VoxPro 4.2 User
Guide
Part 1. Essential User Operations
Playback Direction and Output Options
Accessing Other Users' Files and Folders
Part 2. Administration
File Access, Sharing and Security Issues in Windows
Extending the Control Panel Cable
Remapping Control Panel Functions
Part
1. Essential User Operations
Guided
Tour
A. The Title Bar displays the current user and folder.
B. The Main Menu provides access to all important functions.
C. The Selection Indicator displays the length of any highlighted audio segment.
D. The Mode Indicator toggles between four states: Playing, Recording, Scrubbing and Standby.
E. The Disk Left Indicator shows how much hard drive space is available for recording.
F. The Time Line displays the current file position relative to the length of the entire file, and also the positions of any markers.
G. The Edit View, or waveform display, depicts the audio data around the current file position, which is marked by the vertical red cue line in the center.
H. The Clock Bar contains two timers: a count-up timer showing the current position, and a count-down timer showing the time remaining to the end of the file. Tick marks along the top of the clock bar are spaced at one-second increments (1/100 second in zoom mode).
I. The Master Button provides access to the original, unedited, version of the current file.
J. The File List (a.k.a. Edit List, File Window, Edit Window) displays the contents of the current folder (as indicated in the Title Bar). Click on the column headers to sort by name, length, date, etc.
K. The Headroom Slider changes the scale of the vertical dimension of the Edit View, and thus acts as a zoom.
L. The VU Meters display peak output in dB below full scale, integrated 30 times per second. Technically speaking, these are Peak Program Meters, not VU meters, but we’ll fudge the terminology for the sake of common understanding.
Basic Concepts
User
Accounts
VoxPro facilitates work and collaboration in a shared environment by providing individual users with private, password-protected spaces called user accounts. When VoxPro is first installed, two user accounts are created automatically: a Guest account, which anyone can use, but which has limited capabilities; and the special Administrator account, which is used to manage VoxPro under the hood, and to create normal user accounts. Unless you purchased VoxPro for your own personal use (in which case you would probably always login as the Administrator), we highly recommend that a separate account be created for every VoxPro user.
Advantages to separate user accounts are numerous. Access to files and folders will be faster than if all the users are sharing one account. Users can customize many features of the VoxPro interface to their own liking, and maintain their work in private folders not accessible by others. Collaboration between users on a team (a jock and a producer, for example) is nonetheless enabled by any of several techniques:
- The administrator may create an account which is shared by all members of the team, into which they may all login simultaneously.
- Team members can ask the administrator to grant mutual access rights to individual team members' accounts, making it possible for team members to access each other's folders through the main Folders menu.
- Any user may copy a file (or multiple files) to any other user at any time.
Passwords
When a user account is first created it has no password. (This holds for the administrator's account as well.) A password for an account may be set at any time through the Settings/Change Password menu. Passwords are case-sensitive. You may "unset" your password by changing it to be the same as your user name. This once again disables the password field in the login window, and allows anyone to access your account. The administrator's password can be used to login to any password-protected account, or to change any user's password. It is not possible to assign a password to the Guest account.
Files
and Folders
All work in VoxPro is kept in files, which are organized into Folders. Every user can create his/her own folders, and move amongst them at will. If you ever forget who and where you are, just check the title-bar at the very top of the main VoxPro window, which displays both the current user and the active folder.
We often use the word Edit interchangeably with the word File. You might think of an Edit as a state of being, and the File as the thing itself. The edit is the current manifestation of the file, the sum total of all editing and effects operations on the file to date. The term edit is also useful as a distinction from the Master, which is the original manifestation of the file, before performing any edits or applying any effects . At one time in VoxPro's history, Edits and Masters were separate and distinct files, but now they are simply different views of the same file.
Recording
The
Usual Method
The normal Record function always records to a new file; it never overwrites an existing file. To start recording, use any of these methods:
- Press the Record button on the control panel.
- Press the R key.
- Select the File/New Edit menu.
To stop recording, use any of these methods:
- Press the Record button on the control panel .
- Press the Stop button on the control panel .
- Press the R key.
- Press the spacebar.
After the recording is stopped, you are given an opportunity to name the file, or to accept a default name (“Untitled”). You may also rename a file at any time.
Insert-Recording
The Insert-Record function allows you to record into the current active file, starting at the cue line. To start insert-recording, use either of these methods:
- Press the Insert Rec button on the control panel .
- Press the I key.
To stop insert-recording, use any of these methods:
- Press the Insert Rec button on the control panel .
- Press the I key.
- Press the spacebar.
Cancelled Recordings
Recordings and insert-recording may also be cancelled rather than stopped, by either of these methods:
- Press the cancel key on the control panel.
- Press the escape key on the keyboard.
For safety, cancelled recordings are not deleted but placed instead in the Deleted Files folder (see the discussion below on Files and Folders), with the default name "Untitled". Cancelled insert-recordings, however, are deleted immediately and cannot be recalled.
Automatic Gain Control (AGC)
If properly configured, AGC can improve the quality of your recordings by automatically boosting the volume of quiet signals and reducing the volume of overly loud signals, during the recording process itself. AGC must be enabled by the administrator (see discussion in Part II of this guide), but once it is enabled it is used by default whenever you record. You may verify its operation by noticing the yellow "AGC Enabled" indicator that appears in the lower left corner of the waveform view while recording.
Sometimes AGC is not desirable during a recording (for example, in music or any other situation where differences between loud and soft are used for effect). To disable AGC, simply switch it off using the Settings/Automatic Gain Control menu. It will remain disabled until you re-enable it, or until the next time you login.
Mono
Mix
Users may choose to record two-channel input as a mono mix, in which case the independent signals in each channel are mixed (after a 6dB attenuation) and presented in both channels simultaneously. Mono Mix recording is enabled from the Settings menu. Files which are imported are not mixed in this manner.
Auto-Record
Auto-Record is the mode to use when you want to rapidly record a series of separate files. In Auto-Record mode, each time you press the record button on the control panel (or the R key on the keyboard), the current recording is stopped, automatically assigned a generic name and saved, then a new recording is started. This will continue as long as you continue to hit record. To stop this sequence, press the Stop button on the control panel (or the space-bar on the keyboard). Auto-Record is enabled from the Settings menu, but it is not “sticky” – thus it will be disabled whenever you log in to a new session.
Playing
Play
and Stop
There are three "flavors" of the playback function:
- Play from cue (i.e. play from current position).
- Play from beginning.
- Play selection (selection is discussed below, under Editing).
To play from cue, use either of these methods:
- Press the Play button on the control panel.
- Press the spacebar.
To play from beginning, use either of these methods:
- Press the Play Beg button on the control panel.
- Press the P key.
To play the highlighted selection, use either of these methods:
- Press the Play Sel button on the control panel.
- Press the S key.
To stop playing, use any of these methods:
- Press the Stop button on the control panel.
- Press the Play button on the control panel.
- Press the spacebar.
Playback
Direction and Output Options
Playback direction (left to right, or right to left) is an individual preference which you can set from the Settings/Play Direction menu.
Playback options are available from the Settings/Play Options menu, and affect how the audio signal is presented to your audio hardware (soundcard) for playback. Playback options apply only to 2-channel files. The VoxPro administrator's playback option is the default setting for all normal users, but users may override the setting on a per-session basis (meaning that you can change it at will, but the next time you log in it will be set back to the administrator's setting). The playback options allow you to play the file as is (that is, with discrete left and right channels), to produce a mono mix on the fly (the -6dB option ensures no clipping), or even to play just the left or just the right channel.
Scrubbing
The
Scrub Keys
Scrubbing is a term used to describe forward or reverse playback, at any speed, for the purpose of locating an edit point. The scrub controls are quite versatile and can be customized to your own personal taste.
Fast-forward/rewind is triggered by either of these methods:
- Press and hold the double left arrow/right arrow buttons on the control panel.
- Press and hold the left arrow/right arrow keys on the keyboard.
Normal speed forward/reverse is triggered by either of these methods:
- Press and hold the single left arrow/right arrow buttons on the control panel.
- With the shift key held down, press and hold the left arrow/right arrow keys on the keyboard.
Slow speed forward/reverse is triggered by either of these methods:
- Press and hold the small left arrow/right arrow buttons on the control panel.
- With the control key held down, press and hold the left arrow/right arrow keys on the keyboard.
The fast-forward/fast rewind controls may operate in either a one-phase or two-phase mode. In one-phase mode, fast-forward/rewind cause the waveform to scroll left or right silently, without actually playing any sound. In two-phase mode, fast-forward/rewind is initially audible, but then enters the silent (and potentially much faster) phase after a pre-determined span of time. To customize these modes, select the Settings/Scrub menu. In the window that pops up, the top slider controls the scrub speed used in one-phase mode and in the second (silent) phase of two-phase mode. Two-phase mode (audible scrub) is enabled with the "first part of scrub is audible" option, and the time span of the audible first phase is set with the second slider.
Note that you can also drop in and out of scrub mode while playing: for example, you can hold down the normal speed forward (single right arrow) button on the control panel while pressing and releasing the fast forward (or reverse) button. This moves you quickly around the file, while allowing you to intermittently confirm your location.
Other
Ways to Get Around
In addition to the scrub keys, there are other ways to move around within a file:
- Spin the jog wheel on the control panel.
- Press the go to left ()) and go to right (*) buttons on the control panel.
- Press the home and end keys on the keyboard.
- Mouse click in the timeline above the waveform view.
- Mouse click-drag on the position indicator in the timeline above the waveform view.
- With the control key on the keyboard held down, click-drag in the waveform view (see the Settings/Scrub menu for an option to perform this action without the control key).
On some older control panel models, you can also:
- Rock the shuttle ring around the jog wheel.
- Press the Goto Beg button.
- Press the Goto Beg button with the Option button held down (for Goto End).
Note that there is also an option to remap the Edit/Master button on older control panels so that it functions as Go to End. This option is available from the Settings/Control Panel menu.
Editing
Making
a Selection
The basic editing operations cut, copy and delete are performed on selected (highlighted) portions of the waveform. The paste operation takes place at the cue line.
To select a portion of the audio waveform, use any of these methods:
- Click and drag the mouse in the waveform view (depending on which option you have selected in the Settings/Scrub menu, you may have to hold down the control key on the keyboard while performing this action).
- Press the Mark Left and Mark Right buttons on the control panel to place the left or right selection boundary at the cue line.
- Press the [ and ] keys on the keyboard to place the left or right selection boundary at the cue line.
To extend (or contract) an existing selected region, use any of these methods:
- Click the right mouse button (right-click) in the waveform view.
- Scroll the waveform so that the desired new boundary is under the cue line, and press the Mark Left or Mark Right button on the control panel.
- Scroll the waveform so that the desired new boundary is under the cue line, and press the [ or ] keys on the keyboard.
To select the entire file, use either of these methods:
- Choose Select All from the main Edit menu.
- Press the A key on the keyboard (control +A also works).
To unselect an existing selected region, use any of these methods:
- Choose Deselect from the main Edit menu.
- Press the Deselect button on the control panel.
- Press the K key on the keyboard (control +K also works).
Basic
Editing Operations
The copy operation is used to copy the selected region of the audio waveform in order that it may then be pasted into the same file at another location, or into a different file altogether. To copy a selection, use any of these methods:
- Choose Copy from the main Edit menu.
- Press the Copy button on the control panel.
- Press the C key on the keyboard (control +C also works).
The delete operation removes the selected region of the audio waveform. To delete the selection, use any of these methods:
- Choose Delete from the main Edit menu.
- Press the Delete button on the control panel.
- Press the Delete key on the keyboard.
The cut operation is actually a combination of copy followed by delete. In other words, a cut selection can then be pasted elsewhere. To perform the cut operation, use any of these methods:
- Choose Cut from the main Edit menu.
- Press the Cut button on the control panel.
- Press the X key on the keyboard (control +X also works).
The paste operation inserts the last copied (or cut) selection into the current file starting at the cue line. To paste a copied region, use any of these methods:
- Choose Paste from the main Edit menu.
- Press the Paste button on the control panel.
- Press the V key on the keyboard (control +V also works).
Note that when pasting audio from one file to another, you must use the Copy/Paste combination. The Cut/Paste combination only works within a single file.
Undo/Redo
You may undo the last edit operation with any of these methods:
- Choose Undo from the main Edit menu.
- Press the Undo button on the control panel.
- Press the Z key on the keyboard (control +Z also works).
You may change your mind and undo the undo with any of these methods:
- Choose Redo from the main Edit menu.
- While holding down the option button, press the Undo button on the control panel.
- Press the Y key on the keyboard (control +Y also works).
Note that the Undo and Redo operations may be applied repeatedly, allowing you to undo all editing operations back to your original recording, and then to reapply them all again in sequence.
Master
Mode
Master mode allows you to temporarily return a file to its pristine, un-edited state. It is equivalent to "undoing" a file all the way back to its original condition, except that no editing or effects operations other than Copy are allowed in Master mode. Thus, Master mode allows you to return to your "master" and fetch a segment of the file that you may have subsequently edited out. Audio selected from a file in Master mode may be pasted to the same file after toggling out of Master mode, or it may be pasted to another file altogether.
To toggle in and out of Master mode, use any of these methods:
- Choose Master from the main Edit menu.
- Press the Edit/Master button on the control panel (not available on all models).
- Press the Tab key on the keyboard.
- Click the Master button at the top left corner of the Edits list.
Effects
The
Effects Menu
All of the effects available in VoxPro can be applied through the main Effects menu. Like the editing operations, effects are performed on, or applied to, a selected region of audio. (The Insert Silence effect is the sole exception.) VoxPro provides a basic, standard set of effects, and provides access to Microsoft Direct Music Objects (DMOs) for more advanced effects. Like the editing operations discussed in the preceding section, the undo and redo actions can be applied to all of the effects as well.
The basic effects are these:
- Adjust Volume allows a volume change of up to 30dB on either or both channels or the selected region.
- Bleep replaces the selected region with a 1000Hz sine tone.
- Insert Silence inserts the specified duration of silence starting at the cue line.
- Mute completely silences either or both channels of the selected region.
- Noise Reduction removes background hiss and hum from recordings. This effect searches for the quietest section from the center of the selected region and uses the ambient noise in that section as a pattern which is subtracted from the remaining selection.
- Normalize adjusts the volume on either or both channels of the selected region by an amount calculated to place the new peak at -1dB below full range.
- Reverse reverses the selected region, so that it plays backwards.
- VOICESLIP shifts one channel of the selected region past the other, so as to eliminate host-caller "talk-over" (not applicable to monophonic files).
A set of three sophisticated effects allow you to change the pitch (frequency) and/or duration (timing or tempo) of the selected region. These effects allow you to experiment with the effect in a preview mode, and then to commit the effect once you are satisfied with the result:
- Change Pitch allows the pitch to be changed without a corresponding change in the duration.
- Change Tempo allows the duration to be shortened or lengthened without a corresponding change in the pitch.
- Change Rate changes pitch and duration together, as though you were playing a tape or vinyl record at the wrong speed.
Additional effects, available through the Advanced Effects submenu, are provided by Direct Music Objects installed as part of Microsoft's DirectX (9.0) package. VoxPro has augmented the interfaces on these effects to provide preview and commit modes, as well as a means to apply the effect to either or both channels of the selected region. Two of the effects - echo and reverb - are provided as one-button shortcuts in the main Effects menu, in addition to their full control interfaces in the Advanced Effects menu. The full set of Microsoft DMO effects include:
- Chorus
- Compression
- Distortion (two kinds)
- Echo
- Flanging
- Parametric Equalization
- Reverberation (two kinds)
Special note to Windows Vista users: the DMO interfaces are not supported under Vista, so the Advanced Effects submenu is not available.
Effects
Shortcuts
A few of the effects are available via shortcuts that don't involve the Effects menu. The bleep effect can be applied by pressing the B key on the keyboard (control +B also works). If you press and hold the control button on the control panel, the LCD displays mute, bleep and VOICESLIP options which can then be applied by pressing the corresponding hotkey under the label. As one would expect, there must be a selected region for any of these shortcuts to work.
Hotkeys
If you have a VoxPro control panel, you can assign any file to a Hotkey for immediate, one-button playback. Hotkeys are arranged in 26 banks of five Hotkeys per bank, for a total of 130 Hotkeys.
To assign a Hotkey, use either of these methods:
- Right-click on the active file in the file list and choose Assign Hotkey from the popup menu, then choose the bank and position.
- With the Option button on the control panel held down, press any of the five Hotkey buttons underneath the control panel's LCD.
Once a Hotkey is assigned, its name appears in the control panel's LCD above the corresponding Hotkey button. To play the file, simply press the Hotkey. To access the different banks, use the Up-Arrow/Down-Arrow buttons to the left of the control panel's LCD.
To remove a Hotkey, use any of these methods:
- Right-click on the active file in the file list and choose Unassign Hotkey from the popup menu.
- With the Option and Shift buttons on the control panel held down, press the corresponding Hotkey button under the control panel's LCD.
A file may also be re-assigned to a different Hotkey by choosing Reassign Hotkey from the right-click popup menu described above. If a file that is assigned to a Hotkey is deleted, then the corresponding Hotkey entry is also removed.
Markers
Markers are points of significance within a file that you want to mark and label for easy referral at a later time. Markers can be added at any time, during recording or while playing a file. Markers are always applied at the current position, that is, at the cue line.
To add a marker, use either of these methods:
- Choose Insert Marker from the main Markers menu.
- Press the M key on the keyboard.
When you add a marker, a window pops up and gives you an opportunity to label the marker, but you do not need to (blank markers are allowed). If you are adding a marker while the waveform is in motion (i.e. during record or playback), the popup marker label window will fade out and disappear after a few seconds if you do not type in a label, inserting a blank marker at the spot where you first pressed the M key.
Once a marker is inserted, a marker tag appears in the timeline above the waveform view (if you are not in record mode), and a separate Markers window appears in the lower right corner of the computer screen showing you a list of the markers in the file. To immediately go to a marker location, use any of these methods (not available in record mode):
- Choose Go to Marker in the main Markers menu.
- Double-click the mouse on a marker in the Markers window.
- Click the mouse on any marker tag in the timeline above the waveform.
From the Markers menu, you can also edit a marker, delete a marker, or open the Markers window (if it's been closed or obscured). Similarly, a right-click of the mouse in the Markers window allows you to edit or delete a marker, or to start playing from a marker.
Zoom
Along the Temporal
(Horizontal ) Axis
You can zoom in on the area around the cue line with any of these methods:
- Toggle Zoom from the main Edit menu.
- Press the Zoom button on the control panel (if your control panel does not have a Zoom button, you may remap the Edit/Master key to perform this function from the Settings/Control Panel menu).
- Press the Q key on the keyboard (think of a magnifying glass).
There is only one level of zoom, so you are either zoomed or not zoomed – this control is a toggle. All editing, playback and effects functions can be performed while zoomed. Slow scrub speed while zoomed is extremely slow, slow enough so that you can follow the waveform as it scrolls left or right. Likewise for motion of the jog wheel.
In normal resolution (not zoomed), VoxPro displays small tick marks spaced at one-second increments along the bottom of the waveform view (100 pixels per second). In zoomed mode, resolution is four frames per pixel, and each tick mark represents a hundredth of a second.
Along the Intensity (Vertical ) Axis
The vertical scale of the Edit View can be adjusted by moving the Headroom Slider, located immediately above the VU meters. The effect of moving the slider to the right is to lower the top boundary of the waveform window, thus implying a certain amount of headroom above the top line before the waveform actually begins to clip. Accordingly, the scale on the VU meters is also adjusted, such that a signal measuring 0dB on the meters completely fills and peaks at the top of the Edit View.
Importing Media Files
The
Usual Method
VoxPro can import most standard media file formats, including:
- Windows Wave (.wav)
- Windows Media Audio (.wma, .wmv, .asf)
- Apple Interchange Format (.aif, .aiff)
- MPEG (.mp3, .mp2, .mpeg, .mpa)
- VoxPro Wave (.vpw, VoxPro's native format)
By default, VoxPro converts the format of imported files to its own internal format (set by the Administrator from the Settings/Audio Devices menu). For example, if VoxPro's internal format is set to 44100Hz, 16-bit, 2-channel (the CD audio format), but you import a 48000Hz monophonic WAV file, then the audio data will be samplerate-converted to 44100Hz and opened as a 2-channel file with identical channels. You can override this format conversion with the "Do not convert to VoxPro's default format" option from the main File/Import menu. But bear in mind that you may not always be able to play a file imported in this manner if your audio hardware uses digital I/O, because the hardware will not be able to change its format to match that of the file.
Auto-Import
A completely different mechanism for importing files is called Auto-Import, available from the Settings/Auto Import menu. The auto-import function periodically scans a folder which you specify (any folder accessible on your LAN); any media files found there are imported into VoxPro to a folder of your choosing, and then deleted. Thus, files which are regularly generated by other automated studio processes can be easily imported into the VoxPro environment without any active effort on your part.
Other
Ways to Make Files
You can create a brand new file from the selected region of an existing file by either of these methods:
- Right-click on the active file in the file list and choose New Edit from Selection.
- Choose New Edit from Selection from the main File menu.
You can create a new, empty file by either of these methods:
- Choose New Empty Edit from the main File menu.
- Press the N key on the keyboard (control +N also works).
Exporting VoxPro Files
The
Usual Method
Files in VoxPro can be exported to any location accessible on your LAN, by either of these methods:
- Choose Export from the main File menu.
- Right-click on the selected file(s) in the Edits window and choose Export from the popup menu.
A window appears prompting you for the destination folder of the file, its name (if you are exporting only one file), and its format. Files may be exported in any of these standard media formats:
- Windows Wave (.wav)
- Windows Media Audio (.wma)
- Apple Interchange Format (.aif)
- MPEG-1 Layer 3 (.mp3)
- Custom MPEG
Four commonly chosen options for the quality/size tradeoff in MP3 files are available. For true gearheads, a custom MPEG option allows you to specify the parameters passed to the LAME encoder using a text file called lame_args.txt in VoxPro's LAME_Encoder subfolder. (The LAME_Encoder folder is accessible from Windows Explorer, in the folder where VoxPro is installed.) You also have the option of adding basic ID3 tags to files exported in MP3 format.
The Advanced button in the Export window allows you to be quite specific about how you want your two-channel files to be exported. For example, you can mix the two channels and export the file in monophonic format. The very first setting, "Two-channel file with discrete left and right channels", is the default, and preserves the format of the file as you see it.
EZ-Export
EZ-Export is another option that is available if enabled by the VoxPro administrator. EZ-Export is a one-click action that exports the selected file(s) to a preset destination folder in a preset format. The VoxPro administrator configures EZ-Export from the administrator's Settings/EZ-Export Setup menu.
RSS Publication
VoxPro’s RSS publication wizard is launched from the File/Publish menu. The wizard guides you through the process of supplying the necessary information to create or edit an RSS file for syndicated publication on the internet, i.e. podcasting. The publication wizard can also perform MP3 compression with addition of ID3 tags, and handle FTP uploads to your podcast site.
Files and Folders
Creating
New Folders
Every user account in VoxPro comes with three standard folders, called Default, Transfer and Deleted Files. These folders are all available from the main Folders menu. Using the Folders/Manage Folders menu, you can add other folders to your liking, or delete folders that you have created. You can always tell what folder you are currently working in by looking at the VoxPro "titlebar", which is the top-most portion of the main VoxPro window. You change your current folder by simply selecting it from the Folders menu.
Accessing
Other Users' Files and Folders
You can ask the VoxPro administrator to give you access to another user's folders (assuming the other user has agreed to this), after which that user's account can be accessed through the Folders menu. Access is only one-way; if the access is to be mutual, then the administrator must grant both of you access to each other's accounts. The administrator grants (and revokes) access privileges through the administrator's Accounts/Access Rights menu. Once you have access to another user's folders, you may record, edit, delete and move files within that account, but you cannot change any of that user's personalized settings or assign Hotkeys.
It is also possible for multiple users to login to the same account and work in the same folder simultaneously. Keep in mind, though, that only one person may have a given file opened at any one time. If you try to open a file that is currently being edited by another user on a different machine, a message to that effect is displayed in the waveform view.
Copying
and Moving Files
Files which are copied to you from another user are placed in your Transfer folder. From there you may move them to a folder of your choosing by right-clicking the selected file(s), choosing Move To and then the destination folder from the popup menu.
You may copy any file to another user by right-clicking on the selected file(s), choosing Copy To and then the user from the popup menu.
Deleting
Files
To delete a file or group of files, use any of these methods:
- Choose Delete Selected Files from the main File menu.
- With the control key held down, press the D key on the keyboard.
- Right-click with the mouse on the selected file in the Edit list, then choose Delete from the popup menu.
For safety, deleted files are not actually removed from your hard disk immediately; they are placed instead in a kind of purgatory which we call the Deleted Files folder (accessible through the main Folders menu). This folder holds up to 25 files before further file deletions finally cause the oldest files in this folder to be physically removed from the hard disk. (More precisely, when a file deletion operation begins, all but the 25 most recent files already in the Deleted Files folder are physically deleted from the hard disk, then all of the files selected for deletion are moved to the Deleted Files folder.) The exception is for files which are deleted from the Deleted Files folder itself, which are deleted immediately, with no possibility of recall.
Files still in the Deleted Files folder can always be "saved" by moving them back to another folder, in the manner described above for moving any file. On the other hand, you can always force immediate deletion of all the files in the Deleted Files folder (i.e., "take out the trash") with either of these methods:
- Choose Empty Deleted Files Folder from the main File menu
- Press the T key on the keyboard (control +T also works)
Searching
Files
File titles may be searched for any combination of characters by choosing Search from the main File menu. All accounts and folders to which you have access are searched. When the administrator conducts a search, all folders on all accounts on all machines in the VoxPro network are searched.
The File Database
VoxPro maintains a database of each user's files so that critical information such as the name, length, date and format of literally thousands of files is available to you instantly when you login. Without the database, VoxPro would have to laboriously open each and every file in your collection in order to gather and display this information to you.
The database can become corrupted (i.e., out of sync with the actual contents of your folders) if you or another user happens to delete or move your files "behind the scenes", that is, without VoxPro's knowledge, by using the normal methods available in Windows Explorer. The symptom that you would notice in VoxPro is an error message when you attempt to open a file that appears in your Edit list. In this case, you have to rebuild the database by choosing Rebuild File Database from the main File menu. A database for even several thousand files shouldn't take more than a few minutes to rebuild.
More information on the file database can be found below in the Administrative section, under the VoxPro File Format heading.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Most VoxPro editing and “transport” commands (play, record, stop, etc.) are available as keyboard shortcuts, as illustrated in the diagram below (this diagram is also available from VoxPro’s main Help menu). Please note that these shortcuts do not function as advertised if you have selected the "Classic Mac" option from the Settings/Control Panel menu.
Part 2. Administration
Audio
Devices and Drivers
One of the first things VoxPro does after being launched is to run an inventory of your computer's audio hardware. In particular, it looks for audio drivers of two types: so-called WDM (Windows Driver Model) drivers that are DirectSound compatible, and legacy WaveAudio drivers, which serve as a fallback resource in the absence of a DirectSound driver.
Which of the multiple audio devices found on most modern computers VoxPro is to use is set by means of the Settings/Audio Devices menu. (VoxPro ignores the audio device settings used by the Windows operating system itself, as determined in the system control panel.) By default, the available DirectSound devices for playback (output) and recording (input) are displayed in the two drop-down device lists. If a device list is grayed out (disabled), it means that no DirectSound driver for that category was found on the computer.
On the other hand, some device drivers declare themselves to the operating system as being DirectSound compatible when, in fact, they are not. (Technically, they are WDM drivers that are nonetheless only partially DirectSound compatible.) These drivers usually identify themselves as "emulated". For example, the popular Digigram VX222 registers both an emulated driver and a fully DirectSound compatible WDM driver for recording. If you choose the emulated driver VoxPro will generate an error when you try to record.
Most soundcard vendors today supply fully DirectSound compatible WDM drivers for their soundcards, although there are some notable exceptions (for example, there is no WDM driver available for LynxStudio's LynxONE card, though there is one for the equally excellent LynxTWO). We recommend that you keep your soundcard drivers up to date, and that you periodically check the soundcard manufacturer's web site for the latest version. In particular, drivers that date from before about 2002 are likely to cause problems in VoxPro. Typical problems include skipping, an inability to use the jog wheel or scrub buttons effectively, and failures while trying to record.
If you enable the "Use legacy WaveAudio drivers" option in the Settings/Audio Devices window, VoxPro populates the playback and recording drop-down lists with the WaveAudio drivers installed on your computer. The list can often appear quite similar to the DirectSound list. In dire cases (old drivers on slow machines), you can significantly reduce dropouts while recording with the "Use long buffers for recording" option, though at the expense of a waveform display which is updated only twice per second while recording. Our experience is that the performance of WaveAudio drivers varies widely from manufacturer to manufacturer, and that few of them perform as well as modern WDM DirectSound drivers.
DirectSound and DirectX
DirectSound is a programming interface that VoxPro uses to communicate with the audio hardware on your computer. It is a Microsoft technology that is distributed as part of their DirectX media initiative. We recommend that you keep DirectX up to date on your computer. The current version of DirectX is normally installed on new computers, but there are cases where it goes missing, or is out of date (pre-version 9.0). DirectX is available as a free download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx.
One of the best diagnostic tools that comes with DirectX is called dxdiag. You start dxdiag by clicking on the Windows Start button, selecting Run from the popup menu, then typing in "dxdiag". (If it offers to check for valid digital signatures on any of your installed device drivers while starting up, just say no.) Once it has completed an inventory of all of your media hardware and software, this information becomes accessible through pages accessed by tabs displayed across the top of the window. The first page contains useful system information, including your current installed version of DirectX at the bottom.
You should also have one or more Sound tabs, one for each device driver installed on the computer. Information on the sound pages include driver version, date, and type (emulated or WDM). The Test DirectSound button on each sound page is useful for quickly verifying that you have an audio signal coming out of your soundcard.
Setting Levels
The
Windows Mixer Manager
The Windows Mixer Manger provides a standardized software interface to address signal routing and input/output levels on your audio hardware. Most, but not all, soundcard vendors support the Windows Mixer interface to some degree by providing mixer drivers with their hardware. The extent to which vendors support the interface varies widely, however. Many audio devices can only be configured from the vendor’s proprietary control panel, installed with the driver software. For devices which do support the Windows Mixer interface, however, the mixer itself can be accessed by selecting Audio Devices and Format from the Settings menu, and clicking the “Audio Device Properties” button. This opens the Windows audio devices properties page (which is also available from the system control panel). If the selected playback and record devices support the Windows Mixer interface, the “Volume” buttons beneath them will be enabled. Clicking on this button opens the mixer window for that device.
Controlling
Feedback
Feedback during recording is a common problem, but is addressed differently on different soundcards. Many soundcards have a "monitor" control which must be muted or turned down, while others label this signal path "wave-in" or "line-in". Most often this control is located in the playback section of the Windows Mixer (if supported), not the recording section. If you do not see the control, check to see if it appears in the list of available controls accessible from the mixer's Options/Properties menu. Check it so it will appear in the Windows Mixer interface.
Managing User Accounts
When VoxPro is initially installed, it contains only two user accounts: Administrator and Guest. As implied, anyone can log in to the guest account without a password. The administrative account is primarily used to configure various settings in VoxPro and to create normal user accounts. You'll probably want to password-protect the administrative account, which you can do via the Settings/Change Password menu.
We strongly recommend that you create a personal account for each user on the system, rather than asking all of your users to share one account. The reason for this is not only for personal privacy, but because a large file collection in one user account is slower to access and harder to manage than smaller file collections spread among several accounts.
To create a user account, select Add User from the main Accounts menu. The main item of information that you need to specify here, besides the user's name, is the location in your file system where that user's files will physically reside. By default, that location is a subfolder within VoxPro's own installation folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\VoxPro PC\VP_Depot\Joe User), but you can make it anywhere on your LAN. Keep in mind that if the path to the account points to a remote computer, then any file recorded locally must be copied to the remote computer for permanent storage after it is saved and given a name, which can be time consuming.
VoxPro maintains user accounts created on different computers as distinct entities. For example, if you create an account for Mary on the computer in the on-air studio, and another account called Mary on the computer in the production room, you've created two separate accounts. This may or may not be what you intend. If you mean to create one account that can be used by Mary no matter where she is, then create the account on the computer that she uses the most, and it will automatically be accessible from all of the other VoxPro workstations on your LAN (further discussion below under Networking).
The Check Disk Usage tool in the Accounts menu gives you an overview of all users' physical disk usage, and shows you as well the computer that "owns" the account (the computer that the administrator used to create the account), and the local or network path to the account. By default, the tool only displays accounts which are owned by the local computer, but you can display information on remote accounts on other VoxPro workstations on your LAN by switching on the "Include remote VoxPro hosts" option.
There is no facility for moving the location of a user account; you must instead delete the account and then re-add it, specifying the new location. If there are audio files that need to be moved to the new location, you are responsible for moving them yourself. If the new location is to a different physical drive or partition, you will need to copy the files instead, which can take some time for a large collection.
VoxPro maintains its list of users in a file called Users_Local.inf, which you will find in the folder where VoxPro is installed (usually C:\Program Files\VoxPro PC). This file can be opened with a text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad, and you will see that it is simply a list of pathnames, one line per account. An under-the-hood, back-door method to add, move and delete user accounts is simply to quit VoxPro, open and edit this file, save and close it, then restart VoxPro. Remote VoxPro workstations will automatically be informed of the new arrangement.
The administrator's account gives you access to every folder in every user's account through the main Folders menu.
Networking
If you install VoxPro on multiple computers around your LAN and begin to create user accounts on them, each computer will advertise its user list to the other VoxPro computers on the network, which allows each computer to provide login access to all VoxPro user accounts on the LAN. Thus, any user may login and access his/her files from any VoxPro workstation on your LAN. (The exceptions are the Administrator and Guest accounts, which are always local and specific to the machine.) VoxPro uses UDP broadcast semantics to communicate between VoxPro workstations.
Through the Settings/VoxPro Network menu, you may configure VoxPro to operate in standalone mode, as though there were no other VoxPro workstations on your LAN. You may also be selective in determining which remote VoxPro workstations will be allowed to share accounts with the computer you are working on. By this mechanism, clusters of VoxPro workstations belonging to one station can be logically separated from those belonging to a different station, even while keeping everyone on the same LAN.
File Access, Sharing and Security Issues in Windows
In order for VoxPro to operate effectively, users must have read and write access not only to their own files, but to other users’ files as well (for example, to be able to copy a file to another user, or to access files on a remote VoxPro workstation). In addition, VoxPro must be able to maintain its databases and user configuration files, all of which require file access permissions from the operating system. The Windows operating system, and Windows XP in particular, places a number of default restrictions on what types of file operations are allowed and by whom. All of these restrictions can be overcome by following the procedures in the checklist below. Note that you will need administrative rights on the computer in order to make these changes; that is, you will need to login to Windows using an administrative account, not a regular user account.
Initial Procedures
for Windows XP
- Disable Fast User Switching. Fast user switching is a feature that allows the logged-in Windows user to “impersonate” another user (although you’re probably not aware that that is what is happening). It’s a fine idea except that it breaks many programs, including VoxPro. Open the User Accounts wizard in the system Control Panel (available through the Start button popup menu). Under “Pick a task” choose “Change the way users log on or off”. (If you do not see this option, you are not logged in as the Windows administrator!) Disable “Use Fast User Switching” and click the Apply Options button. If you used Fast User Switching to login as the system administrator, you will be forced to logout at this point. Otherwise, keep the Control Panel window open.
- Disable Simple File Sharing. There is nothing simple about file sharing, and you won’t be able to set file access permissions properly if this option is enabled. Select Folder Options from the Tools menu at the top of the Control Panel window. This opens the small Folder Options window. Click on the View tab at the top of this window. At the bottom of the “Advanced settings” list you should see an item called “Use simple file sharing”. Disable it, and click OK.
Procedures for
Windows 2000 and Windows XP (continued)
- Share the VoxPro folder. VoxPro attempts to do this itself when first installed, but you may want to verify that it was in fact able to do so. Open Windows Explorer and find the VoxPro installation folder (usually this is C:\Program Files\VoxPro PC). Right-click on the VoxPro PC folder and select Sharing from the popup menu. (If you don’t see this in the popup menu, you aren’t logged in as the Windows administrator!) Enable the Share this folder option, and use “VoxPro PC” as the share name. We leave the “User limit” set to the maximum allowed. Now keep this window open for the next step…
- Click on the Permissions button in the lower half of the window. A new window opens. You want to make sure that the “Everyone” group has Full Control, Change and Read permissions enabled. (In theory, the “Everyone” group really does include all Windows users, but of course there are exceptions to this, which are outside the scope of this user guide.) Click OK.
- You are now looking once again at the Properties window for the VoxPro PC folder. Click on the Security tab. Make sure that the “Power Users” and “Users” groups have the entire gamut of permissions enabled. (You won’t be able to change the permissions for “Administrators” and “SYSTEM”, and changes made to “CREATOR OWNER” won’t stick.) Click OK.
- If you have created or are planning to create VoxPro user accounts in a folder other than the default VoxPro PC installation folder, then you need to perform these same steps on that folder as well. Note that it is unnecessary to explicitly share and set these permissions on every user’s individual subfolder. In theory, “child” folders should inherit the permissions of the “parent” folder. Nonetheless, we have found rare instances in which this is not the case (usually on machines that have had their file systems upgraded from Windows 98), but it is usually sufficient in those cases to disable the sharing and permissions of the parent folder, and then to reset them as described. We do not recommend sharing the root folder of your hard drive.
- If you are running VoxPro on more than one computer around your LAN, then you are also probably interested in giving your users the ability to login to any VoxPro workstation to access their personal files. When a Windows program (such as VoxPro) attempts to open a file on a remote computer, one of the items of information that is exchanged between the two computers is the name and password of the user attempting the remote access (we are referring here to the Windows user account, not the VoxPro user account). If an identical account, with the identical password, exists on the remote machine, and that account has all of the proper security permissions set as described above, then access is granted. This holds especially true for Windows XP (there are some particular cases for which Windows 2000 is more permissive). The implication is that you need to create identical Windows user accounts (or profiles, as they are often called), with identical passwords, on all of your VoxPro workstations. The simplest solution by far is to create one Windows profile that everyone on the LAN uses. If you have a reason for creating multiple Windows profiles, then you’ll need to replicate the same profiles on all of your computers.
A very useful technique for troubleshooting file access problems is to attempt essentially the same thing using Windows Explorer. If you cannot access a given file or folder from Windows Explorer, then neither can VoxPro. If you cannot create or delete a file in a given folder from Windows Explorer, then neither can VoxPro. If Windows Explorer prompts you for a username and password while attempting to access a remote machine, then VoxPro will not be able to gain access to any folder on that machine (this is an indication of mismatched Windows profiles on the two computers).
The procedures described above apply to peer-to-peer networks, which are by far the most common type of Windows network. Configuring a domain server to authenticate user logins and permissions is beyond the scope of this user guide.
Windows
Firewall (Windows XP only)
If you have enabled Windows Firewall, then the very first
time that you run VoxPro you will get a Windows Security Alert asking if you
want to block VoxPro from running. Click
the Unblock button. On some
computers you may also have to enable a UDP port as well. Open the Window Firewall wizard from
the system control panel. Click the Exceptions
tab and then the
Interactions of Windows Firewall with other network security software can be unpredictable and extremely hard to debug. In the worst case you may need to disable Windows Firewall and rely on other software for security.
User Collaboration
You may grant any user access to another user’s folders with the Access Rights item in the main Accounts menu. Simply select the user who is being granted the rights, then the account which is to be made accessible to that user, then click OK. When the user next logs in, he/she will have access to the other user’s files through the main Folders menu. If the access is to be mutual, you must grant the second user reciprocal rights to the first user’s account as well.
Note that it is also possible for several users to login to the same account from different computers simultaneously. And of course, any user can send a file to any other user at any time, by choosing Copy To from the file list’s right-click popup menu.
Automatic Gain Control
Automatic Gain Control (AGC) is a process that operates only when recording. The AGC function continuously monitors the signal coming into the soundcard, turning up the volume when the signal is too low, and clamping down the volume when it gets too high. AGC operates on each channel independently (for example, the caller may need to be boosted, but not the jock). VoxPro’s AGC algorithm also detects and corrects for DC bias, an hardware artifact in which the incoming signal is not centered symmetrically around the zero-axis, but is instead offset above or below this line.
Set up AGC from the Settings/Automatic Gain Control menu. Once enabled, AGC is applied by default when a user starts recording or insert-recording. (However, users are able to disable AGC on a per-session basis.)
By far the most critical setting is Sensitivity, the threshold at which AGC is turned on. This must be set to a value higher than your ambient noise floor, otherwise you will be amplifying noise to an absurdly high level. The ambient noise floor is the value displayed by the Peak Program Meters (“VU” meters) when you are recording into an open mic but no one is speaking or otherwise making any noise.
The Peak Level is the maximum volume level below 0dB full scale that the compressed signal is allowed to attain.
The Response rate is a measure of how quickly AGC is turned on after the input signal rises above the sensitivity threshold value. If the response is too slow, you'll lose the beginning of the word, but if it's too fast it can sound unnatural and even produce a click.
Hold is the length of time that AGC remains active after the signal has dropped below the sensitivity threshold; for example, when you stop speaking or pause between sentences. If the hold time is too short, it will "pump" the volume when you pause and then start speaking again.
Finally, the Release rate governs how quickly AGC is turned off after the hold time has elapsed. An overly fast release sounds unnatural, while an overly slow release can be annoying.
AGC is most effective when it is used to "even out" a signal which is already pretty good, rather than as compensation for signal levels which are inadequate to begin with. Thus, it will boost the volume on a soft caller, but not all callers; it will boost the volume on a jock when he/she turns away from the mic, but not otherwise. When initially setting your soundcard and console levels you should not have AGC enabled. You can get a good feel for how AGC works by trying it out in an extreme situation: move very far from your microphone and speak in a normal voice. We don't recommend that as a common practice, but it is a good demonstration of the effectiveness of AGC.
Playback Options
Normally, the audio data that VoxPro sends to the soundcard during playback corresponds exactly to what you see in the waveform view. That is, if you have separate signals in your left and right channels (e.g. jock in one, caller in the other), then the audio output is also separated into discrete left and right channels.
You can easily override this by means of the Settings/Playback Options menu. The Mono Mix option simply mixes the two channels together and for this reason should be used with great care, as it is quite possible to produce a clipped (distorted) signal from the combination of two separate signals, neither of which is itself clipped. On the other hand, the Mono Mix -6dB option is always safe, since it reduces the amplitude of both channels by 50% (6dB) before mixing them. For comprehensiveness, we've also provided options to playback just the left or just the right channel.
The playback option is set by the Administrator and then becomes the default option for all users, though any user can override the default option on a session-by-session basis.
Note that the playback options apply only to playback and are ignored when exporting a file, although an equivalent set of options is available as an "advanced" feature of the Export function.
EZ-Export
EZ-Export is a facility that allows your users to export files to a predetermined location with just one click of the mouse. Enable EZ-Export with the Settings/EZ-Export Setup menu. Specify the destination folder and format of files to be exported in this manner.
(See the prior discussion on Exporting VoxPro Files for an explanation of the available format options.) Once you have configured and enabled EZ-Export, this option will be available in all users' main File menu as well as the right-click popup menu in the Edit list.
Auto-Import
The Auto-Import function allows users to automatically monitor a specified folder (anywhere on the LAN) and to import into VoxPro any media files that appear in that folder. So, for example, if you have another automated studio process that dumps hourly newscasts or traffic reports into that folder, they'll be "sucked in" to VoxPro within thirty seconds of their arrival. Once imported into VoxPro, the original file is deleted from the folder being monitored.
Users enable the Auto-Import function themselves from the Settings/Auto-Import menu. Each user can monitor a different folder, so that content can be targeted to individual VoxPro users. Auto-Import for a given user is only in effect while that user is logged in.
The Control Panel
The
RC-400 and RC-500 Models
The older RC-400 control panel is distinguished by a central jog wheel surrounded by a shuttle ring, and only one pair of scrub keys (fast forward and rewind). The more recent RC-500 control panel places the jog wheel on the right side, without a shuttle ring, and has three pairs of scrub keys in the center (for fast, normal and slow speeds, forward and reverse).
Both the RC-400 and RC-500 have an LCD display which is used to display user Hotkeys, and when applying certain effects from the control panel.
Both the RC-400 and
RC-500 models come in either a serial (RS-232) or USB
configuration. The serial version
requires no additional drivers, but does require an external 9V power supply,
which is shipped with the control panel.
The USB version uses either of two different drivers available from
Future Technology Devices International (www.ftdichip.com): the
The USB driver is not installed automatically when VoxPro is installed. To install the driver, simply plug the control panel into the USB port and allow Windows to detect the presence of the new hardware. Some Windows XP configurations will automatically detect the correct driver on your VoxPro CD-ROM and install it without any further prompting, but most of the time you need to follow the instructions of the Windows driver installation wizard. Do not allow Windows to install its own drivers or to search for drivers in Windows Update; instead, guide the installation wizard to the Control Panel Drivers folder on your CD-ROM by means of the "search in a specific location" option. (If you've downloaded the drivers directly from the FTDI website, guide the wizard to the folder on your hard disk where you've saved them.) If you need to install the VCP drivers, they are in a subfolder of the Control Panel Drivers folder on the CD-ROM. We recommend installing the control panel driver while VoxPro is not running.
VoxPro assumes that you have an RC-400 or RC-500 controller attached to your computer, and will prompt you when you login if it is missing or turned off. As the administrator, you also have the option of telling VoxPro not to search for a control panel if you really don't have one (you can always attach one later on). If the serial control panel is not powered up when VoxPro starts, you will have to restart VoxPro with the control panel turned on before VoxPro is able to find it (this is not the case with the USB control panel). Only one RC-400 or RC-500 control panel may be attached to the computer.
Extending
the Control Panel Cable
The RS-422 specification allows the serial control panel cable to be extended up to 1200 meters from the computer itself. The USB control panel may also be put on an extender, but for distances over three meters it must be a so-called "active extender" to supply sufficient power to the control panel. USB extenders can be problematic, so you want the control panel to be plugged in directly to the computer while installing the device driver; likewise, we recommend removing the extender as the first step in diagnosing problems with the control panel.
Remapping
Control Panel Functions
Not all RC-400 and RC-500 control panels have the same set of buttons on the working surface. If your model does not have a Go To End button or a Zoom button, you can remap the Edit/Master button to perform either of these functions by choosing the appropriate option from the Settings/Control Panel menu.
Remote
Control and On-Air Lights
The 9-pin D-connecter on the back of the RC-400 and RC-500 control panels is used to build contact closures for remote control functions and for switching on-air lights and channel strips in your studio console. The inputs are edge-driven. The controller sends a message when a high-low transition occurs, and another when a low-high transition occurs.
Pinouts for the current model RC-500 controller:
- Common
- Play from Beginning
- Play from Cue
- Record
- Tally on-air, opto-isolator collector
- Tally hotkey, opto-isolator collector
- Tally hotkey, opto-isolator emitter
- Stop
- Tally on-air, opto-isolator emitter
Pinouts for the older model RC-400 controller:
- Common
- Play from Beginning
- Play from Cue
- Record
- Tally on-air, opto-isolator collector
- Common
- Common
- Stop
- Tally on-air, opto-isolator emitter
This is output circuit of the GPI:
This is a typical circuit for connecting to equipment requiring CMOS or TTL levels:
This is a typical circuit for connecting to equipment that requires a contact closure. Maximum current is 0.1A DC, maximum voltage is 50V DC:
The
Classic Mac Controller
VoxPro was originally introduced on the Macintosh computer,
and shipped with a control panel that we now call the Classic Mac
controller. This control panel can also
be used with VoxPro PC, if you purchase an ADB-to-USB adapter such as the
VoxPro users can individually enable the classic controller by selecting the Classic Mac option from the Settings/Control Panel menu. You may connect both a classic controller and a more recent RC-400 or RC-500 controller to the same computer, and allow users to choose for themselves one or the other. Note that the normal VoxPro keyboard shortcuts are disabled when the classic controller option is selected. Also, users who select the classic controller will not have access to Hotkeys. However, the first five cart keys along the top of the classic controller are "hardwired" to apply effects, in this order: Mute Left, Mute Right, Bleep, VOICESLIP (right before left), VOICESLIP (left before right).
The 8-pin DIN connector on the classic controller is used to build contact closures for remote control of VoxPro functions. The pins are assigned as follows:
- Common
- Common
- Common
- Common
- Record
- Play from Beginning
- Play from Cue
- Stop
The VoxPro File Format
VoxPro stores audio files in the VoxPro Wave (.vpw) format. This is actually a standard .wav file with a proprietary RIFF chunk which contains information that VoxPro uses to render the file according to the sequence of edits and effects that you have applied. You can change the suffix on a .vpw file and rename it as a .wav file instead, and it will be playable by any media player, loadable into any audio editor. However, it will not sound like the version rendered by VoxPro (unless you've made no edits at all). Rather, you will hear the original recording (the master), followed by any applied effects, insert-recordings, and audio pasted in from other files.
Every folder of every user account contains a database that VoxPro uses to quickly retrieve and display information about contents of that folder. This database file is called VP_EMap.vpd, and if it is deleted VoxPro will recreate it automatically. In fact, this is exactly what the Rebuild File Database command in the main File menu does. (Specifically, it deletes and rebuilds all of the database files in all folders belonging to the active user.) If a curious or malicious user uses Windows Explorer to browse to the VP_Depot folder and start deleting VoxPro Wave files, then the database files for those folders will be out of sync with the actual contents of the folders, and will have to be rebuilt.