Steinberg Wavelab Elements - 10.0 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Lillie Harris, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Matthias Obrecht, Sabine Pfeifer, Benjamin Schütte, Marita Sladek

This PDF provides improved access for vision-impaired users. Please note that due to the complexity and number of images in this document, it is not possible to include text descriptions of images.

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. Registered licensees of the product described herein may print one copy of this document for their personal use.

All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. For more information, please visit www.steinberg.net/trademarks.

WaveLab Elements_10.0.0_en-US_2019-10-15

5 New Features

7 WaveLab Elements Introduction

7 Platform-Independent Documentation 7 Help System 8 Conventions 9 Key Commands

10 Setting Up Your System

10 Connecting the Equipment 10 Audio Cards and Background Playback 10 Latency 11 ASIO-Guard 11 Dening Audio Connections 14 CD/DVD Recorders 14 Remote Devices

19 WaveLab Elements Concepts

19 General Editing Rules 19 Startup Dialog 20 Basic Window Handling 20 Selecting Audio 24 Sliders 24 Renaming Items in Tables 24 File Browser 26 Tab Groups 27 Peak Files 28 Companion Files 28 Processing Precision

30 Workspace Window

30 Audio Editor 30 Audio Montage 31 Podcast Editor 31 File Tab 32 Info Tab 34 Tool Windows 34 Meter Windows 34 Slide-Out Windows 35 Docking and Undocking Tool Windows and

Meter Windows

36 Command Bar 37 Status Bar 38 Context Menus 39 Time Ruler and Level Ruler 42 Managing Tabs 43 Activating Full Screen Mode 43 Resetting the Default Workspace Layout

44 Project Handling

44 Opening Files 45 Value Editing 45 Drag Operations

46 Undoing and Redoing 49 Zooming in the Workspace Window 54 Presets

56 File Operations

56 Recently Used Files 57 Save and Save As 59 Templates 63 File Renaming 63 Deleting Files 63 Temporary Files 64 Work Folders vs. Document Folders 66 Copying Audio Information to the Clipboard 66 Setting the Focus on the Current File

67 Playback

67 Transport Bar 76 Starting Playback From the Ruler 77 Playback Scrubbing 78 Scroll During Playback 78 Playback in the Audio Montage Window

79 Audio File Editing

79 Wave Window 83 Audio Editor Tabs 90 File Handling in the Audio Editor 108 Changing the Audio Properties 108 Metadata 111 Mixing Down – Audio Files Rendering 111 Silence Generator Dialog 113 Bleep Censor 114 Waveform Restoration with the Pen Tool

115 Audio Analysis

115 Global Analysis 122 3D Frequency Analysis

125 Oine Processing

125 Process Tab 127 Applying Processing 127 Gain Dialog 127 Level Normalizer Dialog 128 Envelope Dialog 129 Fades in Audio Files 130 Crossfades 131 Phase Inverting 131 Reversing Audio 132 DC Offset 132 Time Stretching 134 Pitch Shift 135 Resample

136 Audio Montage

136 Montage Window

Table of Contents

140 Audio Montage Tabs 147 Signal Path in the Audio Montage 148 Creating New Audio Montages 148 Audio Montage Duplicates 149 Creating an Audio Montage from an Audio File 149 Import Options for Audio Montages 150 Missing Files Dialog 151 Assembling the Audio Montage 155 Rearranging Clips 157 Clip Editing 162 Track Activity Indicator 162 Envelopes for Clips 165 Fades and Crossfades in Audio Montages 168 Effects for Tracks, Clips, and the Montage

Output

176 CD Window 179 Mixing Down – The Render Function 179 Loudness Meta Normalizer 181 Notes Window 181 Importing a Basic Audio CDs

182 Recording

182 Setting Up the Recording Dialog 183 Dropping Markers During Recording 183 Recording Dialog

188 Master Section

188 Bypassing the Master Section 188 Master Section Window 197 Rendering 201 Saving Master Section Presets 204 Monitoring Background Tasks 205 Dropouts

206 Markers

206 Marker Types 207 Markers Window 209 Creating Markers 210 Deleting Markers 210 Moving Markers 210 Navigating to Markers 211 Hiding Markers of a Specic Type 211 Converting Marker Types 211 Renaming Markers 212 Selecting Markers 212 Selecting the Audio Between Markers 212 Binding Markers to Clips in the Audio Montage 213 How Marker Information is Saved

214 Metering

214 Meter Windows 214 Meter Settings 214 Resetting the Meters 214 Level Meter 216 Spectroscope 216 Oscilloscope

218 Writing Operations

218 Write Audio CD Dialog 219 Erase Optical Media Dialog 220 Write Audio Montages 222 Data CD/DVD Projects 225 Audio CD Formats

228 Loops

228 Basic Looping 229 Loop Renement

236 Looping Audio Which Is Not Very Well Suited

for Looping

239 Sample Attributes

241 Importing Audio CD Tracks

241 Import Audio CD Dialog 244 Importing Audio CD Tracks 245 Searching Track Names on the Internet 245 Submitting Track Names to the Internet 246 Ultra-Safe Mode 246 Converting Audio CD Tracks to an Audio

Montage

247 Video

247 Video Track 248 Video Clip Editing 249 Video Window 250 Video File Compatibility 250 Frame Rates

253 WaveLab Exchange

253 WaveLab Elements as External Editor for

Cubase/Nuendo

254 Cubase/Nuendo as External Editor for WaveLab

Elements

255 Podcasts

255 Podcast Editor 259 Global Podcast Options 259 Creating a Podcast 260 Setting Up a FTP for Podcast Publishing 260 Publishing Podcasts 260 FTP Settings Dialog 261 Checking the Podcast

262 Customizing

262 Customizing the Wave Window and the

Montage Window

263 Customizing Shortcuts 267 Customizing Command Bars 267 Plug-in Organization 274 Touch Bar (macOS only)

275 Conguring WaveLab Elements

275 Global Preferences 279 Audio Files Preferences 283 Audio Montages Preferences 286 Synchronizing WaveLab Elements Settings on

Several Computers

286 Multi-User Settings

288 Index

New Features

New Features in Version 10.0.0

Highlights

History Window for Audio Files

● The Audio Editor now also has a History window. This allows you to see all versions of the audio le that you are working on. You can restore previous versions. See History Window

for Audio Files.

Inspector Window

● This window allows you to add effect plug-ins to tracks, clips, and the montage output. The

Inspector replaces the Effects window. See Inspector Window.

Video

● WaveLab Elements supports the integration of video les in your project. See Video.

More New Features

Track Control Area Redesign

● The track control area offers several new navigation options and other settings. See Track

Control Area.

Resizing Tracks

● You can now freely resize the track height and width in the montage window. See Resizing

Tracks.

Number of Effect Plug-ins in the Master Section Increased

● You can now add 8 effect plug-ins to the Effects pane in the Master Section. See Effects

Pane.

File Browser Preview

● In the File Browser window, you can now listen to the selected audio le from any position by clicking the waveform in the Preview area. If the audio le contains markers, the markers are displayed in the preview waveform. See File Browser Window.

Audio-Processing Load

● The Audio-Processing Load display shows the average audio-processing load of plug-ins during playback. This allows you to monitor the number of plug-ins you can use. See Audio-

Processing Load.

Using Undo/Redo after Saving Audio Files

● When you save audio les, the history is no longer deleted. Now you can use undo/redo even after saving audio les. See Saving an Audio File.

New Features

Additional ID3-v2 Metadata

● Now you can add the metadata TCMP (Part of a compilation) to your audio le. See

Metadata Dialog.

Follow Playback in the CD Window

● This option allows you to see the CD track that is played back from within the CD window. See CD Window.

Follow Playback in the Markers Window

● This option allows you to see the marker that is played back from within the Markers window. See Markers Window.

WaveLab Elements Introduction

Platform-Independent Documentation

The documentation applies to the operating systems Windows and macOS.

Features and settings that are specic to one of these platforms are clearly indicated. In all other cases, the descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for

Some points to consider:

● The screenshots are taken from Windows.

●

Some functions that are available on the File menu on Windows can be found in the program name menu on

macOS.

Windows and macOS.

Help System

There are several ways of accessing the help system. The documentation is available online and you can download most of it in PDF format from steinberg.help.

Documentation

The documentation consists of several documents.

To visit steinberg.help, do one of the following:

● Enter www.steinberg.help in the address bar of your web browser.

● In the program, select Help > steinberg.help.

● Windows: To open the help for an active dialog on steinberg.help, click the question mark

● macOS: To open the help for an active dialog on steinberg.help, click the question mark

Operation Manual

Plug-in Reference

Scripting

icon on the title bar to show the

icon in the dialog to show the Help button and click the Help button, or press Cmd-?.

The main WaveLab Elements reference documentation, with detailed descriptions of operations, parameters, functions, and techniques.

Describes the features and parameters of the included plug-ins.

Describes the objects and functions you can call in a WaveLab Elements script.

Help button and click the Help button, or press F1.

DDP Player

Describes the features and functions of the included DDP Player.

WaveLab Elements Introduction Conventions

Tooltips

● To show tooltips, move the mouse over an interface icon.

● To use the menu help, move the mouse over a menu item.

● To see information on what kind of editing can be performed when using the mouse and

modier keys in the Audio Montage window, move the mouse over the montage window. The help text is displayed on the info line at the bottom of the window.

What’s This

The What’s This help provides extended tooltips about interface icons and functions. Some What’s This tooltips include a link to a dedicated help topic on steinberg.help.

To open the What’s This help, do one of the following:

● In any window, press Shift-F1 and move the mouse over an interface item, or select Help >

What’s This?.

● In a dialog, select the question mark icon on any title bar (Windows) or in the dialog

(macOS), and move the mouse over an interface item or a menu option.

RELATED LINKS

Info Line on page 155

Conventions

In our documentation, we use typographical and markup elements to structure information.

Typographical Elements

The following typographical elements mark the following purposes.

Prerequisite

Requires you to complete an action or to fulll a condition before starting a procedure.

Procedure

Lists the steps that you must take to achieve a specic result.

Important

Informs you about issues that might affect the system, the connected hardware, or that might bring a risk of data loss.

Note

Informs you about issues that you should consider.

Tip

Adds further information or useful suggestions.

Example

Provides you with an example.

Result

Shows the result of the procedure.

After Completing This Task

Informs you about actions or tasks that you can perform after completing the procedure.

WaveLab Elements Introduction Key Commands

Markup

Bold text indicates the name of a menu, option, function, dialog, window, etc.

EXAMPLE

To open the Metadata dialog, open the Metadata window and click Edit.

If bold text is separated by a greater-than symbol, this indicates a sequence of different menus to open.

EXAMPLE

Select File > Open.

Key Commands

Many of the default key commands, also known as keyboard shortcuts, use modier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system.

When key commands with modier keys are described in this manual, they are indicated with the Windows modier key rst, followed by the macOS modier key and the key.

EXAMPLE

Ctrl/Cmd-Z means: press Ctrl on Windows or Cmd on macOS, then press Z.

Setting Up Your System

Before you start working, you need to make some settings.

IMPORTANT

Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections.

Connecting the Equipment

Your system setup depends on many different factors, for example, the kind of project that you want to create, the external equipment that you want to use, or the computer hardware available to you.

Audio Cards and Background Playback

Latency

When you activate playback or recording in WaveLab Elements, other applications cannot access the audio card. Likewise, if another application uses the audio card, to play back.

You can run WaveLab Elements together with other applications and always give the active application access to the audio card.

PROCEDURE

1. Select File > Preferences > Audio Connections.

2. Select the Options tab.

3. Activate Release Driver.

4. Do one of the following:

● If you want to release the driver when WaveLab Elements is in the background, activate When WaveLab Elements is in Background.

● If you want to release the driver only when Cubase is in the foreground, activate When Cubase is in Foreground.

Latency is the delay between when audio is sent from the program and when you actually hear it. While a very low latency can be crucial in a real-time DAW application such as Steinberg Nuendo or Cubase, this is not strictly the case with WaveLab Elements.

WaveLab Elements is unable

When working with WaveLab Elements, the important issues are optimum and stable playback and editing precision.

The latency in an audio system depends on the audio hardware, its drivers, and settings. In case of dropouts, crackles, or glitches during playback, raise the ASIO-Guard setting on the Options

Setting Up Your System ASIO-Guard

tab in the Audio Connections, or increase the buffer size in the ASIO control panel, specic to the audio card.

RELATED LINKS

Audio Connections Tab on page 12

ASIO-Guard

The ASIO-Guard allows you to pre-process all channels as well as VST plug-ins. This causes fewer dropouts and allows you to process more tracks or plug-ins.

High ASIO-Guard levels cause an increased ASIO-Guard latency. When you adjust a volume fader, for example, you hear parameter changes with a slight delay.

NOTE

Resampler plug-ins and certain other plug-ins with high latencies accumulate samples before processing them. This requires a higher ASIO-Guard setting.

RELATED LINKS

Setting up ASIO-Guard on page 11

Setting up ASIO-Guard

You can specify the length of the ASIO-Guard buffer.

PROCEDURE

1. Select File > Preferences > Audio Connections.

2. Click the Options tab.

3. In the ASIO-Guard menu, specify the length of the ASIO-Guard buffer.

The higher the level, the higher the processing stability and audio processing performance. However, higher levels also lead to an increased ASIO-Guard latency and memory usage.

RELATED LINKS

Audio Connections Tab on page 12

Dening Audio Connections

To be able to play back and record audio in WaveLab Elements, you must specify how the internal input and output channels in WaveLab Elements are connected to your sound card and which device you intend to use for audio playback and recording.

You can dene the buffer settings for your device as well as set up connections to external effects. You should select at least two channels for stereo playback and recording.

If you have no third-party audio card, you can select the Generic Low Latency driver or Built-in Audio (Mac) options. You can also use the Generic Low Latency driver with most third-party audio cards, with the advantage that you can record and play at different sample rates.

RELATED LINKS

Audio Connections Tab on page 12

Setting Up Your System Dening Audio Connections

Selecting an ASIO Driver

Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) is a computer device driver protocol for digital audio specied by Steinberg. It provides a low-latency and high delity interface between a software application and the soundcard of a computer.

PROCEDURE

1. Select File > Preferences > Audio Connections.

2. Open the Audio Device pop-up menu and select your ASIO driver.

The ASIO Plug-ins tab and the Control Panel button are activated.

3. Optional: Click Control Panel and make your settings.

Selecting the Generic Low Latency Driver

PROCEDURE

1. Select File > Options > Audio Connections.

2. Open the Audio Device pop-up menu and select Generic Low Latency.

3. On the Playback tab, select the audio ports that are used for playback.

4. On the Recording tab, select the audio ports that used for recording and monitor input.

Audio Connections Tab

This tab allows you to specify how the internal input and output buses in WaveLab Elements are connected to your sound card and which device you want to use for audio playback and recording.

● To open the Audio Connections tab, select File > Preferences > Audio Connections.

Global Settings

Audio Device

Allows you to select the audio device that you want to use for playback and recording audio. If you do not have a third-party audio card, you can select the Generic Low

Latency driver or Built-in Audio (Mac) options.

Control Panel

When you select an ASIO driver, the Control Panel button is activated. Click the button to open the settings application of your sound card, which is usually installed with the sound card. Depending on your sound card and driver, this provides settings for buffer size, digital formats, additional I/O connections, etc.

Refresh

This button causes audio devices to be evaluated again to reect device changes.

Playback Tab

Setting Up Your System Dening Audio Connections

This tab allows you to select buses that are used for playback.

Recording Tab

This tab allows you to select buses that are used for recording.

Options Tab

This tab allows you to specify the number of buffers and the control driver functionality.

ASIO-Guard

Increasing this value improves the elasticity of audio streaming to avoid dropouts. The higher the level, the higher the processing stability and audio processing performance. However, higher levels also lead to an increased ASIO-Guard latency and memory usage.

MME Specic – Buffer Size

Increasing this value improves the elasticity of audio streaming to avoid dropouts. This is only available when an MME driver is selected.

Perform Short Fade In When Starting Playback

If this option is activated, a short fade in is performed when you start playback. This avoids clicks caused by waveforms that do not start on a zero-crossing point.

Perform Short Fade Out When Stopping Playback

If this option is activated, a short fade out is performed when you stop playback. This avoids clicks caused by waveforms that do not end on a zero-crossing point. This also discards any audio signal that is caused by latency and any tail that is caused by reverb plug-ins.

Release Driver

Allows you to run WaveLab Elements together with other applications and always give the active application access to the audio card.

● If When WaveLab Elements is in Background is activated, the driver is released when WaveLab Elements is in the background.

● If When Cubase/Nuendo is in Foreground is activated, the driver is released when Cubase/Nuendo is in the foreground.

Preferred Sample Rate

Allows you to specify the Preferred Sample Rate for playback.

RELATED LINKS

ASIO-Guard on page 11

Setting Up Your System CD/DVD Recorders

CD/DVD Recorders

For general instructions on installing internal or connecting external recorders via USB or Firewire, refer to the instruction manual for your computer or your recorder.

Make sure to have the latest rmware version installed on your recorder unit. For CD recorders, the existing rmware must support disc-at-once mode. In addition, running a unit with older rmware can prevent you from writing sub-index markers into the tracks, for example.

Remote Devices

You can use Steinberg remote devices to remote-control WaveLab Elements.

Several commands can be controlled with knobs and sliders of your remote control device.

NOTE

Only remote devices from Steinberg are supported.

Remote Devices Tab

This tab allows you to select a Steinberg device to remote-control WaveLab Elements, and see the control map of MIDI control devices.

● To open the Remote Devices tab, select File > Preferences > Remote Devices.

Device Editing Tab

This tab lets you select a MIDI control device and see the control map.

Active

Activates the selected device and scans the MIDI ports.

In-Port/Out-Port

Select the MIDI input/output ports of the device that you want to use.

Setting Up Your System Remote Devices

Name

Expand/Collapse

WaveLab Elements Action List

Options Tab

Emulate Mouse Wheel

Edit Focused Numeric Field

Lets you enter a map name.

Expands/collapses the folder tree of the control map.

This folder tree lists the parameters that you can remote-control. The top folder represents contexts. The related parameters can only be controlled if the context is active. For example, if an audio

A remote control can be used in several contexts if these are exclusive. For example, parameters that can be used for an active audio le or an active audio montage.

The Global folder contains the parameters that can always be controlled.

If this option is activated, the AI knob of Steinberg controllers acts as a mouse wheel in the WaveLab Elements user interface, except for plug-ins.

If this option is activated, the AI knob Steinberg controllers can be used to edit the focused numeric eld that you nd in many WaveLab Elements windows and dialogs.

le is active.

CC121 Advanced Integration Controller

You can use Steinberg’s CC121 Advanced Integration Controller to control WaveLab Elements.

This section describes the WaveLab Elements factory preset for the CC121. For detailed information on how to use the controller, refer to the manual that came with the CC121. Note that the CC121 was originally designed for Cubase. The following mapping combines the WaveLab Elements functionality with the CC121 controls. The controls that are not listed in the following paragraph are not assigned to a parameter.

Channel Section

You can use all controls of the CC121 channel section, except the fader, to control the elements of the selected track in a WaveLab Elements audio montage. You can use the fader for the

Master Section.

Fader

Controls the Master Section fader.

PAN knob

Controls the gain of the selected track.

Mute

Mutes/Unmutes the selected track.

Solo

Activates/Deactivates solo for the selected track.

CHANNEL SELECT

Selects the previous/next track in the audio montage.

To move the cursor to the previous/next clip edge in the audio montage, hold Alt. To move the cursor to the previous/next region edge, hold Shift. To move the cursor to the previous/next marker in the Audio Editor, hold Ctrl/Cmd.

Setting Up Your System Remote Devices

EQ Section

With the EQ section you can easily control the Steinberg Studio EQ plug-in.

If EQ TYPE is activated on the CC121, you can adjust the parameters of the focused Studio-EQ. All necessary EQ parameters, such as on/off can be set. You can switch to WaveLab Elements navigation mode by deactivating EQ TYPE. In WaveLab Elements navigation mode, you can access alternative functions, such as scrolling, zooming, and switching between windows.

EQ TYPE activated:

Bandwidth knobs (Q)

Frequency knobs (F)

Gain knobs (G)

Q/F/G of each band, EQ TYPE selection, and ALL BYPASS

Adjusts the Q (bandwidth) of each EQ band.

Adjusts the center frequency of each EQ band.

Adjusts the gain of each EQ band.

Activates/Deactivates the EQ bands.

ALL BYPASS

Activates/Deactivates bypass for all plug-ins in the Master Section.

EQ TYPE deactivated:

LOW ON

Opens the Audio Editor.

LOW-MID ON

Opens the Audio Montage window.

HIGH ON

Opens the preferences tab.

EQ-1 knob for the EQ Gain (G)

Scrolls left/right on the timeline.

EQ-2 knob for the EQ Gain (G)

Adjusts the horizontal zoom on the timeline.

EQ-3 knob for the EQ Gain (G)

Adjusts the vertical zoom on the timeline.

EQ-4 knob for the EQ Gain (G)

Scrolls tracks on the Audio Montage window or scrolls vertically on the Audio Editor.

EQ-1 knob for the EQ Frequency (F)

Scrolls left/right on the overview timeline of the Audio Editor.

EQ-2 knob for the EQ Frequency (F)

Horizontally zooms in/out on the overview timeline of the Audio Editor.

EQ-3 knob for the EQ Frequency (F)

Vertically zooms in/out on the overview timeline of the Audio Editor.

EQ-4 knob for the EQ Frequency (F)

Vertically scrolls on the overview timeline of the Audio Editor.

Setting Up Your System Remote Devices

Transport Section

In this section you can control the transport functions of WaveLab Elements.

Previous button

Rewind button

Forward button

Next button

Cycle button

Stop button

Moves the cursor position to the left.

Moves the edit cursor position to the left.

Moves the edit cursor position to the right.

Moves the cursor position to the right.

Activates/Deactivates Cycle mode.

Stops playback. Press again to move the cursor to the previous start position. Press a third time to move the cursor to the beginning of the project.

Play button

Starts playback.

Record button

Press once to open the Recording dialog. Press again to start the recording. Press a third time to stop recording. The recorded

le opens in the Audio Editor.

Function Section

In this section, you can adjust functions, such as fades and envelope level, by using the VALUE knob.

VALUE knob

Rotate this knob to adjust the assigned function. Press the knob to reset the parameter to its default value.

FUNCTION button 1

Adjusts the fade in settings of the active clip.

FUNCTION button 2

Adjusts the fade out settings of the active clip.

FUNCTION button 3

Adjusts the envelope level of the active clip.

FUNCTION button 4

The element clicked last in the Nudge section of the Edit tab in the Audio Montage window is assigned to this button.

AI Knob Section

WaveLab Elements can be controlled with the AI knob of Steinberg’s CC121, CI2+, and CMC-AI controllers. With the AI knob, you can control the parameter that the mouse points to.

NOTE

The AI knob only works on parameters that are automatable.

Setting Up Your System Remote Devices

In this section you can control parameters via the AI knob.

AI KNOB

LOCK

CUBASE READY Indicator

The CUBASE READY indicator has no function in WaveLab Elements.

Foot Switch Section

The foot switch has the same function as Shift. Press and hold the foot switch while turning the AI knob to ne tune parameters.

Controls the VST 3 plug-in parameters, emulates the mouse wheel, for example, for scrolling, and lets you edit a focused numeric AI knob, move the mouse cursor over the parameter that you want to control, and move the AI knob. You can activate/deactivate the emulation of the mouse wheel and the editing of the focused numeric eld in the Options tab.

When the mouse cursor points to a parameter, press LOCK to control this parameter regardless of the position of the mouse cursor.

eld. To control a parameter with the

WaveLab Elements Concepts

This chapter describes general concepts that you will use when working with WaveLab Elements. Getting accustomed with these procedures allows you to work more effectively with the program.

General Editing Rules

The common editing operations apply to any Steinberg product.

● To select and move interface items, and to select ranges, click and drag with the mouse.

Use the keys of your computer keyboard to enter numeric values and text, to navigate lists

● and other selectable interface items, and to control the transport functions.

●

Common operations like cut, copy, paste, or the selection of multiple items can be performed using standard keyboard shortcuts.

NOTE

The behavior of your product is also governed by your preference settings.

Startup Dialog

When WaveLab Elements starts, the Startup dialog opens where you can select which le or template you want to open.

WaveLab Elements Concepts Basic Window Handling

Create

Empty Window

Creates an empty WaveLab Elements window.

Templates

Allows you to open a template in a new project.

Open

Last Files

Opens the les that you last used in WaveLab Elements.

Recent File

Allows you to open a recently used le.

Browse

Allows you to select the les that you want to open.

Use as Default (Do Not Show This Dialog Again)

If this option is activated, the option that you select is used from now on and the startup screen does not open anymore. To display the Startup dialog, even if this option has been activated, press Ctrl/Cmd when starting WaveLab Elements.

Basic Window Handling

WaveLab Elements follows the basic guidelines for the Windows/macOS interface, which means that

Windows/macOS standard procedures apply.

Closing Windows

● To close a le tab, click the X button of the corresponding tab or press Ctrl/Cmd-W.

● To close a le tab without saving your changes, hold Ctrl/Cmd-Shift, and click the X button of the tab. This avoids having to conrm a warning message whenever you want to close an unsaved tab.

● To close all le tabs but the selected le tab, right-click a le tab and select Close All But

This.

Switching Between Files

You can have multiple les open and switch between them.

● To bring a le to the front, click the corresponding tab.

To switch between the les, hold Ctrl/Cmd, and press Tab continuously.

●

To switch back and forth between the last two active les, press Ctrl/Cmd-Tab. Between

● each step you have to release all keys.

To switch backwards, press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-Tab.

●

To toggle between the active le and the last edited le, press F5.

●

Selecting Audio

Almost all types of editing and processing that you perform in WaveLab Elements operate on the audio selection. There are numerous ways to make an audio selection.

To select the whole audio le, double-click it. If the audio le contains markers, triple-click

● it.

WaveLab Elements Concepts Selecting Audio

Selecting a Range by Dragging

The standard way to select a range in the wave window is to click and drag.

If you drag all the way to the left or right side of the wave window, it scrolls automatically, allowing you to select larger sections than what can be shown in the wave window. The speed of the scrolling depends on how far from the wave window edge you are.

Audio Range Selection in an Audio File

You can edit, process, or play back selections of an audio le.

● To access the audio range selection options, in the Audio Editor, select the Edit tab.

The following selection options are available in the Time Selection section:

All

Selects the entire waveform.

Toggle

Toggles the selection range on/off.

Extend

Opens a menu where you can select the following options:

● Extend to Start of File extends the selection to the start of the audio le. If

there is no selection, a selection is created from the edit cursor position.

● Extend to End of File extends the selection to the end of the audio le. If

there is no selection, a selection is created from the edit cursor position.

● Extend to Previous Marker extends the left edge of the selection to the

nearest marker to the left or the start of the audio a selection is extended until the previous marker position.

● Extend to Next Marker extends the right edge of the selection to the nearest

marker to the right or the end of the audio le. If there is no selection, a selection is extended until the next marker position.

● Extend to Cursor extends the selection to the edit cursor position.

● From Start of File Until Cursor selects the range between the start of the

audio le and the edit cursor position.

● From Cursor to End of File selects the range between the edit cursor position

and the end of the audio

● From Cursor to Previous Marker selects the range between the edit cursor

position and the previous marker or the start of the audio le.

● From Cursor to Next Marker selects the range between the edit cursor

position and the next marker or the end of the audio le.

● From Playback Position to End of File creates a selection range from the

playback position to the end of the audio position of the edit cursor is used.

● From Playback Position to Start of File creates a selection range from the

playback position to the start of the audio le. If no playback is taking place, the position of the edit cursor is used.

● Double Selection Length doubles the length of the current selection range.

● Halve Selection Length halves the length of the current selection range.

le.

le. If no playback is taking place, the

le. If there is no selection,

Channels

Opens a menu where you can select the following options:

● Extend to All Channels extends the current selection range to all channels.

WaveLab Elements Concepts Selecting Audio

● Left Channel Only reduces the current selection range to the left channel

only.

● Right Channel Only reduces the current selection range to the right channel

only.

Regions

Opens a menu where you can select the following options:

● Loop Region selects the range between the two loop markers that encompass

the edit cursor.

● Generic Region selects the range between the two generic markers that

encompass the edit cursor.

Selecting in Stereo Files

If you are working on stereo material in the Audio Editor, you can apply an operation to one channel only or to the entire stereo material.

Which channel is selected when you click and drag in the wave window depends on where you position the mouse cursor. The pointer shape indicates which channel will be affected.

The following pointer shapes are available:

Select left channel

Clicking in the upper half of the left channel selects the left channel.

Select both channels

Clicking in the middle area between the left and the right channel selects both channels.

Select right channel

Clicking in the lower half of the right channel selects the right channel.

Switching the Selection Between Channels

You can switch the channel selection that you have made for a channel to all channels or switch the selection to the other channel.

PROCEDURE

1. In the wave window of the Audio Editor, select a range.

2. Select the Edit tab.

3. In the Time Selection section, click Channels and select one of the following options:

Extend to All Channels

●

Left Channel Only

●

Right Channel Only

●

You can press Tab to switch between the different channel selections.

WaveLab Elements Concepts Selecting Audio

Selecting in the Overview of the Audio Editor

The ranges that you select in the overview of the Audio Editor also apply to the main view.

PROCEDURE

● In the wave window of the Audio Editor, hold down Ctrl/Cmd and click and drag in the overview.

Moving a Selection Range

If a selection range has the correct length, but the wrong position, you can move it.

PROCEDURE

1. In the wave window, hold down Ctrl/Cmd-Shift.

2. Click in the middle of the selection and drag to the left/right.

Extending and Reducing the Selection

You can resize a selection range in the wave window.

There are several ways to extend/reduce the selection:

● Select a range, Shift-click outside the selection range, and drag to the left/right, or click and drag the edges of the selection range to the left/right.

● To extend the selection to the previous/next boundary (marker or start/end of le), press

Shift and double-click the non-selected area between the boundaries.

Extending and Reducing the Selection Using the Arrow Keys

● To move the start or end of a selection in the wave window to the left or right, hold down

Shift and press the Left Arrow/Right Arrow. To move it in bigger steps, press Page Up or Page Down.

● To extend a selection to the previous or next boundary in the wave window (marker or start/end of the audio le), hold down Ctrl/Cmd-Shift and press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow.

Deleting Selections

There are several options for deleting a selected range.

Audio Editor

The following options can be found on the Edit tab in the Cutting section.

Crop

Removes the data outside the selection.

Delete

Removes the selection. The audio to the right of the selection is moved to the left to ll the gap.

Audio Montage Window

The following option can be found on the Edit tab in the Removal section.

WaveLab Elements Concepts Sliders

Delete Selected Clip

Deletes the selected clip.

Sliders

At various places in WaveLab Elements, slider controls are available to change parameters. There are a number of ways to change the value of a slider.

● Position the mouse over the slider and use the mouse wheel without clicking. Hold

Ctrl/Cmd while using the mouse wheel to scroll faster. This modier also applies to the

zoom wheels. To move a slider, click and drag it.

●

To move the slider handle to a position, click the slider at any position.

●

To move the slider handle in smaller steps, right-click or click below the handle. Keep the mouse button pressed to automatically step to the next value.

●

To reset the slider to the default value, if available, Ctrl/Cmd-click the slider, or click using the third mouse button, or double-click the handle.

Renaming Items in Tables

You can rename items in tables in the Markers window, and in the CD window.

● To rename an item, double-click it or select it, and press Return, and enter the new name.

● To rename the previous/next item, press Up Arrow or Down Arrow. This way you move the focus on the previous/next item, while staying in the edit mode.

File Browser

The File Browser window allows you to browse les from within WaveLab Elements. The Auto Play Mode is useful for speeding up the process of auditioning sound les.

The File Browser window provides you with all the standard browsing functions. It features additional controls to audition audio les and any marker dened regions. You can use it to open or insert les by dragging them to another location.

You can also choose to only view specic le types.

File Browser Window

In this window, you can browse les and open them in WaveLab Elements.

● To open the File Browser window, select Tool Windows > File Browser.

WaveLab Elements Concepts File Browser

Back/Forward/Parent Directory

Allows you to navigate through the list and le hierarchy.

Location

This menu allows you to select a le location to browse and lists the recently used locations.

Auto-Play Mode

If this button is activated, playback starts automatically when you select a le.

Play Selected Audio File

Plays the selected audio le.

If this button is activated, you can enter text in the search eld. If it is deactivated, you can search specic le formats.

File type list

Allows you to select which le type and le format to display.

Folder tree

Shows the folders that are available on your computer.

Favorite folders

You can add your favorite folders by dragging them from the folder tree. Each le type has its own favorite folder.

File list

Shows the following information about each le:

● Name shows the name of the audio le.

● Size shows the size of the audio le.

● Type shows the le type of the audio le.

● Date Modied shows the date on which the audio le was last saved.

● Sample Rate shows the sample rate in Hz.

● Bits shows the bit depth in bits. “32F” means 32-bit oat and “64F” means 64-

bit oat.

● Bit Rate shows the bit rate in kbps.

● Length shows the length of the audio le.

● Channels shows the number of channels.

Right-click in the le list and select Create Folder to add a new folder for structuring your les.

Audio Regions

If the selected le contains markers, the markers are displayed in the Audio Regions section.

RELATED LINKS

Folders Tab on page 64

WaveLab Elements Concepts Tab Groups

Tab Groups

With tab groups, you can view the content of different les, tool windows, or meters at the same time, without having to navigate through different windows. Each tab group has its own content and tab bar.

You can have two le tab groups.

Empty File Tab Groups

File Tab Groups with Audio Montages

Creating File Tab Groups

PROCEDURE

1. In the top right of a le tab window, open the Tab Group pop-up menu.

WaveLab Elements Concepts Peak Files

2. Select Create a Tab Group (Split Vertically) or Create a Tab Group (Split Horizontally).

Creating File Tab Groups in Empty Tab Groups

PROCEDURE

● In the top right of an empty le tab group, click Create a Tab Group (Split Vertically) or Create a Tab Group (Split Horizontally).

Using Tab Groups

The Tab Group button in the top right of each tab window allows you to maximize, move, and close tab groups. Tabs are used differently depending on the type of window.

Tool Window Tab Groups

● To hide a tool window tab group, open the Tool Window Tab Group Options pop-up menu and select Hide All.

● To reorder tabs in a tab group, drag the tab horizontally to a new position on the tab bar.

● To dock the tab group to another location, open the Tool Window Tab Group Options pop-up menu and select Dock Tab Group Elsewhere. Now you can select where to dock the tab group.

File Tab Groups

● To close a le tab group, click the Tab Group button and select Hide All.

● To reorder tabs in a tab group, drag the tab horizontally to a new position on the tab bar.

● To move a tab to another project, drag the tab to another project.

● To paste the content of a tab into an audio le, drag the tab onto the waveform. The tab is

● To maximize the active le tab group, open the File Tab Group Options pop-up menu, and

Peak Files

A peak le (extension .gpk) is automatically created by WaveLab Elements each time an audio le is modied or opened in WaveLab Elements for the rst time. The peak le contains

information about the waveform and determines how it is drawn in the wave window or the montage window.

Peak les speed up the time it takes to draw the corresponding waveform. By default, the peak le is saved in the same location as the audio le.

inserted at the cursor position.

select Hide Other File Tab Groups.

To show all le tab groups, open the File Tab Group Options pop-up menu, and select Show Other File Tab Groups.

You can also double-click the le tab header of a tab group to show/hide other le tab groups.

WaveLab Elements Concepts Companion Files

Rebuilding Peak Displays

Normally, peak les are automatically updated when the date of the peak le is older than the date of the audio updated. In this case you can force a rebuild of the peak le.

PROCEDURE

1. In the Audio Editor, select the View tab.

2. In the Peaks section, click Rebuild Display.

le. However, it can happen that the date of the audio le is not automatically

Companion Files

Companion les (extension .vs) contain Master Section presets and view settings for audio les. If this feature is activated when you save a le, the settings are recreated the next time that

you load the le.

Companion les are only available in the Audio Editor.

The following view settings are included in companion les:

●

Window size and position

● Zoom level

● Scroll position

Storing Companion Files in Another Location

By default, companion les are saved in the same location as the audio le. However, you can select another le location.

PROCEDURE

1. Select File > Preferences > Folders.

2. Click Companion Files and specify another le location.

Processing Precision

WaveLab Elements can load audio samples in many formats but processes them internally as 64bit oat samples.

Mixing inside WaveLab Elements is also done in 64-bit oat. 32-bit PCM samples can be transferred to 64-bit

Plug-ins are processed in 64-bit oat by default. You can also set the plug-in processing to 32-bit

oat.

oat and back.

You can set up the processing precision for plug-ins and for temporary les in the Audio tab of the Global Preferences.

NOTE

Processing in 64-bit oat means double precision but slightly longer process time than 32-bit

oat.

Temporary les in 64-bit oat have double precision but take longer to read and write than 32-bit oat and their le size is twice as big.

WaveLab Elements Concepts Processing Precision

RELATED LINKS

Temporary Files on page 63 Audio Tab on page 277

Workspace Window

The Workspace window provides an editing and playback environment for each particular le type. Each environment contains functions that are tailored to the specic purpose of each le type.

● Audio Editor for viewing and editing audio les.

● Audio Montage window for assembling and editing audio montages.

● Podcast Editor for preparing and uploading podcasts.

The Workspace window is highly customizable to match your workow.

Elements of the Workspace Window

The Workspace window contains the following elements:

● A menu bar

● Tab groups to host the les to edit. You can move the content of a tab to another tab, create a new empty tab, display the le path, and access other functions by right-clicking.

● A set of tool windows. Which tools are available depends on the le type you are working on. The tool windows can be activated/deactivated individually.

Audio Editor

The Audio Editor provides tools and functions for sample-accurate audio editing, high-quality analysis, and processing.

The Audio Editor includes various metering tools.

The wave window gives you a graphical representation of the audio le and allows you to view, play back, and edit the le.

RELATED LINKS

Audio File Editing on page 79

Audio Montage

In the Audio Montage, you assemble audio clips into a montage. You can arrange, edit, and play back clips on both stereo or mono tracks.

Features include both track- and clip-based effects, volume and pan automation, and wideranging fade and crossfade functions.

You can place any number of clips on an audio track. A clip contains a reference to a source audio le on your hard disk, as well as start and end positions in the le.

The montage window gives you a graphical representation of clips on tracks. In it you can view, play back, and edit the tracks and clips.

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