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Navigate time and playing audio in Adobe Audition

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  1. Audition User Guide
  2. Introduction
    1. What's new in Adobe Audition
    2. Audition system requirements
    3. Finding and customizing shortcuts
    4. Applying effects in the Multitrack Editor
  3. Workspace and setup
    1. Control surface support
    2. Viewing, zooming, and navigating audio
    3. Customizing workspaces
    4. Connecting to audio hardware in Audition
    5. Customizing and saving application settings
  4. Digital audio fundamentals
    1. Understanding sound
    2. Digitizing audio
  5. Importing, recording, and playing
    1. Multichannel audio workflow
    2. Create, open, or import files in Adobe Audition
    3. Importing with the Files panel
    4. Extracting audio from CDs
    5. Supported import formats
    6. Navigate time and playing audio in Adobe Audition
    7. Recording audio
    8. Monitoring recording and playback levels
    9. Remove silences from your audio recordings
  6. Editing audio files
    1. Edit, repair, and improve audio using Essential Sound panel
    2. Generating text-to-speech
    3. Matching loudness across multiple audio files
    4. Displaying audio in the Waveform Editor
    5. Selecting audio
    6. How to copy, cut, paste, and delete audio in Audition
    7. Visually fading and changing amplitude
    8. Working with markers
    9. Inverting, reversing, and silencing audio
    10. How to automate common tasks in Audition
    11. Analyze phase, frequency, and amplitude with Audition
    12. Frequency Band Splitter
    13. Undo, redo, and history
    14. Converting sample types
    15. Creating podcasts using Audition
  7. Applying effects
    1. Enabling CEP extensions
    2. Effects controls
    3. Applying effects in the Waveform Editor
    4. Applying effects in the Multitrack Editor
    5. Adding third party plugins
    6. Notch Filter effect
    7. Fade and Gain Envelope effects (Waveform Editor only)
    8. Manual Pitch Correction effect (Waveform Editor only)
    9. Graphic Phase Shifter effect
    10. Doppler Shifter effect (Waveform Editor only)
  8. Effects reference
    1. Apply amplitude and compression effects to audio
    2. Delay and echo effects
    3. Diagnostics effects (Waveform Editor only) for Audition
    4. Filter and equalizer effects
    5. Modulation effects
    6. Reduce noise and restore audio
    7. Reverb effects
    8. How to use special effects with Audition
    9. Stereo imagery effects
    10. Time and pitch manipulation effects
    11. Generate tones and noise
  9. Mixing multitrack sessions
    1. Creating remix
    2. Multitrack Editor overview
    3. Basic multitrack controls
    4. Multitrack routing and EQ controls
    5. Arrange and edit multitrack clips with Audition
    6. Looping clips
    7. How to match, fade, and mix clip volume with Audition
    8. Automating mixes with envelopes
    9. Multitrack clip stretching
  10. Video and surround sound
    1. Working with video applications
    2. Importing video and working with video clips
    3. 5.1 surround sound
  11. Keyboard shortcuts
    1. Finding and customizing shortcuts
    2. Default keyboard shortcuts
  12. Saving and exporting
    1. Save and export audio files
    2. Viewing and editing XMP metadata

Monitoring time

In the Editor panel, the following features help you monitor time:

  1. In the timeline near the top of the panel, the current‑time indicator lets you start playback or recording at a specific point.

  2. In the lower left of the panel, the time display shows the current time in numerical format. The default time format is Decimal, but you can easily change it. (See Change the time display format.) The same format is used by the timeline.

    Note:

    To show the time display in separate panel, choose Window > Time.

    Features that help you monitor time

    A. Current‑time indicator  B. Timeline  C. Time display 

Position the current‑time indicator

In the Editor panel, do any of the following:

  1. In the timeline, drag the indicator   or click a specific time point.

  2. In the time display at lower left, drag across the numbers, or click to enter a specific time.

  3. At the bottom of the panel, click one of the following buttons:

    Note:

    To display these buttons in a separate panel, choose Window > Transport.

    Pause

    Temporarily stops the current-time indicator. Click the Pause button again to resume playback or recording.

    Move CTI to Previous

     Places the current-time indicator at the beginning of the next marker. If there are no markers, the current-time indicator moves to the beginning of the waveform or session.

    Rewind

     Shuttles the current-time indicator backward in time.

    Note:

    Right‑click the Rewind button to set the rate at which the cursor moves.

    Fast Forward


     Shuttles the current-time indicator forward in time.

    Note:

    Right‑click the Fast Forward button to set the rate at which the cursor moves.

    Move CTI to Next

     Moves the current-time indicator to the next marker. If there are no markers, the current-time indicator moves to the end of the waveform or session.

Preview audio by scrubbing

To scrub audio (producing an audible preview as you shuttle across a file), do any of the following:

  1. Drag the current-time indicator .

  2. Press the Rewind or Fast Forward buttons.

  3. Press the J, K, and L keys to shuttle backward, stop, or shuttle forward. Repeatedly pressing the J or L key gradually increases shuttle speed. (To change the default, set JKL Shuttle Speed in the Playback preferences.)

Play audio linearly or in a loop

Note:

To quickly start and stop playback, press the spacebar.

  1. In the Editor panel, position the current-time indicator, or select a range.
  2. (Optional) At the bottom of the panel, right-click the Play button  , and select one of the following:

    Return CTI to Start Position on Stop

    Reflects the behavior of Audition 3.0 and earlier. (Press Shift+X to toggle this option on and off.)

    Play Spectral Selection Only

    Plays only frequencies you’ve selected with the Marquee , Lasso , or Paintbrush Selection  tool.

  3. (Optional) Click the Loop Playback button if you want to fine-tune a selected range or experiment with different effects processing.
  4. To start playback, click the Play button.
Note:

By default, the Editor panel scrolls when playback extends beyond the visible section of a waveform. In the Playback area of the Preferences dialog box, you can disable auto-scrolling.

Synchronize the current‑time indicator across files or views

In the Waveform Editor, you can maintain the position of the current‑time indicator when you switch between files—a useful technique when editing different versions of the same waveform. In the Multitrack Editor, you can maintain the position of the current‑time indicator when you switch to the Waveform Editor—a useful technique when applying edits and effects in both views.

Synchronize the current‑time indicator between files in the Waveform Editor

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Adobe Audition Preferences > General (Mac OS).

  2. Select Synchronize Selection, Zoom Level, and CTI Across Files In The Waveform Editor.

Synchronize the current-time indicator between the Multitrack and Waveform Editors

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Multitrack (Windows) or Adobe Audition Preferences > Multitrack (Mac OS).

  2. Select Synchronize Clips With Waveform Editor.

Change the time display format

Note:

By default, all audio files and multitrack sessions use the same time display format. To customize the format for an open file or session, choose Window > Properties, expand the Advanced settings, and deselect Synchronize With Time Display Preferences.

Choose View > Display Time Format, and choose the desired option:

Decimal (mm:ss.ddd)

Displays time in minutes, seconds, and thousandths of a second.

Compact Disc 75 fps

Displays time in the same format used by audio compact discs, where each second equals 75 frames.

SMPTE 30 fps

Displays time in the SMPTE format, where each second equals 30 frames.

SMPTE Drop (29.97 fps)

Displays time in the SMPTE drop‑frame format, where each second equals 29.97 frames.

SMPTE 29.97 fps

Displays time in the SMPTE non‑drop‑frame format, where each second equals 29.97 frames.

SMPTE 25 fps (EBU)

Displays time using the European PAL television frame rate, where each second equals 25 frames.

SMPTE 24 fps (Film)

Displays time in a format where each second equals 24 frames, suitable for film.

Samples

Displays time numerically, using as a reference the actual number of samples that have passed since the beginning of the edited file.

Bars and Beats

Displays time in a musical measures format of bars:beats: subdivisions. To customize settings, choose Edit Tempo, and set the following options in the Properties panel.

 

Tempo

Specifies beats per minute.

Custom (X frames per second)

Displays time in a custom format. To modify a custom format, choose Edit Custom Frame Rate, and enter a number of frames per second. Valid values are whole numbers from 2 to 1000.

Jump to time

Use the Jump to time shortcut to set the focus to the timecode display. This allows you to enter a timecode to position the play-head. To enter timecode, follow these steps:

  1. In the time display at lower left, drag across the numbers, or click to enter a specific time.

  2. The timecode is highlighted. Enter the time to jump the play-head to.

  3. Press Enter. The timecode moved to the specified time.

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