Songs

MultitrackStudio project files are called Songs. A Song file (.HDR file extension) contains all information that is required to reproduce the mix you made. This includes:

  • The number of Tracks, Groups and Effect Returns. Presence of Master section.
  • The values of all their controls, effects, loaded files etc.
  • Mixer enabled/disabled
  • Sample Rate used
  • Song Notes
  • Markers

A Song file does not include any audio or MIDI data, it contains only references to the audio/MIDI files used by the Tracks (ie. these audio/MIDI files are needed in order to play back the Song). All filenames that are stored in the song file have a relative path whenever possible. This way projects can easily be moved to other drives or folders.

Note: The devices used for playing Audio and MIDI are NOT part of the Song file. This way Songs can be used on any computer.

The currently opened Song is shown in the title bar. If appears in white if it is unmodified, and in gray if it is modified. '(R)' indicates the file is opened as read only.

The Song menu

The Song menu contains the following options (note that some options are described in other chapters):

New, Open, Save, Save As, Save All, Rename, Close

These options can be used to open songs etc. The Save All option not only saves the Song, but all MIDI files used by tracks as well (audio edits are always written to disk immediately, so there's no need to explicitly save audio files).

Note that the Save As option copies the Song file only and NOT the Audio/MIDI files used by the Tracks! Use a Track's Save As option to copy its file.

Song Notes

In the Song Notes window, reached via the Song->Notes menu, you can write notes which are stored in the Song File. You can use this to document the project.

Song Properties

The Song Properties window, reached via the Song->Properties menu, shows the Song's properties. This includes:

  • The File name, playing length and occupied disk space of each Track's File
  • The total playing time of the Song
  • The total occupied disk space

If a Track's Play Button is not activated, the associated file's playing length is reported as zero. This way the Song's total playing time is always reported correct.

Find Unused Files

The Find Unused Files tool analyzes the folder that contains the current song, and lists all MultitrackStudio related filesthat are not being used by a Song file. You can delete these files in order to preserve disk space.