auedit - graphically record and edit audio files
auedit [-audio
servername] [
-toolkitoption ...] [filename]
auedit provides an X-based window-oriented interface allowing the user to
record and edit audio files. The editing features available include:
- o
- Cutting, copying, pasting, and mixing within a single
auedit instance or between multiple auedit instances.
- o
- Changing the amplitude of an interval.
- o
- Reversing an interval.
- o
- Fading in or out an interval.
auedit uses the X Toolkit Intrinsics and the Athena Widget Set. For more
information, see the Athena Widget Set documentation.
auedit starts out with a single window divided into several areas:
- o
- A collection of drop-down menus and command buttons.
- o
- A volume indicator and control slider.
- o
- The audio file represented as a wave form. If the audio
data contains multiple tracks, the tracks will be displayed in ascending
order. For stereo data, the convention is left track, then right
track.
- o
- A set of indicators displaying the interval start,
duration, and end and the current position. These indicators are in units
of minutes, seconds, and hundredths of seconds.
- o
- Buttons to play, stop, and pause the audio.
- o
- Two menus indicating the current file and data
formats.
- o
- Two editable fields containing the current frequency and
the audio file comment.
Many functions in
auedit operate on a range of audio data called an
interval. The initial interval encompasses all of the audio data. The
interval is indicated within the wave form by two solid, vertical lines. The
left marker indicates the start of the interval. The right marker indicates
the end of the interval. To select an interval of audio data, use the mouse to
move the interval markers in the wave form. Pressing a mouse button in the
wave form will select the marker closest to the mouse position. That marker
may then be dragged to the desired location in the wave form. Note that the
markers may not cross over each other.
To play an interval, click on the Play button (the one with the triangle on its
side). The audio data delimited by the start and end markers will be played. A
dashed vertical line will indicate the approximate position of the data
currently being played. To stop playing, click on the Stop button (the one
containing a solid square). Clicking on Pause (the button containing two
vertical, parallel lines) will pause the playing. To resume, click on Pause
again. The volume slider controls the play volume. The interval is played at
the frequency specified by the
Frequency field. Note that while data is
being played, most other functions are disabled.
- New...
- Initializes auedit with an empty file. You will be
prompted for the number of tracks for the new file.
- Load...
- Loads a file. You will be prompted for the file name.
- Save
- Saves the current file. A backup file will be created by
appending a tilde (~) to the current file name. The file format, data
format, frequency and comment are used when saving the file.
- Save as...
- Saves the current file under a new name. You will be
prompted for the file name. The file format, data format, frequency and
comment are used when saving the file.
- Save interval...
- Saves the interval to a file. You will be prompted for a
file name. The file format, data format, frequency and comment are used
when saving the file.
- Revert
- Discards all changes made since the last save and restores
the data to its state following the last save.
- Exit
- Exits auedit. If there have been changes made to the
current file that have not been saved, you will be asked if you wish to
save them.
The cut, copy, and paste commands in the edit menu transfer data to and from a
selection buffer. This buffer is shared between all instances of
auedit. This means that you can cut or copy data from one instance of
auedit and paste it into another instance. The only restriction is that
the audio data in both instances must have the same number of tracks. When
transferring data between instances of differing frequencies, the data will be
converted to the frequency of the destination. This can be used to change the
frequency of the data in a single instance of
auedit. First, cut the
data whose frequency you wish to change. Then change the
Frequency
field to the desired frequency. Finally, paste the data back in. The frequency
of the data will be converted to the frequency specified in the
Frequency field.
- Cut
- Moves the interval to the selection buffer.
- Copy
- Copies the interval to the selection buffer.
- Paste insert
- Inserts the selection buffer at the point marked by the
start marker.
- Paste replace
- Replaces the data at the point marked by the start marker
with the data from the selection buffer.
- Paste mix
- Mixes the data at the point marked by the start marker with
the data from the selection buffer. The mixing function is an
average.
- Undo
- Undoes the last operation that modified the audio data.
This includes effects operations in addition to editing operations. If the
last operation was an Undo then the undo is undone, restoring the
data to the state prior to the first undo.
- In
- Zoom in by a factor of two.
- Out
- Zoom out by a factor of two.
- Markers
- Zoom in to the interval delimited by the start and end
markers.
- Full
- Zoom out to display all of the audio data.
All operations under the effects menu apply to the current interval.
- Amplitude...
- Scale the amplitude. You will be prompted for the scale.
The scale may be non-integral.
- Max Amplitude
- Scales the interval to its maximum amplitude without
clipping.
- Reverse
- Reverses the order of the data within the interval.
- Fade In
- Linearly scales the interval using a scale ranging from 0.0
to 1.0.
- Fade Out
- Linearly scales the interval using a scale ranging from 1.0
to 0.0.
Clicking on the
Record button brings up the record dialog box. The record
dialog box consists of:
- o
- A duration field. This is the maximum duration of the
recording in seconds.
- o
- A frequency field. This is the frequency of the recording
in hertz.
- o
- An input mode toggle button. Clicking this button toggles
between line mode and microphone mode.
- o
- A gain slider. This controls the input gain level.
- o
- A record toggle button. Clicking this button starts and
stops the recording.
- o
- A monitor toggle button. Clicking this button toggles the
record monitoring feature that lets you hear what you're recording.
- o
- A dismiss command button. Clicking this button stops any
current recording and dismisses the record dialog box.
The following options may be used with
auedit:
-
-audio servername
- This option specifies the Network Audio System server to
which auedit should connect.
nas(1),
auconvert(1),
X(1)
There is no way to manipulate individual tracks.
Copyright 1993, 1994 Network Computing Devices, Inc.
Greg Renda, Network Computing Devices, Inc.