Setting Preferences

Peak allows you to customize a number of parameters of your system so that you can work with Peak as you are most comfortable. Most of these parameters are found in the Preferences menu. They range from the colors that you want for the audio document window, to the way that you want the waveforms and edits to appear on your screen. Once you have set these as you like, they will stay that way until you decide to change them again.

This section explains how to set several of these parameters. For items not covered here, please refer to the chapter of your User's Guide, entitled Peak Menus. There you will find explanations of each command in the Preferences menu and other Peak menus.

Setting Peak’s Main Output Volume
Peak’s Playback Preferences... dialog provides a master volume control for audio playback.

To set Peak’s main output volume:
1. Choose Playback Preferences... from the Preferences menu.
2. In the dialog that appears, set Peak’s output volume to the level that you desire by adjusting the slider or entering a number value from 0 (silent) to 7 (loudest). If you are controlling your playback volume with the volume control of your playback system, you’ll probably want to leave the output level set to 7.
3. Click OK to close this dialog. Audio playback is now set to the volume level that you selected.

Playback Buffer
Peak allows you to control the amount of RAM the program uses when playing back audio documents. In general, lower is better. A playback buffer of 32k is a good place to start. If you are experiencing clicks in your playback, working with fragmented files, using processor-intensive real-time DSP, or are using a slow hard drive, you may need a larger playback buffer setting.

Window Buffer
Peak also allows you to control the amount of RAM the program uses to keep audio document windows open. Use larger values if you are working with a few large files, and smaller values if you are working with many smaller files. Experiment to find the best settings for your system and working style.

Choosing Colors for the Audio Document Window
Peak allows you to customize the colors used to display the elements in audio documents. You can use this dialog to set the background color, waveform color, and colors for markers and loops. You can select either a preset color combination, or individual colors for each element in the audio document window. Changes made using the Colors dialog affect both the current audio document’s colors, and any subsequent new audio document’s colors.

To customize the colors of the waveform display:
1. Choose Colors from the Preferences menu.
2. To select a preset color combination, click the Theme pop-up menu and choose the preset that you desire.
3. Alternatively, to select individual colors for each element in the audio document window, choose Custom from the Theme pop-up menu and then select the desired colors from the Background, Waveform, Markers, and Loops pop-up menus.
4. Click Change to close this dialog. The audio docu-ment window is now set to the colors you selected.

Choosing a Time Format
The Units command allows you to choose a time format for the audio timeline in Peak’s audio document window. You can choose samples, seconds, SMPTE frames, and Bars|Beats. The format you choose will depend on the nature of the project that you are working on.

To choose Peak’s time format:
1. Choose Units from the Preference menu.
2. From the submenu, choose the time format that
you desire: samples, seconds, SMPTE frames, or
Bars|Beats. The timeline in Peak’s audio document
window and Info Bar switches to the format that you
choose.

Choosing a Scratch Disk
Because audio data can be very large, Peak utilizes a portion of your hard disk’s free space to hold audio data that has been cut or copied, as well as for temporary or scratch files for undo purposes. If your hard disk is short on space, you may not be able to cut, copy, or modify large selections. If you have more than one hard drive attached to your Macintosh, the Scratch Disks command in the Preference menu allows you to choose the hard drives (or “scratch disks”) that you wish to use for these temporary files. Peak allows you to select which disk you want to have as your default, or “Primary” disk for this purpose–usually you would select the disk that has the most free space. If you are connected to a file server, you can utilize available storage on the server by clicking the Allow Servers checkbox. Any available servers will then appear in the Scratch Disks pop-up menu. This feature is recom-mended only if you have access to a high speed Ethernet, Media Net, or other fast server.

To choose a scratch disk for temporary files:
1. Choose Scratch Disks from the Preferences menu. The Scratch Disks dialog appears.
2. The Scratch Disks dialog will show all hard drives currently connected to your Mac. Choose the hard drive(s) that you wish Peak to use when it creates temporary files by clicking the check-boxes next to the drives in the list. To choose the Primary Disk, or the default disk for temporary files, click on the Primary button next to that disk. If you are con-nected to a file server and would like to use storage available there as well, enable the Allow Servers checkbox.
3. Click OK to close this dialog. Peak will use the disk you have selected as your Primary scratch disk, and, if it becomes full, will then use the other disks you’ve chosen.

Keyboard Shortcuts
Peak allows you to customize any Peak menu item with a keyboard shortcut. To change your keyboard shortcuts, go to the Preference menu and select the Shortcuts and Toolbar item. Keyboard shortcuts are stored in a Preference file in the System Folder’s Preferences Folder, called “Peak 2.0 Shortcuts.” Peak’s default Keyboard Shortcuts are listed in Appendix 1 at the end of this manual.

To add a new Keyboard Shortcut
1. Choose Shortcuts & Toolbar under the Preference menu.
2. Scroll through the list of menu items, or, with a menu item selected, simply type in the first few letters of the menu item you wish to assign. Then click on the name of the Peak menu item you wish to assign a new keyboard shortcut.
3. Use the Shortcut Key box to enter the letter you wish to use for a shortcut. You may select the Command, Option, Shift or Control keys as additional modifiers by clicking on the check-boxes in this dialog.
4. Close the Shortcuts & Toolbar dialog.

To remove a Keyboard Shortcut
1. Choose Keyboard Shortcuts under the Preference menu.
2. Scroll through the list of menu items, and click on the name of the Peak menu item for which you wish to remove a keyboard shortcut.
3. Click on the Clear button.
4. Close the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog.

The Toolbar
Peak 2.0 allows you to select almost any Peak command for the Toolbar. The Shortcuts & Toolbar menu allows you to group together the functions you use most often, so that you can simply click a button instead of going to the menus. For example, if you frequently use Normalize and Pitch Change, you can choose to have the icons for these functions in the Toolbar, so that all you have to do to use one of them is to make an audio selection and click a button. The Toolbar is an easy way to make your work in Peak faster and more efficient, allowing you to customize the program to suit the way you work. To add or subtract items from the Toolbar, use the Shortcuts & Toolbar item under the Preference menu. Toolbar selections are stored in a Preference file in the System Folder’s Preference Folder, called “Peak 2.0 Shortcuts.” You can “grow” or “shrink” the Toolbar by clicking on the plus (+) and minus (-) signs in the vertical gray bar on the right of the Toolbar. You can also choose whether to have a vertical Toolbar at the left of your screen, or a horizontal Toolbar along the top of your screen–just click on the box at the upper right of the Toolbar, and it will snap to its new position.

To add a new icon to the Toolbar
1. Choose Shortcuts &Toolbar under the Preference menu.
2. Scroll through the list of menu items, and click on the name of the Peak menu item you wish to have appear in the Toolbar.
3. Click on the “Place In Toolbar” check-box to select the icon to add to the Toolbar. If there is no icon, the menu item cannot be placed in the toolbar.
4. Close the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog.

To remove an icon from the Toolbar
1. Choose Shortcuts & Toolbar under the Preference menu.
2. Scroll through the list of menu items ,and click on the name of the Peak menu item you wish to remove from the Toolbar.
3. Click on the check-box to un-check the item you wish to remove..
4. Close the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog.