User Manual

Audio Displays in the Timeline
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Displaying Audio Waveforms
Audio waveforms in the Timeline display a sample plot of the entire amplitude of the track. This
is the same as the sample voltage values seen on an analog oscilloscope waveform. You can
display waveform plots for all audio tracks in the Timeline or you can select individual tracks for
waveform display.
The editing application saves cached waveforms for projects. This allows the waveform to draw
faster the next time you open the project. You will see a WaveformCache folder in the Avid
Projects directory. The WaveformCache folder also appears in the Shared Avid Projects
directory.
You might want to display waveforms on only some of your audio tracks. To do this, you can
activate per track settings, or you can create a custom Timeline view as described in
“Customizing Timeline Views” on page 668.
You can also select Show Marked Waveforms in the Timeline Settings dialog box to narrow the
view of the tracks in the Timeline. This option allows the Timeline to display faster because the
waveform displays only between the Mark In and the Mark Out points.
To display audio waveforms for all tracks:
1. To search for a point in a known section of the tracks, zoom in and show more detail in the
sequence to isolate a section of the audio. With less audio to display, the system draws the
waveform plot faster.
2. Do one of the following:
t Click the Timeline fast menu and select Audio Data > Allow Per Track Settings, and
then Alt+click (Windows) or Option+click (Macintosh) the Waveform button in the
Track Control panel for any track.
t Click the Timeline Fast menu button, and select Audio Data > Waveform.
Press Ctrl+period (Windows) or Command+period (Macintosh) at any time during the
redraw of the waveform plot to stop the redraw.
The waveform appears in all audio tracks.
3. (Option) Maximize the visibility of your waveform display using one of the following
procedures: