Steinberg Wavelab Le 8 Manual

							File Operations
Setting the Focus on the Current File
61
Depending on the selected item, different settings are available on the 
right side of the dialog:
Current Folder
In this field, the folder that is currently used as default is displayed. 
You can click the folder button to the right to navigate to a folder, 
or to create a new folder.
Keep last used
Uses the last folder for saving or opening files of the selected type.
Change when save-folder/open-folder changes
Updates the default open folder when you change the default save 
folder, and vice versa. Activate this option for both the save folder 
and the open folder for a specific file type to use the same folder 
for saving and for opening this type of file.
On opening the application, revert to this folder
Activate this option to restore a specific folder each time you open 
WaveLab LE. This way changes to save/open folders are only 
temporary and reset when you restart WaveLab LE.
Setting the Focus on the Current File
If you are editing inside a floating window or a tool window and want to 
switch back the focus to a wave/montage window, you can use the Set 
focus on current file option.
PROCEDURE

						

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About Workspaces
A workspace provides an editing and playback environment for a 
particular audio file type. Each type of workspace has functions for its 
specific file types.
In WaveLab LE, each file type has its own workspace designed for a 
specific purpose:
• Audio Files workspace for viewing and editing audio files.
• Audio Montage workspace for assembling and editing audio 
montages.
• Podcast workspace for preparing and uploading Podcasts.
A workspace is highly customizable to match your workflow. A 
workspace can appear as a simple window with a single menu or as a 
sophisticated arrangement of command bars, tool windows, tab 
groups, and active meters.
When a file is opened from a given workspace, it is added to the active 
tab group of this workspace.
You can drag files between workspaces if their formats are compatible. 
For example, you can drag an audio file from the Audio Files workspace 
to the Audio Montage workspace by using its tab bar or its document 
button.
Elements of a Workspace
The center of the workspace is about the data that you want to edit, and 
all the menus, command bars, tool windows, controls, and tools to help 
you with that.
Each workspace contains the following elements:
• A menu bar. Each workspace has a different menu bar, but certain 
menus are common for all workspaces and each menu can be 
customized in various ways. The workspace menu has a submenu 
to show/hide the available Command bars and tool windows. 
						

							About Workspaces
Audio Files Workspace
63
• One or more Command bars with buttons for instant access to 
functions. Command bars can be customized extensively.
•Tab groups to host the files to edit. This is the central part of the 
workspace. You can move a tab to another workspace, create a 
new empty tab, display the file path, and access other functions by 
right-clicking.
•A set of Specific tool windows. Which tools are available 
depends on the workspace. They can be activated/deactivated 
individually.
•A set of Shared tool windows. The shared tools vary according 
to the workspace, and can be turned on or off individually. A shared 
tool window is a global window that is located in one workspace 
at a time.
Audio Files Workspace
This workspace provides tools and functions for sample-accurate audio 
editing. It is the environment commonly known as an audio editor.
It includes various metering tools.
The wave window gives you a graphical representation of the audio file 
and allows you to view, play back, and edit the file.
Audio Montage Workspace
In this workspace, you assemble audio clips into a montage. You can 
arrange, edit, and play back clips on both stereo or mono tracks.
You can place any number of clips, on an audio track. A clip contains a 
reference to a source audio file on your hard disk, as well as start and 
end positions in the file.
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. 
						

							About Workspaces
Podcast Workspace
64
Podcast Workspace
In this workspace, you assemble, define, and publish your Podcast to 
the internet.
RELATED LINKS:
“Podcasts” on page 172
Opening Files in a Workspace
You can open files in the workspace that you are working in and in any 
other workspace, without having to switch workspaces first.
•To open a file in a workspace, select File > Open. From the file 
browser, select the workspace file that you want to open, and click 
Open.
•On the Central switcher bar, click a workspace icon, and select 
Open. From the file browser, select the file that you want to open, 
and click Open.
Organizing Workspace Windows
For working with several workspace windows, WaveLab LE offers 
functions to organize the windows.
•To lock a workspace layout, activate Workspace > Lock layout. 
This prevents you from moving or closing tool windows.
• To automatically move the shared tool windows to the newly 
activated workspace, every time you switch between workspaces, 
activate Workspace > Auto move shared tool windows.
• To activate full screen view, select Workspace > Full screen 
view.
• To specify the workspace position on the screen, select 
Workspace > Position on screen, and select an option.
• To bring all workspace windows to front, select Workspace > 
Bring all to front. 
						

							About Workspaces
About Tool Windows
65
• To cascade all workspace windows, select Workspace > 
Cascade all.
• To switch between the previously selected workspace window 
and the active workspace window, select Workspace > Switch to 
previous workspace, or press [F5].
• To close the active workspace, select Workspace > Close.
About Tool Windows
Throughout WaveLab LE there are various tool windows available that 
allow you to view, analyze, and edit the active file.
Generally, the content of a tool window is synchronized with the active 
file, with the exception of the audio meters which displays the audio file 
being played back. Tool windows can be docked and undocked, and 
saved in your custom layouts. There are two types of tool windows 
available:
• Specific tool windows
• Shared tool windows
The tool windows can be accessed via the Workspace menu.
Specific Tool Windows
Specific tool windows are windows that are specific to the current 
workspace. The following specific tool windows are available:
Audio Files  
workspaceAudio Montage 
workspacePodcast  
workspace 
						

							About Workspaces
About Tool Windows
66
Shared Tool Windows
The difference between specific and shared tool windows is that there 
can only be a single instance of a shared window in WaveLab LE. For 
example, a single Master Section, or a single level meter.
When you open a shared tool window in another workspace it undocks 
and moves from its original workspace, if this option is activated. An 
empty tab container with a title bar remains in its previous workspace. 
You can set the moving behavior by activating/deactivating Workspace 
> Auto move shared tool windows.
A shared tool window, if docked, can only appear in a single workspace 
at a time. To retrieve a shared tool window from another workspace, 
click the tool window. 
The following shared tool windows are available:
Opening and Closing Tool Windows
You can close all tool windows you do not need for your project.
•To open or close a specific tool window, select Workspace > 
Specific tool windows, and select a tool window, or use the 
Specific Tool Windows command bar.
• To open or close a shared tool window, select Workspace > 
Shared tool windows, and select a tool window, or use the 
Shared Tool Windows command bar.
• To close a tool window, move the mouse on the left side or the top 
of the window, and on the toolbar that appears, click Close.
Tool Windows Command Bar
On the Specific Tool Windows and Shared Tool Windows command 
bars you can quickly switch tool windows on and off, without having to 
navigate through a menu.
To open or close the Shared Tool Windows command bar, select 
Workspace > Command bars > Shared Tool Windows.
Shared Tool Windows command bar in the Audio Montage workspace Audio Files workspace and Audio Montage workspace 
						

							About Workspaces
About Tool Windows
67
To open or close the Specific Tool Windows command bar, select 
Workspace > Command bars > Specific Tool Windows.
Specific Tool Windows command bar in the Audio Montage workspace
Docking and Undocking Tool Windows
Tool windows can be used as docked windows or as floating windows. 
They can be freely dragged around and docked at various locations. 
Command bars can also be freely moved around and docked along the 
edges of most windows.
To dock/undock a tool window, use one of the following methods:
• Double-click the title bar, located on the left or the top of the tool 
window.
• Click the double window icon at the top left corner of the window.
• Drag the tool window title bar of a specific tool window. To dock 
the tool window, drag it by its title bar to another position.
To prevent an undocked tool window from docking, use one of the 
following methods:
• Hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] before dragging the tool window.
• Activate the Floating versus docking priority icon on the left or 
the top of the tool window.
Differences Between Windows and Mac OS
Floating windows behave slightly different on Windows and Mac OS.
• On Windows systems, a floating window is hidden when its 
dependent workspace is minimized or covered by another window. 
If WaveLab LE is not the active application, all its independent 
floating windows are hidden.
• On Mac OS X systems, a tool window is always on top of all other 
windows and a floating window remains visible even if its 
dependent workspace is not active or is minimized. If WaveLab LE 
is not the active application, all its floating windows are hidden. 
						

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Playback
WaveLab LE offers numerous playback functions.
There are 4 playback modes available:
• Traditional playback, with playback starting from the cursor 
position and stopping anywhere when stopping playback.
• Play range, where playback starts from a given point and stops at 
another point of interest.
RELATED LINKS:
“Playback Shortcuts” on page 71
Transport Bar
With this command bar you can control playback of an audio file or 
audio montage, navigate between various positions in an audio file or 
audio montage, and open the Recording dialog.
In the Audio Files workspace or the Audio Montage workspace, select 
Workspace > Command bars > Transport bar.
Transport bar in the Audio Files workspace
Transport bar in the Audio Montage workspace
Ranges
Lets you select one of the following ranges:
• Selected time range
• Marked region where edit cursor is located
Play range
Plays the selected range.  
						

							Playback
Transport Bar
69
Move cursor to previous/next anchor
Moves the edit cursor position to the previous/next anchor. To set 
the type of anchor, right-click the next anchor button and select an 
option from the menu. If you click during playback, playback 
continues from the anchor position.
Move playback position backwards/forwards
Moves the edit cursor position to the left/right. If you click during 
playback, playback jumps to the new edit cursor position.
To move the edit cursor to the start/end of the file, press 
[Ctrl]/[Command], and click the Move playback position 
backwards/forwards button.
Loop
Activates the loop mode. Right-click the loop button to select 
whether to loopforever or only a few times.
Stop
Stops the audio being played. If playback is already stopped, the 
edit cursor is moved to the previous start position.
Play
Starts playing the active audio file or audio montage from the edit 
cursor position.
If the audio being played back is not the active audio file, the Play 
button has a different color. This happens if you switch to another 
workspace during playback, for example.
The playback button when playing back in the active window (left) and when playing 
in another window or workspace (right).
Record
Opens the Recording dialog.
Time display
Displays the edit cursor or playback position. Click to select 
another time unit.
Fold bar
Minimizes the transport bar. To unfold the transport bar again, click 
the thin line where the transport bar was located. 
						

							Playback
Transport Bar
70
Settings
Opens layout menu of the transport bar and lets you edit shortcuts 
for the transport bar. You can also right-click the transport bar to 
open this menu.
Transport Bar in the Podcast Workspace
In the Podcast workspace, a simplified transport bar allows you to play 
back the selected Podcast episode.
Play Button
Clicking the Play button on the transport bar starts playing back the 
active audio file or audio montage from the edit cursor position.
You can also use the Space bar or the Enter key on your keyboard to 
start playback. Pressing the Space bar during playback stops playback, 
while pressing Enter during playback makes playback restart from the 
last start position.
When loop is activated, the audio selection is looped, if available. 
Otherwise, the region defined by loop markers is looped, if available. If 
there are no selection ranges or loop markers, the entire file is looped.
Stop Button
The result of clicking the Stop button or on the transport bar or [0] on 
your numeric keypad depends on the current situation.
•If you trigger Stop in stop mode, the edit cursor moves either to 
the previous Playback start marker, or to the selection start 
(whatever is closer), until the start of the file is reached.
• If there is no selection or if the edit cursor is positioned to the left 
of the selection, it is moved to the beginning of the file instead.