Using the Log window

When examining a recording, you may find features that you wish to document for further study. In addition to its capabilities for interactive annotation editing, WAVE also offers an easy-to-use ``logbook'' for collecting brief notes about segments to which you may wish to return. Each entry in a WAVE log file contains the record name, time, and an optional comment - so it is possible to put together a collection of examples taken from any number of records in a single log. Once the log has been created, the entries in it can be reviewed very easily, or the log can be used as a script for pschart, which will print the signals, annotations, and your comments for each entry, changing records automatically.

Open the Log window (see figure 3.3) by choosing Log... from WAVE 's menu.

Figure 3.3: The Log window.

When you first open the Log window, many of its controls are dimmed until you specify a log file and begin adding entries to it. To create a log file, or to review or add to an existing one, enter its name in the File: field of the Log window.

To add an entry, use WAVE 's navigation controls so that the segment upon which you wish to comment appears in the signal window. Enter your comments in the Description: field, then click on .

The log navigation buttons become visible once there are log entries recorded. You can use and to step through the log one entry at a time, or use or to present a ``slide show'' (control the length of time each entry appears using the Delay: slider, and use to interrupt the show). and can be used to jump directly to the beginning or the end of the log.

To replace a log entry, first use the log navigation buttons to display that entry. Make any adjustments necessary (use the navigation buttons in WAVE 's main window to reposition the signal window as needed, and correct the log entry text in the Description: field), then click on .

To delete a log entry, select it first as above, then click on . For more complex editing (such as rearranging entries), click on to open the log file in a textedit window (or in the editor of your choice, if you have set the EDITOR environment variable). After completing your edits, save them and exit from the editor, then click on to reload the edited log into WAVE . (You can also use if another process, such as one started from the Analyze window, has modified the log file.)

WAVE 's default menu file contains a commented-out entry with the tag ``Print log with charts''. If a button with this text does not appear in the Analyze window, click on , remove the comment characters from this entry, save the menu and exit the editor, and click on . You can now print the log together with the signals and annotations by clicking on .