Optimized picture cache redrawing

There are several options in the .ini files to speed up picture cache redrawing The biggest improvement will be seen on machines with multiple processors. Parallel processing can yield a significant boost in performance.

There is also an option in the Associated Audio Files dialog box to selectively redraw waveforms for individual clips that may have a corrupt waveform display (see To redraw waveforms).

.INI file picture cache options

3 new INI file variables that are used by picture cache generation and display:

In Aud.ini:

In the [Aud] section:

EnablePicCacheThreads=1 (default)

This option creates extra background worker threads for the generation of wave pictures when you load a project. One worker thread is automatically created per CPU/core. Setting EnablePicCacheThreads=0 reverts back to only using a single thread for picture computation.

If you are running a system with multiple CPU's or cores setting this to 1 can greatly speed up the computation of pictures.

Notes:

-These threads are only active while the picture is being computed.

-This option is only applicable on multiprocessor/multicore systems.

Also in the [Aud] section:

ComputePicturesWhilePlaying=1 (default)

This option allows waveform pictures to be computed in the background while audio playback is in progress. Most modern computers should be able to handle this load with no problems. Note that work is only done while new pictures are actually being computed—once the pictures are finished rendering there is no overhead.

In Cakewalk.ini:

In the [WinCake] section:

ProgressiveWavePictures=1 [default]

This option enables progressive display of waveform pictures. When enabled you will see pictures being displayed in the clips view dynamically as they are being computed. The waveforms will update in the background when the application is idle. If the ComputePicturesWhilePlaying flag is set to 1, waveforms will continue being displayed progressively even while audio playback is in progress. This can save time waiting for a complete picture to be finished before you can see it.

To redraw waveforms

1.	Select the clips that you want to redraw.

2.	Right-click a selected clip, and choose Associated Audio Files on the pop-up menu to open the Associated Audio Files dialog box.

3.	Click the Recompute Picture(s) button. A dialog box appears, asking if you want to recompute the pictures on the selected clips.

4.

Click OK.