Wavelab 7 - Link / Lock Stereo Tracks

WaveLab
#1

Greetings,

This is a simple issue, but I can’t seem to find the key command in Wavelab 7 help, the user forums here, or anywhere on the net.

I find when editing stereo files, I often, quite accidentally, select only the left or right track instead of selecting the stereo track. I delete one track instead of deleting stereo, and my file is now out of sync past this point. Most of the time, I notice right away and undo. Other times, I don’t notice until it’s too late to undo, and then things become a real mess.

So, my question is: how do you lock stereo tracks for editing to where you CAN’T select one or the other? Most editing programs I know of have this feature. Surely there is a way in Wavelab.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

#2

And yes, I am aware that where I hover the mouse select decides if stereo or single track is selected. Even with this knowledge, I’ll find myself deleting single tracks instead of stereo.

#3

Or alternatively, is there a way to copy current selection length? This could be a very useful way to cut a stereo track in different time points on the left and right tracks in order to find zero mark points but still keep sync.

#4

Can’t you see that only one channel is selected?

For the selection range, have a look at Edit > Select time range > Edit…

#5

Can’t you see that only one channel is selected?

You would think so. But I keep making this mistake time and time again, so clearly I don’t see it. How can this be, when it’s right there in front of my face?

Because I am human, and, like all humans, I suffer from selective attention. When I’m zoomed-in on a waveform, concentrating on cutting the exact spot I want, often down to the millisecond, using my cursor to line up where I want my selection to start or end (being close to the middle of track and thus teetering between stereo cut vs. track cut), my mind is where it needs to be – on making the right cut. See the invisible gorilla video for a better explanation of selective attention: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

I can see why you implemented the cursor-dependent stereo or single track selection option. It’s an elegant feature, and it saves one from having to hit a “lock/unlock stereo tracks” button. But this is an example where an explicit keystroke would be vastly superior – to prevent against human error. There’s a reason why Final Cut and other products do it this way. I want it to be explicit when I’m switching between stereo and single track cut. I want there to be NO possibility that I cut just the left or right channel when I want to cut stereo. In the rare cases where I do need to cut just the left or right track, I’ll know I’m in single track cut mode and that I should proceed with extreme caution. In a stereo file, maintaining sync is ESSENTIAL. Please consider replacing the current method of selecting stereo or single track with a “lock/unlock stereo” keystrock in Wavelab 8.

#6

For the selection range, have a look at Edit > Select time range > Edit…

I’ve been searching for the last 10 minutes for Edit > Select time range > Edit, and I’ve yet to find it. Do you mean Edit > Select > Edit > Specify Length?

In any case, all Specify Length seems to do is change the selection box to a specific length – and you’re not able to move it to a different location after you specify it.

I want to be able to use the mouse to select a selection length based on the edit. I don’t want to have to figure out my selection, note the exact length of the selection, write this down on a piece of paper, open a select time range window, and enter that length in 00:00:00 format. And when this selection length is created, I want to be able to cut that length from one track, say the left track, and then move the locked selection length to the right track elsewhere in the file and make a cut. This maintains sync before the first cut and after the second and allows me to zero mark individually in each track when the zero marks don’t line up on both tracks.

I see a “Memorize selection length” feature under Edit, however, I can find no documentation for this in Wavelab help or anywhere on the net. I understand easily enough how to memorize the selection length, but how do you recall it?

#7

Please don’t. I love the flexibility of the current way of working, and to be honest, it never happened to me that I accidently edited one channel instead of two. Yes, selecting one instead of both happens sometimes, but then it’s easy enough to make it stereo anyway.

A preference however, to once set and forget would be fine by me. For example a preference to use a modifier key: selection is always stereo (or multitrack) unless or is pressed.

#8

If you don’t file the function, that could mean you use WaveLab Elements, not WaveLab?
An option as you suggest, yes I will consider it.
BTW, something that could help you: press the Tab key to cycle between the channel selections.

#9

I use Wavelab 7. Can you confirm it’s located under “Edit > Select time range > Edit” and not “Edit > Select > Edit > Specify Length”? I can take a screenshot of my Edit dropdown if it helps.

Also, is there any documentation on “Memorize selection length”? I couldn’t find anything on it in the Wavelab manual, the forum, or the net.

Thanks, Philippe!

#10

Right, this is “Edit > Select > Edit”

When you call “Memorize selection length”, you can reuse the memorized value in edit fields that represent lengths (right click).

#11

When you call “Memorize selection length”, you can reuse the memorized value in edit fields that represent lengths (right click).

It took a bit of playing around to figure out what you mean, but I see now. “Memorize selection length” simply memorizes the numeric time value. You can’t recall the actual selection length in the waveform. You can just recall the numeric value in fields which accept it.

I have discovered a roundabout way to recall the actual selection length, but it’s fairly tedious. Still, it would be a helpful thing to document.

  1. Highlight the selection length
  2. Edit > Memorize Selection Length
  3. Unhighlight the selection and move the cursor to the beginning of the section where you want to recall the selection length.
  4. Draw an arbitrary selection length, being careful not to move the starting cursor position. You can’t skip this step. See * below for why.
  5. In the bottom right corner, left-click the audio selection indicator (the third time value field from the left. It has a picture of a yellow ruler next to it.) Or Edit > Select > Edit. Or Shift L.
  6. Under the Options section, check Specify Length and right click in the value field.
  7. Select Memorized Duration. It will recall the last selection length you memorized.
  8. Click Ok. No need to click Apply. The selection length will now appear in the waveform where your cursor was positioned. * If it didn’t work, did you skip step 4? For some reason, the selection length only draws if you have a selection length already highlighted.

– An easier method would be a hot key that recalls the actual selection highlight, not just the numerical value. The value would show up frozen in length, and you could move it around the waveform to where you want it.

#12

BTW, something that could help you: press the Tab key to cycle between the channel selections.

This is a helpful thing to know. But it reveals a bug in the programming. Say I accidentally delete a single channel instead of stereo. I then hit Undo, then I hit Tab to select both channels, then I hit Delete . . . and nothing happens. I have to first move the selection a tiny bit and then back before the delete will take.

This happens to me all the time when I am comparing a regular delete versus a smooth delete. I’ll try one, hit undo, try the other, and nothing will happen until I jiggle the selection length a little. It’s especially difficult because maintaining the exact selection length is the whole point of comparing the two delete methods – I have to be especially careful when I jiggle the length to maintain the prior length down to the millisecond.