Getting Started Basic Operation: Converting a Sample File to RMF |

The most frequent use of the Beatnik Editor is to convert a digital audio sample file into the RMF format. This involves importing the file into a Beatnik Editor Session file, typing in any desired copyright and credit information, and exporting as an RMF file. In most cases you'll also want to compress the sample.
Here's how, in six easy steps:
Launch the Beatnik Editor. Double-click the Beatnik Editor program icon on the desktop. The program will launch, display the splash screen, and create a new Untitled Session window. You'll use this Session document to hold audio content for your RMF file, then Export as RMF. Import your digital audio file into the Session. Drag your file from the desktop into the Songs tab of the Untitled Session window. (You could also select the Import command from the File menu, or drag it in from another Session document.) The import produces a new Sample in the Untitled Session document, and a new Instrument and a new Song - all with the same name as your audio file.
Songs | Instruments | Samples
Play your newly imported Song, as a check. In the Songs tab of the Untitled Session window, select your new Song; then go to the Player window and click the Play button. You should hear your imported sample playing (if not, see the Troubleshooting section). To stop before the Song plays all the way to the end, click the Stop button. Compress the Sample. In the Samples tab of the Untitled Session window, select your newly imported Sample, then select Compression from the Sample menu. The Compression dialog box will appear, offering many data compression options: Each of these compression types presents a different size vs. quality trade-off, and each one is useful for a different kind of sound material. As you become more familiar with the Beatnik Editor you'll learn more about the compression types - but for now, just select MPEG I layer 3, 128k bits from the list, and then click the OK button. Add your copyright notice and other text information. Every Song can include a copyright notice and other `meta-data' describing the Song. This information is encrypted into RMF files that include the Song, and can be displayed when the Song is played on the Web in the Beatnik Player. To enter this data for your RMF file, go to the Songs tab of the Untitled Session window, select the newly imported Song, and then select the Song Info... command from the Song menu. The Song Info dialog box will appear, with fields where you can enter a copyright notice and other text information for the RMF file: Fill in the info for your Song, and then click the OK button. Note: If you want to change the Song's title, or set playback volume or tempo, or set a reverb type, a separate Song Settings dialog box is also available from the Song menu. Export the Song as an RMF file. Go back to the Songs tab of the Untitled Session window, make sure your new Song is still selected, and then select the Export RMF... command from the File menu. The Export RMF File dialog box will appear, asking which Instruments to include in the RMF file. Click the Custom button, and then click the OK button. When the Save RMF File dialog box appears, set your desired name and location for the exported RMF file, and then click Save: When you Save, the Beatnik Editor produces your RMF file: That's It - You're Done!
You've just successfully created an RMF version of your sound file. You can play your new RMF file with any Beatnik Platform player - including the Beatnik Player for Web browsers, the Beatnik Xtra for Shockwave and Director, BeOS, and JavaSound for Java2 - with the same high-quality sound on every platform.
Remember, though: RMF files are encrypted, so after creating one you can't open it later for further editing. To `change' an RMF file, you'll have to go back to its Session document, make your changes to the individual Songs, Instruments, or Samples, and then Export RMF... again - replacing the previous RMF version.
You may want to spend a little time getting familiar with generating RMF files - feel free to experiment with importing different kinds of digital audio files. When you're finished, go on to the next section.

Getting Started / Basic Operation: Converting a Sample File to RMF top |