15. Properties

You have a wide selection of options to fully customise Soundprobe to your needs.

General

Recent Files

To change the number of files in the recent file list:

Set the Number In Recent File List slider.

To automatically open previous files at startup:

Enable the Load Previously Opened Files On Startup.

Registering File Types

To register a file format with Windows to be opened with Soundprobe:

Enable the check box to the left of the file formats name in the Register File Types list.

To unregister a file type:

Disable the check box to the left of the file formats name in the Register File Types list.

Virtual Memory

To use RAM for document virtual memory:

Select the drop-down list within the Virtual Memory group box.
Select the RAM item from the list.

To use your HD for document virtual memory:

Select the drop-down list within the Virtual Memory group box.
Select the HD item from the list.

To automatically select the virtual memory type:

Select the drop-down list within the Virtual Memory group box.
Select the Auto item from the list.

To set the cache used for the virtual memory:

Set the Cache Size slider, a value of around 1MB gives a good balance between disk access and processing speed.

Note: the progress bar update speed is related to the cache size, a larger cache will update the progress bar less often, us a smaller cache size if you like to have the progress bar update in smaller time intervals.

To leave some space on your HD when using HD virtual memory:

Set the Leave Space slider.

Note: if you are using the same partition as the Windows virtual memory then it is advisable to leave enough space on your hard disk for Windows to create and manage its own virtual memory.

To speed up graph redrawing from your HD virtual memory:

Set the Graph Cache slider, this creates a smaller copy of your sound in RAM to speed up redraw and zooming.

Note: if you zoom into the sound beyond the size of your graph cache then the samples are fetched from the virtual memory which can be considerably slower when using your HD, if using RAM for your virtual memory then you using a large graph cache will make little difference.

Hardware

Input

To set the input device used:

Select the Wave In Device drop-down list.
Select the input device from the list.

To set the input buffer size:

Set the Input Buffer slider, a value of between 500 ms to 1000 ms should be enough for most systems to prevent skips during record.

To check your input device capabilities:

The Supported Formats list below the Wave In Device shows all the available recording modes that the selected input device has.

See Sound Input.

Output

To set the output device used:

Select the Wave Out Device drop-down list.
Select the output device from the list.

To set the output buffer size:

Set the Output Buffer slider, a value of between 500 ms to 1000 ms should be enough for most systems to prevent skips during playback.
If you wish to use preview for manual parameter variations then this values should be as low as possible, less than 200 ms, but will need testing on your system.

To check your output device capabilities:

The Supported Formats list shown below the Wave Out Device shows all the available recording modes that the selected output device has.

See Sound Output.

Real-Time

To set the real-time attributes:

Select the Attributes button to display the real-time attributes dialog:

See Sound > Real-Time Attributes.

To set the real-time buffer size:

Set the Real-Time Buffer slider, a value of between 300ms to 1000ms is a good compromise between the real-time response and preventing skips during real-time input processing.

See Sound > Response.

Display

Mouse Wheel

To use the mouse wheel to zoom to the mouse cursor:

Select the mouse wheel Zoom Centre radio button.
Set the Zoom Factor.

To use the mouse wheel to zoom to the centre of the view:

Select the mouse wheel Horizontal Scroll radio button.
Set the Zoom Factor.

To use the mouse wheel to scroll:

Select the mouse wheel Zoom To Cursor radio button.
Set the Scroll Amount.

See Viewing Sounds.

Regions and Markers

To make the regions semi-transparent:

Enable the Translucent Markers/Regions check box.
Set the Visibility to the right of the check box.

To make the regions a solid colour:

Disable the Translucent Markers/Regions check box.

To make the play cursor semi-transparent:

Enable the Translucent Play Cursor check box.
Set the Visibility to the right of the check box.

To make the play cursor a solid colour:

Disable the Translucent Play Cursor check box.

To make hidden regions semi-transparent:

Enable the Translucent Hide check box.
Set the Visibility to the right of the check box.

To make hidden regions invisible:

Disable the Translucent Hide check box.

To change the appearance of regions:

Select one of the Handles At radio buttons to position the handles displayed on the regions.
Select or deselect the Thin Markers check box to change the width of each marker.
Select or deselect the Dotted Markers check box to change the solid line of the marker to dashes.

To only allow regions to be moved by their handles:

Enable the Handles Only check box.

To allow regions to be moved by any part of them:

Disable the Handles Only check box.

See Sound Sections > Marking Sound Sections.

Selections

To use a solid selection style:

Select the Filled Selection radio button.

To use a frame selection style:

Select the Framed Selection radio button.

To use selection snapping:

Select the Snap Selection To drop-down list.
Select on the of snap types from the list.

See Sound Sections > Selections.

Parameters

To set the default units used for parameters:

Select the Parameter Units drop-down list.
Select the unit name from the list.

To use the last manually set unit type for each parameter:

Select the Parameter Units drop-down list.
Select Last Used from the list.

See Effects > Parameters.

Misc

To draw the time centre line above the graph:

Enable the Centre Line On Top check box.

To automatically hide the viewbar for small windows:

Enable the Auto Hide View Bar check box.

To automatically scroll the view during play:

Select the Auto Follow Play Cursor check box.

To automatically set the play cursor to the stopped position:

Select the Set Cursor On Play Stop check box.

Graphs

To change the attributes for a graph type:

Select the Graph Type drop-down list
Select the graph type from the list that you want to change.

To enable axes around the graph:

Enable the Axes check box.

To set the horizontal coordinate type:

Select the Horiz Coord drop-down list.
Select the coordinate type from the list.

To set the vertical coordinate type:

Select the Vert Coord drop-down list.
Select the coordinate type from the list.

Time Graphs

To enable a grid behind the graph:

Enable the Grid check box.

To display the peak values above the graph:

Enable the Peaks check box.
Set the Peak Level slider to the sample level above which to display a label showing the peak value.

To set the draw mode:

Select the Draw Mode drop-down list.
Select the mode from the list.
Select the Plot drop-down list.
Select the plot method for the graph from the list.

Note: the Plot type is only available from some draw modes.

Frequency Graphs

To set the frequency resolution:

Set the Resolution slider.

To set the magnitude type:

Select the Magnitude drop-down list.
Select the type from the list, the most useful is the dB display.

To set the lowest intensity shown for the dB magnitude display:

Set the dB Range slider.

Hint: by adjusting the range from higher intensities to lower ones you can visually find the level at which noise or unwanted sounds appear on the graph.

To set the FFT window:

Select the Window drop-down list.
Select the windowing equation from the list.

2D-Frequency Graph

To set the mid-colour percentage:

Set the Mid-Colour slider to the position you want to use for the mid-colour that you set for this graphs colours.

3D-Frequency Graph

To set the drawing mode:

Set one of the 3D Draw Mode radio buttons.

Hint: the Line mode is the fastest 3D drawing mode.

To set the angle of the graph:

Set the Angle slider.

To increase the redraw speed:

Set the Step slider to a higher value, this sets at how many pixel positions the frequency pattern is fetched from the sound.

To increase the time resolution of the graph:

Set the Step slider to a lower value, this will fetch the frequency pattern at smaller time intervals.

See Viewing Sounds.

Colours

To change the listed colour items available:

Select the Type drop-down list.
Select the colour item group from the list.

To set the colour of a listed item:

Select the item from the displayed list.
Select the Custom button to display the colour selector dialog.
Choose your colour.
Click OK to set the colour and close the colour selector dialog.

To change the font used for the axes:

Select the axes Font button.
Click within the coloured box next to the font button to change the fonts colour.

To change the font used for the peak labels:

Select the peaks Font button.
Click within the coloured box next to the font button to change the fonts colour.

To change the font used for the region labels:

Select the markers Font button.
Click within the coloured box next to the font button to change the fonts colour.

Editing

To change the folder used for the editing virtual memory:

Select the Browse button.
Select the folder to use for the editing virtual memory.
Click OK to set the folder.

To change the type of virtual memory used for editing:

Select the drop-down list next to the Browse button.
Select the virtual memory type from the list.

Undo

To have unlimited undo buffers:

Enable the Unlimited Undo Buffers check box.

To set a limited number of undo buffers:

Deselect the Unlimited Undo Buffers check box.
Set the Undo Buffers slider to the maximum number of undo buffers you want to use.

To enable the redo system:

Enable the Redo check box.

See Editing > Correcting Mistakes.

Editing

To apply pre or post processing when editing:

Enable the check box for the processing operation you want to have automatically applied.

See Editing > Pre and Post Processing.

Frequency Editing

To use an FIR filter for frequency editing:

Select the Filter Type drop-down list.
Select the FIR Filter from the list.
Set the FIR Resolution slider.

To use an FFT based filter for frequency editing:

Select the Filter Type drop-down list.
Select the FFT Filter from the list.
Select the Accuracy drop-down list.
Select the Accuracy of the FFT filter from the list.

See Effects > Accuracy.

To prevent the results from an edit or effect being applied beyond the selected frequency band:

See Editing > Frequency Editing.

Options

To change an option:

Enable or disable the option from the displayed list.