Sony Acid Music Studio 9 Manual

							SAVING AND RENDERING PROJECTS | 35
Chapter 6Saving and Rendering Projects
Saving a project
Though ACID® Music Studio™ software provides you with the tools to quickly build impressive musical projects, you 
may find yourself building elaborate projects over a period of weeks or even months. While you are working on a 
project, you should save it in the software’s native format, the ACID project file (.acd).
When you are finished building a project, you can render projects in a variety of formats. You should determine the 
project’s final format (or formats) based on how you will deliver the media. For example, you would render to a 
streaming media format if you plan to publish your project to the Internet.
An ACID project file (.acd) is the default file format for saving a new project and should be used for saving unfinished 
projects. There are two ACID project file types.
1.To save a file, display the Save As dialog using any of the following options:
•Click the Save button () on the toolbar.
•From the File menu, choose Save.
• Press Ctrl+S.
2.From the Save in drop-down list, choose the drive and folder where the file will be saved.
3.Enter a name for the project in the File name box.
4.From the Save as type drop-down list, choose the desired ACID project file type.
5.If you want to save a copy of each of the project’s media files to the same location as your project file, select the 
Copy all media with project check box. This is available when saving as an ACID project file.
6.Click Save. The project is saved.
Specifying locations for saved media files
You can use the Folders tab on the Preferences dialog to specify locations for saving your project media files, such as 
MIDI or extracted CD data. Once you set these locations, ACID Music Studio software automatically defaults to the 
specified folders when saving project media. To set folder preferences, choose Preferences from the File menu and 
click the Folders tab.
Important: If you use this version of ACID Music Studio software to save a project originally created in an earlier 
version of ACID software, it will be unusable in earlier versions of ACID software. Use the Save As dialog to save the 
project with a new name after editing it.
Note: Be aware that projects containing MIDI files that are routed to external MIDI ports must be rerouted to internal 
DLS soft synths to be included in the rendered mix.
FormatExtensionDescription
ACID Project File.acdContains all information regarding the project including 
track layout, envelope settings, and effects parameters. 
However, this type of file does not contain actual audio, 
only references to the audio files.
Embedded Media.acd-zipContains all information regarding the project including 
track layout, envelope settings, and effects parameters. 
In addition, all audio files used in the project are 
embedded into the project file.
If you save a project in .acd-zip format, the project file 
and all media files are copied to a temporary files folder. 
If you continue to work on your project after saving the 
.acd-zip file, your changes are saved to the files in this 
temporary folder.
Note: Once the project is saved, you can use the Save As command from the File menu to create a copy of the 
project with a new name or save to a different ACID project file format. 
						

							36 | CHAPTER 6
Rendering projects
Rendering refers to the process of converting the ACID Music Studio project into a file that is formatted for a specific playback 
method. Possible playback methods include media player applications, Internet streaming media, CD-ROM, and CD audio. When an 
ACID project is rendered, it is not overwritten, deleted, or altered, and you are able to return to the original project to make changes 
and re-render.
1.From the File menu, choose Render As. The Render As dialog appears.
2.From the Save in drop-down list, choose the drive and folder where the file will be saved.
3.Enter a new name for the project in the File name box.
4.From the Save as type drop-down list, choose the desired file format.
5.If the selected file type supports it, you can choose an encoding template from the Te m p l a t e drop-down list, or click Custom 
to create a new template.
6.Select or clear the following check boxes as needed:
• Select the Save project as path reference in rendered media check box if you want to save the project path information 
with the rendered file to easily return to your source project if you use your rendered file in another project.
• Select the Render loop region only check box if you want to save only the portion of the project that is contained within 
the loop region. The loop region does not need to be active for this option to work.
• If the selected file type supports it, you can select the Save project markers with media file check box to include markers 
and regions in the rendered media file.
• If the selected file type supports it, you can select the Save sections as regions with a media file check box to include 
sections in the rendered media file. If the information cannot be saved to your media file, an .sfl file will be created (using 
the same base name as your media file).
• If your project contains video, you can select the Stretch video to fill output frame (do not letterbox) check box to have 
your video reformatted so that it fills the output frame size listed in the Description box. When the check box is cleared, 
the current aspect ratio is maintained and black borders are added to fill the extra frame area (called letterboxing).
• If your project contains video and you see unacceptable artifacts in the rendered video, you can clear the Fast video 
resizing check box. Turning off this option can correct the artifacts, but your rendering time will increase significantly. 
7.Click Save. A progress dialog appears.
8.When rendering is complete, you can choose one of the following options:
•Click Open to start the associated media player and play the newly rendered file.
•Click Open Folder to open Windows Explorer and display the location of the newly rendered file.
•Click Close to close the progress dialog and return to the ACID window.
Note: If you modify the project file after rendering, the project data will no longer match the rendered file. To edit a project using a 
path reference, the project file and all media must be available on your computer. 
						

							INDEX | i
Index
A
adding
events to timeline, 17
media to projects, 13
adjusting mix, 23
arming tracks to record, 31
Audio Plug-In window, 9
Audio properties tab, 12
B
beat ruler, 7
Beatmapped tracks, 22
bit depth, 12
C
CDs, extracting media from, 15
Chopper, 9
clearing undo history, 24
Clip Properties window, 9
clips
adding to tracks, 17
creating events, 17
properties, 9
setting active clip, 17
types, 21
copying
events, 20
tracks, 23
creating events, 17
cutting
events, 21
tracks, 23
D
deleting
events, 19, 21
tracks, 22
downloading media from Web, 16
drawing events, 18
duplicating tracks, 22
E
editing events, 20
erasing events, 19
events
changing length, 19
copying, 20
cutting, 21
deleting, 21
drawing, 18
editing, 20
erasing, 19
moving, 19
painting, 17
pasting, 20
selecting, 20
Explorer window, 9, 13–14
extracting media from CDs, 15
G
getting media from Web, 16
H
help, 4
I
input monitoring, 32
installation, 3
L
looped playback, 25
loops, 22
M
main window, 5
marker bar, 7
media files
adding to projects, 13
downloading from Web, 16
extracting from CDs, 15
previewing in Explorer, 13
metronome, 25
MIDI
recording, 33
recording in real time, 33
setting up MIDI controllers for recording, 33
step recording, 34
tracks, 22
Mixing Console
Channel List pane, 27
channel strips, 29
displaying, 26
overview, 9, 26
toolbar, 26–27
View pane, 27–28
monitoring recording input, 32
moving
events, 19
tracks, 22
multipurpose slider, 23
muting tracks, 23
O
one-shots, 22
online help, 4
opening
media files, 13
projects, 12
P
painting events, 17, 18
panning tracks, 23
pasting
events, 20
tracks, 23
playback
entire project, 25
from cursor position, 25 
						

							ii | INDEX
looped, 25
playing projects, 25
Plug-In Manager window, 9
preparing to record, 31
previewing media, 13
projects
adding media, 13
bit depth, 12
opening, 12
playing, 25
properties, 11
rendering, 36
sample rate, 12
starting, 11
properties
clips, 9
projects, 11
tracks, 9
R
recording
arming tracks, 31
MIDI in real time, 33
MIDI tracks, 33
monitoring input, 32
preparation, 31
setting up MIDI controllers, 33
starting and stopping, 31
using MIDI step recording, 34
redoing edits, 24
renaming tracks, 22
rendering projects, 36
reordering tracks, 22
ripping tracks from CDs, 15
S
sample rate, 12
selecting events, 20
setting active clip, 17
Show Me How tutorials, 4
Soft Synth Properties window, 9
soloing tracks, 23
Summary properties tab, 11
System requirements, 3
T
time ruler, 8
timeline, 7
toolbar, 6
track list, 7
Track Properties window, 9
tracks
adding clips to, 17
adjusting mix, 23
adjusting several simultaneously, 24
copying, 23
cutting, 23
deleting, 22
duplicating, 22
muting, 23
panning, 23
pasting, 23
properties, 9
renaming, 22
reordering, 22
soloing, 23
volume, 23
transport bar, 8
tutorials, 4
U
undo history, 24
undoing edits, 24
V
Video Preview window, 9
volume of tracks, 23
W
window docking area, 8
windows
Audio Plug-In, 9
Chopper, 9
Clip Properties, 9
Explorer, 9, 13–14
main, 5
Mixing Console, 9
Plug-In Manager, 9
Soft Synth Properties, 9
Track Properties, 9
Video Preview, 9
Z
zoom controls, 8