The horizontal (time) axis is calibrated in hours, minutes and seconds or in samples. To select or change the calibration units, use the Time scale box in the Preferences dialog, available from the Options menu.
The time resolution is related to the number of screen pixels used to represent a certain portion of a signal plot. You can change the resolution by adjusting the time zoom coefficient ,displayed in the time zoom box
, situated on the toolbar.
If the time zoom coefficient is set to 1 (the highest resolution possible), then each pixel represents one single sample, which allows for accurate plotting but limits the number of samples shown on the computer screen to a few hundred. By increasing this coefficient beyond 1, you are able to view larger fragments of the soundfile at the cost of decreased plotting accuracy. For example, if the time zoom factor is set to 10, one pixel represents a group of ten consecutive samples (only the maximum value within each group is displayed), which increases the length of the material shown in the soundfile window to few thousands of samples.
When DART XP Pro screen is empty and you open a new soundfile (starting a new project, for example), the signal plot is shown with a default resolution equal to 1. Whenever convenient you can define your own default time zoom using the Default resolution setting in the Preferences dialog available from the Options menu. If you pick View all from the list, the resolution will be adjusted so as to show the entire signal plot.
NOTICE
When synchronization is switched on, the default time zoom will be applied to the the first of the newly opened soundfiles only. You can overcome this limitation by switching off synchronization among the displayed windows. This may be particularly useful should you prefer to work with the View all resolution applied to all signal plots shown on the screen.
In order to change time resolution:
Click on the up/down arrow in the time zoom box situated on the toolbar.
Type a new value of the time zoom coefficient in the time zoom box and press the
ENTER
key.
Use the keyboard
PAGE UP/DOWN
keys to increase/decrease the time zoom coefficient by a factor of 2 and CTRL+PAGE UP/DOWN
to change it by a factor of 10.
Choose one of five time zoom options (1,10,100,1000, Fit to size) from the shortcut menu, which appears on the screen each time you press the right mouse button.
WARNING
You should realize that working with large resolution factors may result in very long times needed to draw or redraw signal plots, especially if the corresponding windows are synchronized. To speed up plotting, at a price of reduced visual accuracy, check the Enable turbo plotting box in the Preferences dialog available from the Options menu. If you don't want to compromise drawing accuracy, minimize all windows that are not used at the moment (as long as the window remains minimized DART XP Pro simply 'freezes' its content) or turn the synchronization off (press the SYNCHRONIZE
button, situated on the toolbar).