Opening a Raw Data File

The Raw File Type dialog is displayed when you select RawFilefrom Files of Type list in the Open dialog to open a file. Use this function to open a file that is not stored in one of the standard sound file formats supported by Sound Forge Pro software. The options on this dialog are explained below.

1. From the File menu, choose Open or click the Open button on the toolbar. The Open dialog is displayed.

   TIP Press Ctrl+O, Ctrl+F12, or Ctrl+Alt+F2.

2. Choose the folder where the file you want to open is stored:

   Choose a drive and folder from the Look in drop-down list or
   Choose a folder from the Recent drop-down list to quickly select a folder from which you have previously opened files.

3. Select a file in the browse window or type a name in the File name box. Detailed information about the selected file appears at the bottom of the dialog box.

4. Choose Raw File from the Files of Type drop-down list.

5. Click the Open button. The Raw File Type dialog is displayed.

6. Specify format parameters for your file:

   1. Choose the sample rate used in your file from the Sample Rate drop-down list or enter a number in the edit box. This setting specifies the sample playback rate that will be used when playing the file.

   2. In the Sample Type box, click the radio button that corresponds to the format used to store each sample value.

   3. In the Format box, click the radio button that corresponds to the sample format of data storage. Sound files on the PC are most often saved using the Signed format.

   4. Click the Little endian or Big endian radio button to specify the order in which the high and low bytes of a 16-bit sample are stored. Little Endian is used by Intel microprocessors, while Big Endian is used by Motorola microprocessors.

   5. Choose a setting from the Channels drop-down list to specify the number of channels stored in the file.

   6. In the Header box, specify the number of bytes stored in the file before the sound data.

   7. In the Trailer box, specify the number of bytes stored in the file after the sound data.

   The settings you choose for opening the file with the exception of the sample rate will be used when you click Save or save the file using the Default Template setting in the Save As dialog as long as the number of channels in the source file matches the number of channels in the file you're saving. The sample rate will be determined from the source file.

   TIP If you do not always use the same settings for reading raw files, make sure the Keep media files locked check box is selected on the General tab of the Preferences dialog. Otherwise, the individual settings will be lost if you have multiple raw files open and switch away from the Sound Forge Pro window.

7. Click the OK button.