The Special Menu

MAKE VOLUME SNAPSHOT
This  allows you to copy the directory of any drive (CD ROM/optical, etc.) to a ghost file. This will allow you to search for files later on, even though the volume is not mounted.  If you wish to launch a file which is on a ghost (unmounted) volume, SampleSearch will tell you which drive to mount or CD ROM etc. to insert. When choosing a drive to make a ghost of, use the pop-up menu to select it, then press OK. SampleSearch will ask you where you wish the Ghost to be saved. If you plan to do a ghost search later on, you must save it in SampleSearch Ghost Snapshots folder in the same folder as the SampleSearch application in order for it to be recognised.
SampleSearch will then display a progress bar to show you how far through the process you are.

DIVERT SAMPLES
When you double click on an item in the list, SampleSearch will usually open the file with the application that originally created it. There are occasions though, when you need to Switch Launch the file into another application. This is the same as selecting open in the application and choosing the required file.
This function enables you to specify an application that you wish to load files into.  First find a list and select DIVERT LOAD before double clicking one of the found files. DIVERT LOAD will force the file to be loaded into the 
previously specified application. If you have not previously specified an application for DIVERT LOAD the first time that you try to run a file with DIVERT LOAD selected, a dialogue box will appear, asking you to specify which application you wish to divert the file to. To send a combined (new style) apple event press OPTION-APPLE-LAUNCH. This is required to send events to SDII, ProTools and to make one instrument with many samples in SampleCell.

EXAMPLE: If you wish to load a sample which was created using Passport Design’s Alchemy, into SampleCell II,  by selecting SAMPLECELL  as the DIVERT LOAD application, any sample you then attempt to launch will be loaded into SampleCell. This would automatically create an instrument for the sample.  
If you try to load a file without DIVERT LOAD selected, the standard MAC routine will operate and go ahead to the file in the programme that it was created in. Therefore in this case the sample will load into alchemy. The same goes for spotting sound effects into ProTools III. SampleSearch makes an excellent sound effects browser for ProTools and any other application which supports OpenDoc events (finder drag and drop) for Samples.

SELECT DIVERT APP....
This function allows you to select the application in which you want your chosen file to open in. Alternatively, you can place aliases of  the applications in the SampleSearch Divert Aliases folder which SampleSearch creates for you. Having done this, holding down the option key and pressing the grey LAUNCH button will present a pop-up menu containing all the members of the Divert Aliases folder (see picture above). This is a very easy way to quickly select a divert load application.

EXAMINE FILE
Examine file has been improved to allow not only examining of SampleCell banks and instruments but also Sound Designer II files with regions.
SampleCell Examine has new features such as resolve all which will update file references for the file ( press update to confirm changes ) and play all, plus renaming in place of instruments and samples. This changes not only the file name, but the parent files reference to it.

Example for Examine Samplecell II File
If you need to load an instrument from a  previously used bank, first select that bank and then select EXAMINE.  You will now see two boxes.  On the left are the instruments from the bank,  and on the right are the samples from the selected instrument.  You may now load in the usual way, by double  clicking any of these instruments/samples.  You can audition by pressing  the SPACE BAR or the PLAY button.  
You will only have to use the RESOLVE or UPDATE functions if  the files within the bank have altered, For example have they been moved or copied from CD ROM, etc.  
In the same way as above, you may examine a previously made instrument. First highlight a found instrument and select EXAMINE.  You can now see the 
examined instrument  in the left hand window, and the samples for that instrument in the right hand window.  

The RESOLVE buttons are required when you have a bank or instrument which may have been previously copied/moved from a different drive.  If you wish to examine or open the instrument,  you will need to RESOLVE it first, if the samples from that instrument did not automatically display themselves in the right hand box.  If you RESOLVE the instrument it will automatically display samples on the right.  If you select one of the samples on the right, and are unable to audition or load a file, it may be that the sample has been moved/copied.  In this case you will  have to RESOLVE the sample as well.
The UPDATE buttons are needed when you wish to  RESOLVE an instrument or sample permanently.  To do this first RESOLVE the instrument or sample, and then select UPDATE.  This will permanently change the path to the instrument or sample, which is then held within the Bank/Instrument.

A NOTE TO SAMPLECELL USERS 
When copying or moving any instrument or sample, there is a problem when you later load a bank or instrument which references any of these files.  This happens because SampleCell still thinks that the files are in the same position they were when the instrument or bank containing them was created. When SampleCell looks at a Bank whose contents have been moved, it cannot find them, and therefore prompts you to find the files manually.  
SampleSearch has the RESOLVE and UPDATE options in EXAMINE to automatically find, and then re-reference the lost files.
EXAMPLE: If you EXAMINE a bank, you will see the instruments on the left , and the samples from the top instrument on the right. If you then highlight a different instrument and the samples do not appear, this shows that the bank has lost it’s reference to that instrument, and hence cannot open it to examine the samples contained within. If you now press RESOLVE on the left, beneath the instruments, SampleSearch will attempt to find an instrument with that name on your currently mounted volumes.
If it finds a match, it will display the contained samples on the right as normal. If you decide that the samples are correct (and hence SampleSearch has located the correct instrument), you may want to press UPDATE, which will permanently update the Bank to reflect the new position of the selected instrument.
The same theory applies to the samples on the right. If they fail to audition when you press the PLAY button, it probably indicates that the sample has been moved (or maybe it is not mounted). If you press the right hand RESOLVE button, again SampleSearch will attempt to locate a sample with that name. Should it find a match, the sample will be able to play. If it does not find a match SampleSearch will beep. Logically, should you want to UPDATE the new location of that sample in the selected instrument, press UPDATE.

EXAMINE SOUND DESIGNER II
Examine Sound Designer II show a list of regions and allows renaming, auditioning, deleting, normalising and editing of each region.

EDIT REGIONS DIALOGUE
Editing brings up the edit regions dialogue :
The waveform of the region is shown, with two markers - start and end. These markers can be moved by clicking and dragging in the window. There are two icon buttons which determine whether you are moving the start marker or the end. To obtain finer detail you can zoom in or out with the magnifying glasses. The icon between zoom in and out changes the view to show start and end points simultaneously.
The audition button plays the current region. NORM normalises the current region.
You may rename the region, or type in the start and end points.
The best way to find start and end points is to use the mouse to move the markers close to the start and end whilst zoomed out, then PRESS OPTION and CLICK on the waveform. This pops up a mini window zoomed right into the start or end point to allow finer control. If you hold down the shift key when dragging in the window, you will swap markers.
The waveform of the region is shown, with two markers - start and end. These markers can be moved by clicking and dragging in the window. There are two icon buttons which determine whether you are moving the start marker or the end. 
PRESS SPACEBAR  to audition the current selection. If you need a space in the region name, PRESS SHIFT SPACEBAR. 

RESOLVE FILES
This will check all the currently selected SampleCell banks or instrument’s file references and if necessary correct them and save the changes in the file. This function allows you to select a SampleCell bank or instrument and instantly create a list containing the contents of the selected bank/instrument.  This is very useful for quickly finding a file that you have used in a previous project. It is also very useful for archiving projects to a back up system or alternative drive. During the RESOLVE process, SampleSearch may beep to indicate that one of the files referenced in the Bank / Instrument can not be located. SampleSearch maintains a text file called SampleSearch Log in the same folder as the application. If you wish to look at the report generated whilst resolving (this tells you which files have not been found, etc), switch into the Mac Finder and double click on the SampleSearch Log. The Finder will ask you if you wish to open the file in teachtext. Answer OK and you will see the report SampleSearch has generated. This also applies to DAWN files.
don't query selected file
Some volumes are slower than others, and since SampleSearch opens and examines each file when it is selected, it can become a little sluggish with slow volumes like CD-Roms and Dat drives with DeskTape software. 
Don’t query disables the function which examines each file. You will no longer see the file size or comment at the top of the list, but the program will feel much faster. This should not be necessary with normal hard drives.

ARCHIVE SCII FILES
This will check and update all file references, copy all contents of the SCII file (banks, instruments , samples) and if you choose, re-resolve at the destination so the files point to their new locations. (Some devices - for example, Desktape, cannot modify files in place)

DBL BUFFER AUDITION
This function allows you to toggle between NORMAL MODE and DOUBLE BUFFER MODE. Normal Mode loads a limited amount of sound into ram and then plays it all out in one go, whilst Double Buffer Mode sequentially reads then plays smaller chunks of sound to play the entire file. If you are using a slow drive, you may want to use NORMAL MODE audition.

AUTO SUSTAIN AUDITION
This function only applies to Double Buffer Mode. When this function is selected, pressing PLAY momentarily will play the entire sound. When it is off, you must hold down the play button continuously.

DONT QUERY SELECTED FILE
This function stops SampleSearch reading the comment and size from the selected file. This prevents annoying delays when accessing Desktape tapes and slow CDRoms.

EXPORT SDII REGIONS TO FILES
This will make a new soundfile for every region in the Sound Designer II files selected, using either region names, or the file name plus an index for the new file names.

AUTO MAKE SDII REGIONS
This will analyse the selected SDII file and based upon the audio contained within it and the parameters specified, will make new regions within it. These regions can be modified with the Examine window.
There are two modes, A and B,  B is best for most situations, where there is a defined period of silence between audio chunks. It works by first finding a start point of a region by thresholding every sample until it finds one greater than the in threshold, then it continues in that region until it has found a period of samples whose values do not exceed the out threshold. This period is user definable, as are the in and out levels. After making a region, SampleSearch™ checks whether its region length is greater then the user defined minimum region length. If it is less, it will dispose of the region, as it is probably a glitch. 
Method A looks at chunks of audio in turn, comparing the average value of the chunk with the in / out thresholds, and allocating regions accordingly. The chunk length is user definable. The minimum region length also applies here.
NOTE: Auto region making is a very complex operation. It is almost impossible to predict every situation, and hence we have tried to offer as many controls as possible. The results you obtain will be based mainly on your skill at using these controls, and practice is essential for good results. If you are not getting the results you expect, persevere.

CROP SDII FILES
This function uses the EDIT REGION window, to select an area of a file, to crop to. See Examine SDII and Edit Regions.

RESOLVE PROTOOLS
This function is similar to the RESOLVE FILES function. It allows you to resolve ProTools sessions into a new list, or just to update a single file. Having resolved to a list you may select all, and use the COPY/MOVE FILES function to archive a ProTools session to a backup device, or a removeable volume to transfer the files to another system.

COMPOSITE SDII FILES
This allows you to composite all selected SDII files into one  new file, adding a variable amount of silence in between. You can optionally make new regions corresponding to the old soundfiles. The settings of rate, bits, and stereo / mono create the modes for the new file, and assume that all source files match.

BRING INTO PROTOOLS
This function can be used to use SampleSearch as a network browser for ProTools. ProTools users may normally use the standard DAE import audio dialog box when constructing a session. SampleSearch can be used as a much more powerful alternative using a combination of the normal SampleSearch search and audition facilities and this 'Bring into Protools' function.
Operation Example:
You  are working in ProTools and you need a sound effect. You are part of an audio workgroup sharing a centralised file server with a large SFX library. Obviously these volumes are not available to you from the PT import audio dialog. So, switch out of PT into SampleSearch, and perform you searches on the remote volumes. Each time you find a sound you want (you may audition over an Ethernet network, or faster networks), tag it using the 'Add to Favourite List' function. When you have tagged all the files you need, load the favourite list. Using the 'Select Destination' function, choose the audio files folder for your current session on the ProTools drive, select all, and then 'Bring into ProTools'. This will automatically copy the remote files into your audio files folder then add all the files to the session Region Bin. The sample principal applies to the use of CDRom libraries, Opticals etc.