Window Reference Sample Editing Commands |

In the Sample Editor, the context menu contains the following commands. Some of these commands are only available when a range of the waveform is selected. Most of these commands are also available in the Sample menu.
To access the context menu: for Windows, right-click; for Mac OS, control-click. Note: Undo and Redo are also available in the Edit menu, and via keyboard shortcut (Windows: control-Z; Mac OS: cmd-Z).
Command
Use
Delete
Removes the selection from the Sample (cut).
Crop
Trims away all sound before and after the selection.
Normalize
Increases the selection's volume to the highest possible level before distorting.
Fade In
Creates a fade-in across the entire selection.
Note: By contrast, the Fade-In Volume Handle lets you apply a fade-in that starts at the beginning of the selection, but is shorter than the selection. See Using the Onscreen Controls.
Fade Out
Creates a fade-out across the entire selection.
Note: By contrast, the Fade-Out Volume Handle lets you apply a fade-in that finishes at the end of the selection, but is shorter than the selection. See Using the Onscreen Controls.
Zoom Normal
Resets the X and Y zoom levels.
Zoom Loop Start
Zooms in on the loop start.
Zoom Loop End
Zooms in on the loop end.
Jump Loop Start
If the loop start isn't visible, horizontally scrolls to it.
Jump Loop End
If the loop end isn't visible, horizontally scrolls to it.
Select All
Selects the entire Sample.
Using the Onscreen Controls
The Sample Editor window includes several graphic displays and controls:
Item
Use
1 Time Scale
Shows running time in sample numbers (not milliSeconds).
2 Loop Handles
The Loop Handles set the position of the orange Looping region. To move a Loop Handle, click on it and drag left or right. The middle Loop Handle moves the loop region without changing its length.
Note: The Loop Handles only appear when the Loop button is on - see 10. Note: The Loop Start and Loop End points are also displayed as numbers that you can edit directly - see 9.
3 Volume Handles
The Volume Handles are controls for applying a fade-in, fade- out, or volume change to the selection:
Note: The Volume Handles are only available when a range of the Sample's waveform is selected - see Making a Selection. To apply a Fade-In to the start of the selection: Click on the left Volume Handle, then drag to the right. Release the mouse button at the point where you want the fade-in to finish. If you want to fade in from the beginning of the whole Sample, be sure your selection begins at the very first sample. Note: By contrast, the Fade-In command applies a fade- in to the full length of the selection - see Sample Editing Commands. To apply a Fade-Out to the end of the selection: Click on the right Volume Handle, then drag to the left. Release the mouse button at the point where you want the fade-out to start. If you want to fade out at the end of the whole Sample, be sure your selection ends at the very last sample. Note: By contrast, the Fade-Out command applies a fade-in to the full length of the selection - see Sample Editing Commands. To change the selection's volume: Click on the center Volume Handle and drag up or down. To change the whole Sample's volume: Use the Select All command, then click on the center Volume Handle and drag up or down. Note: By contrast, the Normalize command turns the selection's volume up to the maximum possible level before clipping - see Sample Editing Commands.
4 Selection Indicators
Displays the start, end, and length of the currently selected range of the Sample waveform - or, if there's no selection, the current cursor position. All numbers are in Sample numbers, not milliSeconds.
5 Zoom Controls
Displays the current waveform zoom levels:
To zoom the time axis (horizontal) in and out, use the X controls. At 1:1, each horizontal screen pixel shows one audio sample. To zoom the volume axis (vertical) in and out, use the Y controls.
6 Sample Rate field
Sets the playback sampling rate for this Sample, in samples per second.
Note: Changing this number will not convert the data to a new sample rate and will change the pitch. This field is treated as an instruction for how fast to play the Sample data, so the higher the number, the higher the pitch and the shorter the sound. Caution: Be careful when changing the Sample Rate. If any Instruments use this Sample, then changing the Sample Rate will change those Instruments' pitch - which is usually a problem.
7 Root Key field 8 Root Key button
Records the pitch (MIDI note number) that the Sample produces when played at its current Sample Rate. To set the Root Key, either click on the field and then type in a note name (followed by the Enter key), or click the button and select a note from the keyboard that appears.
Caution: If the Root Key is not set correctly, then Instruments automatically built from this Sample will play out of tune. Note: The Root Key note is used whenever you make a new Instrument using this Sample, and allows the Beatnik Editor to automatically preserve correct pitch in Keymaps that it creates for you (see the Make Instrument dialog box and the Make Song Using command). Note: Changing the Root Key does not affect Instruments that already use this Sample. The Root Key note is only used when new Keymaps are created.
9 Loop Start and Loop End fields
Display the start and end of the Looping region, or 0 if no loop exists. Both numbers are in Sample numbers, not milliSeconds. To set either field, click on the field, and then type in a sample number (followed by the Enter key).
Note: The Loop Start and Loop End points also appear in the waveform display as Loop Handles - see 2. Note: The Loop Start and Loop End fields only apply when the Loop button is on - see 10.
10 Loop button
Controls whether the Sample will loop when played. When the Loop button is lit, Looping is turned on.
Note: To set the Looping region position, see the Loop Handles (2) or the Loop Start and Loop End fields (9)
11 Play button
Plays the Sample. Use to check your work as you make edits.
Note: The spacebar on your computer keyboard also acts as a Play / Stop button. Note: Playback always starts from the current sample cursor position (vertical white line), not necessarily from the start of the Sample. Every time you click in the waveform display, the cursor moves to that position.
12 Stop button
Stops playback of the Sample.
Note: The spacebar on your computer keyboard also acts as a Play / Stop button.
13 Sample Info area
Displays additional information about the Sample:
Sample Length - In sample numbers, not milliSeconds. Channels - Mono (1 channel) or Stereo (2 channels). Bit Depth - Resolution of the Sample in bits, either 8 bit or 16 bit. Note that 8-bit sounds have noticeably lower fidelity than 16 bit sounds. Compression Type - The Sample's current compression type, as set via the Compression dialog box. bytes used on disk- The amount of disk space used by the Sample. Note that you can reduce this number with compression, or by reducing the bit depth or sample rate in a separate sample editing program.

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