DART XP Pro allows you to place three kinds of markers in a soundfile:
Markers can be used in the same way as bookmarks - you can place them anywhere in a soundfile to distinguish certain areas of interest (e.g., areas requiring further processing) or to provide a quick way of jumping to specific locations. Markers are distinguished by green vertical lines, displayed in soundfile windows (along with the corresponding labels) and on the overview strip. There is no upper limit to the number of markers (labeled with consecutive numbers) that can be associated with a single soundfile.
To set a marker:
1. Position the cursor anywhere in an active soundfile window.
2. Choose the Set /Remove markers command from the Edit menu.
3. Select the marker label. Each time you enter the Set/Remove markers dialog, the first free label is shown in the Label box. If you choose a number which is assigned to an existing marker, this marker will be automatically removed when inserting the new one.
4. Click the Add button. The green marker lines (temporarily hidden under the yellow cursor lines) will be added to the active soundfile and to the overview strip.
5. Press the Close button to close the Set/Remove markers dialog.
In order to remove a marker, proceed as above but instead of choosing the Add command in step 4, click the Remove button. If you want to remove all markers, use the Remove all button in the same dialog.
To move to the area where a given marker was placed, open the Set/Remove markers dialog, select the marker label and click on the Go to button. Alternatively, choose the Go to new position (G
) command available from the Edit menu and type in ‘m’ followed by the marker label (e.g., after typing ‘m1’ you will jump to the marker labeled 1).
To move cursor to the next or previous marker, use the Go to next/previous marker command from the Edit menu or press the > or < key.
Drop markers can be deployed in a soundfile during playback, e.g. to distinguish fragments that require further processing. All you have to do is initialize playback and press the ENTER
key each time you wish to mark the currently played fragment. Drop markers are labeled with consecutive numbers and can be handled (localized, removed) in exactly the same manner as ordinary markers.
NOTICE
For an average person it takes approximately 400 milliseconds to react to a sound stimulus. To compensate for this ‘response’ delay, drop markers are placed in a soundfile with a 400 ms time shift. To change this time constant use the Response delay box in the Preferences dialog (available from the Options menu).
Click markers are temporary soundmarks which can be placed anywhere in a soundfile and which may help to precisely localize disturbances. Each time you set a click marker, a pulse is added to the sample at the cursor position (negative pulses are added if the sample value is positive and vice versa). Based on listening tests, you can adjust the amplitude of the pulse so as to make the resulting click audible, but weak enough to prevent it from screening the disturbance you are trying to spot. Click markers are not permanent and do not corrupt the soundfiles they are added to - click pulses are kept in a separate buffer and inserted only at the time of playing back the corresponding fragments. As a consequence, there is no need to remove click markers prior to closing or saving a soundfile. Click markers are distinguished by red vertical lines displayed in soundfile windows (along with the corresponding labels) and on the overview strip. Up to eight click markers, labeled A through H, can be associated with a single soundfile.
To set a click marker:
1. Position the cursor anywhere in an active soundfile window.
2. Choose the Set/Remove click markers command from the Edit menu.
3. Select one of the eight marker labels. The list of all labels shows up when you click the Label arrow in the Set/Remove click markers dialog. Letters associated with the already existing markers are displayed with the 'check' mark next to them. If you choose such a checked letter to label a new click marker, the previous one will be automatically removed. Each time you enter the Set/Remove click markers dialog, the first free label (if any) is shown in the Label box.
4. Press the PLAY
button, situated inside the dialog, to play the fragment where the click marker will be inserted. If necessary, use the arrows in the Amplitude box to adjust the magnitude of the click. Use Play local from the Play menu to audition the same fragment without the click.
5. Click the Set button. The red click marker lines (temporarily hidden under the yellow cursor lines) will be added to the active soundfile and to the overview strip.
6. Press the Close button to close the Set/Remove click markers dialog.
In order to remove a click marker, proceed as above, but instead of choosing the Addcommand in step 4, click the Remove button. If you want to remove all markers, use the Remove all button in the same dialog.
To move to the area where a given click marker was placed, open the Set/Remove click markers dialog, select the marker label and click on the Go to button. Alternatively, choose the Go to new position (G
) command available from the Edit menu and type in ‘m’ followed by the marker label (e.g., after typing ‘ma’ you will jump to the click marker labeled A).
NOTICE
Markers and click markers are not permanent, i.e. they disappear when you close a soundfile and are not brought back when you open it again. However, you can save the current positions of all markers by saving a group of soundfiles (choose Save as from the Group menu).