Sony Sound Forge Quick Start Guide

Revised February 10, 2010

After Sound Forge® Audio Studio™ software is installed and you start it for the first time, the registration wizard is displayed. This wizard offers easy steps that allow you to register the software online with Sony Creative Software Inc. Alternatively, you can register online at https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/reg/software at any time.

Registration assistance

Registration assistance is available online at http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/chat, or by fax at (608) 250-1745.

Customer service/sales

For a detailed list of customer service options, we encourage you to visit http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/custserv.asp. Use the following numbers for telephone support during normal weekday business hours:

Telephone/Fax Country

(800) 577-6642 (toll-free) US, Canada, and Virgin Islands

(608) 204-7703 for all other countries

(608) 250-1745 (Fax) All countries

Technical support

For a detailed list of technical support options, we encourage you to visit http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/default.asp. To listen to your support options by telephone, please call (608) 256-5555.

About your rights in Sound Forge Audio Studio software

Sound Forge Audio Studio software is licensed to you under the terms of the End User License Agreement you entered into with Sony Creative Software Inc.

About your privacy

Sony Creative Software Inc. respects your privacy and is committed to protecting personal information. Your use of the software is governed by the Software Privacy Policy. Please review its contents carefully as its terms and conditions affect your rights with respect to the information that is collected by the software. For your reference, a copy of the Software Privacy Policy is located at

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/corporate/privacy.asp.

Proper use of software

Sound Forge Audio Studio software is not intended and should not be used for illegal or infringing purposes, such as the illegal copying or sharing of copyrighted materials. Using Sound Forge Audio Studio software for such purposes is, among other things, against United States and international copyright laws and contrary to the terms and conditions of the End User License Agreement. Such activity may be punishable by law and may also subject you to the breach remedies set forth in the End User License Agreement.

Legal notices

ACID, ACIDized, ACIDplanet.com, ACIDplanet, the ACIDplanet logo, ACID XMC, Artist Integrated, the Artist Integrated logo, Beatmapper, Cinescore, CD Architect, DVD Architect, Jam Trax, Perfect Clarity Audio, Photo Go, Sound Forge, Super Duper Music Looper, Vegas, Vision Series, and Visual Creation Studio are the trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Creative Software Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and other countries.

Apple Macintosh Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) file format

Apple® Macintosh® Audio Interchange™ File Format (AIFF) is a trademark of Apple, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Apple QuickTime

Apple® QuickTime® application is a trademark of Apple, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Gracenote

CD and music-related data from Gracenote, Inc., copyright © 2000-2008 Gracenote. Gracenote Software, copyright 2000-2008 Gracenote. This product and service may practice one or more of the following U.S. Patents: #5,987,525; #6,061,680; #6,154,773, #6,161,132, #6,230,192, #6,230,207, #6,240,459, #6,330,593, and other patents issued or pending. Services supplied and/or device manufactured under license for following Open Globe, Inc. United States Patent 6,304,523.

Gracenote and CDDB are registered trademarks of Gracenote. The Gracenote logo and logotype, MusicID, and the “Powered by Gracenote” logo are trademarks of Gracenote.

LPEC

“LPEC” is a trademark of Sony Corporation.

Microsoft DirectX programming interface

Microsoft Windows Media

Ogg File Formats

Neither the name of the Xiph.org Foundation nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

This software is provided by the copyright holders and contributors “as is” and any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall the foundation or contributors be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.

PNG file format

Copyright © 2010. World Wide Web Consortium (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, Keio University). All rights reserved. This work is distributed under the W3C Software License in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTIBILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2002/copyright-software-20021231

Real, RealMedia, RealAudio, and RealVideo applications

2010 RealNetworks, Inc. Patents Pending. All rights reserved. Real®, Real Media®, RealAudio®, RealVideo®, and the Real logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Steinberg Media Technologies

VST® is a registered trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.

ASIO™ is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)

Targa file format

The Targa™ file format is a trademark of Pinnacle Systems, Inc.

Thomson Fraunhofer MP3

MPEG Layer-3 audio coding technology licensed from Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson.

Supply of this product does not convey a license nor imply any right to distribute content created with this product in revenue generating broadcast systems (terrestrial, satellite, cable and/or other distribution channels), streaming applications (via internet, intranets and/or other networks), other content distribution systems (pay-audio or audio on demand applications and the like) or on physical media (compact discs, digital versatile discs, semiconductor chips, hard drives, memory cards and the like).

An independent license for such use is required. For details, please visit: http://mp3licensing.com.

Sony Creative Software Inc.

1617 Sherman Avenue Madison, WI 53704 USA

The information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a guarantee or commitment on behalf of Sony Creative Software Inc. in any way. All updates or additional information relating to the contents of this manual will be posted on the Sony Creative Software Inc. Web site, located at http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com. The software is provided to you under the terms of the End User License Agreement and Software Privacy Policy, and must be used and/or copied in accordance therewith. Copying or distributing the software except as expressly described in the End User License Agreement is strictly prohibited. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without the express written consent of Sony Creative Software Inc.

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Introducing Sound Forge Audio Studio software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

System requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Installing Sound Forge Audio Studio software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Getting help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Show Me How tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Learning the Sound Forge Audio Studio Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Data windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Data window components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Playbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Displaying a toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Docking a toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Floating a toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Standard toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Transport bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Opening a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Working with video files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Playing a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Viewing selection status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Creating data windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Saving files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Editing audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Copying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Pasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Trimming/Cropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Using Undo and Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Zooming and magnifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Zooming the time ruler (horizontal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Zooming the level ruler (vertical) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Using the Magnify tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Changing File Properties and Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Editing file properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Editing file properties in the File Properties window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Editing properties in the status bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Changing the sample rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Changing the bit depth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

TABLE OF CONTENTS | 1

Converting mono/stereo channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Converting from mono to stereo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Converting from stereo to mono . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Converting file formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Using Markers and Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Using markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Inserting markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Naming or renaming markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Moving a marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Deleting markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Previewing a marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Using regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Inserting regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Naming or renaming a region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Moving a region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Deleting a region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Previewing a region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Creating new files from regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Using the Regions List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Displaying the Regions List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Working with the Regions List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Applying Processes and Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Applying plug-ins from the Process, Effects, or FX Favorites menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Saving effect settings as a custom preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Recording, Extracting, and Burning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Specifying recording and playback options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Recording audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Starting recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Recording remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Extracting audio from CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Burning CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Burning single tracks (track-at-once) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Burning a disc (disc-at-once) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i

2 | TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter

Information pane

Toolbar

Tab s

Introduction

Introducing Sound Forge Audio Studio software

Thank you for purchasing Sound Forge® Audio Studio™ software and for your continued support of the Sony Creative Software Inc. family of products. The software provides you with the powerful features you have come to expect, as well as a number of new features designed to make digital audio editing quick and easy.

System requirements

The following lists the minimum system requirements for using Sound Forge Audio Studio software:

• Microsoft® Windows® XP (Service Pack 3 or later), Windows Vista® (Service Pack 2 or later), or Windows 7

• 1 GHz processor

• 350 MB hard-disk space for program installation

• 512 MB RAM

• Windows-compatible sound card

• DVD-ROM drive (for installation from a DVD only)

• Supported CD-recordable drive (for CD burning only)

• Microsoft DirectX® 9.0c or later

• Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (included on application disc)

You must provide your registration information to Sony Creative Software Inc. to activate the software.

Installing Sound Forge Audio Studio software

The install utility, setup.exe, located on the Sound Forge Audio Studio application disc, creates the necessary folders and copies all files required to operate Sound Forge Audio Studio software.

Place the Sound Forge Audio Studio application disc in the drive. The setup screen is displayed (if AutoPlay is enabled for your DVD-ROM drive).

If DVD-ROM AutoPlay is not enabled, click the Start button and choose Run. In the Run dialog that appears, type the DVD-ROM drive’s letter and add :\setup.exe. Click OK to start the installation.

Click Install, and follow the on-screen prompts to install the appropriate version of Sound Forge Audio Studio for your computer.

Getting help

To access online help, choose Contents and Index from the Help menu or press F1.

INTRODUCTION | 3

The following table describes the four tabs of the online help window.

Tab D esc ri pt ion

Contents

Index Provides a complete listing of the help topics available. Scroll through the list of

Search Allows you to enter a keyword and display all of the topics in the online help that

Favorites Allows you to keep topics that you revisit often in a separate folder. To add a topic to

Provides a list of available help topics. Click a closed book

then click on a topic page

available topics or type a word in the Type in the keyword to find box to quickly locate topics related to that word. Select the topic and click the Display button.

contain the keyword you have entered. Type a keyword in the Type in the word(s) to search for box and click the List Topics button. Select the topic from the list and click the Display button.

your favorites, click the Add button on the Favorites tab.

to open the pages, and

Show Me How tutorials

You can learn more about many of the features in Sound Forge Audio Studio by using the interactive Show Me How tutorials installed with the software.

By default, Show Me How tutorials display upon startup of the application. However, you can access them at any time from the Help menu by choosing Show Me How.

Tip:

To turn off automatic display of the Show Me How tutorials, clear the Show at Startup check box at the bottom of the tutorial

window.

| CHAPTER 1

Chapter

Channel Meters (docked)

Standard toolbar

Transport bar

Menu bar

Work space

Status bar

Learning the Sound Forge Audio Studio Workspace

This chapter provides an overview of Sound Forge® Audio Studio™ toolbars and controls.

The main window

When you start the application, the main window is displayed. The main window’s workspace is where you perform all audio editing.

The following table describes the major components of the main window.

Component Description

Menu bar Displays the menu headings for the available functions.

Standard toolbar Provides quick access to some of the most common tasks in the application. For mo re

Transport bar Provides quick access to basic audio transport functions. For more information, see

Status bar Help and processing information appears on the left side. The boxes on the right side

Workspace This is the area located behind the data windows. Audio selections dragged to the

Channel Meters Displays the level of the output audio signal. These meters can be toggled on/off by

information, see Standard toolbar on page 8.

Trans por t ba r on page 8.

display the playback sample rate, bit depth, channel configuration, length of the active data window, and total free storage space.

With the exception of the free storage space box, you can edit these boxes by doubleclicking or right-clicking them.

When no data windows are open, only the free storage space box contains a value. For

more information, see Editing file properties on page 17.

workspace automatically become new data windows. Windows such as the Regions List and Explorer can be docked along the edges of the workspace.

choosing Channel Meters from the View menu. Right-clicking the channel meters displays a shortcut menu that allows you to precisely configure the appearance of the meters.

LEARNING THE SOUND FORGE AUDIO STUDIO WORKSPACE |

Data windows

Title bar Time ruler

Edit Tool Selector

Level ruler

Wavefo rm display

Level zoom in/out

Overview bar Marker bar

Position scroll bar

Time zoom resolution

Time zoom in/out

Maximize width

Playbar

Scrub control Selection status boxes

Data windows contain audio data (as a waveform) as well as a number of controls and commands used to edit and process audio.

Data window components

The following table describes the data window components.

Component Description

Title bar Displays the file name. If title information is included in the summary of a file, it

appears here instead of the file name. Double-click to maximize and restore the window.

Level ruler Displays the amplitude of the waveform. Right-click to display the level ruler shortcut

menu. Drag to shift the view up/down when zoomed in vertically.

Time ruler Displays the current location in the data window. Right-click to display the time ruler

shortcut menu. Drag to scroll the data window.

Marker bar Displays the position of region end points, loop end points, and markers. You can

Edit Tool Selector Toggles through the Edit, Magnify, and Pencil tools.

Playbar Contains audio transport buttons, including Go to Start, Go to End, Stop, and Play. For

Selection status boxes Displays the beginning, end, and length of a selection. If no selection exists, only the

Waveform display Displays a graphical representation of an audio file. The horizontal axis represents

Scrub control Scrolls playback of your project at varying speeds.

Position scroll bar Scrolls forward/backward through an audio file to display sections of the file not

Overview bar Allows for quick navigation and playback of any part of an audio file. The overview bar

Time zoom resolution Specifies the number of samples of data represented by each horizontal point on the

Time zoom in/out Changes the zoom resolution for the time (horizontal) axis.

Level zoom in/out Changes the zoom resolution for the level (vertical) axis.

Maximize width Resizes the data window to maximize its size in the workspace.

6 | CHAPTER 2

place, name, and position markers and regions anywhere in the data window. These informational tags can serve as cues or reminders highlighting important events in your project.

more information, see Playbar on page 7.

cursor position displays. Double-click the leftmost box to edit the current cursor position or selection start position. Double-click either of the other two boxes to edit the selection end position or the selection length. Right-click to display the status format shortcut menu.

time, and the vertical axis represents amplitude. Right-click within this display to open the waveform display shortcut menu.

visible in the current area of the waveform display.

also indicates the portion of the waveform currently depicted in the waveform display, as well as the selected region. Click to move the cursor. Double-click to center the cursor in the waveform display. Right-click to start or pause playback. Drag to activate the audio event locator.

screen. This determines the length of time displayed in the data window. Smaller resolution values display less time.

Playbar

The playbar is located in the bottom-left corner of a data window. You can use the playbar to navigate and play audio files in a variety of ways.

Go to Start Moves the cursor to the start Stop Stops playback and returns the of the file. cursor to its position prior to playback.

Go to End Moves the cursor to the end of Play Normal Plays from the cursor to the the file. end of the file. If there is a selection, plays

from the beginning of the selection to the end of the selection.

Toolbars

Sound Forge Audio Studio toolbars contain buttons used to quickly execute many of the program’s commands and functions. Toolbars can be dragged throughout the workspace, docked, resized, hidden, and customized.

Displaying a toolbar

From the View menu, choose Too l ba rs . The Preferences dialog appears with a list of available toolbars.

To display a toolbar, select the corresponding check box and click OK.

Docking a toolbar

When you drag a floating toolbar to any edge of the main screen, the toolbar docks on that edge.

Floating a toolbar

When you drag a docked toolbar away from an edge, the toolbar becomes a floating toolbar.

LEARNING THE SOUND FORGE AUDIO STUDIO WORKSPACE | 7

Standard toolbar

The Standard toolbar displays by default when you start the application. The buttons on this toolbar provide quick access to many common commands.

New Creates a new data window. Play Clipboard Plays the audio on the

clipboard.

Open Displays the Open dialog. Tri m/Cr op Removes all data from the file that is

not currently selected.

Save Saves the current audio data. Undo Reverses the last edit operation.

Save As Saves the current file with a new name Redo Reverts the previously undone edit

or format. operation.

Publish Opens the Publish Setup wizard so you Repeat Repeats the last operation. This can upload your media file to the Web. command can be used with most processing

Cut Removes selected audio data and places it on the clipboard. This command has no effect if there is no selection.

Copy Copies selected audio data to the clipboard. This command has no effect if there is no selection.

Paste Inser ts a copy of the clipboard data at the current insertion point. If there is a selection, this command replaces the selected data with the clipboard data.

Mix Mixes a copy of the clipboard data with the current audio file. The mix start point is either Studio Show Me How tutorials. the cursor point or the start or end of the selection in the destination data window.

functions. The previous operation’s parameters are repeated. To specify new parameters, hold Shift and click this button.

Edit Tool Selects the Edit tool.

Magnify Tool Selects the Magnify tool.

Pencil Tool Selects the Pencil tool.

Show Me How Starts the Sound Forge Audio

Transport bar

The transport bar is also displayed by default and contains basic audio transport buttons.

Record Records data to a new or existing data Stop Stops playback and returns the cursor to window. its prior position.

Loop Playback Toggles Loop Playback mode Go To Start Moves the cursor to the start of the on and off. file.

Play All Plays the entire file from beginning to Rewind Moves the cursor backward in the end, regardless of cursor position or selection. current file.

Play Plays the file from the current cursor Forward Moves the cursor forward in the position or plays the selection, if one exists. current file.

Pause Pauses playback and maintains the Go To End Moves the cursor to the end of the cursor at its current position. file.

8 | CHAPTER 2

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