning can be performed on the fly, with all the effects, from the CD page. Another possibility is to first create a CD image (see the "Apply" function in the Master Section).
210 Montage's CD-Wizard Montage Normal 300 The montage's CD-Wizard is a powerful assistant that can create CD Track markers and adjust pauses and gaps. You need only create and position clips in the montage. After you call the CD-Wizard, you are ready to burn your CD!


211 Waveform reshaping in clips Montage Normal 300 By default, waveforms displayed in clips are reshaped by fade/volume/pan envelopes. This option can be deactivated from the montage Edit page.
212 Virtual split of stereo tracks Montage Normal 300 A montage stereo track (hosting stereo files) can be split into two mono tracks, instantly and non-destructively. This is done from the track menu.
213 Clip groups Montage Normal 300 Clips can be grouped. Groups can themselves be grouped. When you click on a clip belonging to a group, all other clips in the group get selected.
214 Clip snaping Montage Normal 300 When you snap a montage element (clip edge, marker, cursor, etc.) on another element, you get a visual feedback as a popup yellow arrow.
215 Montage markers Montage Normal 300 Montage markers can have an absolute position, or can be relative to a clip edge. When you move a clip, all its relative markers are moved too.
216 Ducking through envelopes Montage Normal 300 You can create ducking effects between Clips on two adjacent Tracks. With the option "Duck according to other Track", the level of a clip can be altered by the presence of the clips in the adjacent track.
217 Clip local menus Montage Normal 300 If you right-click on a clip, you get a popup menu. But if you right-click precisely on a clip envelope, you get another menu.

218 Time stretching of clips Montage Normal 300 From the clip local menu, you can call a function to time-stretch a clip. This function is non-destructive because a new file is created and the original audio material remains unchanged. In the same way, you can correct the pitch of a clip.

219 Adding/Deleting an envelope point Montage Normal 300 The fastest way to create an envelope point, is to double-click on an envelope segment.
The fastest way to delete an envelope point, is to double-click on the point.
220 Splitting a clip Montage Normal 300 There are two fast ways to split a clip: position the edit cursor at the desired point, then press "S" or double-click at the top of the clip, at the edit cursor position.
221 Montage time ruler Montage Normal 300 From the time ruler, you can:

* Click and move the mouse up and down to zoom in/out. Hold shift to keep the cursor at its original position.

* Double-click to start playback (if you hold the button down a while, playback stops when you release the button).

* Single-click to move the cursor or the playback position.

* Right-click to access the local menu.
222 Cue point Montage Normal 300 Each clip has a definable cue-point. You can even set this cue-point out of a clip, e.g., if you need to position/snap the clip at a certain distance from another one.
223 Montage template Montage Normal 300 With the option "File/Save special/Save as template", you can define the current montage to be the default montage. From now on, whenever you create a new montage, this one inherits from all the template settings.
The default montage is stored in the WaveLab system folder under the name "def.mon".
224 Clip library Montage Normal 300 Clips, with all their related effects and settings, can be individually saved and later reloaded. One can use this feature e.g., to create space-efficient sound libraries.
225 Inter-track modulation Montage Normal 300 The VST plugin standard allows the creation of plugins that accept more than a stereo input, hence that can process an audio signal according to another audio signal. WaveLab is delivered with one such plugin: the "Ducker". This plugin controls the volume of a track by another track.

226 Montage overview Montage Normal 300 In the Edit page of the montage, you can see an overview. You can use this Overview to zoom in or out, and for navigating to other sections of the Montage. This is done by
moving and resizing the Track View Rectangle in the overview. You can also double-click on a clip symbol to zoom it.
227 Editing the level of multiple clips Montage Normal 300 You can change the level/pan of multiple clips simultaneously: select the desired clips, then change the envelope level while pressing [Alt].
228 View's undo history Montage Normal 300 There is a separate "Undo History" for Zoom, View and cursor Position changes in the Audio Montage. Eg. if you zoom-in to see a detail, you can zoom-out to the original setting simply by pressing the undo command. Hundreds of steps can be memorized in that way.
Press [<] to undo, and [>] to redo. Or press the small arrow buttons at the top left corner of the track view.
229 Montage Mix-Down Montage Normal 300 You Mix-down a montage through the "Apply" function of the Master-Section. You can perform a selective mix-down, eg. only the selected clips, or only a time range.
The result can be saved as a temporary file, or as a specific file. You can even save the result as a MP3 file.

230 VST 2.0 offline plugins General Normal 300 WaveLab can host the new "offline" plugins defined by the VST 2.0 specification. Offline plugins are CPU-intensive plugins that can't be used in real-time, or that need to access the audio files in a non-sequential manner.

At this date (09/99), no such plugin is yet available, but when such plugins appear, you can access them from a new menu (which remains invisible if no plugin was detected).

231 Montage's Zoom view Montage Normal 300 There are two main crossfade contexts:
* The "artistic" crossfades, for example when you want to crossfade two songs to make a nice transition. Usually, these types of crossfades are quite long, and can easily be created from the Track view.
* The "patch" crossfades, for example when you want to replace a section of audio, and want this to be done as transparently as possible, without any audible discontinuity in the resulting audio. In these cases, it is necessary to make the crossfades as short as possible. These types of crossfades are best created in the Zoom View....

To achieve "seamless" splices, the Zoom View helps you create very short crossfades, automatically matching the phase of the two Clips, hence minimizing harmonic cancellations. This method, though more CPU demanding, is far superior to the common method of just finding zero crossing points.
232 Pencil editing General Normal 300 There is a pencil tool available from the toolbar if you need to redraw part of a waveform. This can be useful e.g. if your audio file has a click to remove.
If you press [Shift] when clicking with the pencil on a stereo waveform, you can paint both channels simultaneously.