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Soundminer4 Asset Manager Manual version 4.1.8 – July 2008

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Contents

1. START HERE .............................................................................................................................................................4 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: .............................................................................................. 4 ILOK INSTALLATION ................................................................................................... 4 HASP M1 SINGLE USER INSTALLATION ............................................................................. 5 TROUBLESHOOTING MUST DOS ..................................................................................... 7

2. WHAT IS SOUNDMINER V4?................................................................................................................................8 3. QUICK START ...........................................................................................................................................................9

LOGIN - SINGLE USER/NON SERVER SYSTEM ...................................................................... 9 LOGIN - SOUNDMINER SERVER DAEMON.......................................................................... 10 SOUNDMINERV4 SCREEN LAYOUT.................................................................................. 11 CREATING YOUR FIRST DATABASE ................................................................................. 13 AUDITIONING ......................................................................................................... 16 MONITORING AND REWIRE .......................................................................................... 16 BASIC SEARCHING.................................................................................................... 18 CUSTOMIZING THE FULL INDEX SEARCH FIELDS ................................................................. 23 BASIC TRANSFERS.................................................................................................... 25

4. CUSTOMIZING SOUNDMINER......................................................................................................................... 35 SORTING............................................................................................................... 35 SELECTING RECORDS ................................................................................................ 35 USING THE CHECKMARK SYSTEM ................................................................................... 35 CONTEXTUAL MENU OPTIONS IN BROWSER ....................................................................... 37 ADJUSTING THE COLUMN/PANE LAYOUT............................................................................ 39 CUSTOMIZING FIELD DISPLAY IN METADATA WINDOW.......................................................... 41 WINDOW SETS........................................................................................................ 42 THE WAVEFORM SECTION ........................................................................................... 43 CUSTOMIZING COLOUR AND APPEARANCE......................................................................... 45 CUSTOMIZING THE TOOLBAR........................................................................................ 46 USING ARTWORK ..................................................................................................... 47

5. DATABASE MAINTENANCE ............................................................................................................................. 49 CREATING DATABASES............................................................................................... 49 APPENDING MORE RECORDS TO A DATABASE ..................................................................... 52 DELETING RECORDS AND DATABASES ............................................................................. 53 USING THE METATAG EDITOR(V4PRO) ........................................................................... 54 TEXT IMPORTING...................................................................................................... 56 IMPORT ITUNES ..................................................................................................... 58 PLAYLISTS ............................................................................................................. 59 THE ADMIN WINDOW (V4PRO ONLY)............................................................................... 61

6. ADVANCED SEARCH TOPICS .......................................................................................................................... 62 SEARCH FIELD EXPLAINED........................................................................................... 62 THE THESAURUS ...................................................................................................... 62 BOOLEAN EXPRESSIONS ............................................................................................. 63 SEARCH IN FIELD ..................................................................................................... 65

7. SUMMARIES AND THE METABROWSER .................................................................................................... 68 SUMMARY SEARCHING ............................................................................................... 68 LOCKED SEARCHING ................................................................................................. 69 METABROWSER ....................................................................................................... 70

8. TRANSFERRING METHODOLOGIES............................................................................................................. 74

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DRAGGING AND DROPPING.......................................................................................... 74 SINGLE COPY EDIT ................................................................................................... 74 SEND TO DAW........................................................................................................ 75 USING SOUNDMINER’S ADVANCED CONVERSION ENGINE....................................................... 76 THE SPOTTING PANEL................................................................................................ 77 BATCH TRANSFERRING DIRECT FROM BROWSER VS. PROJECTS................................................ 80 SPOTTING INTO THE TIMELINE IN PRO TOOLS .................................................................... 85 USING MONO OR MONO TRACKS ................................................................................... 86 DIGIDELIVERY OPTION .............................................................................................. 88 MIRROR COMMAND ................................................................................................... 89

9. VST RACK – SMV4 PRO VERSION ONLY ..................................................................................................... 91 USING VST............................................................................................................ 91

10. SONOMIC CONNECTIVITY............................................................................................................................. 95 11. ADVANCED TOPICS......................................................................................................................................... 100

HASP MULTI-USER NETWORK KEY INSTALLATION ..............................................................100 USING THE SOUNDMINER LICENSE MANAGER(MAC ONLY).....................................................101 USING THE ALADDIN LICENSE MANANGER .......................................................................102 INTERNET AUTHORIZATION (REMOTE STATION) WITH NETKEY................................................104 GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................106 SOUNDMINER SERVER...............................................................................................109 MULTI-CHANNEL AUDIO IN SOUNDMINER V4PRO ................................................................112 TRANSFERRING TO MP3 FORMAT ..................................................................................114 METADATA ADVANCED ..............................................................................................115 FIELD RECORDERS AND INGESTING METADATA AND IXML.....................................................118 ROULETTE.............................................................................................................121 PLAY HISTORY........................................................................................................121 RELINKING............................................................................................................121 IMPORTING V3 .......................................................................................................122 SOUNDMINER FILENAMING ALGORITHM ..........................................................................122

12. KEY COMMANDS.............................................................................................................................................. 125

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1. Start Here System requirements:

• Apple Macintosh OSX 10.4 or higher full system installed • Apple Macintosh Motorola or Intel processor • 1 gig RAM. • 100 MB of available drive space for application only. Additional space

required for local databases and assets. • HASP M1(purple USB key) or Network key(Red USB Key) or ILOK key.

At least one available USB port. (Not required for clients using the HASP Network Key as the key is installed on a remote computer.) Please read the latest READ ME file that came with the version you have. If auto-update is not working, please go to the user ftp site to get access to the latest builds.

ILOK installation

If your license was registered for ILOK use, you would either have purchased an ILOK key from your local dealer or are using your existing ILOK key to hold the Soundminer authorization.

ILOK key If you already have an ILOK based application, you need not do anything but follow the methods outlined at ILOK.com for transferring your Soundminer authorization to one of your ILOK keys. Once transferred you should be able to launch your Soundminer V4/V4pro product immediately. If this is the first ILOK application you are installing, then you will need to install the PACE Interlok driver first. You can get the Interlok driver at http://www.paceap.com/. If Soundminer senses it is missing, it will throw up this alert and allow you to go to the PACE site to get the driver.

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HASP M1 Single user installation

Once you have downloaded or have been delivered the SoundminerV4 installation package (.dmg or .zip archive) and have received from us the Aladdin HASP4 or HASP HL M1 single user dongle (purple USB key) you may begin the installation.

HASP 4 memo key(m1) First check to see what key type you have. If you have a purple M1 key as in the picture above, you are a single user/single key system. If what you are holding is a RED NetHasp key go to the Advanced Topics Section at the end of this manual to get instructions on how to install:

Hasp Net key Assuming you have a PURPLE single user locally connected USB key, then copy the application to your Applications folder. The application is now completely self-contained – no other items are needed. The first time you launch the programme it will prompt you to install the USB driver for your HASP key. Follow the on screen prompts. No reboot is necessary. The dongle should now be lit meaning you are ready to start.

If you need to get the drivers directly from Aladdin visit: http://www.aladdin.com/support/hasp/hasp4/enduser.asp ftp://ftp.aladdin.com/pub/hasp/hl/mac/HDD_Installer_MacOSX.dmg

PLEASE use email for Tech support – techsupport@soundminer.com. We strongly encourage users to use email and to be very detailed regarding the operating system, exact version and all details on how to reproduce the problem. Phone support is now a paid item. If you call and have not paid for phone support, you will be re-directed to email. Most problems can be easily answered by using our new answerbase – this is accessible from our website.

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For single user M1 keys, download only the HDD dongle driver for your OSX Tiger system. You only need the LM driver if setting up a network key. *HASP key have unique serial numbers embedded in the key. This is NOT the number printed on the outside of the key. To see your serial number, you need to visit the preference pane of your software. With version 4.0.121+ support for the Soundminer Licenses Manager is now available. In response to ongoing compatibility issues with Aladdin’s network software, Soundminer has designed its own managing system. To use this system, see the Advanced Topic section at the end of this manual. Use the Aladdin system first. PLEASE READ the latest READ ME document for the latest information. For those coming from a version prior to 4.0.121 Backup the entire home/library/application support/soundminer folder, so if there is a major bug in this version you can go back and use the older v4 Soundminer. Once this version touches those databases there is no going back! (It updates the structure of the databases) When you launch this version its going to need to re-index the databases as you toggle through them, this is going to take some time depending on the size of each database, but just be patient, once its done you should experience fast searches. If a particular database crashes when you toggle to it delete the *.ind file(or all of them if you can't figure out the problem db) in the home/library/application support/soundminer. These files contain the indexes for searching and will be rebuilt if missing[again, takes some time but fixes most problems].

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Troubleshooting MUST DOs

1. KEY issues – make sure you have the latest drivers from Aladdin.com or ILOK.com. Make sure you have downloaded the correct application that you are licensed for. Make sure you install the correct drivers for your key type – this is explained in the preceding section.

2. LEARN TO CLEAR YOUR PREFS: You need to trash

com.soundminer.v4Pro.plist in the preferences folder(home/Library/Preferences) and if in "freelance" mode the file v4ProPrefs inside the folder with your databases.

3. LEARN TO CLEAR YOUR DATABASES - NOTE: You cannot start a

database name with numbers. The databases are made up of four files with different extensions typically in the /home/Library/Application Support/Soundminer folder(xxx.vdb,xxx.ind,xxx.dat, xxx.blb files) If it persists, delete or move the contents of home/Library/Application Support/Soundminer

(This also moves your spotting panel, if you just want to remove database, try removing the xxx.vdb,xxx.ind,xxx.dat, xxx.blb files)

4. SEND A CRASHLOG TO TECHSUPPORT(not just to one person) - The crashlog is found in home/Library/Logs/CrashReporter.

In this directory you will find a Soundminer crash log(or in the case of Leopard, multiple files). Send these to techsupport@soundminer.com. You MUST detail exactly what you were doing step by step so we can diagnose. Please use the term "crash" if the application quits. If it locks up and you get the spinning wheel and need to force quit, call that a "freeze". In the case of a freeze, you won't get a crash log, but you can help us out by launching /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor, dbl click Soundminer(it should be in red) in the Activity Monitor window, then the sample button. You can then send this report to us. This helps us narrow down what was going on at the time of the freeze.

5. ALWAYS CHECK the Support pages for most common issues: http://www.soundminer.com/SM_Site/Support.html and If you still require help, make sure you document your exact version, platform, hardware and operating system when detailing the issue back to us.

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2. What is Soundminer V4? Before we start, we should go over a few concepts. Soundminer is a class of products called ‘audio asset managers’. This means quite simply they are systems designed to keep track of, search, audition and transfer sound files. In order to do this efficiently, Soundminer depends on embedded metadata. Metadata as it refers to audio files within our system is the information about an audio file that is stored in the file itself. There are many metadata standards and they are not all the same. Not all audio files contain metadata. Soundminer can ingest several types of metadata including broadcast wave BEXT information, mp3 and AIFF ID3 tag containers(eg. ITunes), spotlight/finder comments from the Apple operating system as well as metadata from competing systems. The Soundminer Metawrapper is a superset of all of this data and, in addition, also contains proprietary extra fields. When combined you have a very expansive and robust system for keeping track of all your audio files. Once you have all this information ingested, you can then use the enriched search features of this platform to find what you are looking for quickly and easily. There are many ways to find files within this system and exploring all the documentation is highly recommended (read the Metadata primer at the end of this manual for example.). Miniminer, our lightest version, provides easy to use drag and drop (drag a file or set of files) functionality to transfer references out of the system to your target application and even provides an audio editor and basic converter if you need to edit or alter a copy of the sound file. Your favourites can be stored in unlimited Soundminer playlists for easy recall and you have access to Soundminer’s advanced detail and artwork panel as well. Soundminer v4 and v4pro add application specific transferring, full batch conversion, support for high resolution sample rate and and an advanced project system. Like all Soundminer products, you can upgrade from one product to any other product for just the difference in price. If you want to know more about Soundminer’s other products, visit www.soundminer.com or contact us at info@soundminer.com. V4 is the lighter version of v4pro. V4pro contains extra features for sound design, server functionality, multi-channel and advanced project and metadata features over and above v4 feature set. Features unique to v4pro are identified as such in the manual.

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3. Quick Start Before you use SoundminerV4/V4pro for the first time you will need to have access to ‘assets’ or sound files. If you are using an existing server system please see your administrator for information to access your remote files. If you need to create your own assets from audio CDs please refer to the Soundminer Ripper manual if you have purchased this product. HELP MENU launches manual Login - Single User/Non Server system

Upon first launch, Soundminer will now install the necessary rewire components for your system. To do so, it will ask you for your username and password. Success will be marked with this new alert:

You need to re-launch Soundminer for the changes to take effect. *Rewire is a monitoring options only – it does not affect operation and can be tuned off. See the section on ‘Monitoring and Rewire for more information. You will then be brought directly into the main application. (NB. This differs somewhat from the previous V3 software which always asked you to log yourself in and identify yourself with at least a username.) Single User systems have only one Profile. A Profile contains your layout, window sets, preferred font and colour schemes and is embedded in your preference file which can be found at: User/Library/Preferences/com.soundminer.sm4.plist. Files can reside on locally attached storage or on remote network drives but the ‘database’ or what Soundminer knows about those files is usually stored locally and the location of this file is visibly confirmed in your Preferences:

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This is also where you will find your serial number. Remember to make a note of the HASP serial number so you can register it with us. Separate centralized profiles are a feature of V4Pro/Server systems only. Trick or Tip: You can have local profiles separated if you create individual OSX accounts on a computer. Each account will have its own ‘smV4’ profile. Login - Soundminer Server Daemon

When you launch SoundminerV4 Pro and you are operating with a V4 Server, the SM Daemon will be auto-discovered and it will ask you to authenticate yourself:

login screen

Enter in the username and password given to you by the administrator. Soundminer will then get your permissions from the SM Server Daemon and you will be transported to the main Browser window. Your preferences and profile information are all centrally stored on the Server. However, you can make local-only databases and if you do so, they will be stored according to the local mode of operations explained in the preceding section.

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Please Note: Having a NetKey does not mean you have Soundminer Server. It simply means you are distributing your licenses via your network as opposed to hanging individual USB keys on each terminal. *If you need to reset/clear your preferences, you need to get rid of the file located at: User/Library/Preferences/com.soundminer.sm4.plist. **If you need to clear your Spotting Panel go to User/Library/Application Support/Soundminer/Spotting. ***If you need to clear your local databases go to User/Library/Application Support/Soundminer. There are four individual files associated with each Database.

SoundminerV4 Screen Layout

You should now see main Soundminer window – the Browser. This is the default state of the Browser. There are four sections to the browser window which are shown below:

Browser Returns Pane - Returns come back here. View, sort, select your files.

The Toolbar options are at the top.

Right Pane – access to Spotting Panel, Summary Lists and Metadata Browser, and Web view.

Waveform Overview Pane – see, audition, edit and process the currently selected file.

Toolbar at the top can be customized

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All three panes can be sized to your liking. You can collapse the Right Pane altogether if you wish and make the waveform as large as you like. The Toolbar at the top displays the varied operational icon and can be customized. The Toolbar by default includes the Database popup and the Find entry box. You can use the ’Customize’ icon to select the tools most appropriate for you or if already removed, you can control-click on the toolbar to get your options or you can use the option in the WINDOWS menu.

right/control-click on Toolbar

A user can select from any of these tools by dragging any of the icons onto the exposed toolbar above. Similarly, items can be removed by dragging them back into the toolbar drawer.

The Returns Pane is where the database records which match the search criteria are displayed. ‘Cmd-J’ will bring back all records in a database. The Waveform Pane displays a picture of the currently selected record and allows the user to edit in/out points, the sync marker etc. The Right Pane section is able to show several different windows. It defaults to loading up the Soundminer website but can be set to default to any web site(see preferences). Apart from viewing a website within the programme, the Right Pane can show you the Spotting panel, your Summary Window and your Metadata window. These are selectable from the buttons at the bottom of the Right Pane.

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*Options may differ depending on version you are using

All panes are elastic and can be sized by the user and all have contextual right-click options. Secondary windows are available in the various menus (MetaBrowser, VSTPlug-in window, Command Line, etc.) Several other aspects of these windows are customizable. By default, Soundminer will show you help tips as you roll over items on the screen. This tooltip help is turned on/off in the Preferences/Appearance pane:

Tooltip ON Creating Your First Database

Your first launch will automatically create an empty database named ‘Soundminer DB.’ To create a new database, go to the DATABASE menu and select CREATE DATABASE, give your Database a name. In addition, you can create databases optimized for specific functions – ie. Music versus Sound Effects vs Dialog.

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In other words, when creating databases you have the ability to choose from multiple templates: Sound Effects(doesn't have fields like Composer, Publisher, BPM,etc), Music (doesn't have fields like microphone, rectype, etc), or Dialog(has iXML field recorder fields like tape, tape speed, time code format). If you are connected to a Soundminer Server, you may also have the option to create a Server database (provided those permissions were granted to you.) Once you hit OK, the database as you have named it will appear in the database selector of the Toolbar/Find section. You can have as many databases as you want, and you can switch between databases by clicking on the pull-down menu in the database selector(quick key commands cmd+number).

Database selector

To add items to any database, select the database first, then find individual files, folders or volumes of sound files and drag-and-drop them onto the Soundminer waveform pane or the main returns pane.

Once you drag-and-drop onto the Soundminer, it will begin scanning the audio files to read in any accessible metadata. When complete, hit ‘cmd-J’ to FIND ALL and your browser will show the records collected and if the files contained metadata, the default fields will be filled. If you are adding a lot of records, this could take some time, be patient. For example, 50,000 records on a G4/1 gig power pc can take an hour to scan. The speed of your computer and the speed of the access to the files determines how fast you can scan files. Scanning over 100bT network is going to be slow.

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SoundminerV4 supports multiple file formats: Audio Interchange File format (AIFF & AIF), Microsoft Wave format (WAV) and it’s extension Broadcast Wave format (also WAV), compressed formats MP3 and AAC (mp4). Soundminer V4 will read multiple types of metadata.

You can add more files to an existing database by dragging and dropping more files onto the browser with that database selected. You can delete unwanted records by selecting them, right-clicking to expose the contextual menu and selecting REMOVE. This will remove them only from the database and your original sound files will not be removed from your hard drive. There is also a contextual control/right-click option that allow you to completely delete from the hard drive. Be careful. You can delete entire databases or all records in the database by using those options in the Database menu.

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Auditioning

You can add a transport button to your toolbar if you like in Soundminer, but auditioning is simply controlled by certain keys: The spacebar acts as a Play/Pause toggle. The ESC key will fully stop the playback and return will begin playback from the top or your IN point if an edit has been made. A few quick keys include:

• You can fast forward/rewind while a sound is playing by using the left/right arrow keys.

• You can drag across the waveform to select a section for transfer.

• The "," and the "." act as focus locators for the in/out points respectively.

• You can zoom the waveform by simply using your wheelmouse scroll.

• RETURN plays from the in point and stops at the out point;

• The spacebar is a play/pause toggle;

• ESC is stop and SHIFT-spacebar will lock playback. In other words, it will play automatically as you select items in the Browser. ESC stops this as well.

Monitoring and Rewire

By default, Soundminer will play out of your Macintosh built-in audio output. If you have Coreaudio supported hardware, Soundminer’s audio output can be routed via the sound Control Preference. Make sure the core audio interface is set to 44khz or 48khz for auditioning(higher resolutions are supported but computer speeds and buffers need to meet certain requirements). The one known exception is Digidesign hardware which cannot be accessed when Pro Tools is running. In response to this change, Soundminer developed a Rewire based connection option. When Pro Tools is running, playback via the Digidesign hardware is only possible through Rewire as Pro Tools does not allow sharing of the hardware. Make sure your sound control preferences are set to ‘Built-in’. Do the same in your Audio/Midi Utility application(Application/Utilities). As a final preparation, make sure your DAE H/W buffer is set to a size compatible with the speed of your computer – the faster the computer, the smaller you can make the buffer size (accessible in your Pro Tools playback engine menu). REWIRE – There is a specific installer for this version. You must never use an installer or bundle from any other version. The programme will attempt to install the necessary components when it senses they are missing. You will need your username and password in order to install Rewire. The programme will install it in the pictured directory below:

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Each version has a very specific sm4rewire bundle. Do not mix them up. Assuming you have checked to make sure all the correct elements are in place, you can then launch Pro Tools. The DAW host(Pro Tools in this case) must be launched first. You must then open a track (AUX) in Pro Tools and insert the Soundminer Engine from your multi-channel RTAS instrument plug-in options.

Assign the Soundminer Left/Right outputs to your channel/Aux and route that Channel/Aux to an available hardware output(V4pro will have multi-channel options enabled via multiple plug-in instantiation).

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Then launch Soundminer. If connection has been successful, you will be notified and your rewire connection automatically turned on(toggle on/off is at the bottom left of the v4 interface).

In Soundminer, the toggle on/off is now active:

** Rewire is a third party standard created by Propellerheads (makers of Reason). It requires a rewire host (Pro Tools) and a rewire slave(Soundminer). As a slave we have limited control over the connection. V4pro has multi-channel Rewire operation, linked playback and transport control(not yet enabled). V4 has basic two channel stereo rewire only. Use of Rewire for other applications is for the most part similar. Host must always be launched first and quit last. Digidesign Pro Tools installs the necessary RTAS plug-in that allows the host bundle to connect to our slave bundle. If you need to access the Rewire host bundle, go directly to Propellerheads(makers of Rewire). Basic Searching

Soundminer offers several ways to search for material. Not all search methodologies are the same and some are better suited for certain operations. The differences are explained in the advanced search topics section of the manual. Review that section to make the most use of Soundminer’s many search options. At its most basic level, inputting any criteria in the FIND field will yield search results. Enter the search string by clicking to the immediate right of the FIND or using the focus key F and type in your descriptors. To find all records type the shortcut key CMD-J. The search operation of SoundminerV4 is actually much more powerful than this and is explained below.

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FIND field

Soundminer supports many search methodologies:

Full Boolean search commands (any combination of ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘not’ as in the above picture) are supported. Boolean search routines are employed in the main find string. These differ from iterative search routines as explained in the advanced search topics section. The above example tells the search engine to look for ‘wind’ but make sure that only gust or gusty or blowing wind returns and omit all instances of ‘window’. *In effect when using the main FIND box only and searches the full index content only. *For more details, see chapter 6. MetaBrowser - Select the MetaBrowser from your toolbar or from the Window menu. This will portion the top section of your browser to show various options:

The MetaBrowser is a very powerful original feature developed by Soundminer. The MetaBrowser is a portal that allows the user access to specialized ‘browsing’ of their assets. Summary allows a user to ‘browse’ records based on the content of the field selected. Click on ‘Summary’ and you will see a list of the available fields, then selecting a field will open up results in the next right pane until you find exactly what you are looking for. At any point, double clicking will fill your main browser with the content from that level of the MetaBrowser.

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‘Shared Favorites’ appear only on Server based systems and allow users to share their ‘favorite kits’ or collections. For example, ‘favourite footsteps’ or favourite Music selects for a Project. Others on the server system can see and use those selections. The ‘Virtual Browser’ quickly scours your drive for available sounds without having to make a database. It allows you to quickly browse any files or folders on your system without exiting to the Finder. And the ‘Field Tagger’(v4pro) an administrative tool that allows you to quickly add metadata to multiple selections. This is ideal for embedding and enriching your data when working with original material.

In addition, Soundminer V4 allows you to scan and ingest your Itunes playlists and if you have done so, those playlists will appear in the MetaBrowser.

Summary Searching/Viewing – When you click on the Right Pane to enable Summary Viewing you see an interactive page that shows you the content of a particular field while searching.

This is a very useful way to view and drill down your searches. You could ask the Summary pane to show you active libraries. In one glance you can see both returns as well as what libraries those returns come from:

In the above example we see both the individual returns as well as from which music libraries those returns come. The Summary page is an active link. If you quickly wanted to simply see only the returns from the

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“Primrose’ library you could click on the item in the Summary page and your browser returns would be updated. Locked off Searching – This feature makes the above options even more powerful. By doing a Find box search you can lock off return so that each subsequent input of criteria will search only inside those returns.

The lock can be part of your toolbar or it can also be seen in the lower left of the browser:

Soundminer defaults to auto-relocking after a search. This can be changed in the Preferences/Browser table options. Advanced Search also supports use of LOCK feature.

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Search Options in the Contextual Menus:

Find Same/Similar/Exclude Field is ability to look for keywords in a specific field(s) and with special limiters. For example look for ‘Rock’ in the Category field. This is an always active contextual option within the browser. Find Same – will find other items that have that exact same field content. Find Similar – will create a new query based on the words in that field and find others that contain one or more of those items. Exclude Field – will find files that do not have that same content.

In the picture on the left, are your contextual options(right-click/control-click) within the Browser(some specific to v4pro). Search in Field is ability to look for keywords in a specific field(s) and with special limiters. For example look for ‘Rock’ in the Category field. This is an always active contextual option within the browser. Control/Right-click on the field you want to search, select ‘Search in Field’ and you will get the window pictured below:

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Advanced Search (cmd-shift –F) – this allows you to do escaped non indexed searches by building your own query:

Apart from the above search methodologies, Soundminer V4 has an advanced 10,000-word thesaurus built-in. A search for ‘car’ will automatically search for ‘auto, automobile, automobiles’. V4/v4pro allows the Thesaurus to be turned on /off from the main EDIT menu. Only v4pro allows modification of the thesaurus by the user. This kind of search is ideally suited for those situations when you want to find something and you know the exact term or where to look and is NOT a ‘term’ as defined by the Boolean engine – ie. Looking for ‘sm2x_1’ in the filename. In addition, the FIND box caches a list of recent searches should you wish to revisit them:

And spelling can be set to ‘check as you type’ or the user can ask to verify spelling using Apple’s built-in dictionary. Customizing the Full Index Search Fields

This menu selects the fields that will be part of the full index used by the Boolean search engine. All robust database engines employ a full index to enable faster searches across specific fields. When optimized for Sound Effects, by default Soundminer V4 will search through, Filename, Pathname, Description, Category, Subcategory, FXName, ShortID, Show, and Library. If the Database has been optimized for Music, then it will by default search: Filename, Pathname, Description, Category, Subcategory, Library, TrackTitle, CDTitle, and Composer. When creating a Database for both, it searches: Filename, Pathname, Description, Category, Subcategory,

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FXName, ShortID, Show, Library, TrackTitle, CDTitle, and Composer. The full search index can be customized by visiting the DATABASE menu:

Select ‘Modify Search Indexes’ and check off the fields you want searched for the current database. You can have a different search preference for each database you have.

Once a change is made, you may be asked to wait while the database engine recalculates a new full index. Booelan searching is NOT ideal for searching exact non-word/phrase terms – ie when searching for ‘a1s2qqq’ in a filename. Iterative search routines are better suited for that like the Advanced search engine or the Search in Field option. See chapter 6 for more information.

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Basic Transfers Transfers fall into two categories: Application specific interfaces and Drag-and-Drop. The most common application specific transfers are those for Digidesign’s Pro Tools (batch load to region list and Spot to Timeline for example). This QuickStart will focus on using Pro Tools(although we support Nuendo 4, Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack Pro for application specific transfers). There are a number of rules imposed on all transfers from Pro Tools and it is imperative you follow them to assure proper transferring. Firstly, you must set up your Soundminer Transfer settings to match exactly the file format, sample rate and bit depth of your current Pro Tools session. You must ensure that Soundminer is set to deliver split files as Pro Tools will not accept interleaved file formats. And you must be aware that if you wish to reference originals in the transfer, those originals must match the current Pro Tools session exactly or Pro Tools will enforce a copy. To make that all very simple, Soundminer has a built-in PTSearch option that queries your system for the latest Pro Tools session and its session information:

If not already in your toolbar, select CUSTOMIZE and put it in toolbar or call it from the EDIT menu. When it finds the most recent ProTools session it brings up a dialog asking if you want to use this session. This will then change the transferfer path to the Audio Files folder of this session and set the samplerate/bitdepth/filetype from the session as well. If it finds a different session, re-save your open session and find again. When you hit OK, it will set your transfer parameters to the current session, thereby avoiding most user errors that come from forgetting to match Soundminer's transfer settings to the current Pro Tools session. *The same can be achieved by dragging and dropping the Pro Tools session icon onto the Soundminer Browser or the Soundminer icon on the Dock. Drag-and-Drop transfers mimic the Apple convention allowing one application to ‘move’ a file to another application. This is achieved in v4 by either cmd-dragging files from the browser to the target application or using the new SEND TO APP feature. The receiving application governs the rules of transfer, including any subsequent copies. Be aware that Drag-and-Drop transferring will by its design, in most cases, not transfer metadata and you cannot change the ensuing file name as the conversion is controlled by the receiving application.

***If your storage device does not support Apple’s spotlight, this feature will NOT work. You can, in those cases, drag and drop the Pro Tools session onto the V4 interface and it will read and set the parameters based on that session.

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Soundminer, however, has an added feature for drag and drop allowing for a ‘promised drag’. In the waveform overview, you will notice an icon:

This icon allows you to make a drag from the editor to any location forcing a copy of the edit currently made, with all the metadata and according to your Transfer preferences. I just want to work quick and don’t need to track my transfers!! OK, this is what we would recommend: Let’s assume we’re looking at a Pro Tools scenario. To work fast use the PTSearch tool to identify your current session and automatically set your transfer parameters. Make sure you select a file naming string that makes sense. If you don’t understand it, select the ‘filename’ option and see the file naming algorithm explained later in the manual when time permits. Then, find a sound(s) and hit S to spot it to the last saved cursor position or use the Cmd-B option to transfer it(them) to the region list in Pro tools. If you wish to use the toolbar instead of the quickeys, click and hold the Spot to Pro Tools icon and uncheck the cursor position option if you want to send just to the region list(otherwise it spots to your last cursor position).

You can also select multiples and spot them back-to-back or transfer them in batch to the region list without ever having to make a ‘bin’ or list or spot. Soundminer will auto-track those transfers in the default folder in the Spotting Pane, but you need not ever visit it if that is the way you wish to work. You have visual confirmation of the target directory for copied files in the lower left of the main interface window.

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TIP: Clicking the folder icon will allow you to easily change the path and control-clicking will reveal the path. I need to have more control over my transfers: Then you will want to open up and learn the Spotting Pane….. Firstly, the new spotting Pane is another V4 original and allows you incredible flexibility whether you simply want to work quickly without tracking your records or whether you wish to work and create complex organized ‘spots’ for a film. Batch Transfers from the Spotting Pane: In Soundminer, open up your Right Pane and select to view the Spotting sub-pane. Create a new folder by right clicking/control-clicking on the Spotting pane.

You can freely organize the folder structure in any way you see fit: You can create folders within folders and freely drag items from one folder to another. The Spotting Pane mimics the finder in almost everyway. To give your new folder a name Option-click on the folder or file:

To bring elements into the folder from your main browser, drag single or multiple files from your browser into the folder you want or use the quick key T and it wil lbe placed in the last selected folder:

A ‘ghost’ image of the records you select will appear as you move items from the browser to the spotting Pane. You will notice the application will let you know into which exact nest it will release the group as you drag the mouse.

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To view the contents of a folder click on the triangle icon to the left of the folder name:

Elements in green indicate that those files are pending transfer. After you have transferred an item it will turn red as in this case:

If you have not used the PTSearch option or are using a different workstation, visit the Transfer pane in your Preferences before transferring an item.

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Here you can set the conversion parameters necessary for the copied files(if copying) match your intended Pro Tools session. This is very important as Pro Tools, depending on the version, will exit when sent a file with mismatched sample rate, bit depth or file type. Also be aware that Soundminer version 4 has an advanced naming algorithm that allows you to name the copied file based on any metadata field and with several associated options. Read more on the naming options later on in the manual. This page also has specific Pro Tools options as well as ‘handle’ and VST tail options(V4pro). This is also detailed in the Advanced Topics section of the manual. To batch transfer a folder, first make sure you have set up your transfer parameters to match your intended Pro Tools session. Now back in the spotting panel select the folder you want transferred and right-click(Ctrl-click):

Set the folder’s transfer path – in other words, where you want the copied files to end up if different than the currently selected Pro Tools session Audio Files folder. After setting the transfer path you can select ‘Transfer Folder’ from the same contextual menu. This will begin the transfer based on the setting you have made

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While in the main window, you can also hit the focus key T for tag or use the right-click/control-click sub-menu to tag the item. This will add the item(s) to the selected folder in your spotting pane(the folder last selected). You can collect sounds, complete with edits and pitch settings and batch transfer the entire folder quickly in the spotting panel. Provided you have made a proper folder, you can go directly into Pro Tools from the main Soundminer Browser by using the cmd-B key (transfers the current file or selection of files) or using the spot to Timeline feature(focus key S). Spot to Timeline - While in Pro Tools, park you cursor on a track and at a location where you want a file to be spotted. In addition, note that by making a selection across time, Soundminer can truncate to fit that selection as well. (Version 4 is designed for Pro Tools 7 and higher although spotting is supported as far back as version 5 with Soundminer 2.31 and 3.0+).

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Go into Soundminer, find a file you want to Spot and, if you wish, make an edit right from the Browser by dragging across the section you want transferred. Hitting the "Pro Tools" icon in the Toolbar will park the sound at the last cursor position in Pro Tools. Alternatively, you can also use the focus key, "S" to spot a file from either the Browser or the Project Sub-Pane.

If you have used the selection (5.31 or above) method illustrated above the sound will be truncated to match you exact in and out points (provided you transferred enough of the file). Your sound file has filled the selection in Pro Tools. You can, of course, open the edit up if you had selected "SPOT AS REGION" while hitting the SPOT TO PRO TOOLS icon.

The process also sets the transferred flag to "on" in Soundminer, so you can track which sounds have been spotted from your Project sub-pane (they turn RED when transferred). Soundminer 4 tracks both batch transfers as well as Spot transfers. And remember, if you are transferring in BWAV or AIFF format, you can copy over relevant information from the metadata into the BWAV description container which is visible as the "File Comment" in Pro tools 7 DigiBase.

NOTE - Soundminer will automatically transfer only the selection you have made unless you have the SPOT AS REGION box checked. With that box checked, Soundminer will transfer the whole file but make a region from the in/out selection you have made. This process will automatically capture that file and move it to the current BIN and set the transfer flag to "on." You can alternatively make the edits in the Project Pane. As well, you can name the new Pro Tools region you have just created as well as add other project related information to the transfer. Be careful to select the right stream - if you have placed your cursor on a stereo track, make sure you have selected a stereo stream. If you have placed your cursor on a mono track, make sure you have selected "Mono" option in the Browser. V4 will spot a stereo file to two adjacent mono tracks, but you must uncheck 'Spot to Stereo Stream' in the Transfer preferences of Soundminer. And finally, if you have placed your cursor on a multi-channel track, make sure the file you have selected matches the channel number. Make sure your Soundminer transfer parameters (bit depth/Sampling rate/file type) match your Pro Tools session parameters. If not Pro tools will enforce its own copy and the spotting routine will fail.

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Failures in transfers in a majority of cases are a consequence of user error. Please make sure you follow the rules of transfer when working with Pro Tools. Visit the HELP site for the most common mistakes. To find out about Soundminer’s more advanced transferring options see the Transferring section of this manual. With Pro Tools 7 and higher, a user can also use the Drag-and-Drop method. Select a record or series of records in Soundminer and simply drag them with your mouse directly into the Pro Tools timeline or Workspace/Project Browser. Copies will automatically be made by Pro Tools if the original format differs from the session set up. Be aware that Pro Tools strips out all metadata except for the Broadcast WAVE BEXT containers when using this method. The SEND TO APP does the same thing without you having to drag. **Spot Multiples - You should be able to select a bunch of un-transferred sound files in the spotting panel and then hit 'S', click on the Spot to ProTools icon or right click and select ‘spot selection’. In your transfer options you can also determine the spacing between multiple back-to-back spots.

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NOTE – DBL-Clicking on the icon for the file in the spotting Panel will initiate playback and show the file in the waveform viewer. All your settings - pitch and tag edit information - are stored in the Spotting Panel

***There are two known issues with PT7.3/4 that users should be aware of. There is a special Quicktime movie that explains common user errors with PT7 on the user ftp site:

1. ANNO chunk incompatibility – we print metadata to this chunk which now conflicts with PT7.3. This causes PT7 to lose its unique ID for those files. After a session is saved and re-opened PT7.3 will ask you to manually find the files. To avoid this incompatibility, use Broadcast wave files instead of AIFF. We are working with Digi to get to the root of the problem and if there is no resolve we will turn off writing metadata in aiff files destined for Pro Tools.

2. Ghost files when a user makes a selection in the PT7.3/4 timeline then tries to spot multiple files. Digidesign is aware of the issue and intends on fixing it. However, as a work around, we have recently added a preference that will ZERO the selection before transferring multiple spotted files. Make sure that is on.

3. Elastic Audio is NOT compatible with third party transfers. Elastic Audio features must be disabled in your session to transfer from Soundminer.

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Nuendo users – the process is exactly the same. Nuendo can accept either split or stereo interleaved file formats and if sent the incorrect format, Nuendo will prompt you and ask if you wish to have Nuendo re-convert the files. Nuendo 4 uses a different paradigm and version 0.121 and higher should better deal with this change. ***CHG in 0.121 and later - Nuendo behavior when spotting vs. bring into. Spotting uses the Nuendo Spot API like before. Bring into(cmd-b) will either copy convert or reference original(depending on your preference) and then send reference to the files in. Nuendo will then prompt you whether you want it to handle the conversions. This is more like old v3 behavior. Reference Originals – this option allows a user to simply move a file’s pointer into a session without copying. The files have to be in a format matching the current session or copies will be enforced. With newer version of Pro Tools a user can have mixed format and Sample attributes. Appropriate preferences have been added to account for this:

With Pro Tools 7, a user has many more options. It is imperative you understand the preferences to get the desired effect when referencing. *Pro Tools Transfer rules when referencing:

• Will not allow network transfers(unless on a Pro Tools legal drive). • Must be same filetype/bitdepth/samplerate as preferences. • Must be split. • Pitch must be 100%, • mono sum must be off, • no VST plugins, otherwise it converts. • Reference originals cannot have illegal characters. Illegals are listed in

the the HELP menu. • SEND TO or Drag and drop transfers cannot change the file name so it

must not contain an illegal character or Pro Tools may crash. • There is a special quicktime movie that explains common user errors

with PT7 on the user ftp site.

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4. Customizing Soundminer Sorting

This section of the SoundminerV4 browser shows the records in the database that match the current search criteria. The records are divided into columns, which represent ‘fields’ in the database. The name of the field is at the top of the column and is called the column header. You can sort the records within a field by clicking on the column header.

Returns sorted by Time This shows that the columns are sorted by Time in ascending order. If you click on the same column header again the returns will reverse their sort order. You can clear the sort order in the EDIT Menu. *Pre-sorting all your database will slow down searching. Make sure you clear your sort order before doing a search. **Clicking on column toggles sort order to asc/desc/clear Selecting Records

All actions in Soundminer V4 operate on the currently selected records unless otherwise noted. To select a record from the returns click on it with the mouse pointer or use the up/down arrows to maneuver through your returns. By default, when a record is selected it will be displayed in the Waveform section. If you hold down the SHIFT key while clicking on a record then all records between that record and the last one selected will now be selected. Holding down SHIFT and CMD will allow you to select multiples discontinuously. The up and down cursor keys will select the one previous or next record respectively. Using the Checkmark System

If you need to mark records in a more persistent way you can engage the checkmark system in V4. This can be turned on in the Preference window under ‘Browser Table.’

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Once engaged, you will notice the checkmark column appears in the far left part of your browser. You can checkmark a record by using the CheckMark menu option or the shortcut key H. With this option engaged, SHIFT and SHIFT-CMD selections will automatically toggle the check on/off. If you have highlighted records spread throughout your database you may easily view them all with the menu option Show Checked(you can expose this in the toolbar by using the checkmark Tool)

In addition, checkmarks can be accessed directly in the Browser. Clicking on the checkmark column will bring back checked files and option-clicking on the same will allow you to clear the checkmarks.

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Contextual Menu Options in Browser

• Embed Browsed/Selected Records – allow users to store the metadata

changes made in the browser into the files(permission to the file is necessary for this)

• Rescan selected – if updates to the metadata were made in MetaEdit, this feature allows you to update the selected files.

• Reveal Selected – This option brings you to the Finder and displays the selected files and their position.

• Relink Selected – This will allow you to have Soundminer update the new position of a moved file.

• Tag Selected – will add the selected file(s) to the current folder in the Spotting Pane. This is also achieved with the focus key T.

• Spot Selected – Will Transfer the sound effect to your DAW and place it at the last saved cursor position. This applies only to those applications supported for Application specific transferring. – same as using toolbar icon or quickey ‘S’.

• Search in Field – allows you to do a non Boolean search inside a specific field. The user must engage the contextual menu in the desired field column.

• Paste in Field(v4pro) – allows you to take clipboard contents and paste data into a specific field.

• Assign Artwork to Selection(v4pro) – allows user to attached artwork to selected files – embedding allows that artwork to be stored as part of the metadata.

• Edit Field – Allows user to change the field value of one or more selected files. When a user clicks on the contextual menu in the desired column.

• Field Build(v4pro) – allows metadata modification by building content from existing fields.

• Find and Replace(v4pro) – allow users to modify metadata on selected files by finding a term and replacing it with another. The menu allows user to preview before committing.

• Edit Metadata – cmd-I – allow access to the Detail info window. Here you can view multiple fields on many records and make broad changes which include access to the Admin window(v4pro only).

You can perform operations on single and multiple records by first selecting them and then right clicking/control-clicking on those records. This will display the following contextual menu- options will vary between v4 and v4pro.

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• Find Same Field – will find all other records that exactly match the selected field column’s criteria.

• Exclude Same field – will do the opposite of the above. • Find Similar - will engage a search by using the criteria in the selected

column to search. Searches on all words in a field. (an "or" search with each word)

• Rebuild Overview – will attempt to rewrite a new updated waveform overview for the selected files. This only applies to AIFF and WAVE files (BWF included). Rebuilding Mp3 file overviews are not supported as yet.

• Remove Record – Will remove the record from the database but will NOT remove it from the drive.

• Delete Record – Will remove the record from the database AND the hard drive.

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Adjusting the column/pane layout

*Note – available field choices will be determined by what type of Database you have chosen – Sound Effect, Music or Dialog.

The Browser can be set to show any combination of fields from the Soundminer master field selector. Those fields currently being viewed will have checkmarks beside them when you click on the ColumnView Popup(in your Toolbar).

You can add a new column to the display by clicking on the column view popup, displaying the full list and clicking the desired field to display. Similarly, to remove a field, uncheck it in the same popup list by clicking again. The fields can be viewed using the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the returns.

And you can easily move columns around by clicking on the headers and dragging them into the position you want.

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Dragging out the Right Pane

Enlarging the Waveform Display An alternate method to select you columns is to use the menu option:

Each of the three main panes can be adjusted in size by just dragging them in the direction you wish. For example you can make the Waveform pane as large as you wish (but you take away space for the Return and Right Panes. In addition, The Right Pane can be closed completed.

This options allows you to check off multiples if making more drastic changes to your viewing options.

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Customizing Field Display in Metadata Window

Your right pane will display the Metadata Window by default:

What is displayed in this window is determined by which type of Database is created. When you select a database optimized for ‘Music’ you will have non relevant fields removed. Similarly selecting Sound Effects as your desired Database type, fields like ‘Composer, Publisher, TrackTitle and Featured Instrument’ will be removed. Even is you select a database that has all fields, the user can still determine which fields will appear in the Metadata side panel. In the preference window, select Side Panel:

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You can check off which fields you want active in the window by checking the desired fields. Window Sets

It is possible to store up to five different window sets per profile. Window Sets in this version control the column content, colour and font preferences. Familiarize yourself with the above section (Adjusting your Columns and Panes) to select or modify your viewable columns and panes. Once modified, that particular set of columns/panes and their widths can be stored in one of the five window sets. To store a Window Set, option-click one of the five Window Set buttons in the Browser or use the Layout Menu.

As a default you will see Filename, Description, Source, Time and Channels in your main view. You can, however, easily set up a one button recall of Reel, Scene, Scene Description, Description, Destination filename, Time and Channels and apply it to your view. Or, if you find yourself editing music, you can recall Filename, Description, composer, BPM and Time with one button ease. Up to five different window sets can be set up per user profile.

Soundminer now intelligently caches all the possible permutations of your window sets and allows you to switch windows without resetting the Browser. However, there is a slight speed hit to do this. If you wish to speed up the Browser, then limit your window sets to fewer options and fields.

NOTE: Option 1-5 stores window set and the numbers 1-5 recall them.

Colours are NOT stored in these windows sets. Colour is a global parameter.

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The Waveform Section

When a record is selected it will appear in the waveform section as a graphical representation of the sound.

Located at the bottom of the interface, the Waveform Section contains current playback position, in and out edit points and duration counters, a graphical representation of the sound file and if enabled, artwork assigned to that sound by the originator(if present – right side of waveform can be peeled left to expose). If you have made a selection by dragging across the waveform it will be highlighted as shown above. You may zoom in or out (horizontally) on the waveform by using the mouse wheel(if your mouse has such) or the slider in the lower right. In/Out edit points can easily be refined by moving the respective in/out markers(green triangles) in the overview. The CHASE option(bottom right) allows you to have your waveform overview react like a ‘playback head’ when zoomed tight on a file. In other words, it will scroll across the waveform in real time but keep the playback head centered. Volume fader only affects monitoring, pitch fader can be applied on transfer and Loop button is active just above the waveform. SPACEBAR/RETURN quickly allows you to play from your IN to your OUT point and your current playback position is what is centered when zooming. If stopped without a selection, the right arrow key will begin playback as well. In addition, with an region made, clicking outside of a region selection removes the selection. With a selection made, spacebar will only play the selection. Space bar toggle will re-cue the selection on play and clicking in the region will start playback from that point. If no overview appears it is most likely that your file has none built. You can build single/multiple overviews by selecting the files you wish to rebuild and using the contextual(right-click/ctrl-click) sub menu in the Returns Pane:

NOTE. If no overview is found V4 will display a flat line that will still allow random access across the file. If files still fail to build, the chunk may be corrupt. Try embedding first to fix and then rebuilding and re-embedding. This requires read/write permission to the file.

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To the left of the waveform there is an icon that will also rebuild the overview of the currently selected file(yellow diamond) and a slider that alters the vertical amplitude of the file. Clicking on the transfer path icon allows you to quickly change the target directory for transferred files.

Any region selected can be looped by clicking on the LOOP toggle just above the waveform. When bright as in the picture below, LOOP mode is ON. LOOP is active for VST plug-in preview as well.

Setting the In/Out points To set the region of the waveform marked by in/out points drag the mouse across the wave or hit I while the file is playing and O when you wish to set the out. The contextual options in the waveform display are not yet activated. To locate to the in/out use the comma and period keys respectively. Setting the Synchronization marker or Sync point(V4Pro) This is similar to setting the in/out points. Not yet enabled in the v4pro Playback/Pitch Playback is controlled with the spacebar. It will start and pause a file’s playback. ESC is a full stop. Alternatively double clicking will play and engaging the SKIP command (fast forward or rewind with the left/right arrows) will also engage play. Dragging the pitch fader to the left will varispeed (slow down) playback and dragging it right (increase speed) will varispeed playback up. Pitch can be controlled via the pitch slider on the interface or the ‘+/-‘ keys. Option-clicking will reset the pitch to unity.

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Return will play from in to out points and comma will locate to your IN and period will locate to your OUT marker. Volume affects monitoring only whether connected to Rewire or Coreaudio. Volume setting is remembered on re-launch. Customizing Colour and Appearance You can choose the window and text colour of most elements and the font of the returns in the Preference menu.

If you mess up and need to restore the colours or layout you can use the one of the Theme presets. You can customize the colour of any of the above items. Fonts The Browser Table will allow you to select and modify your font properties:

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Here one can change the row height, turn on word wrapping, select the font size and font type. Customizing the Toolbar

The top of the interface contains the ‘Toolbar’. Soundminer V4 allows you to customize the Toolbar. It can be customized by the user by selecting the ‘Customize’ icon:

When you select this, a window will drop down with the full compliment of options for your personalized Toolbar. For example, if you work with Nuendo as opposed to any other DAW, you can select that icon in your Toolbar and drag it directly in place. You can move the horizontal order around as you wish by dragging an icon around while in this mode.

NOTE: Spot to DAW icons will change automatically based on what programmes are running. SPOT TO DAW icon for example will change to a Pro Tools icon if it senses Pro Tools is running.

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Using Artwork

Soundminer V4 reads and displays artwork embedded in a file. If a file has no artwork you will see the default image:

In addition, you can portion a section from the bottom pane to show artwork:

And you can use the customize menu to show artwork in your toolbar:

Default image is not active. Ideal size for artwork is 250 x 250

pixels.

If a file has artwork embedded however, you will see it in the metadata window. The artwork here is active. This means that clicking it will fill the browser with the contents of that CD.

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And in addition, Soundminer can display all the unique artwork in the right pane by selecting the DISPLAY ALL ARTWORK IN METADATA PANEL. All unique artwork can be viewed by moving your mouse up/down until you find the artwork you want. Clicking it will fill the browser with the contents of that CD. You can even select to view the artwork in your browser from the preferences menu/Browser Table. Make sure you adjust the size of the columns to allow viewing of the artwork when turning this option on. In addition, you can select multiples continuously and

discontinuously from this page and return based on the selection. (V4pro only) To assign a jpg, gif, png or tiff to a file or selection of files, right-click after making the selection:

V4pro will ask you to find the file and it will then add it to the metadata of those files selected. You must however embed the files to store this change to the file. In addition, users can select records then toggle the right pane to the ARTWORK option and easily drag in images into the side panel to assign

artwork to the selection. To purge unused artwork, control/right click in the Artwork side panel.

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5. Database Maintenance Local single terminal systems can modify their databases as they wish. Server users must be given ‘librarian’ permission to alter anything on the Server. Creating Databases

Select Create New Database option in the Database file menu.

Selecting this option will bring up this window:

The system allows you to optimize your database for specific work. Selecting either Sound Effects or Music will reduce the number of available fields and thereby optimize your database and selection options. Selecting Dialog allows you access to iXML fields. After making the appropriate selection, give your database a name and hit OK.

It should then be active in the Database popup menu. If it is not selected, select it.

NOTE: If you are working on a Soundminer ServerX based system, the window will allow you to create a Server database (provided you have that permission). It is just as easy to create new or append files to ServerX databases and have them instantly visible to all others on the network. This checkbox will be grayed out if you have not logged into the Server or are on a local only single user system.

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Database Popup

Now go to your desktop and drag and drop anything onto the Waveform Overview pane or Browser. It can be any combination of files, folders or volumes.

Example of dragging and dropping a folder onto the Soundminer Overview.

Scanning is the process whereby Soundminer ingest all your file’s hard attributes (sample rate, bit depth, filename, etc.) as well as any metadata the file may contain. Selecting the proper metadata to scan will optimize your scan time. If you are scanning a lot of files, it can take some time, so be patient. 100,000 files on a reasonable new Mac can take about an hour to scan (depending on the depth of the metadata).

When Soundminer is scanning your files, you will see this window:

When complete, the scanner will disappear. At any point, you can hit command-period to exit the scanner. Soundminer will keep any records acquired up to that point. This process works for both the creation of new databases as well as appending to an existing. To speed up the process, the process does not bother checking for duplicates. If you need to do this, visit

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your preferences/Scanning. This will reduce the speed of your scanner as it has to double check against any previous records. Also be aware that files named the same but with different paths are considered different in the Soundminer paradigm.

When done, Soundminer will show you all the files it has just scanned. Each time you add to an existing database, Soundminer will show the files most recently scanned upon completion. Multiple databases can be added in this manner and they all appear in the Database popup menu. Simply selecting them activates the database.

Where are the Databases kept? – By default, single user/local databases are kept in your Application Support folder:

FREELANCE MODE – V4 products have the ability to automatically work off an attached drive so that no support documents are placed on the internal local hard drive. Put Soundminer on an attached drive and it'll make and use the contents of "Soundminer Support" on the top level of that drive if the ‘Allow Freelance mode’ preference is set in the Database menu. OR... Keep Soundminer in the Applications Folder and when launched it'll check mounted volumes for a top level folder called Soundminer Support, and if located will use the first one it finds for databases/preferences/spotting list. (As opposed to home/library/application support/soundminer)

Be aware large databases require some significant drive space locally. For example, a database with 50,000 records will require about 50 MBs of disk space. This will vary depending on the amount of metadata embedded in the files. If working with a Server database, the document is stored by the MySQL server remotely and local users do not have access to it except via Soundminer.

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What are Scanning preferences? - Scannng preferences are located in your Preferencemenu/Scanning

Quicktime Reference Files!. When scanning .mp3 /.mp4 files, if the file contains a dataref(a pointer to another file) it attempts to resolve it without user intervention. If it is unable to locate the source media, it doesn't get added to the database. These files can easily be created in Quicktime Player Pro by copying and pasting (multiple) audio tracks from one "movie" to another. You'll be left with a tiny file that represents those edits, but which the system thinks is an audio file. Appending more records to a Database

To add more records to an existing database, select the database from your Database popup:

Database Popup Now drag and drop and files, folders or volumes you wish to add to this database and Soundminer will begin scanning the files and adding them to the currently selected database. If you wish to check for duplicates, see the Preference menu. In the interest of time, by default, Soundminer will not add this process. It will increase scanning time significantly.

Since Soundminer has the ability to read in multiple types of metadata, it is important, if you wish to cut down your scan time, to only check off the metadata that applies to you. With uncompressed files(wav, aiff and sd2), Soundminer will look for and read and import, Soundminer’s metawrapper V4 and V3 versions, Broadcast Wave BEXT containers,id3 (AIFF Itunes), iXML, CartChunk, Finder comments, in that order automatically. With mp3/AAC files, Soundminer will look first for V4/V3 data, then read in the id3 tags. The mTools data is a separate check box. SD2 is a legacy file format. You cannot embed the new v4 fields into SD2 files.

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Deleting Records and Databases

To delete a database, select it from the Database popup. Go to the Database main menu and select Delete Database.

Main Database Menu To delete ALL records use that option from the same menu above. To delete multiple records from with a database, select the items you wish to delete either by using the search options or by selecting multiples (HOLD SHIFT for consecutive selections or CMD-SHIFT for discontinuous selection).

Now right-click on the selection and choose to remove the items. These operations will remove records from a Database. They will NOT remove them from your drive. If the user chooses DELETE SELECTED, both the record and the actual file will be removed from the hard drive. Be careful. *OMIT RECORD function – hit Delete key on records in browser but records are only temporarily removed from view. Page back and you’ll see them re-appear.

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Using the MetaTag Editor(V4Pro)

The MetaTag Editor is accessible from the WINDOWS menu. This window allows you to create a pop up list for any field making the work of adding metadata to files easier. Be aware Field names are CaSe SenSiTivE.

Use the ‘+/-“ buttons to add more Field name and associated Field Values for that field. You can import and export this work so you can share this with other Soundminer users. Server based systems store this data on the centralized server and all users see what the ‘librarian’ has set up. On local systems this information is stored on the local terminal. When you save, the

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metabrowser will use those values the next time you swap databases. To then use, select a file or series of files, then right click on the field you want to modify (obviously it has to be visible) and the contextual menu will give you access to the option ‘Edit Field for Selection’. The Metadata Field Edit window will appear and you will see your MetTag presets. Click the arrow button to the right and that preset will be applied to all the selected files.

TIP: A little hidden feature, if you want to add a lot of field values(say from a list that exists), copy this list(return separated) into the clipboard, switch to Soundminer, give the field value pane focus and paste...) You can also select multiple entries and click the '-' button to remove multiples. Another way to quickly add Metadata is to use the Field Tagger in the MetaBrowser. We have already discussed the Metabrwoser in the Quickstart. Select files call up the Field Tagger, browse into one of the available fields, double click the entry, and all selected items get that field value. Server Note: Listens to the user Permissions for server databases... For now Librarian group gets to see it and use it, Non librarians do not. Remember to embed the metadata back into the sound files using the debug menu!

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Text importing

The process of importing text first requires you to prepare a tab separated text sheet that has column headers that match the V4 field structure. The text sheet cannot have carriage returns or trailing white spaces. The column headers are case sensitive. Here’s is a proper layout example:

As a minimum, the text import must have a Filename column(used to link the data to an actual file on your drive), Description, Library and Manufacturer or Publisher. Note: Quicktime movie exists explaining how to best use this feature on User FTP site. To import a properly formatted text sheet, use the import text option in the DATABASE menu:

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Soundminer will then prompt you for your text file and re-warn you of the formatting requirements.

Once accepted it will prompt you to find the drive that contains the files so it can re-link them. When complete your database will be shown in the main browser and any errors will be listed in a log file printed in the same ocation as the application. *****Linking the data from text and the files in Soundminer does not mean those files have been embedded with the data. To do this you must engage the embedding process from the contextual menus. NOTE: Error log for Import text printed to /home/Library/Logs Import Encrypted text – from time to time and for 5.1 libraries we issue special text documents (like for Digital Juice SFX llibrary) that allows users to assign metadata to wave or aiff files from DVDs. You would use this menu option for those cases.

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IMPORT Itunes

Built into all V4 products is the ability import Apple’s Itunes Library and the playlists from the local computer. This feature is currently located in the DATABASE/Spotting Panel menu. Selecting it initiates the process which may take some time, so be patient. Once ingested, it will appear in your MetaBrowser/Spotting Panel :

Very large databases will take some time to import and the user must have access to those file paths to play them back. It is important to note that this process reads the local user’s Itunes profile in order to get this information. It is designed to be a ‘one time’ import of the current state of that user’s Itunes Library. *Using Itunes While Soundminer can import a user’s Itunes Library, the workflow is not designed to be bi-directional. Users should avoid using Itunes once they have transitioned to Soundminer. Also be aware that Itunes can and does change how it stores its data from version to version and as such, Itunes compatibility with Soundminer import function will also change. If you are an Itunes user, move your data into Soundminer and from that point on continue in Soundminer. If you use Itunes to digitize your commercial CDs, Soundminer can scan those files directly into a database as id3 tag information has most likely been embedded during the process. Avoid going back and forth between Itunes and Soundminer as that will make the workflow much more cumbersome and less efficient.

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Playlists

Soundminer allows you to create an unlimited number of lists(ie. ‘favourites’). Access to these lists is found in the lower portion of the Right pane:

If you have imported Itunes, your Itunes playlists will appear here as well. You can use the ‘+/-‘ icons on the page to create or delete any playlist:

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When you select ADD (+), you will be asked to name your playlist:

And when you press OK, it will appear in your list:

To add items to a playlist, drag them from the browser over to the intended playlist. You will see a ‘ghost image’ of the selection. Let it go when you have selected the desired playlist:

Clicking on the playlist name will fill the browser with those files only. To go back to your database, select your database from the Database toolbar and

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do a search or use the ‘cmd-J’ FIND ALL option to bring all records back. When the content of a playlist is selected the find features operate only on the currently selected playlist. Playlists in this mode become searchable. A profile can have unlimited playlists. The Admin window (v4pro only)

When a file(s) are selected in the Browser and a user goes to get the detail information window(cmd-I or contextual menu ‘Edit Metadata’), they can also open the Admin drawer to do expansive editing and modification of the selected file’s metadata. Copy, set, append, prepend, numeralize, titlecase and many other options exist in this drawer. In addition the user can advance through their selection by using the forward and backward arrow. This allows them to make specific changes to individual members of the selection. V4pro also supports advanced copy/paste functionality. See the Metadata primer section for more info.

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6. Advanced Search Topics There may be times when your database contains tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of records. Soundminer has a powerful mechanism to find the sounds you need in your large databases quickly. Before you learn the details of this mechanism, it would be useful to introduce a few basic concepts.

Search Field Explained

Not all searches are created equal! Searches in Soundminer V4 can be categorized into two types: indexed, and full text. To help speed up searches on large databases, some of the fields are optimized by a process called “indexing” and searches that are done within these fields will be very fast. Most search terms entered in the FIND box will tell Soundminer V4 to search predetermined fields that have been indexed. For all databases these fields are by default: Filename, Pathname, Category, Description, and Keywords. As noted previously, the fields searched can be modified by visiting the MODIFY SEARCH INDEX in the DATABASE MENU. When asking for searches in fields that are not optimized, Soundminer V4 will do a “full-text” search which is not as fast. The advanced search is an example of this latter method. The Thesaurus

*The current thesaurus in Soundminer is designed for sound effects work. If you are searching music files, disable the thesaurus in the EDIT menu. When you enter a simple search term in the FIND box (cat for example), SoundminerV4 will not only look for the literal word but it also look for other similar words such as cats, feline and kittens. This allows you to find sounds that may otherwise be overlooked. The built-in Soundminer Thesaurus has more than 10,000 words in its dictionary

Soundminer will, by default, use the thesaurus for every term you enter in the find box, but you may not always want this. If you need to disable the thesaurus for all terms then use the EDIT menu option and un-check the THESAURUS option. USER THESAURUS (V4Pro) – V4Pro has the option to customize the thesaurus to a user’s liking. The user thesaurus editor is accessible from the WINDOWS menu:

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Boolean Expressions

If you enter multiple terms in the FIND box, Soundminer will find records that match all criteria. For example if you search for ambience interior only those records that have both ambience and interior will be returned. If you want all records that contain either ambience, interior or both you can separate the terms with a comma as in ambience, interior. When Soundminer combines multiple terms they are called expressions, and the way it combines them is called operations. Here are more examples of compound expressions using operators: cat dog: Using the AND (+) operator, all records that contain both cat and dog will be returned. This is the implied operator when one is omitted, so this is the same as saying cat dog. cat , dog: Using the OR (,) operator, all record that contain either cat, dog, or both are returned.

By matching a term in the ‘Category Name’ Pane, the user is overriding the built in thesaurus and thus, customizing how the user wants an association to work. For example, if typing ‘hit’ brings back too many returns, the user can tighten the associations by creating their own more restrictive list. The ‘Terms’ refer to the synonyms to be grouped with the left pane Category name. To add CATEGORY NAMES and TERMS use the +/- keys at the bottom of each pane.

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cat - dog: using the NOT (-) operator, all records that contain cat and do not contain dog are returned. cat*: using the WILDCARD (*) symbol, all records that have terms that begin with c-a-t will be returned such as cat, catamaran and catastrophe. You will recall that the * by itself will return all records in a database. This is not an indexes search so it will be slower. Expressions can be grouped and combined with braces as in the following example: wind (gusty, blowing) -window: These records must contain wind and either gusty or blowing, but may not contain window. A note about NOT and the thesaurus You should be careful with the not operator when you have two terms that are synonyms. The expression: cat –feline will have no returns. The thesaurus will substitute the same terms for cat and feline, the NOT will cancel each out and you will end up with nothing matching. In this case you most likely meant to say: cat –”feline” To escape the parser and search for and exact term, put the term in double quotes – “feline” will not search for ’cat’ in the same way that “crow” will not stem out to ‘crowd’. *previous known issue with NOT searches has been ameliorated. Only first NOT search is slow. Subsequent NOT searches operate as designed.

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Search in Field

Sometimes you may want to look only in one field for a specific term. You can do this by right clicking on the column header and selecting the option SEARCH IN FIELD… from the context menu.

Type the search criteria in the new window. This will do a full text search for your expression but only for that field.

FIND SAME FIELD – is a contextual option to locate all the exact same entries matching that field. For example, you may see a ‘Category’ entry , ‘Ambience, Jungle’ and wish to bring back all entries that match this record. This contextual search option would quickly do this – the live links in the Metadata window also effectively do the same thing:

The live link will become brighter and clicking it will return all records that match that criteria.

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Advanced Search (cmd-shift-F).

A new search option has been added that allows you to create a search string much like using the Apple finder. You can create as many search criteria as you wish and find using very specific modifiers. This escapes the boolean parser and search options exist for:

What’s the difference between the main find box and the advanced search method? The standard FIND box was based on boolean full index searching and a SEARCH IN FIELD or ADVANCED SEARCH is based on an non indexed non boolean 'contains' search. These two routines are VERY different and if understood by the user can be advantageous depending on what they desire. The expectation should NOT be they would return the same thing. Here’s an example: A. When doing a search in the FIND box the engine looks in its full index for your entered criteria(remember a space acts as an AND, comma operates as an OR and a minus sign means NOT to the Boolean parser). A ‘Full index’ is used by all robust databases engines. This type of search routine pre-builds a specialized search field(full index) based on the search indexes the user has selected(see menu MODIFY SEARCH INDEXES). In this way, it can increase speed and efficiency. In Soundminer’s case, the engine applies its search by first going to the Thesaurus to do a lookup and stem of the words

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then applies that to the search indexes but does not do a 'Contains' search. It would only bring back records that begin with your search, its synonyms and stems and only within the full index fields. This is a more restricted search but more accurate and faster. B. Searching in the Advanced or Search in Field produces a query where the terms are searched iteratively in that single specified field or according to the query string created in the Advance Search window. The query looks for that term anywhere in the string - it could be at the beginning, end or in the middle of the word. This will no doubt produce many more returns but the process for finding is much slower. FOREIGN CHARACTERS It is important to note that the Boolean search routine is not completely Unicode friendly. This means searching for foreign characters is not possible. Only the iterative search methods allow this – ie. Search in field and Advanced Search. We are working on making the full Boolean parser Unicode safe, but in the meantime, we have added a special option in the advanced Search pane:

In Advanced Search window there is a new field at the end called "search_index" this will use the fulltext search index for LOCAL only databases. So if the fulltext search index includes, Filename, Description, Category, Source then you can search across all these fields using the ‘contains’

modifier (*) and/or enter in foreign characters. Iterative engines are much slower than Boolean engines by design.

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7. Summaries and the MetaBrowser Summary Searching

Your database will have fields that represent classifications of records, such as the field Category. Library, or Composer. Occasionally you will want to examine one of these fields to see all the different classification you have. That is where summaries are useful. For certain fields, the summary function will give you an overview of the values in that field. For other fields where the values are mostly unique (such as Description or Source) a summary is not useful and has been removed. There are two ways to see a ‘Summary’: using the right panel Summary or the MetaBrowser We will take a look at the latter in a moment. Below is an example of the Summary option in the Right Pane.

Summary Pane

In this example, we have selected to view CD Title. This will automatically build a list of all the CD Titles available to you. As you ‘mouse’ over each CD title, it will light up and clicking on it will bring back the contents of that CD. Similarly, if you wished to view all your Categories, you can select that from the popup and all your unique category definitions will appear. ‘n/a’ signified those records without content in this field. Selecting this option would allow you to see and possibly add CD Title information to those records.

This popup allows you to select from any of the over 50 Soundminer fields.

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Locked Searching

By default, Soundminer will display the LOCK icon in your toolbar. This tool allows a user to ‘lock off’ their returns so that subsequent searches only affect the current browser returns:

If you have the auto-lock option engaged from your Preference/Browser Table menu….

….All searches will auto-lock off the returns and allow you to drill down continunously, As well, you can use the BACK button to go back a step in the process. Any Soundminer field can be used but, as mentioned above, some are more useful than others – look through your composers or publisher, track title, CD titles, shorted, etc. The number in the lower left always tells you how many results you have.

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This would be useful in a drill-down approach. For example, you may wish to view all your “ROCK” categories. Then by visually seeing them, pick the ones you think apply to your needs. This will bring back many returns and you can apply a keyword to sift through those returns for the desired files. For example, after seeing that ROCK brought too many results, you can further refine yoru search with the Auto-Lock turned on, by simply typing another term, as in ‘HEAVY’ and the list will continue to get smaller as you add terms. Remember you can always step back in the process by using the BACK button.

MetaBrowser

This Soundminer original is a portal to powerful searching and management tools. The MetaBrowser can be access from your toolbar if you have the icon loaded or from the WINDOWS menu.

The MetaBrowser portions part of your Returns Pane but still gives you access to the returns. In this mode, the user has the ability to ‘browse’ the most pertinent fields in their database without using a standard keyword search. For example, you may wish to browse the CD titles available:

The series of expanding panes operates very much like the operating system and you can select multiple discontinuous entries in any pane. Hitting RETURN will bring back elements from your selection at that level.

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The Virtual Browser is a further extension of this concept that allows you to apply the same principles to any attached storage on your system. You can browse your desktop and drives without ever leaving Soundminer. Hitting return will make an instant RAM database of those files:

‘Shared Favorites’(v4pro with ServerXv4) appear only on Server based systems and allow users to share their project pulls or ‘favorite kits’ or collections. For example, ‘favourite footsteps’ or favourite Music selects for a Project or all the hard effects for a reel or scene. Others on the server system with permission can see and use those selections.

And the ‘Field Tagger’ (V4Pro) allows you to quickly add preset metadata to multiple selections. This is ideal for embedding and enriching your data when working with original material. To use this feature, first visit the MetaTag Editor to set up your values. The MetaTag Editor is accessible from the WINDOWS menu.

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This window allows you to create a pop up list for any field making the work of adding metadata to files easier. Be aware Field names are CaSe SenSiTivE.

Use the ‘+/-“ buttons to add more Field name and associated Field Values for that field. You can import and export this work so you can share this with other Soundminer users. Server based systems store this data on the centralized server and all users see what the ‘librarian’ has set up. On local systems this information is stored on the local terminal. When you save, the metabrowser will use those values the next time you swap databases. TIP: A little hidden feature, if you want to add a lot of field values(say from a list that exists), copy this list(return separated) into the clipboard, switch to Soundminer, give the field value pane focus and paste...) You can also select multiple entries and click the '-' button to remove multiples.

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Now with usable values in your MetaTag Editor you can use the Field Tagger. Find the files to which you wish to apply some batch metadata modification. Enable the MetaBrowser and select Field Tagger. I wish to apply the Category ‘Classical’ to all of these items. The field tagger will see my value list and when you hit RETURN that value will be applied to all selected files.

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8. Transferring Methodologies There are several modes for transferring within Soundminer. It is important to understand the differences. Dragging and Dropping

If you wish to use Soundminer with an Application that supports Drag and Drop, you will be able to drag directly from the Browser or the spotting Panel. The process is quite simple: Select the file or files you want and drag them into the intended interface. This uses the operating system protocols to allow transfers between applications. It is important to note that copies and conversions in this mode are governed by the receiving application. Therefore, Soundminer does not control the quality or type of conversion. It also means that metadata from the original file may be stripped out when copied by the target application(your originals will not be harmed). Since the receiving application is making the copies, it is important to note that Soundminer cannot alter the filename. Certain applications like Pro Tools respond very badly to being sent filenames will illegal characters. Be warned. Single Copy Edit

Soundminer has the ability to make edits on any of its files and provide a copy to a target using the Apple routine ‘promised drag’. At the top right of the waveform pane a ‘hand’ icon allows you to drag the current edit to a destination that supports the Apple ‘promised drag’ standard.

Not all applications support this from Apple. You may have to drag to a folder or your desktop first if your application does not support this. The resulting file is an edited copy of the original based on your in/out selection and converted using the preferences in your transfer pane. This method is useful when you wish to quickly make an edited copy to a target destination. Only the current file will be copied. You cannot batch transfer using this method.

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Send to DAW

This is a generic tool that is similar to Drag and Drop. Slightly more elegant, SEND TO recognizes supported applications and allows you to send a single or batch transfer pointer to the target application. Like Drag and drop, this method does not use the Soundminer conversion engine and all copies are governed by the receiving application.

Any of the currently running supported application will appear in the SEND TO DAW menu. Check off the desired target application to transfer files to that target and use the SEND TO tool(or use cmd-\). Soundminer will automatically perform a standard Apple routine and switch to the target application. This mode of transfer is useful in those cases where there is no direct software connectivity (eg. Digital Performer, Logic Pro, fission, Peak.)

Be aware that using this method does mean that Soundminer cannot alter the original file name or its properties. The target application does the conversion and hence, you MUST be careful not to send files with illegal attributes to Pro Tools. Pro Tools 7.3/7.4 will crash when sent files will illegal properties. Recognized applications: BIAS Peak, Digidesign Pro Tools 7, Steinberg Nuendo 3/4, MOTU Digital Performer, Rogue Amoeba Fission, Apple Soundtrack Pro,QuickTime Player, Logic Pro, iTunes, and Final Cut Pro

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Using Soundminer’s Advanced Conversion Engine

For specific applications that do provide specialized interfacing with Soundminer, there is the option to handle the entire transfer including the conversions. This allows the user a greater amount of power over the transfer and results. Soundminer V4 supports application specific transferring for Digidesign Pro Tools 7, Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Nuendo 4. Soundminer now detects these applications automatically when they are running. The user chooses the target from the DAW APP menu.

Transfers controlled by Soundminer are accomplished by either using the Spot to icon in the toolbar or the quick key S. Spotting is specifically designed to operate with for Pro Tools 7, but it also works with Nuendo 4 and has limited use in Soundtrack Pro/Final Cut Pro. The spot feature transfers the selected file(s) to the last saved cursor position on the timeline. The other method is the Bring into (cmd-B) feature which transfers file(s) to all supported applications by placing a copy in their audio regions list. Both Spot to And Bring into (cmd-B) use the Soundminer conversion engine and hence, the transfer pane is in effect. Soundminer strips out all illegal characters listed by Digidesign automatically if these are the chosen transfer methods(see the HELP menu for a list of illegal characters). The new Spot to DAW icon in the toolbar will visually change to show you the current selection. In other words, when Pro Tools is selected, the Spot To icon will change to show the Pro Tools logo.

It is important to become familiar with the Transfer pane I nthe Soundminer Preferences. There are several options that will affect your copies. Make sure you understand them (they are explained later in this chapter). Transfers can happen directly from the Browser without ever involving or creating any Projects. Alll that is necessary for successful transfers is an understanding of the Pro Tools Search tool(explained in the quickstart chapter), the Transfer pane and the tool and quick key icons.

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The Spotting Panel

The Spotting Panel was created For those who wish to create and use Project folders, The Soundminer Spotting Panel is an organizational system that manages transfers and keeps record of those transfers. Batch transfers and Spotting were covered in the Quickstart section(review these). And in this section we’ll cover some less used but important other features in the Spotting Panel.

The Spotting Panel was designed to aid users who wish to make more robust and persistent project based lists and edit decisions. By mimicking the operating system, a user can create their own hierarchy much like they could on any volume. The Spotting Pane contains a hierarchical finder system that lists your transfer candidates along with each candidates edit, varispeed, transfer destination and metadata information.

Once you create a folder, you can drag items directly from the Browser into the desired folder. Or you can use the quick key T to tag items as you find them in the currently selected folder. NOTE: When tagging(command T or t) can optionally check selected items in spotting panel to make sure it hasn't been tagged before. Preference to toggle on / off is in the spotting panel drop down menu. Brings up warning dialog when the file has been previously tagged(with optional do not show again)

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More Details: If a file is selected in the spotting panel it checks every one of it's siblings(meaning everything else in that folder), if a folder is selected it checks everything in that folder(including nested folders). Supports multiple selections[If you select multiple items and Command T, it'll check that the file isn't in those folders as it tags]

As well, you can tell Soundminer to ‘respect’ the folder structure when transferring. In other words, it will transfer and create all the same nesting you have in your spotting Panel.

With this engaged, all your subfolders will be created beginning from your initial Transfer path selection. The spotting panel will also import a folder

You can widen the Spotting Pane to see extra information and you can decide to view specialized Project level data (V4Pro only) by checking off the desired metadata columns in the spotting pane. The Soundminer spotting system mimics the operating system in all ways. You can freely create any level of folder hierarchies and freely move elements from one folder to another.

Archive spots – allows you to save your project complete with nested folders and edits. Restore spots – allows you to recall archived spots. *both count on being able to resolve the original file paths.

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structure from the Finder. For example, if you already have created your folders on your drive, instead of re-creating them, you can just drag and drop the top most folder onto the Spotting panel and SMV4 will read and re-create your folder nesting as in the example below:

You should be able to select a bunch of un-transferred sound files in the spotting panel and then hit 'S', click on the Spot to DAW icon or right click...spot selection. Clicking on the icon for the file in the spotting Panel will initiate playback. command-clicking will allow you to rename the file. The Spotting Panel can also be sorted with the contextual menu (right click in spotting panel).

The options here(V4pro) are for the most part self-explanatory. Files whose flag have been set to ‘transferred’ can be set back. If on a Server system, project folders can be shared with other v4pro clients on the same server system, you can quickly view the contents of your project in the Browser and toggle back.

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The TXFR STATE checkbox allows a user to globally change the transfer flags in any given folder. Note:Supernotes move to Notes when moved swapped to database view (for embedding reasons). Batch Transferring Direct from Browser vs. Projects

Soundminer V4 is capable of transferring right from the Returns Pane and bypassing any Project setup(provided you have set up your transfer parameters correctly). In other words, you can simply find some files, select the ones you want and hit cmb-B to bring them into your Pro Tools region list/Nuendo Pool OR hit S to spot them one after the other on the last saved cursor position in Pro Tools or Nuendo (transfer parameters even allow you to specify the offset between multiples) or drag and drop them right from the Returns Pane into another application(conversion in this last case is governed by the receiving application). And alternatively, you can create more persistent project folders and an organizational structure and transfer pre-selected batches with edits using the new Spotting Panel. This method allows you to track and organize your work and is probably better suited for large projects. Example 1 – sending multiples directly from the Returns Pane using the application specific cmd-B (Application specific transfers only). Set up your transfer parameters to exactly match your intended target application or, if using Pro Tools use the PTSearch tool or drag and drop your Pro Tools session document onto Soundminer’s Browser. It is imperative with Pro Tools especially to match bit depth, sample rate and file type. Transfer settings are found in the Preference window/Transfers:

Here you can set the file type, bit depth, sample rate, intended target path for any converted files, whether to use extensions or not, interleaved or split formatting(Pro Tools requires split!!!), stereo or mono track designation, filename limits, modifying TAGs or prefixes, filenaming preferences and spotting offset if placing multiple files back-to-back on a track.

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Once you have set all the parameters to match your target application, return to the main window and starting searching. Use all the advanced search techniques to find what you want. As an added benefit, you can turn

on ‘Checkmarking’ :

If it is on your toolbar you can turn it on there or you can turn it on by visiting your Preferences/Browser Tables.

In the Preferences/Transfer Pane you will see these options:

As you find files you may want you can ‘checkmark’ them and even when switching databases you can keep a running list.

You can ask the interface to just show ‘checkmarked’ files if you like and you can transfer all checkmark instantly using the cmd-b quick key or the spot command.

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Example 2 – collecting sounds into a project and then transferring from the spotting Panel.

In Soundminer, open up your Right Pane and select to view the Spotting sub-pane. Create a new folder by right clicking/control-clicking on the Spotting panel: You can freely organize the folder structure in any way you see fit: You can create folders within

folders and freely drag items from one folder to another. The Spotting Pane mimics the finder in almost everyway and you can also enforce transfers to respect that organization upon transfer. To give your new folder a name Option-click on the folder:

To bring elements into the folder from your main browser, drag single or multiple files from your browser into the folder you want:

A ‘ghost’ image of the records you select will appear as you move items from the browser to the spotting Pane or use the quick key T to ‘tag’ them into the currently selected folder. You will notice the application will let you know into which exact nest it will release the group as you drag the mouse.

You can make edit decisions right in the Browser and tag those decisions into your ongoing project:

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While in the main window, you can also hit the focus key T for tag or use the right-click/control-click sub-menu to tag the item. This will add the item(s) to the selected folder in your spotting pane(the folder last selected). You can collect sounds, complete with edits and pitch settings and batch transfer the entire folder quickly in the spotting panel. To view the contents of a folder(s) click on the triangle icon to the left of the folder name : Elements in green indicate that those files are pending transfer.

After you have transferred an item it will turn red as in this case:

Also note that the spotting Panel has a mixed mode status flag at the bottom. Anything selected can be quickly reset in case you wish to engage/clear the transfer flags. If a folder has some files listed as transferred and some as pending, the transfer flag will have a straight line through it. Files can be set to green/red from the contextual menu as well.

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To play a file in the Spotting Panel dbl-click on the icon or use the spacebar/transport options like in the Browser. The waveform display will fill with the item and recall the edit and pitch settings you had made. Select the folder you want transferred and right-click(Ctrl-click):

Set the folder’s transfer path – in other words, where you want the copied files to end up. If you have used the PTsearch tool or have dragged and dropped the current Pro Tools session onto soundminer, this would have been automatically set to that session’s Audio Files folder. After setting the transfer path you can select ‘Transfer Folder’ from the same contextual menu. This will begin the transfer based on the setting you have made. Alternatively, you can also use the Transfer Folder button in the spotting Panel:

The contextual menu (control/right-click in the spotting panel) has several options that allow you to sort your spotting panel folders, rename folders or files (Edit), save(archive) spots, recall (restore) spots, transfer, spot to timeline and if on Soundminer Server, folders can be shared online provided user has permissions by using the SHARE FOLDER option in this menu.

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Spotting into the timeline in Pro Tools

Available to DAWs supported for application specific transfers, spotting allows you to make an edit to a file and transfer it directly to the timeline of your current DAW session. We’ll use Pro Tools as an example. Engage the PTsearch tool to set your parameters for transfer or drag and drop your Pro Tools session file onto the dock or the v4 Browser. Confirm the target destination. While in Pro Tools, park you cursor on a track and at a location where you want a file to be spotted.

Make sure to select the appropriate track type (mon, stereo, multi–channel). Go into Soundminer, find a file you want to Spot and make any editorial changes you want. Now hit the focus key S or click on the ‘Spot to DAW’ icon in your toolbar. If you have set up your transfer parameters correctly, the file will be copied to the destination path and spotted right on the timeline at the location you selected:

Soundminer will automatically transfer only the selection you have made unless you have engaged the ‘Handles’ option (V4Pro)in the transfer preferences. To spot the whole file and use edit as a Region is accomplished via the ‘Spot as Region’ option in the lower portion of the interface:

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All transfers are tracked by the programme – by default you must have one folder set up in the spotting panel. Soundminer creates that default when it first launches. If you make multiple selections, Soundminer will spot the files one after the other beginning from your Pro tools cursor position. Using Mono or Mono tracks

When spotting, be careful to select the right stream - if you have placed your cursor on a stereo track, make sure you have selected a stereo sound. Similarly if you wish to transfer to two or more adjacent mono tracks, check the ‘Pro Tools uses mono tracks’ option in the Preference/Transfers page.

If you have placed your cursor on a mono track, make sure you have selected "Mono" option in the Toolbar or ‘lit’ the mono option above the waveform:

With this checked, Soundminer will sum a file to mono even though the original is stereo. And finally, if you have placed your cursor on a multi-channel track, make sure the file you have selected matches the channel number. And as noted before, you can make multiple selection and they will be spotted one after the other beginning at the cursor position. The Transfer window allows you even to specify the space or ‘offset’ between each item spotted(V4Pro):

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Special note regarding Pro tools 7 Pro Tools Version 7.0 had ‘bug’ that impeded spotting. It was fixed in: Pro Tools HD 7.1 cs6, Pro Tools LE 7.0 cs6, and Pro Tools LE 7.1. In 7.3 and 7.4 there is a Pro Tools bug when a selection is made in the timeline and multiple files are transferred in – use the ZERO pro Tools new preference in V4 to circumvent that bug in Pro Tools. In 7.4 do not enable Elastic Audio. Always visit the Bulletins page of the web site to get the latest user information.

The above settings are the standard settings for work with Pro Tools. Pro Tools requires split files to be sent. Make sure you have the ‘Zero Pro Tools’ option checked to workaround a bug in 7.3/7.4. If transferring to separate mono tracks in Pro Tools, make sure you select ‘Pro Tools uses mono tracks’. If you do not wish to copy files and all your files are already in the split format and at the same sample rate/bit depth/format as the Pro Tools session you are working on, then you can select ‘Reference original if possible’. Soundminer will auto copy any file that does not match the target parameters and enforce strict file type and Sample attribute checks if you wish. *Special note regarding Soundtrack Pro. Soundtrack Pro doesn't support spotting in regions, or spotting multiple sounds to a track head to tail. So really it's find a sound and spot a sound to the timeline. STP also doesn't like split stereo files, so clicking on the Spot STP icon in the toolbar will enforce interleaved conversions.

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*Special note regarding Final Cut Pro - ‘Send to’ Final Cut Pro works with browser records. Select multiple and click the ‘Send To’ toolbar icon(must first select FCP as your target Send to APP in the main menu), it'll either reference original or copy/convert to the transfer path and open up in Final Cut. Currently Description goes into description, scene=scene, shot=shottake,notes,=lognote, publisher=mastercomment1, composer=mastercomment2, DigiDelivery Option

Soundminer V4 has the ability to communicate directly with the Digidesign DigiDelivery system. In the same way one would use the batch transfer process to transfer to a drive, the folder in the spotting Panel can be directed to a DigiDelivery appliance. The contextual menu offers this option:

Soundminer will connect to the appliance and auto-launch the Digidelivery application and prepare the folder and its contents for the DigiDelivery system. A user can preset their preferred appliance information in the Preference panel:

Beta Note: DigiDelivery support in spotting panel.(Will build folder hierarchy ala the spotting panel for recipient. Will deliver all stems as well) This is the first pass. The metadata for the digidelivery is included as well but its pretty

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useless at this point. Eventually it'd be nice for the recipient to be able to relink the delivered files with the metadata in the spotting panel/database...If your files have metadata embedded already then this is a moot point, as your recipient will get the metadata when they scan in the structure. Mirror Command Another Soundminer original that first showed up in Version 3.1.3 is the Mirror Command. This allows a user to make a batch copy of any database or portion thereof in any supported format, complete with all the metadata copied over and all the original folder/category hierarchy in place. In essence, it makes a mirror copy of your database in an alternate format but retains all the original metadata and folder structure. The Mirror option is currently located in the DATABASE menu.

The Mirror window allows you to control everything about the ‘copy’ right down to the filename:

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Here you can select the Sample Rate (up to 192khz!), the bit depth (16 or 24), the file type (Wave, BWF or AIFF) and you can create your own string based on any field for the ensuing filename. This new Soundminer filenaming algorithm is very powerful. See the last section for a detailed explanation of the Filenaming Algorithm. You can also MIRROR quickly to a new file format keeping sampling rate and bit depth as in the original.

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9. VST Rack – SMV4 Pro Version only Soundminer V4 Pro comes with advanced VST plug-in support. VST Plug-in support allows the user to modify and sound design in real time right within the Soundminer environment – often in ways not possible in your DAW.

VST plug-ins were selected because of their cross platform nature and because you cannot run TDM or Audiosuite plug-ins while Pro Tools is running. This feature is not a ‘toy’ but a very usable way to design using the full aspect of your assets in real time and with Soundminer’s advanced playback engine. Soundminer will scan for all available VST resources upon launch. But I don’t have any VST plug-ins, I use Pro Tools! There are numerous free VST plug-ins available on the internet and some very low cost alternatives to what is offered for Digidesign environments. Also, be aware that if you own the Waves Gold bundle or higher you have access to all the native VST versions of Waves within Soundminer by installing the Waveshell for VST. Also check out the RTAS-VST wrapper from www.fxpansion.com. Using VST

Soundminer allows you to build your own "rack" of plug-ins right in the Browser. In fact, you can insert up to ten plug-ins into the Soundminer VSTRack. To bring up the VSTRack, hit the focus key V or add the VST icon

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to your Tool bar or call it up from the Window Menu:

Assuming you have not inserted any other plugins, the VSTRack will be empty. To view all the available VST plugins you have, click and hold one one of the ten "plug-in" inserts.

By instantiating plug-ins in the VSTRack, you are effectively inserting the plug-ins right into your monitoring path. This allows you to play, in real time, with all your sonic add-ons.

Each individual VST Plug-in can be edited and bypassed individually. A VSTRack can be stored and recalled…….

Alternatively, you can add

this icon to your toolbar and select the VSTRack here or

using the focus key V

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Clicking to the right of the Bypass button allows you to call up any of the stored presets for that VST Plug-in.

You can SAVE/RECALL your favourite rack settings as well as easily clear the rack from the preset menu. You then have the choice to transfer your sounds complete with the current VST settings for enabled plug-ins! This a great for true, on the fly sound design. As soon as you instantiate a VST plug in, the system automatically will be set to transfer through the VSTRack. VST plugins in the editor menu are floating. You still have complete control over playback of your Browser in most cases while they are on the screen(some plug-ins do take back control). They remain active even when closed. To toggle the VSTRack so it is visible use the focus key V or go to the Window Menu and select VST Plugins. With it visible, clicking on any of the loaded plugins will bring up the editor.

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To remove a plug-in, click and hold on the VSTRack insert and select the "No Plugin" slot at the top of your list. If using a time domain plugin like Reverb or Delay you can account for the extra ‘tail’ needed in your Transfer pane. V4pro now supports the VST version 2.4 plug-ins format.

• V4 VST Scanner: when you first call up the rack, it'll open up every plugin in your /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST folder and home/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST gathering information. It'll cache this information into the support folder into a file called pluginInfo.plist(should you need to force a "rescan" of plugins you can do this by deleting this file.) This shouldn't be necessary as it'll recognize when plugins are removed and added to the folder. One possible scenario would be if a plugin fails its authorization process(if an ilok isn't connected for instance) and the information would be invalid.

• Multiple VST Windows with a built in editor allowed(there is still only one for the generic slider type windows like MDA plugins)

• Plugins remember screen position(even in rack save/recall)

• VST Rack has clear rack function...removes all plugins.

• Master bypass in VST Rack added in 4.1.5

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10. Sonomic Connectivity Sonomic is one of the world’s largest online supplier of sound effects, royalty free music and samples. With version 4.1.8, all v4 products now have the ability to connect and download directly from Sonomic. A user must have a Sonomic account to download from the site. And Soundminer provides easy links to begin the process. Pricing for downloaded sounds vary. Visit http://sonomic.com/ for more information. To enable Sonomic connectivity within Soundminer, you must have a valid internet connection. The faster connection you have, the better the performance. To use the Sonomic connectivity option, visit your preferences and click on the Sonomic pane:

Make sure the ‘enable Sonomic searching’ is checked off. Enter in the target directory you wish to use to store your purchased items. If you have no account with Sonomic and wish to have one, click the ‘Sign Up’ button and Soundminer will take you to their account set up page on the web. If you have an existing account, click ‘Account info’ to enter in your data:

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After entering in your data, click on the ‘Validate’ button. The system will then connect to Sonomic and verify your data. If your data is valid, you will see this alert:

Soundminer assumes you have credits at Sonomic. If you do not have credits the system will tell you cannot download files when you try. Assuming your account has been validated and you have credits at Sonomic, you will see the SONOMIC database among all of your available databases:

After selecting it, type a search query and Soundmienr will connect to the online Sonomic library of over 250,000 files and provide returns:

Depending on your connection, return times will vary. However, when complete, the assets will appear like any other assets in Soundminer, complete with metadata:

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While not all search features and options are available, Soundmienr will treat the assets very much like any other database files. You can spot directly into your supported DAW, load batches into your region list or download selections to a folder. You can process pitch and edits and if you have v4pro, you can also process with VST plug-ins. When transferring, Soundminer will copy the unprocessed file into your Sonomic target directory (as set up in the Sonomic preference window) and then make a further copy into your active DAW session(v4/v4pro). Referenced transfers are governed by the receiving application (Send to and Drag and Drop transfers, for the most part, are of this type). Most things that are not applicable within the Sonomic environment are grayed out. The right pane contains the details for the currently selected item. And you can specific which type of library you want to search:

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If you click on the ‘Download CD’ icon, you will be taken to the Sonomic site where you can buy a complete CD. It is important to understand that Sonomic offers an ‘unlimited download’ policy. Once you have purchased a sound effect or CD, you can re-download that item as many times as you like. If for example, you already own the CD, there is no need to go to the site to re-buy it, Soundminer will begin downloading it in the background for you:

If you select ‘OK’. The progress bar will show you the background downloading as it is happening. You are free to continue to work while your CD downloads. For Sonomic purchases, ‘credits’ allow you to buy single sounds only. Since CDs are different kinds of packages and because the effects manufacturers require it, you have to purchase the whole CD by visiting the Sonomic site. Once in your ‘soundbay’, meaning you have already purchased it, the file or CD becomes downloadable anytime from anywhere provided you have signed in with your account details. Files will always be transferred to your designated Sonomic folder and new copies will be made from these untouched files when spotting directly into your DAW(if copy and convert has been set). Soundminer is pleased to announce that v.4.1.8 has the ability to search, preview, and download directly from Sonomic, the world's largest library of downloadable sound effects, samples and stock music. Sonomic offers over 250,000 audio files, with more added every week, including the complete catalogs of Sound Ideas, The BBC Sound Effects Library, Valentino, Zero G, Time+Space, Nightingale Voicebox, Loopmasters, Noise Generator, and many other top libraries, all in 16-bit 48KHz BWAV format.

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Soundminer treats Sonomic's online database just like it was one of its own. Users with Miniminer can pitch any sound on the fly, V4 users can also spot directly into the active DAW session and V4pro users can even add plug-ins on the fly. Best of all, every Sonomic sound is downloaded with Soundminer metadata and is automatically deposited on your workstation, so it can be found again instantly at any time. Sonomic's sound effects are $4.99 each, samples are $0.99, and production music tracks start at $11.99. You can save money with volume packages or by purchasing Downloadable CDs, which give you every sound from a CD title at a discounted price with just a single click. Every sound is backed by Sonomic's legendary 100% satisfaction guarantee: if you're not completely satisfied with any sound for any reason, you'll get a prompt refund - no haggling, no arguing, and no fine print. For more information about Sonomic, please contact Adam Strauss at adam@sonomic.com or 212-604-0274.

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11. Advanced Topics HASP Multi-user Network key installation

HASP 4 network key If you are installing a multi-user or Server package and what you have is a network key (Red key), then you will need to install the key on a remote host. This is usually also the file server. Having a Red Netkey does not mean you have a Server license nor does it necessarily mean you own multiple licenses, but it does mean you can distribute your license or licenses from one central location. A network key contains one or more license authorization and possibly a server authorization and can be attached to any OSX (10.2 minimum) Windows 2000, XP, or Linux networked computer. The authorizations are subsequently provided over the network allowing a fixed number of terminals to be active at any time. In other words, if you have purchased 7 MAC licenses and a network key, then placing the key on a computer on the network allows you to effectively authorize any seven of your Macintosh computers at any given time. As soon as one computer quits Soundminer, that authorization becomes available to another station. The keys come in various sizes; Net10, Net50, Net100. These denote the maximum number of licenses per product that each key can hold. Only the network host computer needs to have the HASP software installed. The local terminal need only have a nethasp.ini file (explained below) in the Home folder of the active user or if using the new Soundminer License Manager, the application will prompt you for the information required. It is imperative that the Netkey host you choose have the following attributes:

• Centrally located and visible by all the computers you wish to authorize on your network

• Must have a fixed IP address or the remote stations will have a hard time finding the netkey.

• Be running MAC OSX, Windows 2000, XP or Linux operating systems.

NET KEY NOTE: The number beside the key does NOT mean you necessarily have those many licenses. It simply means the key can hold up to that number of licenses of any Soundminer product. Purchasing a Net5 key, for example, still requires that you purchase five Soundminer licenses in order to run 5 concurrent copies. Buying a Net5 key and one license means only one person at any given time can run a copy of Soundminer.

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Regardless of the platform, you need to install the HDD USB Dongle driver on the host. The SM License Mananger is unfinished and should be used only if the Aladdin LM is not working in your situation.

Using the Soundminer License Manager(Mac only)

In the Server folder of the User FTP site, you will find an item named, SoundminerLM.zip. After having installed the USB Dongle driver on your host: ftp://ftp.aladdin.com/pub/hasp/hl/mac/HDD_Installer_MacOSX.

The SMLM is for use with Macintosh V4pro only. Unzip and run the SoundminerLM application:

The SMLM will list all the attributes of the key it has found and if the user wishes the application can be quit as it will continue to run in the background. V4pro if it senses the SMLM will prompt the user for the IP address and then automatically connect and authorize.

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Using the Aladdin License Mananger

First install the appropriate dongle driver. You will find the latest the latest USB software at the Aladdin site(alladin.com/support). For the most up-to-date drivers for your key type go to this link. ftp://ftp.aladdin.com/pub/hasp/hl/mac/HDD_Installer_MacOSX. ftp://ftp.aladdin.com/pub/hasp/hl/mac/LM_Setup_Mac.dmg Aladdin’s HASP driver and License Manager have self-explanatory driver installer packages. Simply double click, follow the prompts and re-boot your computer. Assuming you have a fixed IP on the nethasp host and it is visible on the network, you need to now create a nethasp.ini file on the local terminal. A Nethasp.ini file must sit in the main User Directory(Open your main hard drive/Users/.

In this case the user directory is called ‘SteveLaptop’ and clicking on with ‘home’ button will get you there. Deposit a nethasp.ini file there. CREATING YOUR NETHASP INI file - In the Support folder of your Soundminer archive(on the client), you will find a small utility called Nethasp.ini Generator(also on the ftp site),

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Launch the programme and enter in your Net Host IP (the IP you need to enter is the CPU that is hosting the Net Key).

This will build a proper 'ini' file and automatically place one level above the application itself. PLEASE NOTE. You have to manually copy the 'ini' file into the Ripper v3 folder if you wish to also authorize the Ripper v3 via a NetHasp key. IMPORTANT: The Serial ID of your key is visible in the Preference pane.

You must register this ID with us to protect yourself against extras costs should a key get lost or stolen. You can do so by way of an email directed to steve@soundminer.com. Just put your company name and the HASP id number in the subject line of the email.

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Internet Authorization (remote station) with NetKey

As an extension of the Network Key, HASP allows users to utilize authorizations from their home system via the internet. In other words, if you find yourself in London but you are based in Los Angeles, you can effectively tie into your network in Los Angeles via the internet and authorize a copy of your software remotely. The process is identical to creating intranet Nethasp connectivity. The main difference is that the host must be visible from the internet. We recommend that you set the line NH_USE_BROADCAST = disabled (as opposed to enabled) or the application will begin trying all IP addresses looking for a valid Net key authorization.

[NH_COMMON] NH_TCPIP = Enabled; [NH_TCPIP] NH_SERVER_ADDR = 192.168.1.100 NH_USE_BROADCAST = Disabled

The text file needs to be in the USER/HOME directory and must be named, "nethasp.ini". The computer accessing the Network key does not have to have the HASP driver installed. You would have to have enabled personal file sharing from your Network control panels if you wish to also share the drives from your host. In addition, you would have to enable and install an HTTP web server if you plan to stream files without mounting a drive. On your firewall you must enable port forwarding (port 475) via UDP protocols to your HASP net server. Your nethaps.ini file must hit the router/gateway and you need to port forward to the internal nethasp host. In other words, your nethasp.ini file must contain the IP of your router from the outside as that is where it needs to hit first. Please be careful as your system will be deemed "open" without a controlling configuration file. In other words, your system will deem any station with proper authentication as "legal". You can limit this to specific addresses using a NHSRV configuration file (contact techsupport@soundminer.com). The concepts used here are very advanced and require good IT knowledge. If you are not familiar with this, you may have to hire or get an IT professional to help you install this. In the plainest layperson’s terms: Try to think of it as an audio connection. It starts from somewhere outside (say you at home). You want to connect to your facility so in 'ITspeak', that is your facility's IP. You need to create a nethasp.ini file on your home system that directs Soundminer to go to that IP address - let's for argument sake, say 1.2.3.4. Now when a signal arrives from your home at that IP address several things can happen. If you have a firewall/router, you can tell the device that if it hears knocking on port 475, it should re-direct that request past the firewall and to a computer on your internal network on a fixed IP address (let's say 192.168.1.100). This concept is called port forwarding. Each device and

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facility is however very different - some facilities have firewalls as separate devices on a further layered IP network, while other have it as a single all-in-one device. Port 80 is usually a web port and left open but in large security-driven facilities they use a web proxy (which re-directs to some other internal port to scare off hackers). Only you can determine how best to port forward in your scenario (….you see how it can get complex?). OK, next concept is 'fixed IP'. Some computers exist on a network using DHCP (dynamic hosting). Each time a computer boots, it goes to the DHCP server and gets and IP address. it's simple, works great in offices but in our world it means your computer could have a different address every day....not good for finding you or your server. Your nethasp host has to be on a fixed IP address as our installation notes. That means you have to assign it manually punching in the numbers given to you by your providers(for DNS 'web' access) and the internal network numbers provided by your firewall/router device(s). Let's assume that IP is 192.168.1.100. So now we know that host can always be found at that internal IP number. Your request from home is sent to your outside IP, 1.2.3.4 on port 475udp and your device now receiving the request knows to port forward that request past the firewall to a specific address on your internal network, 192.168.1.100. Your internal host gets the message and sends back confirmation via the web port 80 back to you sitting at home. Now your copy of soundminer launches..... BUT how do I play the sounds on my internal facility’s drive??? Well, now it gets even more complex. You must either mount your drives that are on your internal network (not very secure) or use HTTP to stream the files across the internet. If the files are on a volume attached to the server, you can enable file sharing and set the permissions for that drive so an outside user can see it(beyond the scope of this manual). From home you would have to connect to that host (again you must port forward all the sharing ports) or if on a MAC see SharePoints (hornwave.com). If the intention is to stream, you need to set up a Web Server and then tell your local copy of V4pro to use HTTP streaming to play the sound. Setting up a Web Server is beyond this document. An IT professional can best help you or contact us and we may be able to provide consulting services. Fees will be quoted up front. For the latest driver and license manager visit the Aladdin site: http://www.aladdin.com/support/hasp/hasp4/enduser.asp

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Glossary

Before proceeding, you should familiarize yourself with a few important terms as used by Soundminer. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but rather to aid you in understanding some of the terms and concepts used in this manual. Firstly, here are some things every Soundminer user should know:

• Windows and Macintosh licenses are separate. In other words, if you bought a Macintosh license, you cannot use that license to run a Windows version and vice versa.

• Soundminer and Ripper are separate applications. You must own both in order to run both.

• Network keys allow you to dynamically distribute your licenses. They do not include your licenses. In other words, if you bought one Soundminer license and a Net5 key you still would only be able to run one copy of the software at a time but the net key will allow any computer on the network run that copy. As soon as someone quits that copy it becomes available to another user on the network. The number alongside the Network key refers to the maximum number of licenses the key can hold.

• Email support is free. Phone support is not. • User site information is sent to you in the ‘Welcome email’. Don’t lose it.

Browser – this is the main page of Soundminer. This is where you will find your returns, see the main waveform and do most of your work. Metadata – This refers to the enriching of standard audio files so that they contain important information (text and pictures). In short ‘data about the data.’ A standard audio file usually has no special information apart from its ‘hard attributes’ (filename, sample rate, bit depth, file type, duration, channels, creation and modification date, size and path.). Adding data so one knows more about the file (as in description, category, CD it came from, who owns it, etc.) would, in fact by our definition, be metadata. For the Soundminer paradigm, this data is added to the file directly by using the ‘backup’ routine. This data then travels with the file. All copies emanating from Soundminer would carry the data and this aids in tracking use. Backup – In the Soundminer paradigm, this describes the process of enriching a standard audio file with metadata. When one makes changes to a file whether in the Soundminer Browser or in an auxiliary product like MetaEdit, and then ‘backs it up’, they are embedding that extra information into the file itself. The entire Soundminer paradigm is based on the concept of the information traveling with the file. Boolean - Boolean searches allow you to combine words and phrases using the words AND, OR, NOT (otherwise known as Boolean operators) to limit, widen, or define your search. Soundminer can use any combination of these limiters to define a search.

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Spot – This term can have two different meaning in the post audio world. It can refer to a method of transfer: Copying a file and placing it right on the time and location you desire within an audio application like Digidesign’s Pro Tools or Steinberg’s Nuendo is said to be ‘spotting a sound.’ It can also refer to a Supervising Sound Editor’s notes regarding a particular section of a scene within a film. In other words, he/she may view a film and make specific notes about what sounds should be used in a particular scene and how that scene should be assembled. This may be called a ‘Spot’ (a sub hierarchy of Reel >Scene>Spot). Scanning – refers to the process Soundmienr uses to ingest metadata from files. Basically, this is done by dragging and dropping audio files onto the Soundminer browser. This initiates the scan process. Soundminer reads the ahrd attributes of the files as well as any metadata in the file itself. The process can be time consuming. 50,000 files n a g4/733 will tak about an hour to scan. The benefit, however, is that the database that is subsequently created is absolutely perfect and resolved. Text databases can be prone to serious errors and in those systems it is not uncommon to find thousands of orphaned or corrupted file entries. Soundminer Multi-field Wrapper - The Soundminer multi field wrapper (MFW) is comprised of over 60 fields of individual metadata designed specifically for the audio post industry. Soundminer's metadata system embeds all the information right in the file itself. This protects the database information by storing all the information in the file. Soundminer's Ripper application uses this technology to embed the information from the commercial Sound Effect CD libraries into the extracted files. The information is subsequently acquired by the scanning process making the job of databasing easy and should you erase your database, the information can be rebuilt by scanning the files again. The MFW is completely modifiable from within the Soundminer Browser and any information input by the user can be re-written back into the file. The Soundminer system also allows you to re-write the description block of the BWAV container. (see Reference list of all fields).

Finder Comments - The MAC operating system allowed information to be put in the finder comment field. "Getting information" (command-I) on the file from the finder allows you access to this field. Many other search engines use this rather fragile system to store long description information. Soundminer allows the acquisition of this data under OSX(spotlight). If the description field comes back blank and you're running in OSX, it'll scan the OSX finder comment. In other words, Soundminer Metadata takes precedence, then the OSX comment.

BWAV bext chunk - Quickly becoming the universal cross platform file of choice, BWAV allows for the storage of 6 standard fields of metadata. As well, it is fast becoming the file choice for many of the industry's location recorders (DEVA, Nagra 5, PortaDrive, etc.) By checking this box,

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Soundminer will acquire the information stored in the following fields: BWAVDescription, BWAVOriginator, BWAVOriginalRef, BWAVtime, BWAVDate, BWAVTimestamp.

Scan ID3 tags - ID3 metadata is a system designed for the mp3 audio format. Supported in programmes like APPLE's Itunes, ID3 tags usually include music specific information like the name of the song, the artist, the album and genre of music. Checking this box tells the Soundminer scanner to look for and acquire this information. Soundminer will automatically place this information as follows if it resides in the file:

SMDescription =ID3FID_COMMENT // iTunes Comment SMDescription =ID3FID_SUBTITLE // WMP Comment SMCDTitle =ID3FID_ALBUM // ALBUM SMComposer =ID3FID_COMPOSER // SMPublisher =ID3FID_PUBLISHER SMLibrary =ID3FID_LEADARTIST // iTunes Artist SMTrackTitle =ID3FID_TITLE // iTunes Name SMComposer =ID3FID_ORIGARTIST SMTrack =ID3FID_TRACKNUM SMTrackYear =ID3FID_YEAR SMLongCat =ID3FID_CONTENTTYPE // Genre SMSource =ID3FID_ORIGALBUM This also happens... Example Source field: SS01/01_01 Look at Souce field for / character. Everything before the / goes into ID3FID_CONTENTGROUP. It then looks up the next 2 characters and uses that for track Pathname – in order for all audio database systems to play a file, they must know where the file exists. This is commonly known as the pathname of the file. On Macintosh systems it is defined in this format: MacintoshHD:FirstNestedFolder:SecondNestedFolder:Filename.wav(or whatever other extension pertains). In Soundminer, this can be viewed as a field and at all times at the bottom right of the browser returns.

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Soundminer Server

Soundminer V4pro(not v4) can connect to Soundminer Server by way of http or by direct access to the drive(http access is feature of Enterprise ServerV4). HTTP is more secure and is often the preferred method in enterprise situations, but it can be slower. HTTP does not require the user to mount the drives but the downside is access is controlled and limited by the web server. Networks slower than Gigabit will experience slower performance as the application streams the audio for auditioning. HTTP protocols by definition do not allow access to the drives directly. To connect simply type in the fixed IP address of your Soundminer Mysql server, username and password when logging in:

This menu should automatically come up if your network support Bonjour. It may take a second to verify your permissions but once in you will notice the

server’s available databases will appear in your database popup:

Server databases are identified by the ‘omega’ symbol. You can now search, audition and transfer much like a local database. If you have been given permissions to modify

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metadata you changes will be accepted. If you do not, your changes will be ignored. If on a slower network or accessing from outside the facility, you will experience slow downs as the audio must stream to your local terminal at the speed of your afp/smb or http connection. If you have entered in as a librarian, this menu will be enabled:

From the client, the Librarian can change and set permissions for others users as well as control and render waveform displays for all attached users. On all levels, working with a server database is identical as a local database but in those cases where the client is attached by way of http, you are limited to http speeds. Clients need not mount a drive but all requests are streamed across the http network – faster networks are indeed better. In addition, Server scenarios allow users to share project information and store preferences centrally. If you own Server, consult the Server documents to get more info on some of these menu items. The one item useful to single users on v4pro is MERGE DATABASES:

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Selecting this option will allow users to merge either selected records or all records from the current database with the destination database selected. Merge respects scan records permission for server databases. Doesn't require files to be online...but when uploading to Server databases they SHOULD be(otherwise waveforms won't be uploaded)...Tested Local->Local, Local->Server Validate Filepaths - validate filelink in Librarian menu. Goes through browsed records and makes sure all the files are valid. Creates a log file of invalid files... /home/library/logs/soundminer filelinks.txt Server User’s note: "Fix" Flat category field(server users only) - Some manufacturers are still insisting on putting a ton of info into the category field which severely handicaps metabrowser and the Soundminer Web Portal. This will take the FlatCategory field(hidden from user but used internally) and grab the first word and strip out everything else(for viewing and parsing only – it does nto modify the content but only how it is used by the search engine). This is done to deal with some libraries who insist on putting too many category terms in their fields.

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Multi-channel audio in Soundminer v4pro

The Soundminer v4pro playback engine is capable of playing back up to 8 channels of audio. All standard multi-channel formats are supported:

M/S. LCR, LCRS, L/R/Ls/Rs, L/R/C/Lfe/Ls/Rs, L/C/R/Ls/Rs/Lfe Also supported is the A1, A2, A3,etc labeling from Pro Tools.

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M/S implementation – Soundminer v4pro automatically decodes if the channel layout says M/S. View the Channel Layout Field and make sure they say M/S. It is Case sensitive.

Now when you play the sounds they should decode and transfer properly. Change sounds and start playing to make the change stick (ie. After auditioning a sound, you decide to change the channel layout field to ‘M/S’, make sure you then click off of it and on it again for the change to occur.) The layout is only sent when the sound is "opened".... Files transferred with channel layout data will retain that metadata upon transfer.

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Transferring to Mp3 format

Soundminer v4/v4pro does not convert directly to mp3 format. However, Soundminer mp3Converter is specially designed to do this and is recognized by the SEND TO feature in v4. If you own Soundminer mp3converter and it is running, it will appear in the DAW App menu:

any files selected can be sent directly to the mp3converter from within v4/v4pro and the mp3converter will automatically begin making mp3 copies complete with id3 and Soundmienr metadata embedded. Files will be made according to the mp3converter’s transfer path setting.

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Metadata Advanced

Metadata as it pertains to the Soundminer paradigm refers to what information is stored inside the file itself. Not all files contain metadata and just because you see information inside of Itunes doesn’t mean the file has any metadata. There are several standards used for storing information inside of files. These standards are usually associated with a particular file type. Broadcast Wave – this file format is a subset of the Microsoft WAVE format and usually means that the file can accept metadata storage. It is a more professional version of the standard wave format. Any manufacturer can create proprietary ‘chunks’ to store metadata but it is the BEXT chunk that is considered an open standard. Soundminer supports that chunk and

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augments it with its own Soundminer proprietary chunk. Be aware the BEXT is limited to only a few containers the largest of which is limited to 255 characters. Itunes for example does not read this data, but Pro Tools for example does. AIFF – no standard exists for this file format although Itunes does store its own ‘version’ of id3 tag information into their AIFF files. Soundminer can read and embed into those containers. Because no standard exists for this format, we tend to encourage the use of broadcast wave as it is compatible across platforms. Mp3 – This is one of the most widely used audio formats because it uses a compressedformat to reduce the size of the files. The standard of id3 tags created for this format is supported by Soundminer. Applications like our MetaEdit and V4 products allow users to embed and support the uncompressed formats like BWAV and AIFF. To make mp3s in our paradigm, one must use our mp3Converter utility which will draw mp3s in many formats from master BWAV or AIFF files and the resulting files will be compliant with Itunes and other id3 tag supported products. In addition, Soundminer v4/v4pro/MetaEdit products also support reading and transferring of metadata to Final Cut Pro, iXML and CartChunk standards. V4/v4pro also allow users to batch transfer to any uncompressed format. Copy and Paste Metadata(v4pro) With version 0.121 and higher, you can employ simple single line copy and paste routines into any metadata fields as well as batch copy/paste routines. Sounds need to be online(mounted) and for server users "Dump Records" permission for copy and "Scan Records" for paste permissions. This allows you to select records in one database, copy, swap databases and paste. The metadata can be database only(not embedded in the files). Its also using RAM to hold the records metadata so this is useful for a few hundred items, we wouldn't expect it to work efficiently with 1000's of records. A merge feature would be more appropriate in that case(either merge databases or merge selected into another database. Note that UNDO/REDO is now available for most Metadata editing routines. [NEW] Triple clicking a record edits the field you clicked in (if you have permission to do so). [NEW] - E key edit's the last clicked cell.(if permission to do so is granted for server databases) *Paste now works as paste in field, click first in the cell you want. You can now copy multiple tab-delim items with column headers and paste. Metadata Field Build option (v4pro)

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…like in our old MetaEdit, V4Pro allows you to build content from existing fields. The option is available in the contextual menu in the Browser(right or control click on selected records). From existing data in other fields, a user can employ the powerful naming algorithm again to create new filenames or content for any other field:

Make yourself familiar with the new Soundminer filenaming algorithm(see advanced topic section). You can quickly embed any selected files using the contextual menu option in the browser:

And for those of you needing advanced Find and Replace options you can quickly apply to selected files again using the contextual menu(control or right click on a group of selected files in the Browser). And you have the new ability to preview your changes, including batch renaming of Filenames. Once you commit however, the change is destructive. Be careful.

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NOTE: You cannot embed the new additional fields into SD2 files. SD2 is a legacy file format and can only accept the original V3 fields. Field Recorders and ingesting Metadata and iXML

Soundminer reads both broadcast wave bext standard found in most recorders as well as the iXML standard. When ingesting these kinds of files, it is best to set up a Dialog database to expose the iXML fields first:

IXML V4pro has the ability to read in iXML metadata formats used by many of today’s field recorders. The standard is now also supported by Pro Tools and can be read in DigibasePro. If you create a dialog database, you will see a number of new fields prefixed with ixml.

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These along with Soundminer Scene / Take / Tape comprise what gets written back into the iXML chunk when embedding and passed along in copies. Some of these fields show up in ProTools Digibase: The following page shows what Digidesign documents show as supported.

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Roulette

An added feature for those times when creativity is at a low is the Roulette button located at the bottom of the main window. Click it and your returns will be randomized so you don’t always pick the same thing.

Roulette button Play History

As you play files in a database, Soundminer will dim them to visually tell you that they have been visited. It is also a way to recall all the files you have played:

Click the Play History icon in the toolbar and all files played during the session will be recalled. If you wish to clear the Play History, click and hold the icon and select the drop down option to flush the history:

Relinking

Occasionally users may move files and wish to ‘relink’ the paths so that auditioning will work. If a file cannot be found, it means the position in the database does not correspond with the actual position of the file. You can ask Soundminer to first highlight any records with non resolved pathnames using the options in the Relink sub-menu:

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Clicking ‘relink selected will cause Soundminer to iterate over each record to determine if the path can be resolved and then prompt you for a valid path. This choice will take much longer but is useful when multiple item and many paths have changed. At some point it does become quicker to rescan a very outdated database rather than arduously re-link multiple orphans. Importing V3

The Debug menu allows you to import both V3 databases and Bins. We still, however, recommend a fresh scan……

Soundminer Filenaming Algorithm

A naming scheme is a powerful way to make specific character sequences either for files or regions based on the metadata in a record. For example when you transfer a sound effect to your DAW you may want the region name to include some information about sound effect that is specified in its Description field. Instead of re-entering that information when you spot the effect, you could tell Soundminer to extract the information from that field and build the region name from that information. This is very useful for processing multiple records because each region name will be build from the fields in their respective records.

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In the Preferences/Transfer pane you can create or recall any of your file naming option. If you create a string and wish to save it, select SAVE and it will be added to your preset menu. The priority numbers are mandatory. In other words, <Description:1> is correct while <Description> is incorrect. This example of a simple naming scheme will create a name from the Description field of a record: <Description:1> = "Commercial Jet: On Board, Cruising Speed" You can use the values of more that one field by listing the fields in the order you want them to appear in the name. <ShortID:1><Category:2> = "ARPL Airplane, Jet" You will notice that there is a space between the fields, and this space will appear in the final name. In fact you can specify any literal text to appear anywhere in your name: Steves_<ShortID:1><Category:2> = "Steves_ARPLAirplane, Jet" The format of a naming scheme is specified by a sequence of one or more fields where a field is either a database field or a literal field. Name lengths & priorities Some applications will accept only a maximum number of characters for specific names, so in Soundminer when you specify a naming scheme there is always a way to specify a maximum length for the final name. The maximum length of the name is NOT a part of the scheme itself, but when needed, you will be able to specify this value. To help control how the name is truncated you must specify a priority for each field: <Source:1><ShortID:2><Category:3>

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The above example has a priority of 1 for <Source>, a priority of 2 for <ShortID>, and a priority of 3 for <Category>. If this name needs to be truncated, it will remove characters from the fields in order of decreasing priority. In other words <Category> will be truncated first, <ShortID> will be truncated next, then finally <Steve>s. The ':' followed by a number specifies the priority and is an example of a field option. There are numerous other field options you can use to help control how the name is generated. Field Options Field options operate on the field before it is truncated to remove unwanted characters or change the case of specific letters. Here is a list of all the field options you can use to alter the fields: :ns - no spaces: Exclude all spaces from this field. "Fox in socks:ns" = "Foxinsocks" :nv - no vowels: Exclude vowels from the field except if it starts a word. "Fox in socks:nv" = "Fx in scks" :ac - all caps: Capitalize all letters. "Fox in socks:ac" = "FOX IN SOCKS" :wc - word caps: Make the first letter of all words upper-case and the rest lower-case. "FoX in soCks:wc" = "Fox In Socks" :ss - substitute spaces: Replace all spaces with underscore '_'. "Fox in socks:ss" = "Fox_in_socks" (now done automatically – no need to use :il )- remove illegal: Remove all characters that cannot be part of a file name. For Windows this includes: \ / : * ? " < > and | . This option will also strip the characters: % # $ & ! + [ ] { and } to avoid cross platform and scripting conflicts. If Soundminer knows that a name is to be used as a filename it will transparently include this option. "Fox in socks:ts" = "n socks" :n - priority n: same as :pn. ALWAYS Send all questions to techsupport@soundminer.com complete with exact version of software, operating system and details on how to reproduce your issue.

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12. Key Commands

• Spacebar - toggle play/pause • Return – play from top when there is no edit made/play from mark in

and stops at mark out • Esc - Stop • Page up/Page Down- Depending on which window is active, these

keys scroll the Browser/Spotting Panel returns a page at a time. • Home/End - These keys park you either at the top or the end of your

Browser/Spotting Panel entries. • Up/Down keys - Moves your selection up and down. Holding shift

and using the keys allows you to select multiples without a mouse. • Tab - Cycles through the FIND box or making the Returns window

active. • left/right arrows - acts as Fast forward/Rewind transport keys (while

file is playing) and scroll back and forth across a file's timeline (while in pause/stop.) Left arrow will initiate playback when first selected.

• Command-I brings up the metadata window (detail Info.) • Command-P - prints currently viewed page. • Command-B – brings into Pro Tools/Nuendo/Final Cut/ Soundtrrack

Pro list • Command-J - FIND ALL • Command-Shift-? Brings up the Manual • Command \ - Send into DAW key command. • Command [ - allows you to page backwards through your history. • Double click on any field to EDIT if you have that option turned on in

the preference window.. • clicking on the waveform - begin playback of that file from that point.

_____________________________________________________________ Focus keys F - Do a find (activates search field and allows you to begin typing in descriptors.) T - Tag the selected file and place it in the currently selected Spot folder. V – Brings up the VST rack (v4pro). S - Spot selected file into supported Spot to DAW(Pro Tools, Nuendo, Final Cut, Sountrack Pro) I - Marks the IN while a sound is playing in the BROWSER. O - Marks the OUT while a sound is playing in the BROWSER. H – Toggles Checkmarks on the selected file(s) if that option is turned on. ,(comma) - locates to IN marker. .(period) - locates to OUT marker Command-comma – brings up the Preference window. Command-L – Toggles Lock Mode on/off 1 through 5 – recalls one of the five layouts stored in the user profile. Option 1-5 – stores into one of the five layouts *Wheelmouse – control zoom on the waveform