Apple Loops Homepage.
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UP01109.Book Page 3 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM 1 Using Apple Loops Utility Some audio files you use in Soundtrack Pro can include metadata called tags. Tags provide information about the audio recorded in a file.
UP01109.Book Page 4 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM The Apple Loops Utility Interface The interface consists of a window with two tabs: the Tags tab and the Transients tab. The bottom of the window includes a set of playback controls and file management buttons. Apple Loops Utility also includes an Assets drawer, located to the right of the main window, where you manage open files.
UP01109.Book Page 5 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Tags Tab The Tags tab includes areas for different types of tags, and also includes a set of playback controls you can use to listen to a file open in Apple Loops Utility. Listening to a file can help you decide which tags are appropriate for the file. Property Tags  Number of Beats field: Displays the number of beats in the file.  File Type buttons: Set the file type, which can be Non-looping or Looping.  Key pop-up menu: Sets the key of the file.
UP01109.Book Page 6 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Search Tags These tags are used by the Search feature in Soundtrack Pro when you search for files matching specific criteria. Â Genre pop-up menu: Displays choices for the musical genre of the file. Â Instrumentation list: Displays choices for the musical instrument or instrument category recorded in the file. Selecting an instrument category in the left column displays the list of instruments in that category in the right column.
UP01109.Book Page 7 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM The Transients tab includes the following controls: Â Transient Division pop-up menu: Sets the beat value at which Apple Loops Utility detects transients. Â Sensitivity slider: Sets the degree of sensitivity at which Apple Loops Utility detects transients. Assets Drawer The Assets drawer lists the files open in Apple Loops Utility.
UP01109.Book Page 8 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Playback and File Management Controls The bottom of the Apple Loops Utility window contains a set of playback controls so that you can listen to the file in Apple Loops Utility. The playback controls do not affect the file’s tags, only the playback of the selected file.
UP01109.Book Page 9 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Opening Files in Apple Loops Utility You can open audio files from within Apple Loops Utility, or directly from a Soundtrack Pro project. You can have up to 2000 files open at the same time. When you open files in Apple Loops Utility, the files are displayed in the File list of the Assets drawer. To open an audio file in Apple Loops Utility, do one of the following: m Choose File > Open, then select the file in the Open dialog.
UP01109.Book Page 10 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Tagging Files in Apple Loops Utility To tag files, you select the files in the Assets drawer, and then make changes to the selected files’ tags in the Tags tab. When you change the settings in the Tags tab, the changes are applied only to the currently selected files. When you make changes to a file’s tags, a dot appears in the Changes column next to the filename to indicate that the file has been changed.
UP01109.Book Page 11 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Tagging Multiple Files When multiple files are selected, only the tags that apply to all the selected files can be changed. Items in the Tags tab that do not apply to all the currently selected files are dimmed and unavailable. Each tag has a checkbox. Select the checkbox next to the tags for which you want to save changes. To tag multiple files: 1 Select the files in one of the following ways: Â Shift-click to select adjacent files in the Assets drawer.
UP01109.Book Page 12 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM To move a transient marker: m Drag the marker by its handle in the area above the Beat ruler. To change the beat value of detected transients: m Choose a beat value from the Transient Division pop-up menu. Choosing a larger beat value results in fewer transients being detected. Choosing a smaller beat value results in more transients being detected, if they are present in the audio recorded in the file.
UP01109.Book Page 13 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Saving Changes to Files When you save changes in Apple Loops Utility, you can save changes to only the currently selected files, or to all files marked in the Changes column of the Assets drawer. Any other file tags are unchanged. This is especially useful when working with a large group of files. When saving multiple files, the checkbox next to the tag must be selected if changes to that tag are to be saved.
UP01109.Book Page 14 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Apple Loops Utility Preferences You can set preferences for the startup behavior and default file saving behavior in the Apple Loops Utility Preferences window. Startup  Show Open Panel On Launch: When selected, an Open dialog appears each time you open Apple Loops Utility. Saving  When Converting a WAV to AIFF:  Show Conversion Alert: Shows the conversion alert dialog when you try to save a WAV file.
UP01109.Book Page 15 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Apple Loops Utility Keyboard Shortcuts General and File Key command Function x +N Creates a new, blank Apple Loops Utility window and opens the Open dialog. x +O Opens the Open dialog, from which you open files in Apple Loops Utility. x +W x + x +S x + x + option + S shift shift Closes the current window. +W Closes the selected files. Saves changes to the currently selected files.
UP01109.Book Page 16 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Key and Scale Type Tagging Key command Function Turns on keyboard tagging. esc Sets the key to A. A shift +A Sets the key to B. B Sets the key to C. C shift +C +D Sets the key to F. F +F +G 16 Sets the key to G# (G-sharp). Sets the scale type to Major. M shift +M shift +B N Sets the key to F# (F-sharp). Sets the key to G. G shift Sets the key to D# (D-sharp). Sets the key to E. E shift Sets the key to C# (C-sharp).
UP01109.Book Page 17 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Descriptor Tagging For the following descriptor keyboard shortcuts, pressing the key once selects the first (left) item, pressing the key again selects the second (right) item, and pressing the key a third time selects Neither (the center button).
UP01109.Book Page 18 Monday, March 7, 2005 7:40 PM Transients Key command Function Increases sensitivity. = Decreases sensitivity. - shift += shift +- Increases sensitivity five times. Decreases sensitivity five times. Nudges the selected marker by one pixel to the left. Nudges the selected marker by one pixel to the right. 18 x + Selects the previous marker. x + Selects the next marker.
