Steinberg Wavelab LE - 8.0 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Sabine Pfeifer, Benjamin Schütte

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 specifically 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 holders. For more information, please visit www.steinberg.net/trademarks.

Release Date: June 18, 2013

5 Introduction

5 The Help System 6 About the Program Versions 7 Typographical Conventions 7 How You Can Reach Us

8 Setting Up Your System

8 Connecting Audio 8 About Audio Cards and Background

Playback

9 About Latency 9 Defining VST Audio Connections 13 Remote Devices

19 WaveLab LE Concepts

19 General Editing Rules 20 Basic Window Handling 22 Selecting Audio 27 Sliders 27 Renaming Items in Tables 28 File Browser 29 Peak Files

30 Program Overview

30 Command Bars 31 Status Bar 33 Context Menus 34 Time Ruler and Level Ruler 38 Value Editing 39 Drag Operations 41 Undoing and Redoing 41 Zooming 48 Managing Tabs 49 Presets 52 Saving a Picture of the Active Window

53 File Operations

53 Recently Used Files 53 Save and Save As 56 File Renaming 58 Deleting Files 58 Special Menu 59 Temporary Files 59 Work Folders vs. Document Folders 61 Setting the Focus on the Current File

62 About Workspaces

62 Elements of a Workspace 63 Audio Files Workspace 63 Audio Montage Workspace 64 Podcast Workspace 64 Opening Files in a Workspace 64 Organizing Workspace Windows 65 About Tool Windows

68 Playback

68 Transport Bar 73 Playing Back Only One Channel 73 Starting Playback From the Ruler 74 Using the Play Tool 74 Playback Scrubbing 75 Scroll During Playback 76 About Playback in the Audio Montage

Workspace

77 Audio File Editing

77 Wave Window 81 File Handling in the Audio Files

Workspace

97 Changing the Audio Properties 99 Silence Generator Dialog

101 Offline Processing

101 Applying Processing 102 Gain Dialog 102 Normalize Level Dialog 104 Fades in Audio Files 105 Crossfades 106 Inverting the Audio Phase 107 Reversing Audio 107 DC Offset 108 Resample

109 Audio Montage

109 Basic Terminology 110 Montage Window 112 Signal Flow in the Audio Montage 112 Creating a New Audio Montage 113 Creating an Audio Montage from an

Audio File

114 Import Options for Audio Montages 115 Missing Files in Audio Montage Dialog 116 Assembling the Audio Montage 120 Rearranging Clips 122 Clip Editing 129 Track Activity Indicator 129 Envelopes for Clips 132 Fades and Crossfades in the Audio

Montage

136 About Cloning Audio Montages 137 Mixing Down - The Render Function 137 Notes Window

138 Recording

138 Setting Up the Recording Dialog 139 Dropping Markers During Recording 139 Recording Dialog

143 Master Section

144 Master Section Window 151 Rendering 155 About Monitoring Background Tasks 155 About Dropouts

157 Markers

157 Marker Types 158 Markers Window 160 About Creating Markers 164 Deleting Markers 165 Moving Markers 165 Navigating to Markers 165 Hiding Markers of a Certain Type 166 Renaming Markers 166 About Selecting Markers 167 Selecting the Audio Between Markers 168 Binding Markers to Clips in the Audio

Montage

168 How Marker Information is Stored

169 Importing Audio CD Tracks

169 Import Audio CD Dialog 171 Importing Audio CD Tracks

172 Podcasts

173 Podcast Workspace 176 Creating a Podcast 176 Setting Up a FTP for Podcast Publishing 177 Publishing a Podcast 177 FTP Site Dialog 179 Checking the Podcast

180 Customizing

180 Customizing the Wave Window and the

Montage Window

189 About Customizing Shortcuts

193 Configuring the Software

193 About Global Preferences 196 Audio File Editing Preferences Dialog

198 Plug-in Reference

198 Built-in Plug-ins 201 Steinberg VST 3 Plug-ins

213 Index

The Help System

The detailed help system of WaveLab LE makes it easy to look up interface features and get information from within the program.

Three main types of help are available:

• The help provides detailed information on the features and functionality of WaveLab LE. You can set bookmarks, and use the search function and index to quickly find information.

Introduction

• “What’s This” tooltips give detailed information on the functionality of a specific user interface element.

• The status bar at the bottom of each workspace window gives detailed information on menu items when moving the mouse over an item.

• In the Audio Montage workspace, the status bar shows what kind of editing can be performed when using the mouse and modifier keys.

Accessing the Help System

There are several ways of accessing the help system.

• To open the WaveLab LE help, select Help > Contents.

• To open the manual in PDF format, browse to the installation folder. The documents are located in the Documentation folder.

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

• To open the help for the active dialog, click the question mark icon on the title bar (Windows) or in the dialog (Mac OS) to show the Help button, and then click the Help button, or press [F1] (Windows) or [Command]-[?] (Mac OS).

Introduction

About the Program Versions

• To use the menu help, move the mouse over a menu item. The help text is displayed on the status bar at the bottom of the workspace window.

• To see information on what kind of editing can be performed when using the mouse and modifier keys in the audio montage window, move the mouse over the montage window. The help text is displayed on the status bar at the bottom of the workspace window.

• To activate/deactivate the help texts on the status bar, select

Options (WaveLab menu on Mac) > Global preferences > Display tab, and in the Workspaces section, select Display status bar.

To open the “What’s This” help, you have the following possibilities:

• In any workspace, press [Shift]-[F1], and move the mouse over an interface item, or select Help > What is this?.

• In a dialog, select the question mark icon on any title bar (Windows) or in the dialog (Mac OS), and move the mouse over an interface item or a menu option.

• Some “What’s this” tooltips have a different background color to indicate that a dedicated help topic is available in the WaveLab LE help. Click the link in the tooltip to open the corresponding information in the help.

About the Program Versions

The documentation covers two different operating systems, Windows and Mac OS X. Some features and settings are specific to one of the operation systems.

This is clearly stated in the applicable cases. If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for all WaveLab LE versions for both Windows and Mac OS X.

The screenshots are taken from the English Windows version of WaveLab LE.

Introduction

NOTE

Typographical Conventions

Many of the default key commands in WaveLab LE use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system. For example, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] on Windows and [Command]-[Z] on Mac OS X.

When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way:

• [Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]

For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] on Windows or [Command] on Mac OS X, then press [Z]”.

Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] on Windows or [Option] on Mac OS X, then press [X]”.

This manual often refers to right-clicking, for example, to open context menus. If you are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.

How You Can Reach Us

On the Help menu in WaveLab LE, you find items linking to additional information.

The menu contains links to various Steinberg web pages. Selecting a menu item automatically launches your browser and opens the page. On these pages, you can find support and compatibility information, answers to frequently asked questions, information about updates and other Steinberg products, etc. This requires that you have a web browser installed on your computer, and a working internet connection.

Setting Up Your System

IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT

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

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

Connecting Audio

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.

About Audio Cards and Background Playback

When you activate playback or recording in WaveLab LE, other applications cannot access the audio card. Likewise, if another application uses the audio card, WaveLab LE is unable to play back. The Windows MME driver is an exception from this.

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

To do so, select Options > VST Audio Connections, and on the

Options tab, activate Release driver when WaveLab is in background.

Setting Up Your System

About Latency

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 LE.

When working with WaveLab LE, the important issues are optimum and stable playback and editing precision. You should not try to reach the lowest possible latency figures.

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 Buffer Number setting on the VST Audio Connections dialog, or increase the buffer size in the ASIO control panel, specific to the audio card.

Defining VST Audio Connections

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

You can define the buffer settings for your device as well as set up connections to external gear, such as external effects units. You should select at least two channels for stereo playback and recording.

If you have no third-party audio card, you can select the Windows MME driver or Built-in Audio (Mac) options. You can also use MME with most third party audio cards, with the advantage that you can record and play at different sample rates. However, Windows MME drivers do not allow audio monitoring in the Recording dialog or multichannel operation, and other drivers generally offer better sound quality and performance.

Setting Up Your System

PROCEDURE

Defining VST Audio Connections

Selecting an ASIO Driver

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

1. In any workspace, except the Podcast workspace, select Options > VST Audio Connections.

2. From the Audio Device menu, select your ASIO driver.

The ASIO plug-ins tab and the Control panel button are activated.

3. Optional: Click the Control panel button and make your settings.

4. On the ASIO plug-ins tab, select the audio ports that are used for recording and monitor input of the ASIO plug-ins.

5. Click OK.

Selecting a Windows MME Driver

1. In any workspace, except the Podcast workspace, select Options > VST Audio Connections.

2. From the Audio Device menu, select the Windows MME driver.

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.

5. Click OK.

Setting Up Your System

Defining VST Audio Connections

VST Audio Connections Dialog

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

In any workspace, except the Podcast workspace, select Options > VST Audio Connections.

Global Settings

Audio device

Here, 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 Windows MME driver or Built-in Audio (Mac) options.

Control panel

Refresh

Playback Tab

This tab allows you to select and name audio ports that are used for playback.

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.

This button causes audio devices to be evaluated again to reflect device changes.

Recording Tab

This tab allows you to select and name your audio ports that are used for recording and input monitoring. The inputs that you define here are then available in the Recording dialog.

Setting Up Your System

Defining VST Audio Connections

Options Tab

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

Buffer Number

MME Specific - Buffer size

Reset driver when changing sample rate

Increasing this value improves the elasticity of audio streaming to avoid dropouts.

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

Resets the driver when sample rate is changed. When playback or recording must be set to a new sample rate, certain audio device drivers must be fully reset to work properly. This operation takes some time.

Perform short fade-in/out when starting/stopping playback

Performs a short fade-in when starting playback and a short fade-out when stopping playback. This avoids clicks that are caused by waveforms that are not starting on a zero-crossing point.

Release driver when WaveLab LE is in background

Closes the audio device when WaveLab LE is no longer the front application. This allows other audio applications to use the same audio device.

Setting Up Your System

Remote Devices

You can use remote devices to remote-control WaveLab LE.

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

Remote Devices Dialog

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

In any workspace, except the Podcast workspace, select Options > 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.

Name

Lets you enter a map name.

Expand/Collapse

Expands/collapses the folder tree of the control map.

Setting Up Your System

Remote Devices

Options Tab

WaveLab LE action list

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

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

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

This tab lets you use the MIDI Learn function to assign a control of a MIDI remote control device to a function.

Emulate mouse wheel

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

Edit focused numeric field

If this option is activated, the AI knob can be used to edit the focused numeric field that you find in many WaveLab LE windows and dialogs.

CC121 Advanced Integration Controller

You can use Steinberg's CC121 Advanced Integration Controller to control WaveLab LE.

This section describes the WaveLab LE 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 LE 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 LE audio montage. You can use the fader for the Master Section.

Fader

Controls the Master Section fader.

Setting Up Your System

Remote Devices

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]/[Option]. To move the cursor to the previous/next region edge, hold [Shift]. To move the cursor to the previous/next marker in the Audio Files workspace, hold [Ctrl]/[Command].

EQ Section

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

If the EQ TYPE button is activated on the CC121, you can adjust the parameters of the focused Studio-EQ. All necessary EQ parameters, such as Q/F/G of each band, EQ TYPE selection, and ALL BYPASS on/off can be set. You can switch to WaveLab LE navigation mode by turning off the EQ TYPE button. In WaveLab LE navigation mode, you get access to alternative functions, such as scrolling, zooming, and switching between workspaces.

EQ Type activated:

Bandwidth knobs (Q)

Adjusts the Q (bandwidth) of each EQ band.

Frequency knobs (F)

Adjusts the center frequency of each EQ band.

Gain knobs (G)

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.

Setting Up Your System

Remote Devices

EQ Type deactivated:

LOW ON

Opens the Audio Files workspace.

LOW-MID ON

Opens the Audio Montage workspace.

HIGH-MID ON

Opens the Batch Processors workspace.

HIGH ON

Opens the Control Window.

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 workspace or scrolls vertically on the Audio Files workspace.

EQ-1 knob for the EQ Frequency (F)

Scrolls left/right on the overview timeline of the Audio Files workspace.

EQ-2 knob for the EQ Frequency (F)

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

EQ-3 knob for the EQ Frequency (F)

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

EQ-4 knob for the EQ Frequency (F)

Vertically scrolls on the overview timeline of the Audio Files workspace.

Setting Up Your System

Remote Devices

Transport Section

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

Previous button

Moves the cursor position to the beginning of the project.

Rewind button

Rewind

Forward button

Forward

Next button

Moves the cursor position to the end of the project.

Cycle button

Activates/deactivates Cycle mode.

Stop button

Play button

Record button

Function Section

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

VALUE knob/button

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.

Starts playback.

Press once to open the Recording window. Press again to start the recording. Press a third time to stop recording. The recorded file opens in the Audio Files workspace.

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 focused clip.

FUNCTION button 2

Adjusts the fade-out settings of the focused clip.

FUNCTION button 3

Adjusts the envelope level of the focused clip.

Setting Up Your System

NOTE

Remote Devices

AI Knob Section

FUNCTION button 4

The element clicked last on the Edit > Nudge menu in the Audio Montage workspace is assigned to this button.

WaveLab LE 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.

The AI knob only works on parameters that are automatable.

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

AI KNOB

Controls the VST 3plug-in parameters, emulates the mouse wheel, for example, for scrolling, and lets you edit a focused numeric field. To control a parameter with the 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 field in the Options tab.

LOCK

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

CUBASE READY Indicator

The CUBASE READY indicator has no function in WaveLab LE.

Foot Switch Section

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

WaveLab LE Concepts

NOTE

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

General Editing Rules

The common editing operations can be used in 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.

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

Basic Window Handling

WaveLab LE follows the basic guidelines for the Windows/Mac OS interface, which means that Windows/Mac OS standard procedures apply.

Closing Windows

• To close a tabbed window, click the “X” button of the corresponding tab or press [Ctrl]/[Command]-[W].

• To close a tabbed window without saving your changes, hold [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Shift], and click the “X” button. This avoids having to confirm a warning message whenever you want to close an unsaved window.

• To close all tabbed windows at once, right-click a tab, and select Close all.

• To close all tabbed windows but the selected tabbed window, right-click a tab, and select Close all but this one.

• To individually select the tabbed windows that you want to close, right-click a tab, and select Select files to close. This opens the Files to close dialog, where you can select the files that you want to close.

Selecting Audio

Customizing the Central Switcher Bar

You can customize the central switcher bar using the settings menu.

To open the settings menu, right-click an empty part of the central switcher bar.

Hide

Hides the central switcher bar.

Fold

Minimizes the central switcher bar to a thin line. To unfold the bar, click the thin line.

Left side/Top/Right side/Bottom

Determines the location of the central switcher bar.

Large/Medium/Small size

Determines the size of the central switcher bar.

Workspace buttons

Determines which workspace buttons are visible on the central switcher bar.

Selecting Audio

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

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

WaveLab LE Concepts

Selecting Audio

Selecting a Range by Dragging

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

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

Audio Range Selection in an Audio File

You can edit, process, or play back selection of an audio file.

In the Audio Files workspace, select Edit > Select time range.

All

Selects the entire waveform.

Toggle

Toggles the current audio selection on/off.

Extend to start of file

Extends the selection to the start of the audio file. 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 file. 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 file. If there is no selection, a selection is extended until the edit cursor 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 file. 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 file and the edit cursor position.

WaveLab LE Concepts

Selecting Audio

From cursor to end of file

Selects the range between the edit cursor position and the end of the audio file.

From cursor to previous marker

Selects the range between the edit cursor position and the nearest marker to the left or the start of the audio file.

From cursor to next marker

Selects the range between the edit cursor position and the next marker or the end of the audio file.

Playback position => Selection start

Creates a selection range from the playback position to the end of the audio file. If no playback is taking place, the position of the edit cursor is used.

Playback position => Selection end

Creates a selection range from the playback position to start of the audio file. If no playback is taking place, the position of the edit cursor is used.

Double length

Doubles the length of the current selection range.

Halve length

Halves the length of the current selection range.

Extend to all channels

Extends the current selection range to all channels.

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.

Generic region

Selects the range between the two generic markers that encompass the edit cursor.

WaveLab LE Concepts

PROCEDURE

Selecting Audio

Selecting in Stereo Files

If you are working on stereo material in the Audio Files workspace, 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, as indicated by the pointer shape. The pointer shape indicates which channel will be affected.

The following pointer shapes are available:

Pointer Shape Description

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

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

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

Switching the Selection Between Channels

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

1. In the Audio Files workspace’s wave window, make a selection range.

2. Select Edit > Select time range, and select Extend to all channels, Left channel only, or Right channel only, or press [Tab] to cycle between the different channel selections.

Selecting in the Overview of the Audio Files Workspace

The selection ranges that you make in the overview of the Audio Files workspace also apply to the main view.

• In the Audio Files workspace’s wave window, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command], and click and drag in the overview.

WaveLab LE Concepts

PROCEDURE

Selecting Audio

Moving a Selection Range

If a selection range is the right length, but at the wrong position, you can move it.

1. In the wave window, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command]-[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 without having to make a new one.

There are several ways to extend/reduce the selection:

• Make a selection range, [Shift]-click outside the selection range,

• To extend the selection to the previous/next boundary (marker or

Extending and Reducing the Selection Using the Cursor Keys

• To move the start/end of a selection in the wave window to the

• To extend a selection to the previous/next boundary in the wave

Deleting Selections

and drag to the left/right, or click and drag the edges of the selection range to the left/right.

start/end of file), press [Shift] and double-click the non-selected area between the boundaries.

left/right, hold down [Shift] and press the left/right cursor keys. To move it in bigger steps, press the [Page Up]/[Page Down] keys.

window (marker or start/end of the audio file), hold down [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Shift] and press the left/right cursor keys.

There are several options for deleting a selected time range.

Audio Files Workspace

The following options can be found on the Edit menu:

Trim

Removes the data outside the selection.

WaveLab LE Concepts

Sliders

Remove

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

At various places in WaveLab LE, 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 (no click is required). Hold [Ctrl]/[Command] while using the mouse wheel to scroll faster. This modifier also applies to the zoom wheels. To move the button of a slider, click and drag it.

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

• To move the slider handle in smaller steps, right-click or 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]/[Command]-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 Clips 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 [Arrow Up] or [Arrow Down] instead of [Return]. This way you move the focus on the previous/next item, while staying in the edit mode.

WaveLab LE Concepts

File Browser

The File Browser window in the Audio Files workspace and the Audio Montage workspace allows you to browse files directly from within WaveLab LE. It can be very useful in speeding up the process of auditioning sound files.

The File Browser window provides you with all the standard browsing functions as well as additional controls to audition audio files and any marker defined regions. You can use it to open or insert files or regions of files by dragging them onto an open workspace.

You can also choose to only view certain types of files.

File Browser Window

In this window, you can browse files and open them in WaveLab LE.

In the Audio Files workspace or the Audio Montage workspace, select Workspace > Specific tool windows > File Browser.

You can add your favorite folders to the left pane by dragging them from the middle pane.

The following options are available in the File Browser windows:

Look in

Lets you select a file location to browse and lists the recently used locations.

Back/Forward/Parent Directory

Let you navigate through the list and file hierarchy.

List View

Shows only the file name in the file list.

Detail View

Shows the file name, size, type, and modification date in the file list.

WaveLab LE Concepts

PROCEDURE

Peak Files

File name

Shows the file name of the selected file.

File format list

Lets you select which file format to display.

The following options are only available in the File Browser window in the Audio Montage workspace:

Select Audio Files

Shows only audio files.

Select Audio Montages

Shows only audio montages.

Auto-Play mode

Starts playback automatically for the selected file.

Play selected audio file

Plays the selected audio file.

Peak Files

A peak file (extension “.gpk”) is automatically created by WaveLab LE each time an audio file is modified or opened in WaveLab LE for the first time. The peak file contains information about the waveform and determines how it is drawn in the wave window or the montage window.

Peak files speed up the time it takes to draw the corresponding waveform.

By default, the peak file is stored in the same location as the audio file.

Rebuilding Peak Displays

Normally, peak files are automatically updated when the peak file’s date is older than the audio file’s date. However, it can happen that the date of the audio file is wrong and therefore not automatically updated. In this case you can force a rebuild of the peak file.

• In the Audio Files workspace, select View > Rebuild peak

display.

Command Bars

Commonly used tools, shortcuts, and commands are represented by command buttons. Related buttons are grouped into various Command bars.

Command bars in the Audio Files workspace

Program Overview

You can dock Command bars to any window edge or open them in a separate window, and rearrange them freely. Each workspace has an appropriate set of command bars that can be displayed. All the commands that are represented by the command buttons are also available on the menus.

Hiding and Showing Command Bars

You can hide command bars that are irrelevant for your project.

• To view a list of available command bars, in the Audio Files workspace or the Audio Montage workspace, right-click an empty part of the top edge of the workspace, or select Workspace >

Command bars.

+ 183 hidden pages

Steinberg Wavelab LE - 8.0 Operation Manual

Table of Contents

The Help System

Introduction

About the Program Versions

Typographical Conventions

How You Can Reach Us

Setting Up Your System

Connecting Audio

About Audio Cards and Background Playback

About Latency

Defining VST Audio Connections

Remote Devices

WaveLab LE Concepts

General Editing Rules

Basic Window Handling

Selecting Audio

Sliders

Renaming Items in Tables

File Browser

Peak Files

Command Bars

Program Overview