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Viewing selection statistics

Choosing Statistics from the Tools menu displays a Statistics dialog showing information about the current selection or, if there is no selection, on the entire file. The following table describes all statistical categories displayed in the Statistics dialog.

Cursor position

The cursor position (in samples) from the start of the audio file.

Sample value at cursor

The actual number stored by a single sample. The maximum allowed sample value is

 

often referred to as 100% or 0 dB.

 

 

Maximum/minimum

The maximum and minimum sample values and the locations (in samples) where they

sample position and

occur.

sample value

These values may help determine if clipping will occur in the audio file. These values can

 

 

also be used to determine the noise level of a signal for use with Noise Gate (a built-in

 

XFX plug-in installed with the full version of Sound Forge). For example, to determine

 

the noise amplitude of a file, run Statistics on a region of noisy silence.

RMS power

The Root Mean Square of the sample values relative to the RMS value of a maximum-

 

amplitude square wave (the loudest possible recording).

 

On short intervals, this value relates to the volume level of the audio file. If used on a

 

large selection with large volume variation, this value becomes less meaningful.

 

 

Average value (DC Offset)

The sum of all sample values in the selected region divided by the number of samples. If

 

this value is not zero, it usually indicates a DC offset in the recording process.

Zero crossings

The number of times per second that the waveform fluctuates from a negative to a

 

positive value.

 

This value can be used as a rough estimate of the frequency of the audio data for very

 

simple waveforms.

 

 

Creating a new data window

1.From the File menu, choose New. The New Window dialog appears.

New Window dialog

2.Complete the New Window dialog:

From the Sample rate drop-down list, choose a sample rate.

From the Bit-depthdrop-down list, choose a bit depth.

Select the desired Channels radio button.

For more information, see Editing file attributes on page 83.

3.Click OK. A new data window with the specified attributes appears.

Tip: Sound Forge automatically names new windows. You can customize this automatic naming feature to suit your needs. For more information, see Customizing automatic labeling on page 93.

GETTING STARTED

CHP. 4