Copyright: © Yip Mann Fai


Help Contents
Contents

Overview

What is Creative Soundo'LE

Working with Creative Soundo'LE

Opening a Wave File

Playing a Wave File

Recording a Wave File

Selecting Recording Characteristics

Viewing or Changing Properties of the Active Wave File

Saving the Active Wave File

Embedding a Wave File

Linking a Wave File

Using the Toolbar

Using the Status Bar

TroubleShooting

If the application launches and quits immediately without giving any error messages

If you encounter error messages


What is Creative Soundo'LE

Creative Soundo'LE plays and records wave data. It supports Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) 2.0.

Some features of Soudo'LE are:

•	OLE 2.0 support,

•	ability to playback .WAV files of any format,

•	ability to record sounds from all available sound sources into .WAV files,

•	allows drag-and-drop of .WAV files, as OLE objects, from Soundo'LE into other OLE clients.


Opening a Wave File

To open a wave file:

1.	Choose Open from the File menu.
The Open a Sound File dialog box appears.

2.	Select the wave file you want to open.

You can preview a file by choosing Play.  Information about the file like the wave format, data size, and its file date are also displayed in the dialog box.

3.	Choose OK.


Playing a Wave File

To play a wave file:

1.	Open the wave file.

2.  	Click on the Play button or press P key.

To stop playing the wave file, click on the Stop button or press S key.


Recording a Wave File

To record a wave file:

1.	Select New from the File menu.

2.	Click on the Record button or press R key.
The .WAV File Length Indicator shows the number of seconds recorded.

To stop the recording, click on the Stop button or press S key.


Selecting Recording Characteristics

To select recording characteristics:

1.	Select Record Settings from the Options menu.
The Record Settings dialog appears.

Select Record Settings from the Options menu.
The Record Settings dialog appears.

2.	Select the desired settings.

3.	Choose OK.


Viewing or Changing Properties of the Active Wave File

To view or change properties of the active wave file:

1.	Select Properties from the File menu.
The Properties dialog appears.

Select Properties from the File menu.
The Properties dialog appears.

2.	Change the desired properties.

3.	Choose OK.


Saving the Active Wave File

To save the active wave file:

1.	Select SaveAs from the File menu.
The Save a Sound File As dialog box appears.

2.	Type or select the wave file you want to save.

3.	Choose OK.


Embedding a Wave File

When you embed a wave file, you load a copy of that wave file in Soundo'LE and transfer it to an application such as WordPad that supports Object Linking and Embedding (OLE).  If you edit the wave file in Soundo'LE, the wave file in WordPad will not be affected because you no longer have any connection to the file in WordPad.

You can embed a wave file using three methods:

•	From a document (Example, WordPad).

•	From Soundo'LE.

•	By dragging the icon located in the Soundo'LE window and inserting it into an open document.

To embed a wave file starting from WordPad:

1.	Open the WordPad document where you want to embed a wave file.

2.	Select New Object from the Insert menu.
The Insert Object dialog box appears.

3.	Select Creative Soundo'LE.

4.	Choose OK.
The Soundo'LE application opens.

5.	Start recording.

6.	Stop recording.

7.	Select Update Document from the File menu.
This embeds the wave file into the WordPad document and the Soundo'LE icon will be placed in WordPad.

8.	Select Exit & Return to Document from the File menu.
This returns to the WordPad document.

To embed a wave file from Soundo'LE

1.	Activate Soundo'LE.

2.	Record a new wave file or open an existing wave file you want to embed.

3.	Choose Copy Sound as an Object from the Edit menu.
The wave file is placed onto the Clipboard.

4.	Open the WordPad document where you want to embed the wave file.

5.	Select Paste Special from the Edit menu in WordPad.
The icon representing the embedded wave file appears.

To embed a wave file using the drag and drop method:

1.	Select Drop OLE Object as Embedded in the Preferences dialog box.

2.	Position the Soundo'LE window and the application window so that both are in view.

3.	Open the wave file in Soundo'LE.  Alternatively, you can record a new file before including the file in the document.  Soundo'LE will display the icon in its window when a wave file is opened.  No icon is displayed in the Soundo'LE window if no wave file is selected.

4.	Open your application document.

5.	Position your cursor over the icon in the Soundo'LE window and drag the icon to the document.

6.	Release the mouse button.
The icon appears in the document file.


Linking a Wave File

Linking a wave file enables you to make references to the wave file without duplicating it.  If you edit the wave file in Soundo'LE, the wave file in the application such as WordPad will reflect the changes.

You can link a wave file using two methods:

•	By using Soundo'LE.

•	By dragging the icon located in the Soundo'LE window and dropping it into an open document.

To link a wave file in WordPad:

1.	Activate Soundo'LE.

2.	Create a new wave file or open an existing file that you want to link.

3.	Save the wave file.
The wave file must be saved before you can link it to an OLE client.

4.	Choose Copy Sound as an Object from the Edit menu.
The wave file is placed onto the Clipboard.

5.	Open the WordPad document where you want to link the wave file.

6.	Select Paste Special from the Edit menu in WordPad.

7.	Check the Paste Link radio button and select OK in the Paste Special dialog box.
The icon representing the wave file appears.

To link a wave file using the drag and drop method:

1.	Select Drop OLE Object as Linked to File in the Preferences dialog box.

2.	Position the Soundo'LE window and the application window so that both are in view.

3.	Open the wave file you wish to drag to the document.  Alternatively, you can record a new file before including the file in the document.

Soundo'LE will display the icon in its window when a wave file is opened.  No icon is displayed in the Soundo'LE window if no wave file is selected.

Open the wave file you wish to drag to the document.  Alternatively, you can record  a new file before including the file in the document.
Soundo'LE will display the icon in its window when a wave file is opened.  No icon is displayed in the Soundo'LE window if no wave file is selected.

4.	Open your application document.

5.	Position your cursor over the icon in the Soundo'LE window and drag the icon to the document.

6.	Release the mouse button.
The icon appears in the document file.

Please note that this method might not work on some OLE client applications.


Using the Toolbar

The Toolbar comprises of buttons which allows you quick access to many commands and features in Soundo'LE.  For example, you can open a new file by clicking the New button on the Tool Bar.

There are 9 command buttons on the Toolbar, namely New, Open, Save, Copy, Preferences, Record Settings, Mixer Settings, CD Player and Select Wave Device.

The Toolbar can be hidden or shown. To hide the Tool Bar, uncheck the Toolbar item in the Options Menu.  To show it, check the same item.


Using the Status Bar

The Status Bar in Soundo'LE Soundo’LE has display fields for displaying the attributes of the active wave file.  They are the the Channel field, the Bit field and the Sampling Rate field.

The Status Bar can be hidden or shown. To hide the Status Bar, uncheck the 'Status Bar' item in the Options Menu. To show it, check the same item.


If the application launches and quits immediately without giving any error messages

Application resource DLL file SNDRES32.DLL may be missing from the application directory. Try locating the file and move it to the same directory as the application.  If you cannot find the file in your system, reinstall the application.


If you encounter error messages

OLE 2.0 initialization failed. Make sure that the OLE libraries are the correct version.

Soundo'LE could not load the CTRES32.DLL file.  Ensure that the file is present in your system and pathed accordingly.

The available device cannot playback in this format.

No playback device found.  Cannot perform playback.

An error occurred reading from the WAVE file.  The file may be corrupted.

Unsupported WAVE format.  All available device(s) cannot playback in this format.

Not enough memory (RAM) for playback.  Free up more memory before performing playback.

Could not open the WAVE file for playback.  The file may be in use by another application.

The available device cannot record in this format.

No recording device found.  Cannot perform recording.

The current recording format is not supported.

Not enough memory (RAM) for recording.  Free up more memory before performing recording.

Not enough disk space on drive <letter:> for recording.  Free up more disk space before performing recording.

Could not open the WAVE file for recording.  The file may be in use by another application.

An error occurred reading from the WAVE file.  The file may be corrupted.


OLE 2.0 initialization failed. Make sure that the OLE libraries are the correct version.

The player supports OLE 2.0 Object linking and embedding.  It requires the OLE libraries to run. Try running the application again.  If it fails again, the OLE libraries in your system may be missing or of the incorrect version. Try installing Windows and the application again.


Soundo'LE could not load the CTRES32.DLL file.  Ensure that the file is present in your system and pathed accordingly.

The CTRES32.DLL file is needed to display the Soundo'LE About Box.  The Soundo'LE About Box displays information about the Soundo'LE.  Make sure that the file is present in either the same directory as the WIN.COM file or the SNDOLE32.COM file.


The available device cannot playback in this format.

Soundo'LE is unable to playback the .WAV file of a particular format through the available playback device.  If you have more than one sound card on your system, try playing the file through the other playback device.


No playback device found.  Cannot perform playback.

Soundo'LE cannot find a .WAV file playback device on the sound card.  If you have more than one sound card on your system, try playing the file through the other playback device.


TroubleShooting - If you encounter error messages - An error occurred reading from the WAVE file.  The file may be corrupted.
An error occurred reading from the WAVE file.  The file may be corrupted.

This error occurs when the user tries to load a .WAV file that has been corrupted.  Try loading it again, if it fails again it is advisable to delete the file from your system.


Unsupported WAVE format.  All available device(s) cannot playback in this format.

All available playback device(s) on your system is unable to recognise the format of the opened .WAV file.  Hence, it cannot be played.  Check out the format of the .WAV file and the formats supported by your sound card(s).


Not enough memory (RAM) for playback.  Free up more memory before performing playback.

This problem occurs when there is not enough RAM available for performing a playback.  Try freeing up the RAM by closing other opened applications on your desktop and then try again.  If it fails again, consider adding more RAM into your system.


Could not open the WAVE file for playback.  The file may be in use by another application.

Soundo'LE is unable to open the selected .WAV file.  This file could be in use by another application.  Close the file and try again.


The available device cannot record in this format.

Soundo'LE is unable to perform a recording through the available device.  The device does not support recording for the selected recording format.  Select another format and try again OR if you have more than one sound card on your system, try performing the recording through another device.


No recording device found.  Cannot perform recording.

Soundo'LE cannot find a .WAV file recording device on the sound card.  If you have more than one sound card on your system, try playing the file through the other recording device.


The current recording format is not supported.

Soundo'LE is unable to perform a recording through the available device.  The device does not support recording for the selected recording format.  Select another format and try again OR if you have more than one sound card on your system, try performing the recording through another device.


Not enough memory (RAM) for recording.  Free up more memory before performing recording.

This problem occurs when there is not enough RAM available for performing a recording.  Try freeing up the RAM by closing other opened applications on your desktop and then try again.  If it fails again, consider adding more RAM into your system.


Not enough disk space on drive <letter:> for recording.  Free up more disk space before performing recording.

This problem occurs when there is not enough disk space on the harddisk for creating a temporary file for recording.  Try freeing up disk space by removing some files from your disk.


Could not open the WAVE file for recording.  The file may be in use by another application.

Soundo'LE is unable to open the selected .WAV file.  This file could be in use by another application.  Close the file and try again.


TroubleShooting - If you encounter error messages - An error occurred reading from the WAVE file.  The file may be corrupted.
An error occurred reading from the WAVE file.  The file may be corrupted.

This error occurs when the user tries to load a .WAV file that has been corrupted.  Try loading it again, if it fails again it is advisable to delete the file from your system.


Glossary of Terms

Play Button

Stop Button

Pause Button

Record Button

Progress slider

.WAV File Length Indicator

.WAV File Position Indicator

Left Intensity Indicator

Right Intensity Indicator

The Action Indicator

Drag-drop icon

New Button

Open Button

Save Button

Copy Button

Preferences Button

Record Settings Button

Mixer Settings Button

CD Player Button

Select Wave Device Button

Wave Device Name Field

Channel Field

Bit Field

Sampling Rate Field

Open a Sound File Dialog Format Text

Open a Sound File Dialog Label Text

Open a Sound File Dialog Description Box

Open a Sound File Dialog Play Button

Open a Sound File Dialog Picture Box

Properties Dialog Label Edit Box

Properties Dialog Description Edit Box

Properties Dialog Attributes Group Box

Properties Dialog Picture Group Box

Properties Dialog Picture Button

Properties Dialog Play Button

Properties Dialog OK Button

Properties Dialog Cancel Button

Set Picture Dialog Picture Display Box

Record Settings Dialog Sound Quality Scheme Combo Box

Record Settings Dialog Save As Button

Record Settings Dialog Remove Button

Record Settings Dialog Format Combo Box

Record Settings Dialog Attributes Combo Box

Record Settings Dialog CD Sync Check Box

Preferences Dialog Box OLE Drag-Drop Properties Group Box

Preferences Dialog Box Show Balloon Help Check BoxPreferences Dialog OK Button

Preferences Dialog Cancel Button


Play Button

Press this button to play the active .WAV file.  This button will be disabled during playbacks, recording and when no .WAV file is active.


Stop Button

Press this button to stop a playback or recording.  This button will be disabled when no .WAV file is loaded.


Pause Button

Press this button to pause a playback.  This button will be disabled during recording and when no .WAV file is loaded.


Record Button

Press this button to do a recording.  This button will be disabled during playbacks and recording.


Progress slider

The Progress Slider can serve as both an indicator and a control.  During playbacks, the Progress Slider thumb will move rightwards to indicate how much of the active .WAV file has been played.  The thumb of the slider can also be dragged with the mouse to move to a particular position in the active .WAV file. The beginning of the sound file is indicated with the slider thumb at the leftmost position.  Similarly, the end of the sound file is indicated with the slider thumb at the rightmost position.


.WAV File Length Indicator

This indicator shows the total length of the active .WAV file.


.WAV File Position Indicator

This indicator shows the position in the active .WAV file that Soundo'LE is currently playing at.


Left Intensity Indicator

Indicates the level of sound intensity that is entering the Left channel.


Right Intensity Indicator

Indicates the level of sound intensity that is entering the Right channel.


The Action Indicator

Indicates the action performed on the sound file.  There are 4 such actions:

1.  Play

2.  Stop

3.  Pause

4.  Record


Drag-drop icon

The Drag-Drop Icon is a tool for embedding an active sound file as an OLE object into an OLE client application.


New Button

Creates a new sound file.


Open Button

Opens an existing sound file.


Save Button

Saves the active sound file with the name, location and file format that was previously set in the Save Sound File As dialog box.  If the active sound file is saved for the first time, the Save Sound File As dialog box appears.


Copy Button

Copies the active sound file as an OLE object.


Preferences Button

Displays the Preferences dialog box.


Record Settings Button

Displays the Record Settings dialog box.


Mixer Settings Button

Runs an instance of the Creative Mixer.


CD Player Button

Runs an instance of the Creative CD.


Select Wave Device Button

Allow the user to select the wave device through which the sound file is played from or recorded to.


Wave Device Name Field

Displays the name of the Wave Device selected.


Channel Field

Displays the number of discrete channels of the active .WAV file.  This field is blank if no .WAV file is loaded.


Bit Field

Displays the number of bits per sample of the active .WAV file.  This field is blank if no .WAV file is loaded.


Sampling Rate Field

Displays the Sampling Rate (number of samples per second) of the the active .WAV file.  This field is empty if no .WAV file is loaded.


Open a Sound File Dialog Format Text

Describes the format of the .WAV file selected.  e.g. PCM.


Open a Sound File Dialog Label Text

Displays the label for the selected .WAV file.  Nothing will be displayed if the selected .WAV file does not have a label attached.


Open a Sound File Dialog Description Box

Displays the description about the selected .WAV file.  Nothing will be shown if the selected .WAV file does not have a description attached.


Open a Sound File Dialog Play Button

This button plays the selected .WAV file.


Open a Sound File Dialog Picture Box

Displays the picture that is attached to the selected .WAV file.  Nothing will be shown if the selected .WAV file does not have a picture to associate with.


Properties Dialog Label Edit Box

This edit box displays the Label, if there is any, of the active .WAV file.  Nothing will be displayed if the active .WAV file does not have a Label.

You can add or edit the Label of the active .WAV file by typing into this edit box.


Properties Dialog Description Edit Box

This edit box displays the Description, if there is any, of the active .WAV file.  Nothing will be displayed if the active .WAV file does not have a Description.

You can add or edit the Description of the active .WAV file by typing into this edit box.


Properties Dialog Attributes Group Box

This group box shows the Attributes for the active .WAV file.  These information cannot be edited.


Properties Dialog Picture Group Box

This group box displays the Picture of the active .WAV file.  Nothing will be displayed if the active .WAV file does not have a Picture associated with it.

The user can add or change the Picture of the active .WAV file by clicking on the Picture push button.


Properties Dialog Picture Button

The Set Picture dialog box appears when this button is pushed.  This allows you to add or change the Picture of the active .WAV file.


Properties Dialog Play Button

Allows you to playback the active .WAV file.


Properties Dialog OK Button

Closes the Properties dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Properties Dialog Cancel Button

Closes the Properties dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Set Picture Dialog Picture Display Box

Displays the picture or pictures in the selected file.  This selected file may be a *.BMP, *.DIB, *.ICO, *.WAV, *.EXE or *.DLL.  In the case where a selected file contains more than one picture, the scroll bar on the left can be used to browse through these pictures.  This display box only displays one picture at a time.


Record Settings Dialog Sound Quality Scheme Combo Box

Allows you to select a sound quality scheme for recording.  3 predefined qualities are available :

1. CD Quality (44kHz, PCM 16 Bit, Stereo)

2. Radio Quality (22kHz, PCM 8 Bit, Mono)

3. Telephone Quality (11kHz, PCM 8 Bit, Mono)


Record Settings Dialog Save As Button

Saves the current recording setting as a scheme.


Record Settings Dialog Remove Button

Removes the current recording setting scheme.


Record Settings Dialog Format Combo Box

Allows you to select from a list of recording Formats available.  Examples of Formats are PCM, Microsoft ADPCM, etc.


Record Settings Dialog Attributes Combo Box

This combo box allows you to select from a list of recording Attributes available.  Examples of recording Attributes are 22.050kHz, 8 Bit, Mono, etc.


Record Settings Dialog CD Sync Check Box

When this check box is checked, it enables synchronized playback and recording from the Creative CD.

Note:

•	This feature works only with Creative's Creative CD and not any other CD player applications.


Preferences Dialog Box OLE Drag-Drop Properties Group Box

Allows you to specify whether to drop OLE objects as embedded or as linked to file when dropped into an application.

1.	Drop OLE Objects as Embedded

Select this option to embed the dropped sound object into the destination application document.

2.	Drop OLE Objects as Linked to File

Select this option to link the dropped sound object into destination application document.


Preferences Dialog Box Show Balloon Help Check Box

Enables or disables the display of balloon help.

Balloon help provides you with information about a control quickly by focusing your cursor on that control or button.  A message appears giving you a brief description of that control.


Preferences Dialog OK Button

Closes the Preferences dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Preferences Dialog Cancel Button

Closes the Preferences dialog box without saving any changes you have made.