Sonic Foundry SOUND FORGE XP User Manual

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INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCING SOUND FORGE XP

Sound Forge XP is a compact, easy-to-use digital audio editing solution for the
Windows platform.With a Windows-compatible sound card, Sound Forge XP
gives you the ability to record, edit and process professional-quality digital
audio files. Sound Forge XP supports an extensive set of file formats, allowing
you to develop audio for training and business presentations, Web content,
musical recordings, computer games, and digital video productions.

The latest version of Sound Forge XP offers expanded file format support,
including Microsoft Video for Windows (AVI), RealAudio and RealVideo (RA,
RM), and Active Streaming Format (ASF) files using Microsoft NetShow. Its
new features include improved processing speeds, additional effects, and
support for adding regions and markers to sound files.

Sound Forge XP was developed with input from musicians, sound editors,
multimedia and game designers, and studio engineers, among others. Although
Sound Forge XP includes features specific to these applications, they can also
be applied in many other creative ways.

Sound Forge XP is a deep program.There are many features which you may not
discover immediately, and others that may seem overwhelming. Don’t let this
scare you. Remember, there’s always the Undo command! The best advice for
using Sound Forge XP is to jump in and start using it. Pick up the manual now
and then, read through a section to learn a few new tricks, and then go back
and try what you’ve learned.

READING THE MANUAL

In developing Sound Forge XP, one of our primary goals was to make the
interface as easy to use as possible. However, some features may not be
immediately apparent, so we hope you take some time to at least page quickly
through the manual.That way, you won’t miss any of Sound Forge XP’s creative
potential.

This manual is designed to function both as a reference guide and tutorial. It
is divided into six chapters and seven appendices; chapters 2-5 contain step­by-step instructions on using Sound Forge XP’s functions, chapter 6 contains
reference information. Highlighted throughout the text, you will find Tips

outlining particularly important information to help you quickly find what
you need to get started.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

The Introduction briefly describes Sound Forge XP, includes installation,
registration and help information, and provides a general overview of digital
sound for those who have no previous experience producing digital audio.

CHAPTER 2 SOUND FORGE XP BASICS

Chapter 2 is designed to provide you with an introduction to working within
the Sound Forge XP interface using a combination of descriptions and
tutorials.

CHAPTER 3 EDITING AND NAVIGATION

This chapter provides explanations and tutorials covering Sound Forge XP’s
editing functions and how to navigate through sound files.

CHAPTER 4 FILE FORMATS AND ATTRIBUTES

Chapter 4 describes how to work with file formats, including AVI and Internet
files, and file attributes.

CHAPTER 5 RECORDING AND SOUND PROCESSING

Chapter 5 introduces the recording functions of Sound Forge XP, and explains
how to employ processes and effects.

CHAPTER 6 SOUND FORGE XP REFERENCE

The Reference chapter details all Sound Forge XP menus and dialogs.

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APPENDICES A-G

The Appendices are designed to provide in-depth technical and reference
information. They include:

Appendix A Optimizing Sound Forge XP

Appendix B Troubleshooting

Appendix C Shortcuts

Appendix D Sound Formats

Appendix F Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)

Appendix G Using CSOUND, MTU, IRCAM, BICSF and EBICSF Files

GETTING STARTED

The first thing you should do is register Sound Forge XP by filling out
the enclosed registration card and returning it to Sonic Foundry within
30 days of purchase.Alternately, you will be given the option to register
via your modem at the end of the installation process.

You must be registered for us to provide you with technical support and
upgrade information.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

In order to use Sound Forge XP, you will need:

• Intel Pentium or Alpha AXP microprocessor

• Microsoft Windows 9x or Windows NT 4.0 or later

• Windows-compatible sound card

• VGA display

• CD-ROM drive

• 16 MB RAM

• 5 MB of hard-disk space for program installation

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NOTE

INSTALLATION

The install utility SETUP.EXE on the setup CD creates any necessary directories
and copies all files required by Sound Forge XP.

1. After placing the Sound Forge XP CD-ROM in the drive, AutoPlay will bring
an installation menu into focus. Simply follow the instructions.

2. If you have disabled the CD-Rom AutoPlay feature, run Setup from the Start
menu as indicated below. Click OK to continue.

REGISTRATION

If you have an Intel-based system you may register online via your modem and
a toll free number. At the end of Sound Forge XP setup, choose Yes when asked
whether or not to register.

1. Enter user information and survey information.

2. Follow the dialog instructions.

3. Watch your mail for future Sound Forge XP products and upgrades.

ACTIVATION

After you click OK in the initial Welcome menu, you will be asked to enter
your activation code.This code can be found on the inside cover of your Sound
Forge XP manual.You must have this activation code whenever you wish to run
the setup program.

Sound Forge XP comes with only one copy protection requirement: you must
use the activation code whenever you run the setup program. Please allow us
to continue this policy by abiding by the license agreement and giving your
friends our phone number rather than a copy of the software.

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GETTING HELP

ONLINE HELP

A variety of help functions are included in the Sound Forge XP program.There
are three methods for accessing online Help:

• Find information about any program function by selecting Contents under
the Help menu or pressing F1.This will take you straight to the Help table
of contents. From this dialog, you can search by topic or get information
about using online Help.

• Find information about a specific dialog by pressing the Help button in the
dialog or the F1 function key.

• Find information about a specific menu command by pressing the F1
function key while selecting a menu item.

You will find that online Help is extremely useful as a quick reference guide.
Since many topics are cross-linked, it’s easy to navigate through all of the Help
material available on a topic. Once you have become familiar with Sound
Forge XP, you’ll probably never have to refer to this manual to find
information. All you’ll need is the online Help.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

If you experience problems while using Sound Forge XP, our technical support
department is always ready to help you.

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BEFORE YOU CALL

So that we are able to provide you with the best possible support, please check
the following before calling:

• Make sure you have registered online or sent in your registration card.

• Check to see that the information you need isn’t already covered in the
manual. Appendix B, Troubleshooting, addresses many commonly asked
questions about using Sound Forge XP.

• Verify that you’ve installed your sound card properly in Windows. Refer to
your Windows manual or your sound card’s instructions for information on
correctly installing sound cards.

• Confirm that you have enough editing space available on your hard drive
for the sounds you are editing.

• Have your serial number and type of sound card available to you.

• Use a phone near your computer so that our technicians can walk you
through the answer to your question step-by-step if necessary.

REACHING TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Technical support is free for the 90 days following your first call. After 90 days,
there are a variety of support plans available. For more information on
extended support plans, contact us using any method below.

WEB

www.sonicfoundry.com

Our web page is a valuable resource for program updates, technical
information and support.

INTERNET MAIL

[e-mail]

You may also send us email via the Internet.

FAX

[phone]

You can fax us 24-hours a day.

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PHONE

[phone]

Call our technical support line between the hours of 9 AM and 6 PM Central
Standard Time, Monday through Friday.

FAX ON DEMAND

[phone]

Our Fax on Demand service is available 24 hours a day as an option on the
main Sonic Foundry phone line.

OVERVIEW OF DIGITAL SOUND

If you are new to digital sound editing, it will be well worth your time to
become familiar with some basic concepts. This section covers the most
important fundamentals. However, we strongly recommend that you page
through a book on digital audio and sound recording if you want to get the
most out of Sound Forge XP’s editing and digital signal processing features.

SOUND WAVES

When you hear a sound, you are sensing changes in the air pressure around
your eardrum. You can think of air pressure as the density of air molecules.
When an object vibrates or moves, it displaces air molecules causing a pressure
change. This in turn causes other air molecules to move. We don’t hear air
pressure changes caused by the weather. Instead, we hear air pressure
differences that vary rapidly over time.

These rapid vibrations are picked up by your ears and converted to electrical
signals that your brain interprets as sound. If we were to graph the air pressure
at your eardrum as a function of time while you were listening to a short
sound, it might look like the waveform below.

LOUDNESS AND PITCH

When the air pressure is constant there is no sound.You perceive constant air
pressure as silence. When something causes a sound, the air pressure around
your eardrum changes above and below the normal atmospheric level. You
perceive the amount of change as the loudness of the sound.The loudness of a
sound, called its amplitude, is usually measured as a fraction of a standard
level, often in decibels (dB).

You perceive the rate of change in the air pressure as the pitch of the sound.
In scientific terms, this term corresponds to the frequency of the wave. The
frequency is usually measured in Hertz (Hz), or cycles per second.

Sounds in nature are not as simple as the above sine wave. In reality, a sound
would look something like the one below. This irregular waveform does not
have a periodic amplitude or frequency.

TIMBRE

Complex waveforms like the one shown above are constructed by combining
a number of simple waveforms (like the one in the first drawing) of different
amplitudes and frequencies. This is why we perceive both high and low
pitched sounds at once when we hear most natural sounds.

The characteristic sound of a waveform (be it produced by a grand piano or a
violin) is called its timbre. Timbre, also referred to as tone color, is said to be
rich or full when there are many different frequencies in a sound. Most people
consider a sound from a sine wave dull since it only has one frequency.

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The different frequencies in a sound, combined with the varying amplitudes
of each frequency, make up the spectral content of a waveform. The spectral
content, which you might say is the more scientific term for timbre, usually
varies over time. Otherwise, the sound remains static and again sounds dull.
The spectral characteristic of a waveform over time is the signature of a tone
that allows you to describe it as string-like or horn-like.

ANALOG RECORDING AND PLAYBACK

Let’s say you’re recording with a microphone. As you hold the microphone up
in the air and talk, the microphone converts the changes in air pressure into
changes in electrical voltage.This is called an analog signal.

If you were to graph the changing voltage inside a microphone cord, it would
look exactly like the graph of the air pressure going up and down. To record
your voice, you would send the signal to a medium, such as magnetic tape, that
can store a replica of the analog signal.

To play back your recording, you need something to create the differences in
air pressure, which our ear interprets as sound, i.e., an audio speaker. Speakers
operate by moving a cone from one position to another in a consistent
manner. In order to move the cone either forward or backward the speaker
must be driven by an electrical current. During playback, a tape or record
player generates a current, which is then fed to an amplifier. When connected
to a speaker, the current moves the speaker in a way that reproduces the
pressure changes sensed by the microphone during recording.

Until recently, sound was always recorded as an analog signal on magnetic tape
or vinyl grooves. One problem with storing a signal in this form is that it is
hard to accurately record the analog signal without adding noise. When you
make copies of your recording you have to convert it to an electrical signal and
then re-record it, adding even more noise. Listen to a third generation cassette
recording and you’ll know what we’re talking about. Also, editing with tape is
a not an easy task, since you must always be fast-forwarding or rewinding to a
section, splicing, etc. Tape-based editing is called linear editing.

DIGITAL RECORDING

With recent advances in computer technology, it has become efficient and
economical to record sound waves using a process called digital sampling. In
digital sampling, the analog signal of the sound wave is divided and stored as
numbers that represent the amplitude of the wave over very small segments
of time.

For a moment, let’s take a look at another process that is very similar to the
way our computer makes sound – the making of movies and television. Given
a scene with a person walking, we can slow down the speed at which the
pictures are shown and see that each movement is captured by a different
picture.As we speed up the rate of the pictures passing by, the motion becomes
more fluid and eventually we stop noticing each individual picture. If we keep
speeding up the movie the person appears to walk faster and faster and
eventually ends up looking quite humorous. The important point is that a
movie is just a collection of individual pictures.

So how do people record a movie? Obviously they pick up a movie camera and
film the action. The movie camera takes a series of pictures at a fast rate and
saves them on the film. The movies we see are simply a collection of pictures
that are played back in rapid succession.

When we record a sound through the sound card in a computer (also called
digitizing or sampling) we do much the same thing as the movie camera.The
computer rapidly checks what position the microphone is in and saves it in the
computer. When done recording, the computer has a collection of individual
positions (normally called samples) which it can use to recreate the sound we
have recorded. Individually, the samples are almost meaningless, much like an
individual picture in a movie, but together they make up the recorded sound.
This method of recording and playing sound is known as digitized sound.

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THE PC SPEAKER

A simple model for a digital system is one where a speaker cone can be in one
of two positions, either in or out, corresponding to the numbers 1 and 0 stored
in a computer. The normal position, in, is when the speaker is sitting at rest
with no current applied.The speaker isn’t moving and we don’t hear anything.
When current is applied the speaker cone moves to the other position, out. As
the speaker moves to the out position it forces the air around it to move and
we hear a small click or pop. If we leave the speaker sitting in the out position
we again hear nothing since the speaker only produces sound when it is
moving, not when it is stationary.

Now if we move back and forth between the in and out positions we will hear
a tone. As we move it faster and faster between the two positions (increasing
the frequency) we will hear the tone increase in pitch.This model of a simple
digital speaker system is exactly how the speaker inside your PC operates.
Programs can put the speaker in either the in or out position to make sounds.
Although there are more complicated methods to allow this type of system to
produce sounds other than tones, they are beyond the scope of this
introductory text.

EXPANDING THE MODEL

Instead of using just the two-position model, let’s suppose we had a system
that allowed us to have 100 positions or even more. If this were the case then
we would be able to make much more complex sounds. We could move the
speaker just a little bit or we could move it all the way out. This would allow
us to have more precise control of the amplitude of the waveform. The more
positions we have, the more flexibility we have in producing sound. For
example, if we were to represent amplitude as a number from one to four, any
values that fell in between positions would be rounded to the closest value.
This rounding error is called quantization noise. When more positions are
available, rounding errors become smaller.

You will often see a sound card referred to as 8-bit or 16-bit. We can directly
relate this to the number of positions in which we can place the speaker.With
an 8-bit card we can place it in 256 different positions and with a 16-bit card
we can place it in any of 65,536 positions. Although you might think that a
16-bit card should have twice as many positions as an 8-bit card, this is not
the case. It actually has 256 times as many positions. Even though 16-bit
samples take up twice as much space as 8-bit samples, it is recommended that
when at all possible you use 16-bit samples to minimize quantization noise.

SAMPLING RATE

The number of times a sound waveform is checked each second is the
sampling rate.The sampling rate is similar to the frame rate in movies. As you
can imagine, with higher sampling rates you store more information about the
sound’s changing amplitude. This gives you more fidelity.

As a matter of fact, it is impossible to accurately record frequencies above one­half of the sampling rate. This threshold frequency is called the Nyquist
frequency, and should be considered when selecting a sampling rate.
Frequencies higher than the Nyquist frequency show up as noise.

The downside to very high sampling rates is that since each sample takes up
space in memory (1 byte for 8-bit samples, 2 bytes for 16-bit samples), higher
sampling rates will fill up your hard drive faster than lower sampling rates. For
instance, a stereo digitized sound of 44,100 Hz 16-bit data (approximately
what your CD player uses) lasting 10 seconds takes up almost 2 megabytes of
space! This means if you have a 40 megabyte hard drive you couldn’t even store
4 minutes of sound data, and that’s without having any programs or other data
on your system.

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ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL EDITING

The advantages of digital editing far outweigh the enormous storage
requirements. Once you’ve recorded a sound as a digital sample on your hard
drive, you have the ability to perform edits like copying, cutting, and pasting
without losing any fidelity and, as some people like to brag, with accuracy of
up to 0.000023 seconds (single sample spacing at 44,100 Hz sampling rate).
With a visual editor like Sound Forge XP, you can actually see a representation
of the waveform to navigate through the sound file quickly and accurately.

Another advantage of storing sound digitally is the availability of digital signal
processing (DSP) techniques. Digital signal processing techniques can be used
for filtering, simulating room acoustics, and other special effects to restore or
enhance the original recorded sound.

Finally, with a tool like Sound Forge XP, you can open and save your sound files
to and from a number of different computer platforms and sound cards.

Now get in there and have some fun with Sound Forge XP!

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CHAPTER 2:
SOUND FORGE XP BASICS

Chapter 2 provides an introduction to working within the Sound Forge XP. Use
of the interface is illustrated using a combination of descriptions and tutorials.
The material is divided into two main sections:

• Main Screen Basics

• Data Window Basics

MAIN SCREEN BASICS

This section will introduce you to the Sound Forge XP screen and cover the
most basic operations, including:

• Using the Mouse

• The Main Screen

• Toolbars

• The Data Window

• ToolTips

Many commonly used functions in Sound Forge XP can be performed in
a number of different ways. Sound Forge XP has been designed to allow
you to choose how you want to work – it doesn’t force you to work in a
certain way. To avoid confusion in the tutorials, every method of
accomplishing a task will not always be described. Refer to chapter 6,
Sound Forge XP Reference and Appendix C, Shortcuts, for more
information on each feature.

NOTE

USING THE MOUSE

Although using the mouse in Sound Forge XP is not required, it will make
your editing sessions easier. Once you become familiar with Sound Forge XP
you will probably want to use some of the built-in shortcuts provided by the
mouse and the keyboard. (For a complete listing of shortcuts, see Appendix C.)
The following list of terms will help you when reading the manual.

Pointing Moving the mouse pointer over an item.

Clicking Pointing to an item and quickly pressing and

releasing the left or right mouse button. The
manual will indicate whether to right-click or
left-click on an item to execute a specific
function. When there is no left or right
specification, use the left mouse button. Right­clicking is often used to reach shortcut menus.

Double-clicking Clicking the mouse button twice in quick

succession. Double-clicking always employs the
left mouse button.

Triple-clicking Clicking the mouse button three times in quick

succession. Triple-clicking also always employs
the left mouse button.

Toggle-clicking Clicking the right mouse button repeatedly

while holding the left mouse button to toggle
through various options. This is a great shortcut
for procedures such as drag and drop and
changing the Magnify Tool mode of operation.

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Shift-clicking Clicking the mouse while holding down the

Shift key on the keyboard. Shift-clicking is used
mainly to skip dialogs so that you can quickly
repeat operations.

Control-clicking Clicking the mouse while holding down the

Control key on the keyboard. Control-clicking is
used to modify the operation of a normal click.

Dragging Holding down the mouse button while you

move the mouse. Dragging is used to quickly
move sections of data between separate
windows and to move trackbars, scrollbars and
faders.

Slow-dragging Holding down both the right and left mouse

buttons while moving the mouse. Using this
with trackbars and faders increases the
resolution of the movement. This is especially
helpful when making fractional adjustments to
parameters in a dialog.

Dropping Releasing the mouse button in another area of

the screen after clicking on and dragging an
object. Dragging and dropping is used to speed
up operations like mixing or cross-fading.

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THE MAIN SCREEN

When you start Sound Forge XP, the main screen, or workspace, opens.This is
where you will do all of your sound editing. The very first time you open
Sound Forge XP, no data windows are open and you will need to either open
an existing sound file or create a new one. There are a variety of ways to do
this, which are all described below.

The important parts of the Sound Forge XP screen are labeled in the above
diagram.The following list briefly describes how each functions.

Program Title Bar Shows the program name and the name of the

currently active data window (if the data
window is maximized within the workspace).

Data Window When a sound file is opened, it is graphically

displayed within its own data window. Data
windows can be arranged, resized, or
minimized.

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program
title bar

menu bar

data
window

status bar

Sound
Forge

workspace

Menu Bar Shows the menu headings for the available

functions. When no data windows are open, the
Process, Effects, and Tools menus are not listed;
these contain functions that require an open
data window.

Status Bar On the left, help (see p. 24) and processing

information (see p. 21) are displayed.The fields
on the right show the playback sample rate,
sample size, mono/stereo, total length of the
active data window, and the total free storage
space. These fields can be edited by double­clicking or right-clicking on them (except for
the free storage space). When no data windows
are open, the fields are blank.

Workspace The background area behind the data windows.

You can drag and drop sections of sound data
here to create new data windows.

TOOLBARS

The first time you open Sound Forge XP, two toolbars appear on the screen:
the Standard and Transport toolbars. The toolbars contain buttons that quickly
execute commands.

Standard Provides quick access to many common Sound

Forge XP functions. These functions are also
available on the File and Edit menus. For a
complete reference to these commands, see
Chapter 6.

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Transport Includes the audio transport buttons: Record,

Play All, Play, Pause, Stop, Go to Start, Rewind,
Forward, and Go to End.

Two more toolbars are also available, but not automatically displayed when
Sound Forge XP is opened.

Status Contains operations to set the display Status. For

a complete reference of these commands, see
Chapter 6.

ACID Sound Forge XP offers tools that are especially

designed to help you create seamless loops
which can be used in Sonic Foundry’s ACID or
any other application that requires perfect loops.
These tools can be accessed from the ACID
Toolbar.These eight buttons will be explained in
this chapter, and they include: the Edit Acid
Properties, the Edit Tempo, the Double Selection,
Halve Selection, Shift Selection Left, Shift
Selection Right, Rotate Selection and Selection
Grid Lines tools.

You can drag and drop a toolbar anywhere on the screen. When you drag a
toolbar to any side of the main window, it docks, or attaches to the side. If you
drag a toolbar away from a side, it becomes a floating toolbar.Toolbars are also
resizable and removable.To hide a floating toolbar, just click on its Close button.

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To select from the list of available toolbars, select Preferences under the Options
menu and look on the Toolbars page (or Toolbars in the View menu). To show a
toolbar, check the box next to the toolbar you wish to use and then select OK.
The number of open toolbars and their position on the screen is entirely up
to you.

THE DATA WINDOW

Data windows contain sound data.These windows contain a number of sub­windows and controls that you will use in editing and viewing your sound
data. Many parts of the data window lead to shortcut menus, dialogs, and other
operations.

The important components of the data window are labeled in the diagram
above. The following list briefly describes each part and possible mouse
operations:

Title Bar Shows the file name or, if present, the title stored

in the Summary information of WAV files. Double­click to maximize and restore the window.

Level Ruler Shows the amplitude of the waveform. Right-

click to reach the Level Ruler shortcut menu.When
using the Level Zoom In feature, click and drag the
ruler up or down to shift the view vertically.

title bar time ruler

level
ruler

ruler
tags

edit tool
selector

Time Ruler Shows the current location in the data window

as well as ruler tags. Right-click to reach the Time
Ruler shortcut menu. Drag to scroll the data
window.

Ruler Tags Indicates the position of region end points and

markers. Right-click to reach the Ruler Tag
shortcut menu. Drag to change their locations.
Double-click anywhere in the region to select.

Edit Tool Selector Use this button to toggle between the Edit,

Magnify, and Pencil Tools.

The Pencil Tool requires that the zoom ratio be between 1:1 and 1:16.

Playbar On the left side of the playbar are the following

audio transport buttons: Go to Start,Go to End, Stop,
Play Normal, and Play Looped. To the right are the
playbar’s selection status fields.

Selection Status Fields Shows the beginning, end, and length of a data

selection. If no portion of the waveform has
been selected (highlighted), only the cursor
position (also known as the insertion point) is
displayed. Double-click on the left-most field to
reach the Go To dialog. Double-click on either of
the other two fields to reach the Set Selection
dialog. Right-click to reach the Status Format
shortcut menu.

Waveform Display Shows a graphical representation of the sound

file.The horizontal axis represents time (marked
in the Time Ruler) and the vertical axis represents
amplitude (marked in the Level Ruler). Right-
click anywhere on the waveform display to
reach the Waveform Display shortcut menu.

Position Scroll Bar Use this to scroll the sound file forward and

backward in time to see parts of the file not
currently visible in the waveform display.

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Overview Allows for quick navigation and playback of any

part of the file. Overview also shows the fraction
of the waveform on the waveform, as well as the
selected region. Left-click to move the cursor.
Double-click to center the cursor in the
waveform display. Right-click to start playback
or pause. Left-click and drag to activate the Audio
Event Locator.

Time Zoom (Also called Zoom Ratio) Specifies the number of

samples of data represented by each point on the
screen horizontally.

Resolution This determines the length of time that is shown

in the waveform display. With a small resolution
value (1:1, 1:2, 1:4,...), a shorter length of time
is displayed.

Time Zoom In/Out Use these to change the zoom resolution for the

time axis. Between these buttons is a spinner
that allows you to continuously change the time
zoom resolution.

Level Zoom In/Out Use these to change the zoom resolution for the

level (vertical) axis. Between these buttons is a
spinner that allows you to continuously change
the level zoom resolution.

Maximize Width Pressing this button stretches the width of the

data window to fit within the Sound Forge XP
workspace.

OLE Drag Source Drag from this section of the data window into

another application, such as Microsoft Word, to
link the sound file to other documents.

TOOLTIPS

If you hold the mouse over a toolbar button or status bar field for more than
one second, you will notice a small box appears next to the mouse pointer
containing text. This text is a quick description of the button or field’s
function. Using ToolTips is an easy way to learn your way around the Sound
Forge XP screen. You can disable this function by selecting Toolbars under the
View menu and clearing Show ToolTips.

When you click (on) and hold a button in a toolbar or select a menu item, you
will see a one-line description of the command in the left side of the status
bar. This gives you a little more information about the function of a button. If
you release the mouse button outside of a toolbar or menu item, the toolbar
command will not be performed.

DATA WINDOW BASICS

With Sound Forge XP, you can have multiple sound files open simultaneously
on the screen. Each file has its own data window that shows a graphical
representation of the waveform and other information about the file. This
section covers the following topics:

• Opening an Existing File

• Playing a File

• Playing a Section

• Using the Transport Toolbar vs. the Data Window Playbar

• Creating a New Window

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• Active Windows vs. Inactive Windows

• Copying Data to a New File

• Saving a File

OPENING AN EXISTING SOUND FILE

To open an existing sound file:

1. Select the Open command from the File menu. Sound Forge XP displays the
Open dialog. Use this dialog to select and open a file.

2. By default, Sound Forge XP plays a file when you select it in the dialog.You
can turn off this feature by clearing the Auto play check box. If the Auto play
feature is disabled, you can preview WAV files by pressing the Play button in
the Open dialog. During playback, the label on the Play button changes to Stop.
Pressing the Stop button stops the playback.

3. Use the Files of type list to select different types of data files. If Sound Forge
XP recognizes the file type when it is highlighted in this list, it will display
its information in the bottom half of the dialog.

4. For this exercise, open the file TUTOR1.WAV. This file is located in the
directory where you installed Sound Forge XP.

You will now see a data window containing TUTOR1.WAV. This file is a
recording of someone saying, “Wow, sound editing just gets easier and easier.”
Notice that, although the file name is TUTOR1.WAV, the name of the data
window is “Wow, sound editing...” This is because a title for the file is stored
within the WAV file itself. Sound Forge XP allows you to embed descriptive
titles as well as copyright information and other text fields for any WAV file.

Sound files in Sound Forge XP can have a title different from the file
name.To edit the title, use the Summary page of the Properties folder
(File menu).You can quickly get to the Summary dialog by pressing
Alt+Enter.

NOTE

PLAYING A FILE

To play an opened sound file:

1. Click on the Play All button on the Transport toolbar.

2. While the file is playing, a pointer will move along the data window
showing the current position.You will also see the current position in the
first selection status field in the playbar.

3. Play the TUTOR1 file now.You will hear the words “Wow, sound editing just
gets easier and easier.”

You can begin play from any point in the window by moving the cursor.

1. Move your mouse pointer to the silence section right after the “Wow”
portion of the file. Left-click (make sure you don’t drag the mouse) and you
will see the flashing cursor in the silence area after the word “Wow.” Click
the Play button on the Transport toolbar and now you will only hear “sound
editing just gets easier and easier.”

2. If you don’t hear anything, you may have accidentally selected a small
portion of data by dragging the mouse. To see whether you’ve made a
selection, look at the three right-hand status fields in the data window
status bar. If only the first one is filled, then no data is selected. If they all
have values, click in the data window again to clear the selection.

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PLAYING A SECTION

You can also play parts of the sound data by selecting a portion of the
waveform display with the mouse.To play a section:

1. Click and drag the left mouse button starting at the section of silence prior
to “Wow.” Drag the mouse until you are in the portion after the “Wow.”
Notice that as you drag the data, the background appears in another color.
Release the mouse button and you will now have a highlighted section of
data.

2. Click the Play button. You should now hear just the “Wow” portion of the
file.

3. While selecting waveform data, notice that the three selection status fields
on the right side of the playbar display values. These values show you the
start (Selection Left), end (Selection Right), and length (Selection Length) of the
selection you have made. When no data is selected, the cursor position (also
called the insertion point) is displayed.

Clear the selection and put the cursor back at the start of the file. To do this,
click on the Go to Start button in the Transport toolbar.

USING THE TRANSPORT TOOLBAR
VS. THE DATA WINDOW PLAYBAR

There are a number of ways to play your sound files in Sound Forge XP. The
most common method is to use one of the Play buttons located either on the
Transport toolbar or the playbar in the data window.This section describes both
methods.

THE PLAYBAR BUTTONS

On the left-side of the playbar at the bottom of every data window are five
buttons. These buttons allow you to play the sound data in a variety of ways.
The first two buttons allow you to set the cursor to the start or end of the
current file. These are the Go to Start and Go to End buttons. The third button is
the Stop button, which you can use at any time to stop playback.

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The last two buttons play the sound in different ways and, at the same time, set
the default play mode. The first button is the Play Normal button. This button
plays the currently selected section of data. If there is no data selected, pressing
the Play Normal button plays from the current cursor position to the end of the
file.

The next button is the Play Looped button.This button plays the selected section
in a continuous loop or, if no data is selected, the entire file in a continuous
loop. In addition, while the Play Looped button is selected, playback will follow
any new cursor position or selection that is made.

Whenever you play a file using playbar buttons, you will notice a small line
that appears underneath the arrow in the Play button you have selected.This is
the current play mode, which will be used whenever you select the Play button
in the Transport toolbar (or hit the Spacebar). Play Normal is the current play mode
in the playbar graphic shown above.

To change the current play mode, press the corresponding playbar button or
use Control+Spacebar.

THE TRANSPORT TOOLBAR

The Transport toolbar has nine buttons.

The Transport toolbar buttons are described below from left to right:

Record Brings up the Record dialog, which allows you to

record to either a new or existing window.

Shortcut: Control+R

Play All Plays the entire sound file from beginning to

end. This allows you to hear the entire sound
even if you have a selection or the cursor
positioned somewhere other than the start of
the data. Shortcut:Shift+Spacebar

Play Plays the file using the current play mode.To set

the play mode select one of the two play buttons
on the playbar as described in the above section
(The Playbar Buttons).The last button used becomes
the active play mode. Shortcut: Spacebar

Pause Works like the Stop button in that it stops play of

the current file. However when selecting Pause,
the cursor is placed at the current play position
rather than back to where it was when play was
selected. Shortcut:Enter during playback

Stop Stops play and positions the cursor where it was

prior to selecting play. Shortcut: Spacebar during

playback

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