The Interface


Like ACID in the previous chapter, we’ll now look at the user interface and some basic operations of Audition. In the next chapter, we’ll use it to record and edit sound effects for our game.

Note The interface displayed in this chapter has the Organizer window hidden via the View menu. If you choose to leave the window visible, the layouts you see will be slightly different, although the processes will remain the same.

To begin, let’s look at the screen and identify the various elements that make up the Audition interface, which can be seen in Figure 12.11. At the top of the window you will see the familiar Windows title and menu bars. Below that is a toolbar that gives you quick access to the most commonly used commands. These tools can be used to edit, play back, and save your composition.

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Figure 12.11: The interface offers standard Windows menu bars.

Along with the standard toolbars, there are also several interface items that are unique to Audition, including the Time window, Transport, and Horizontal Zoom, to name a few. Figure 12.12 has been altered to reflect these areas that we’ll look at in more detail.

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Figure 12.12: The areas of Audition’s interface are clearly marked here.

Toolbars

The Audition toolbars, some of which can be seen in Figure 12.13, contain button shortcuts to functions and are grouped into menus. Each grouping has a specific background color. The toolbar groupings can be displayed or hidden through the File Menu Options, Toolbars. Most of the functions you’ll use are available in the menus that offer ToolTips for individual buttons when you leave your mouse pointer over one of them for a moment. If you’d like to add or remove toolbars, you can right-click on the toolbar, and a list will appear from which you can choose.

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Figure 12.13: The toolbars contain shortcuts to common functions.

Display Range Bar

The Display Range Bar can be seen in Figure 12.14 and indicates which part of the waveform is currently being viewed in the Waveform Display. When you zoom in or out, this bar will get smaller or larger to reflect the portion currently being viewed. You can left-click and drag the bar to scroll forward or back without affecting the zoom level. If you right-click it, your mouse changes to a magnifying glass, and dragging it left or right will zoom in or out, respectively. Lastly, you can double-click on the Display Range Bar to bring up the Viewing Range dialog box. This dialog box allows you to enter values for the viewable area.

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Figure 12.14: The Display Range Bar indicates the part of the waveform currently in view.

Amplitude Ruler

The Amplitude Ruler (Figure 12.15) measures the volume of audio data. In Waveform view, the ruler’s display format can be set to either Samples (exact sample value of the data), a percentage (from –100% to 100%, where 100% is 0 dB), or as a normalized value (–1 to 1). Left-click and drag on the Amplitude Ruler to scroll the waveform display vertically. Like the Display Range Bar, you can right-click and drag to zoom.


Figure 12.15: Audition’s Amplitude Ruler measures the relative amount of audio data.

Waveform Display

The Waveform Display (see Figure 12.16) is the area in which you view your audio material in the form of a waveform. You can use your mouse in the Waveform Display to select data in several ways:

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Figure 12.16: The Waveform Display area is where you view the audio materials.

  • Left-clicking anywhere in the display to position a playback cursor.

  • If you are using stereo files, you can disable or enable either channel by positioning the mouse in either channel and clicking. That way, you can edit only one of the channels if you need to.

  • A left-click and drag will create a selection in the waveform.

  • A right-click and drag will increase or decrease a selection.




Awesome 3d Game Development(c) No Programming Required
Awesome 3d Game Development: No Programming Required (Charles River Media Game Development)
ISBN: 1584503254
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 168

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