1. From the File menu, choose Open. The Open dialog is displayed.

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.

   If you know that the file format is unsupported, choose Raw File and click the Open button to display the Raw File Type dialog, where you can specify format parameters.

   TIP To limit the files displayed in the dialog, choose a file type from the Files of Type drop-down list or enter *. and an extension in the File name box. For example, enter *.wav to display all wave files in the current folder, or enter *guitar*.wav to display all wave files that have the word guitar in the file name.

4. Click the Open button.

On the Open dialog, select the Open as read-only check box if you want to open a sound file but do not want to alter the data in the file.

This feature is useful if you only need to play the file or copy sections from the file.

On the Open dialog, select the Auto play check box if you want to automatically begin playback when a file is selected.

When the Auto play check box is not selected, you can click the Play button to audition the selected sound file without opening it. During playback, the button changes to a Stop button; click again to stop playback.

If playing a file from a slow network or CD-ROM, some skipping might occur.

In the Open dialog, select the Merge L/R to stereo check box and hold the Ctrl button while selecting two mono files in the browse window. The two mono files will be merged to the left and right channels of a new stereo file.

The first file you select will be placed in the left channel, and the second file will be placed in the right channel.

Compressed files are not supported for merging.

In the Open dialog, select the Open as CD tracks check box if you want to create a disc-at-once CD track when opening a file.

If you have multiple files selected, you can select the Append to current data window check box to add the selected files to the end of the current data window and create a disc-at-once CD track for each file.

When the check box is not selected, multiple files will be opened to separate data windows.

Disc-at-once CD tracks must be at least four seconds long. If you select a file that is less than four seconds long, silence will be added as needed.

If you have multiple files selected, you can select the Append to current data window check box to add the selected files to the end of the current data window. If no data windows are open, the selected files will be opened in a new window.

When appending files to a data window, be sure to use files with matching formats, or perform any required sample rate or bit-depth conversion before appending the files. If the formats of the selected files do not match, they will play back at the target format without any conversion. If the sample rates do not match, for example, pitch will not be preserved.

When the check box is not selected, multiple files will be opened to separate data windows.

In the Open dialog, click the More button to display the File Properties window.

When you choose Dialogic VOX ADPCM (*.vox), Intervoice (*.ivc), or RAW File (*.raw) from the Files of type drop-down list, you can click the Custom button to display the Custom Template dialog, where you can set options for reading files of the selected type.

Select the Remember my preference and apply it in the future check box in the Custom Template dialog if you want to use your settings each time you open a file of the selected type.