AV News 200 - May 2015
Basic features - Adding audio files and tracks To start with let ' s add some sound to a project .
Create a new project , then select Project Options | Audio and click the ' Add audio file ' button . Find and select a file and click Open . A track called Track 1 is created and the name of the audio file appears below . Click OK to close Project Options . On the timeline you should see a waveform representing the audio clip . If not , make sure the timeline button at the bottom right is selected .
Double-click the waveform to return to the Audio tab in Project Options . Add another audio file . This will appear in the same track as the first one .
Click the ' Add track ' button and an additional track , Track 2 , should appear . Leave Track 2 highlighted and add an audio file . This time it should be added to Track 2 . Audio files are always added to the track that is selected .
Click OK to return to timeline view and see the result . There should be two audio clips back to back in Track 1 and one in Track 2 as shown below . To view these more clearly , use the techniques described in the next section .
Viewing To enlarge the timeline window , position the mouse cursor above the timeline itself ( see Figure 5 ) until it changes to a double-headed arrow , then drag upwards . This makes more space to see the audio clips but there is a limit to how far it can be enlarged and the size of the other windows is reduced . A better option is to click the triangle to the left of the Slides button or use the shortcut key F4 . This changes the timeline to full-screen mode where it is enlarged fully . This is the mode shown above . To change back click the triangle again .
To zoom in and out horizontally , hold the Ctrl key down and press F11 to zoom in and F12 to zoom out . Alternatively roll the mouse wheel while holding down the Ctrl key .
If you want to increase the height of the waveforms , roll the mouse wheel while holding down the Ctrl and Shift keys .
These techniques , together with the horizontal and possibly vertical scroll bars should allow you to see any part of the audio in sufficient detail .
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