HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

Exiting CDA Viewer

To exit CDA Viewer, choose Quit from the File menu.

Clock displays the time (in both analog and digital format) and the date. You can change the Clock display to suit your needs. You can also set Clock's alarm to remind you of appointments.

This chapter describes how to

• Start Clock
• Customize the Clock display
• Set the alarm
• Exit Clock

Starting Clock

To start Clock, choose Clock from Session Manager's Applications menu.

The Clock display appears on your screen. You can move and change the size of the display.

Customizing the Clock Display

You can customize the Clock display to include any combination of the date and time regions.

To change the Clock display, choose Display... from the Options menu.

Clock displays the Display Options dialog box.

Shaded (enabled) check buttons indicate the current settings. To change the setting, click MB1 on a check button or its label. For example, if you want only the analog clock displayed and the Analog, Digital, and Date check buttons are shaded, click on the Digital and Date check buttons to disable those settings.

To use the current settings, click on OK. To return to the date and time display without changing any settings, click on Cancel.

If you disable the menu bar, you can use a pop-up menu to customize the Clock display:

1. Place the pointer anywhere in the Clock display.
2. Press and hold MB3. A pop-up menu appears.
3. Drag to the Display... menu item.
4. Release MB3. The Display Options dialog box appears.

To save the new settings and the size and placement of the Clock display on the screen:

1. Make any desired changes to the size, position, and settings of the Clock display.
2. Choose Save Settings from the Options menu or the pop-up menu.

To restore the system defaults, choose Restore System Settings from the Options menu or the pop-up menu.

Setting the Alarm

You can set the alarm to remind you of an appointment.

To set the alarm

1. Choose Alarm... from the Options menu.
   The Alarm Options dialog box appears.

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2. In the entry box for the hour of the day, type the hour you want the alarm to sound.
   You can use a 12-hour clock, in which case you need to specify AM or PM, or you can use a 24-hour clock (military time).
   To erase a number that you previously entered or to correct typing mistakes, use the Delete key (<X|).
3. In the entry box for the minutes of the hour, finish entering the time you want the alarm to sound.
4. If you are using a 12-hour clock or if the time you specify is earlier than 13:00, click on either the AM or PM radio button.
5. To display a message on your screen when the alarm sounds, type your message in the Alarm Message entry box. Alarm messages can contain up to 200 characters.
6. To use the current settings, click on OK. To return to the date and time display without changing the previous settings, click on Cancel.

When the alarm sounds, click on OK in the dialog box to clear the alarm message from your screen.

Exiting Clock

To exit Clock, choose Exit from the File menu or the pop-up menu.

DECsound is a software application that you can use to play and record audio messages, which you can mail to other users or include in documents.

This chapter describes how to

• Start DECsound
• Use the DECsound control panel
• Make an audio recording
• Play an audio recording
• Edit an audio recording
• Use LiveLink connections
• Mail audio recordings
• Exit DECsound

Starting DECsound

You can start a DECsound session in any of the following ways:

• Using Session Manager or FileView
  To start DECsound from Session Manager or FileView, choose DECsound from the Applications menu. If the Applications menu does not contain a DECsound menu item, contact your system manager.
• Using LiveLink connections
  You can make LiveLink connections from DECwrite (see Using LiveLink Connections).
• Using the command line
  To start DECsound from the operating system command line on an OpenVMS system, enter one of the following commands:

  $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:DECSOUND

  
  You can also define a symbol on the command line or in your LOGIN.COM file, as follows:

  $ DECSOUND :== $DECSOUND

  
  If you define a symbol, you can specify the qualifiers that control how the DECsound session executes (see Table 7-1).

The following example shows how to invoke DECsound to play the BIRDS.AUD file at a playback volume of 50 without displaying the DECsound window:

$ DECSOUND -play BIRDS.AUD -volume 50

DECsound Files

DECsound files have a file type of .AUD by default. When you specify a file name for a DECsound file, you do not need to enter the default .AUD file type. DECsound adds the default file type automatically.

DECsound can also read audio files created on Sun^tm workstations. These files have a file type of .AU, so when you open these files, you must specify the .AU file type.

DECsound creates files in the DDIF format. DDIF (Digital Document Interchange Format) is the standard document format used by CDA, a component of Digital's NAS architecture that defines standards for compound documents and enables file interchange among all compliant applications.

DECsound is supplied with a number of sample files of file types .AUD and .AU. These files are located in the DECW$EXAMPLES directory.

Clipboard

Like many other windows-based applications, DECsound includes a clipboard, which is a temporary (invisible) storage area. When you cut or copy part of a DECsound recording, DECsound stores the selected part of the recording in the clipboard. When you use the Paste menu item, DECsound pastes the contents of the clipboard into the recording.

The clipboard stores only the most recently cut or copied part of a recording. When you cut or copy part of a recording to the clipboard, the recording overwrites the current contents of the clipboard.

Each DECsound session uses a separate clipboard; you cannot use the Edit menu to cut and paste between two DECsound sessions. If you need to cut and paste between two DECsound sessions, you can do so using the mouse, as follows:

1. Choose Display Energy or Display Samples from the View menu in both DECsound sessions to display the waveforms.
2. Drag MB1 across the waveform to select the part of the recording you want to cut from the first DECsound session.
3. Position the pointer at the spot in the second waveform where you want to insert the part of the recording.
4. Click MB2 to paste this recording to the second DECsound session.

Using the DECsound Control Panel

When you start a DECsound session, DECsound displays a control panel, as follows:

The main functions of the control panel are similar to those of a tape recorder.

• Stop
  Click on the Stop button to stop a play or record operation.
• Play
  
  Click on the Play button to play a recording. While playing the recording, DECsound displays Playing... in the bottom left corner of the DECsound window.

• Record
  
  To start recording, click on the Record button and speak into the microphone. While recording is in progress, DECsound displays Recording... in the bottom left corner of the DECsound window.
• Rewind
  
  To rewind a recording, click on the Rewind button. Each time you click on the Rewind button, DECsound rewinds the recording by 1 second. To rewind continuously, press and hold MB1. DECsound displays the length of the recording, in seconds, in the bottom right corner of the DECsound window.
• Forward
  
  To advance through a recording, click on the Forward button. Each time you click on the Forward button, DECsound advances the recording by 1 second. To advance continuously, press and hold MB1. DECsound displays the length of the recording, in seconds, in the bottom right corner of the DECsound window.

The control panel also contains a Save button, an Exit button, and sliders for the following:

• Volume control
  The Volume slider allows you to control the volume when you play DECsound recordings.

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  Move the slider to the right to increase the volume. Move it to the left to decrease the volume. The Volume slider also indicates the volume level as a percentage of the full volume.

• Current position in a recording
  The Position slider indicates the current position in the recording. In the following figure, the current position is the start of the recording.

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Making an Audio Recording

This section describes how to make an audio recording in DECsound.

To make a DECsound recording, follow these steps:

1. Choose New from the File menu to start a new recording.
2. Click on the Record button and speak into the microphone or headset.
3. Click on the Stop button to stop recording.
   The Position slider shows the length of the recording.

Making Long Recordings

DECsound allows you to specify the maximum length of a recording using the Max. Length slider in the Settings dialog box, as shown in the following figure:

The size of a recording is limited by the amount of free memory available on the system. In some cases, while you are making a long recording, DECsound displays a message informing you that there is insufficient memory before your recording reaches the maximum recording length. If this happens, take one of the following actions:

• Save the recording and restart DECsound in one of the following ways:
  • Click on the Save button.
  • Choose Save or Save As... from the DECsound File menu.
• Decrease the maximum recording length.
  
  Choose Settings... from the Options menu to display the Settings dialog box. In the dialog box, use the Max. Length slider to decrease the maximum recording length.
• Ask your system manager to increase the memory quotas for your account.

When you open a DECsound recording that is longer than the maximum recording length, you cannot record new material onto the end of that recording. However, you can bypass this problem by following these steps:

1. Choose Display Energy or Display Samples from the View menu.
   DECsound displays the waveform for the recording.
2. Choose Select All and then Cut from the DECsound Edit menu to transfer the record clipboard.
3. Click on the Record button to record the message that you want to add to the existing recording.
4. Click on the Stop button when you finish recording.
5. Position the pointer at the start of the recording, and choose Paste from the Edit menu to insert the original recording.

Inserting New Material in a Recording

If the DECsound window already contains a recording when you click on the Record button, DECsound adds the new recording to the end of the current recording. To insert new material in a recording, follow these steps:

1. Position the pointer where you want to insert the new material and click MB1.
2. Drag MB1 to the end of the recording, and choose Cut from the Edit menu to remove the selected part of the recording.
3. Click on the Record button and record the new material.
4. Position the pointer at the end of the recording, and choose Paste from the Edit menu to complete the new recording.

Playing an Audio Recording

DECsound allows you to play all or part of a recording. To play all of a recording, click on the Play button.

The Position slider adjusts to indicate the current position in the recording.

Play part of a recording as follows:

1. Choose Display Energy or Display Samples from the View menu.
   DECsound displays the waveform for the recording. The following figure shows the Display Samples waveform, which displays the amplitude of the audio waveform:

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   Note that the Zoom slider is also displayed. The Zoom slider allows you to view the DECsound waveform in greater or lesser detail. Move the slider to the left to view the waveform in greater detail. Move the slider to the right to view the waveform in lesser detail.
2. Select part of the recording by dragging MB1 across the waveform.
   DECsound highlights the selected part of the recording.
3. Click on the Play button.
   DECsound plays only the part of the recording that you have selected.

Editing an Audio Recording

DECsound allows you to perform editing operations on your recordings. This section describes how to

• Select a recording
• Cut a recording
• Copy a recording
• Delete a recording

Selecting a Recording

DECsound allows you to select all or part of a recording for editing, as follows:

• Selecting an entire recording
  To select an entire recording, choose Select All from the Edit menu.
  When you choose an edit operation after selecting the entire recording, the edit operation applies to the entire recording.
• Selecting part of a recording
  Before you can edit a recording, you must select the part of the recording that you want to modify. Select part of a recording, as follows:
  1. Choose Display Energy or Display Samples from the View menu.
     
     DECsound displays the waveform for the recording. The following figure shows the Display Energy waveform, which displays the variations in audio energy levels in the waveform:

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  2. Drag MB1 across the waveform.
     DECsound highlights the selected part of the recording.
     When you select part of a recording, you can extend the selection by pressing the Shift key while dragging MB1.
     When you choose an edit operation after selecting part of a recording, the edit operation applies to only that part of the recording.

Cutting a Recording

DECsound allows you to cut all or part of a recording, as follows:

• Cutting an entire recording
  Choose Cut from the Edit menu to transfer the entire recording to the clipboard. DECsound deletes the recording from the display area.
• Cutting part of a recording
  Choose Cut from the Edit menu to transfer the selected part of a recording to the clipboard. DECsound deletes the selected part of the recording from the display area.

Copying a Recording

DECsound allows you to copy all or part of a recording, as follows:

• Copying an entire recording
  Choose Copy from the Edit menu to copy the entire recording to the clipboard. The original waveform is still visible in the display area.
• Copying part of a recording
  Choose Copy from the Edit menu to copy the selected part of a recording to the clipboard. The original waveform is still visible in the display area.
• Using the QuickCopy function
  DECsound provides a QuickCopy function, which copies the selected part of a recording to the current position in the waveform. To use the QuickCopy function, follow these steps:
  1. In the current waveform, position the pointer where you want the recording to be copied to by pointing and clicking MB1.
  2. In the other waveform, point to the part of the waveform you want to copy.
  3. Press and hold MB2.
  4. Drag across the part of the waveform you want to copy.
     The waveform is highlighted as you drag across it.
  5. Release MB2.
     The waveform is copied to the new location in the current waveform.

  Note When you use the QuickCopy function, DECsound does not copy the selected part of the recording to the clipboard.

Deleting a Recording

DECsound allows you to delete all or part of a recording as follows:

• Deleting an entire recording
  To delete an entire recording, choose Clear from the Edit menu without selecting part of the recording.
• Deleting part of a recording
  To delete part of a recording, choose Clear from the Edit menu to delete the selected part of the recording. DECsound deletes the selected part of the recording from the display area, but the Clear operation does not affect the contents of the clipboard.

Using LiveLink Connections

You can include DECsound recordings in DECwrite documents using LiveLink connections. A LiveLink connection puts a DECsound recording into a document. The following are examples of when you might find this feature to be useful:

• Your document includes a complex graphic showing a machine part or a circuit diagram.
  Rather than type the description, you can create a LiveLink connection to a DECsound recording.
• You want to comment on a draft document prepared by a colleague.
  Rather than insert handwritten comments in the document, you can use DECsound to insert your comments at appropriate places in the document.

When you create a LiveLink connection to a DECsound recording, the recording is maintained in a DECsound file. If you update the recording, the document is updated automatically to include the new recording.

When you insert a LiveLink connection into a DECsound file in a DECwrite Version 2.1 document, you can insert an icon that indicates the presence of a DECsound recording in the document.

If you do not insert the icon, the DECsound data block may be difficult to find in a document. However, if you do insert the icon, the icon is also displayed when you print the document.

Making LiveLink Connections from DECwrite

To create a LiveLink connection between a DECwrite document and a DECsound recording, follow these steps:

1. Choose Links from the File menu.

   Note You must have the Full Menus option turned on to display the Links menu. To turn on this option, choose Full Menus from the DECwrite Options menu.

   
   DECwrite displays the Links submenu, as follows:

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2. Choose Link... from the Links submenu.
   DECwrite displays the Link dialog box. For information about the Link dialog box, click on the Help button in the dialog box.
3. Click on a file name in the list box. If you want to create a new DECsound recording, enter the name of the file in the Selection entry box.
4. Click on the Options... button in the dialog box.
   DECwrite displays the Link Options subdialog box. For information about the Link Options subdialog box, click on the Help button in the subdialog box.
   In the Link Options subdialog box, enter the LiveLink connection information, as follows:
   1. Specify the file location type for the file that contains the recording to which you want to link.
      The location also affects the way that the audio file is treated if you mail the DECwrite document.
   2. Specify DECsound in the Application Name entry box, as follows:

      SYS$SYSTEM:DECSOUND

   3. If you want the DECwrite document to display an icon to indicate the presence of the DECsound recording in the document, specify the -icon qualifier in the Parameters entry box, as follows:

      -icon

      Note This option is available for DECwrite Version 2.1 only.

   4. Click on OK to dismiss the Link Options subdialog box.
5. Set the Invoke Application toggle button to the On state if you want to invoke DECsound.
6. Set the Keep Natural Size toggle button to the Off state if you want to specify the size of the DECsound icon that is displayed in the DECwrite document.
7. Click on OK in the Link dialog box.
8. Position the pointer at the spot in the document window where you want the DECsound data block to be displayed, drag MB1 to size the data block, then release MB1.