SpectraLayers Pro  6.0
Preferences

Choose Edit > Preferences (Windows) or SpectraLayers Pro > Preferences (Mac) to open the Preferences dialog.

Device

Item Description
Type Choose an audio device type from drop-down list to indicate the audio device type that will be available for recording and playback.
Input Choose a device from the drop-down list to choose the audio input device that will be used for recording.
Output Choose a device from the drop-down list to choose the audio output device that will be used for playback.
Buffer Size Specifies the amount of buffering (in milliseconds) that occurs before starting playback.
The larger the number, the more buffering occurs during playback. This value must be as low as possible without gapping. To set it, start at 25 and play back a typical song. If the playback gaps at all, try increasing this value in small increments until the gapping goes away.
Use Preferred Buffer Size (ASIO Only) Use the buffer size set by the ASIO driver instead of the one set by the application.
Force Sample Rate (ASIO Only) If set to 0, the application will try match the device sample rate to the project sample rate. Otherwise it will force the device sample rate to the user defined sample rate.
Show ASIO Panel (ASIO Only) Shows the ASIO Panel (provided by the ASIO driver)
Channel Mapping Use drop-down lists to map multichannel audio to the ports on your selected audio device.

Interface

Colors

Allows you to change the color that will be used to display the elements in the spectral display. Click a color swatch to display a color picker that you can use to select a new color for each element.

  • Selection Color
  • Selection Pattern
  • Grid Color
  • Drawing Color
  • Transport Color
  • Controls Color
  • Markers Color
  • Regions Color
  • Spectral Markers Color
  • Spectral Regions Color
  • Waveform Luminosity

Default Transport Options

Select check boxes to specify the default transport behaviors. You can still change the settings via the Options menu or shortcut menus.

Item Description
Return to Start on Stop When checked, the cursor will to start position when the playback is stopped.
Scroll Choose how the display will follow the time cursor during playback.

Default View Layout

Allows you to choose the default window layout that will be used when SpectraLayers starts, as well as the interface language. For more information, see Saving and recalling layouts

Item Description
Layout File Displays the path to the layout file that is loaded when during startup. Click Browse to choose a different layout file.
Layout Mode (Windows Only) Choose a setting from the drop-down list to choose whether you want to optimize the interface for a desktop or tablet computer during startup. When you choose Tablet, the interface elements are optimized for touchscreen editing.
To change the layout during editing, choose View > Interface Layout > Desktop or View > Interface Layout > Tablet.
DPI Scaling (Windows Only) Choose a setting from the drop-down list to choose whether you want to optimize the interface for a normal or high-resolution display during startup.
Waveform Display Percentage of the waveform that will cover the display when opening a project.
Language Select the interface language. You will need to restart to apply.

Display

Default Units and Scales

Choose a setting from the drop-down list to specify the default units and scales that are used in the SpectraLayers interface. You can still change the values via the Options menu or shortcut menus.

Item Description
Time Unit Choose a setting from the drop-down list to specify the default units that are used to display the time ruler.
Frequency Unit Choose a setting from the drop-down list to specify the default units that are used in the spectral display.
Lock Spectrogram to 0Hz Select this check box if you want to lock the spectral display so the bottom of the graph remains anchored at 0 Hz when you zoom.
Power Unit Choose a setting from the drop-down list to specify the default units that are used in the spectral display.
Lock Waveform to 0 Select this check box if you want to lock the waveform display to prevent vertical scrolling when zooming the waveform.
Frequency Scale Choose a setting from the drop-down list to specify the default scale of the spectral display. The logarithmic scales — Mel, Bark, ERB, or MIDI-Logarithmic — provide better visibility of the lower frequencies, compressing higher, less-significant frequencies at the top of the display.
Filtering Choose a setting from the drop-down list to specify the default filtering of the spectral display. The Cubic filtering is the most smooth and accurate. Nearest shows the raw source samples only.

Default Display Options

Select check boxes to specify the default settings for the spectral display. You can still change the settings via the Options menu or shortcut menus.

Item Description
Markers and Regions Shows markers and regions by default in the spectral display.
Grid Displays a grid in the spectral display by default.
Spectral Markers and Regions Shows spectral markers and regions by default in the spectral display.
Snap to Grid and Markers Enables snapping the cursor to the grid by default in the spectral display.

Default Display Settings

Thoses settings will be set each time you open or create a project. See The Display panel for more information on each setting.

  • Color Mapping
  • Amplitude
  • Brightness Curve
  • Window
  • Sampling
  • Resolution

Invert Mouse Wheel Axes

Select this check box if the mouse wheel axes are inverted when zooming in the waveform and spectral display.

System

Item Description
Session Path Displays the path to the folder where SpectraLayers will save temporary data. Click the path to browse to a new folder.
Maximum Session Recovery Days Indicates the number of days that temporary data will be maintained in the temporary folder.
Logs Path Displays the path to the folder where SpectraLayers will save log files. Click the path to browse to a new folder.
Maximum Logs Indicates the number of logs that will be maintained in the folder.
Maximum Recent Projects Indicates the number of projects that should be available in the File menu.
Maximum History Actions Indicate the number of actions that will be displayed in the History panel.
For more information, see The History panel
WYSIWYG Samples Limit Define the maximum number of samples a tool can preview in realtime. This doesn't affect how the tool operate, only its preview capabilities.
Path to External Editor Define the external editor application that will be used when clicking Process > Edit in External Editor....
Check Notifications... Check and display web notifications (such as new update available).

If Pro Tools is available on your system, you should also see the Install Pro Tools Plugin and Uninstall Pro Tools Plugin buttons that will automatically install and uninstall SpectraLayers Pro Tools Plugin. The Check at startup checkbox tell SpectraLayers to automatically check for Pro Tools at startup and automatically check if the plugin needs to be installed.

Shortcuts

The Shortcuts page displays all available keyboard shortcuts. You can use this page to add, customize, delete, or restore keyboard shortcuts.

Select a row. The Action column displays a description of each available shortcut.

Note
Use the Filter box to filter the list of keyboard shortcuts. For example, if you type Play in the Filter box, only keyboard shortcuts that contain the word "Play" in their description will be displayed.

Click the value in the Shortcut column and press a key to change the current keyboard shortcut.

Note
Click Clear to remove the main and alternate shortcut for the selected row.

Click the value in the Alternate column and press a key to assign an alternate keyboard shortcut.

Click the Reset button to restore all keyboard shortcuts to the default state.