Using Open Sound File Dialog Box

The Open Sound File dialog box is used whenever you add background music to a page or add a sound effect to an In, Out, or Action effect. The dialog box allows you to select a sound file on your computer and then change its characteristics including its frequency, volume, fade in, etc. You can also record mp3 and wave sounds.

The sound file settings

1. Sound Selection Window: Displays the sound files in the Sound folder (C:\Program Files\Popcorn7\Sound, which is the default folder. You can open and save the sound files like any other files, and when you select a sound file, the sound will automatically play, allowing you to listen to it before opening.
2. Frequency Slide bar: Controls the frequency of the sound file. The frequency range you can control is between 100Hz (low pitch) and 100KHz (high pitch). You can also apply sound altering effects.
3. Pan Slider: If your speakers have stereo output, this can specify the amount of sound reproduction for left and right channels. For example, if you drag the slide bar far to the left end, you will hear sound only from the left channel.
4. Volume Slide bar: Controls the volume of the sound. Dragging the slide bar to the left will decrease the volume. Dragging to the right will increase the volume.
5. Total Play Time: Displays the total play time of the selected sound file in 0.1 second units. When the sound is finished playing, the total play time will be displayed.
6. Elapsed Play Time: Displays the elapsed play time of the sound after the play button is pressed in 0.1 second units.
7. Start Delay Time: Specifies the delay time for playing a sound file. You can specify the delay time between 0 and 1000 (in 0.1 second units). For example, if you set this value to 10, the delay time will be 1 second.
8. Duration: Specifies the amount of play time. You can specify the amount of play time within the range of the total amount play time for the sound file. For example, if the total play time of a file is 100 (10 seconds) and the specified play time is 50 (5 seconds), then Flying Popcorn will play only the first 5 seconds of the file.
9. Fade In/Out Control Field: Specifies fade-in and fade-out effects. You can specify the amount of time for fade-in and fade-out effects individually. For example, if you set the fade-in value to 10 (1 second) and the fade-out value to 10, then the sound volume will continuously increase for the duration of 1 second at the beginning (fade-in) of the sound file and continuously decrease in volume for the duration of 1 second at the end (fade-out).
10. Play/Stop Button: Allows you to pre-listen to a sound file. You can pre-listen to a selected sound with the set properties by pressing the Play button and stop the sound by pressing the Stop button.
11. Repeat: Sets the number of play repetitions for the selected sound. If the value is set to 0, the sound will repeat continuously. The default setting of background music is continuous repeat.
12. Wait until sound play done: When this option is checked, for In/Out effects, the next effect is displayed only after the sound effect has played, and for action settings, the next action is performed only after the set sound has been played. For example, lets say that objects A and B appear in order and a1.wav and b1.wav files are set as sound effects, respectively. With the In effect of object A, the sound effect, a1.wav, will be played. After the sound effect has been played the next object, object B will display its In effect and its sound effect, b1.wav, will be played. Thus, the next action is performed after each sound has been played.

Recording an mp3 sound

Click the Record Mp3 Sound button to open a dialog box that will allow you to record a sound in mp3 format. To record a sound you need an input device such as a microphone connected to your computer. The dialog box has the following settings:

1. Open mp3: Open an existing mp3 file to overwrite it with your recording or play it.
2. Quality: Select the sound quality (bit rate) of the recording. The higher the bit rate, the higher the quality. You can choose between 16, 32, 48, 64, 96, and 128 Kbs.
3. Tag Info: Edit the mp3 tag info. Mp3 tags contain information about the song that can be read by mp3 players and displayed to users. The tag includes such information as title, artist, album and year.
4. Record and Play buttons: Click these buttons to record the mp3 and play it back.

Recording a Wave Sound

At the bottom of the Open Sound File dialog box is a section where you can record a *.wav file. To record a sound you need an input device such as a microphone connected to your computer. First, enter the filename and select a recording format, then the Record button will become active. Click this button, record your sound into the microphone and click Stop. The settings are explain in detail below.

1. File name to save: This is the file name that the wave file you record will be saved under. You can enter the filepath and name of the file to be saved for the recording. For example, if you enter C:\Program Files\Popcorn7\Sound\PopCorn.wav, then the file name will be PopCorn.wav and it will be saved in the Sound folder under the PopCorn7 folder.
2. Input format: Selects the type of sound input from a list box. The types vary depending on the sound chip or card in the computer. By default, the first input type on the list is selected. The the sound quality is higher when the Hz value is higher, but the file size becomes larger.
3. Record and Stop buttons: Click the Record button to begin recording and click the Stop button when you are finished. Once you click the Stop button, your file will be available at the location you specified.