Creating CD tracks

1. Select the time range (or event) that you want to use to create a track. A track must be at least four seconds long.

2. From the Insert menu, choose CD Track (or press N). A CD track is added to the CD layout bar in the data window:
   

TIP You can drag CD tracks to rearrange them, drag either end of a track to change its length, or use the Track List window to edit the track's position or name.

Creating CD index markers

You can use index markers to subdivide a track. For example, in a track that contains an orchestral composition, index markers could allow navigation to each movement.

Each track on a Red Book audio CD can contain up to 99 index markers.

1. Click to position the cursor where you want to add an index marker.

2. From the Insert menu, choose CD Index (or press Shift+N). A CD index marker is added to the CD layout bar in the data window:
   

If you're working with a data window that contains multiple events, you can create CD tracks automatically using the events.

1. Create events on the timeline to lay out your CD.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Track List, and then choose Create CD Tracks from Events from the submenu. Each event is marked with a CD track.

Tracks are not created for events less than four seconds long.

You can drag CD tracks to rearrange them, drag either end of a track to change its length, or use the Track List window to edit the track's position or name.

TIP When space exists between events, Sound Forge Pro creates separate tracks for each event. If you want to create a track that spans multiple events, you can abut or overlap the events to create a single track.

If you have a live recording that uses regions to indicate the sections of the recording, you can use this feature to create tracks without having to scan through the audio and create tracks manually.

1. Add regions as necessary to indicate the tracks in your recording.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Track List, and then choose Create Tracks from Regions. Each region is marked with a CD track.

   You can drag CD tracks to rearrange them, drag either end of a track to change its length, or use the Track List window to edit the track's position or name.

If you have multiple data windows open, you can easily combine them into a single CD layout.

1. Open the sound file you want to use for each track.

2. Create a new data window. We'll use this new window to arrange tracks.

3. Copy your tracks to the new data window:

   1. Switch to the data window that contains the audio you want to use for your first track.

   2. From the Edit menu, choose Select All.

   3. Drag the selected data to the new data window. While you're dragging, click the right mouse button toggle CD Track drag-and-drop editing mode. In this mode, the cursor is displayed as a to show you where the track will be added.

4. Repeat step 3 for each track.

   When you drag a file to the CD layout bar at the bottom of a data window. An indicator is displayed to show you where the track will be added when you release the mouse. When you drop the file, a track is created, and pause time is added before the new track.

   

   TIP If you want to add a CD track without pause time, drag the file to the waveform display above the CD layout bar.

5. Save the new data window as a Sound Forge Pro project file.

   When you save a project file (.frg), Sound Forge Pro software creates a .frg file and creates a subfolder that contains your media file and all temporary files created by your editing operations.

6. When you're finished editing tracks, you can burn your disc-at-once CD.

TIP When you create a track using a media file that includes title and artist metadata, this information will be added to the Track List window as CD Text.

Dragging files to the CD layout bar

Drag a file to the CD layout bar at the bottom of a data window. An indicator is displayed to show you where the track will be added when you release the mouse. When you drop the file, a track is created, and pause time is added before the new track.

TIP If you want to add a CD track without pause time, drag the file to the waveform display above the CD layout bar. If Options > Drag-and-Drop Editing > CD Track isn't selected, click the right mouse button while dragging until the cursor is displayed as a to show you where the track will be added.

Dragging files to the Track List window

Drag a file to the Track List window. An indicator is displayed to show you where the track will be added when you release the mouse. When you drop the file, a track is created, and pause time is added before the new track.

Dragging files from the Explorer window

From the Options menu, choose Drag-and-Drop Editing, and choose CD Track from the submenu if you want to create disc-at-once tracks by dragging files from the Explorer window or Windows Explorer to a data window. Choosing this command has the same effect as toggle-clicking the right mouse button while dragging until the cursor is displayed as a to show you where the track will be added.

When you drop the file, the audio in the data window will be replaced, and no pause time will be added.

TIP You can use the Default time between CD tracks control on the CD Settings tab of the Preferences dialog to adjust the default pause time.

In the Open dialog, hold Ctrl or Shift to select the files you want to open as CD tracks and then select the Open as CD tracks and Append to current data window check boxes.

The files will be added to the end of the current data window and a CD track will be created for each file.

TIP You can use the Default time between CD tracks control on the CD Settings tab of the Preferences dialog to adjust the default pause time.

If no audio files are open in the Sound Forge Pro workspace, a new data window will be created when you drop files on the Track List window.

1. Close all open data windows.

2. In the Windows Explorer or Explorer window, select the files that you want to include in your CD. You can hold Shift or Ctrl to select multiple files.

3. Drag the files to the Track List window.

   When you drop the files, a track is created for each file, and pause time is added before each track.

The Track List window is essentially a text representation of the markers on the CD layout bar.

You can use the Track List window to view track and index markers, edit track position and length, edit track names, adjust pause time, toggle protection and emphasis flags, and edit ISRC data.

For more information about using the Track List window, please see The Track List Window.

You can hide a track at the end of a CD by adding silence at the end of the last track and adding the new track after the silence. Drag the end of the final track marker to the new end of the CD.

Because both events exist within a single track, they will be treated as one track by an audio CD player.

1. Lay out your audio and CD tracks.

   

2. Insert silence before the bonus track if desired.

3. Delete the last CD track from the CD layout bar (if necessary).

   

4. Drag the end of the final track marker to the new end of the CD.