Importing audio files

SONAR lets you insert digital audio information into any track of a project. If the audio file you are importing is in stereo, then it can be imported into a single stereo track, a pair of mono tracks or a single mono track.

The File > Import > Audio command supports the following digital audio file types:

Wave (extension .wav)

Sony Wave64 (extension .w64)

RIFF 64 (extension .rf64)

Apple AIFF (extensions .aif, .aifc and .aiff)

Apple Core Audio Format (extension .caf)

MPEG (extensions mp2, .mp3, .mpg, .mpeg, and .m4a)

Windows Media (extensions .asf, .wm, .wma and .wmv)

NeXT/Sun (extensions .au and .snd)

FLAC (extension .flac)

OGG (extension .oga)

Sound Designer II (extension .sd2)

ReCycle (extensions .rcy, .rex and .rx2)

DSD (Direct Stream Digital) (extensions .dsf and .dff)

Note: You cannot preview DSD files from the Import Audio dialog box.

The sampling rate and bit depth for a project is set based on your default settings in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Driver Settings. If the sampling rate from the Wave file does not match the sampling rate in your project, then it will be converted to the current project’s sampling rate and bit depth.

To import an audio file

1.	Set the Now time and current track to indicate where the audio should be placed.

2.	Choose File > Import > Audio to display the Open dialog box.

3.	Choose the audio file you want to import. SONAR displays information about the file at the bottom of the dialog box.

4.	Click Play to listen to the audio file before importing.

5.	If the new file is stereo, select the Import as mono tracks check box if you want to insert the file into two separate tracks.

6.	Click Open.

SONAR loads the audio data from the audio file and places it in the selected track at the Now time.

Preview bus

Files in the Import Audio dialog box may be selected and previewed in any existing bus in SONAR.

To preview a file

1.	Select the desired output bus in the Preview Bus combo box.

2.	Click on the file in the file explorer pane.

3.	Click the Play button.

4.	During playback, the Play button becomes a Stop button. Click Stop to stop playback.

Broadcast Wave files

Broadcast Wave files are wave files with some additional information stored in them. Broadcast Wave files have the following information:

Description. A brief description of the contents of the Broadcast wave. Limited to 256 characters.

Originator. The author of the Broadcast wave. This information is taken from the Artist field in the Notes Browser (see Using the Notes Browser).

Originator Reference. A unique reference identifier created by SONAR.

Origination Date. The date the file was created.

Origination Time. The time the file was created.

Time Reference. The SMPTE time stamp for the beginning of broadcast wave.

To import a Broadcast Wave file:

1.	If you want SONAR to import Broadcast Wave files always at their timestamped location, go to Edit > Preferences > File - Audio Data and select the Always Import Broadcast Waves At Their Timestamp check box. Otherwise, set the Now Time and current track to indicate where the audio should be placed.

2.	Choose File > Import > Audio to display the Open dialog box.

3.	Choose the audio file you want to import. SONAR displays information about the file at the bottom of the dialog box.

4.	Click Play to listen to the audio file before importing.

5.	If the new file is stereo, select the Import as mono tracks check box if you want to insert the file into two separate tracks.

6.	Click Open.

If the Always Import Broadcast Waves At Their Timestamp option is selected in Edit > Preferences > File - Audio Data, the imported Broadcast Wave file appears at its timestamp on the selected track. Otherwise, the file appears at the Now Time on the selected track.

Note: When importing Broadcast Wave files, you can hold down the SHIFT key to temporarily toggle the behavior of the Always Import Broadcast Waves At Their Timestamp global option.