MRS-series File Manager Operation Manual
2004 Zoom Corporation Reproduction of this manual, in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited. To display and/or print this manual, Adobe Acrobat 4.0 or later is required.

Contents

Software License Introduction About the MRS-series File Manager System Requirements Installing the Software Installing the MRS-series File Manager Quick Tutorial Working with Projects Selecting a Project The Project List Sorting Projects Editing Project Names Working with V-takes Selecting V-takes Mono Selection Stereo Selection Editing and Playback Editing the Name of a V-take Playback Import/Export Importing AIFF or WAV files Drag-and-Drop Using the IMPORT Button Using the Import Menu Item Exporting V-takes to AIFF Drag-and-Drop Using the EXPORT Button Using the Export Menu Item 16 17

Software License

Zoom Corporation grants the right to use the ZOOM MRS-series File Manager software (hereafter called "the software"), provided that you agree with all conditions listed below. Using the software is considered acceptance of these conditions. Zoom Corporation holds the copyright to the software and the accompanying documentation, and all associated rights. All rights revert to Zoom Corporation. Unauthorized redistribution, sale, leasing, renting, alteration, and reverse engineering of the software is prohibited. The software may not be used for purposes that infringe on the copyright of third parties. Zoom Corporation does not bear liability for cases where the software is used for any such purpose. Zoom Corporation does not bear liability for any damages or claims from third parties arising from the use of the software, whether directly or indirectly. If the contents of a hard disk are lost due to use of the software, Zoom Corporation does not accept any claims for restoring or preserving such contents. Features and specifications of the software and the contents of the documentation may be changed without notice.
Apple and the Apple logo are registered trademarks of Apple Computer. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer. Adobe and Adobe Acrobat are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. All other trademarks, product names, and company names are the property of their respective owners.

Introduction

About the MRS-series File Manager
The MRS-series File Manager is an Apple Macintosh application designed to manage projects and Vtakes of the MRS-series on an Apple Macintosh. When the MRS-series is connected to the Macintosh via a USB link, the MRS-series File Manager can perform the following functions:
Convert V-takes into AIFF files
The audio data recorded on any V-take of the MRS-series can be converted into an AIFF file (Macintosh standard audio file). This makes it possible to edit them for example with a waveform editor or to burn a music mix that you have created on the MRS-series onto a CD-R disc.
Convert WAV/AIFF files into V-take files
16-bit/44.1kHz WAV files (Windows standard audio files) and AIFF files (Macintosh standard audio files) can be converted into any desired V-take for the MRS-series. This allows you for example to edit data on a computer with a waveform editor and then load them back onto the MRS-series.
Edit project/V-take names
You can assign new names to MRS-series projects and V-takes.
Wrong operation steps or system and driver software problems can lead to the loss of all audio data stored in the MRS-series. For important projects, be sure to create a backup before editing with the MRS-series File Manager. (For instructions on how to create a backup, please refer to the Installation Manual supplied with the MRS-series.)
Zoom Corporation will not accept any claims for restoring or preserving the contents of the hard disk.

System Requirements

The MRS-series File Manager has the following hardware and software requirements: MRS-series with USB board UIB-01 or UIB-02 installed *MRS-series : MRS-1608/CD MRS-1266/CD MRS-802/CD *By MRS other than 1608/CD, operation more than number of tracks for each unit is possible when using audio file manager. However, it is not reflected in operation on the unit. Apple Macintosh computer with USB support running Mac OS 9.1 or higher (OS X supported). Display Monitor 1024 x 768 or higher Free hard disk space: 10 MB or more (plus space for converted data etc.)

Installing the Software

Installing the MRS-series File Manager
Double-click on the MRS-series File Manager Installer to start the Installer application, and then perform the following steps: After the initial screen click on Continue Read the Software License, and if you agree click on Continue Select your destination volume, and then click on Install When the installation is finished click on Quit
*The installer and application are available with MRS-802/CD and MRS-1266CD though the indication "MRS-1608" will appear on them.

Quick Tutorial

After installing the software and restarting your computer, start the MRS-series in USB mode (Refer to your UIB-01 or UIB-02 Manual for details). Connect your MRS-series to the computer with a USB cable, if you have not already done so. At this point you should see the MRS-series hard drive mounted on the Macintosh desktop as a volume called MRS-USR (without the quotes). Start the MRS-series File Manager application. You should see the following screen (or similar): Here is an example of the MRS-1266.
In the top left corner of the window you will see a list of your MRS-1266 Projects. If you still have the factory default contents, you will see two projects, RunAway, and PHRASE. Click on RunAway the project will become selected:
In the lower part of the window there is a grid will all the V-takes of the project. Now that project
RunAway is selected you can see the names of its non-empty V-takes:
Click on one of the V-takes to select it. For instance, you could click on Track 4, V-take 1 (APiano):
Notice that the transport buttons (top right of the window) became enabled:
Click on the PLAY button and you should hear the V-take. You can fast forward, rewind, or return to the beginning of the V-take by clicking on the FF, REW, and ZERO buttons respectively. The playback function comes in handy when you want to make sure that you selected the right V-take. When you are done auditioning press the STOP button. Click on the A-Piano V-take, hold the mouse button down, and drag the V-take to your desktop or to a folder. As you drag the V-take you will see that the drag translucent image shows the name APiano.aiff. This indicates that you are about to export the V-take as an AIFF file. After dropping the V-take on the desktop or in a folder, a progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. After the V-take was exported, notice that a file called A-Piano.aiff was created. Of course the name will be different if you exported a V-take with a different name. In the Finder click on the A-Piano.aiff file, or on another AIFF or WAV file, hold the mouse button down and drag the file onto the MRS-series File Manager window. As you drag the file notice how V-takes get highlighted. Drop the file onto an empty V-take, for instance Track 4, V-take 2. The audio file will be imported and changed into a V-take. A progress dialog will appear indicating

how the operation is advancing. After the audio file has been imported, you can see that a new V-take has been created:
Click on Track 1, V-take 1 to select the Acoustic V-take. Holding down the SHIFT key click on Track 2, V-take 1. Both V-takes are now selected. This is a stereo selection indicated by the words left and right in the selected V-takes:
Click on one of the selected V-takes, hold the mouse button down, and drag the selection to the desktop or to a folder. You are now exporting two V-takes to a stereo AIFF file. Click on an empty V-take, then hold the SHIFT key down and click on another empty V-take. You have created an empty stereo selection that is ready for an import operation:
In the Finder, click on the newly created stereo file Acoustic.aiff or on another stereo AIFF or WAV
file, hold the mouse button down, drag the file, the drop it over the empty stereo selection. The file will be imported into two new V-takes:
You can edit the name of a project. Go to the Project List and double-click on the name RunAway. The name becomes editable:
Type a new name, for instance Test1 (without the quotes), then type ENTER. The name of the project has been changed to the new name you typed:
You can now change the name back to RunAway if you wish.
You can edit the name of a V-take. Go to Track 8, V-take 1 and double-click on the name Shaker.
The name becomes editable.
Type a new name, for instance Test2 (without the quotes), then type ENTER. The name of the Vtake has been changed to the new name you typed:
You can now change the name of the V-take back to Shaker if you wish.

Working with Projects

Selecting a Project
When you start the MRS-series File Manager it will look for the hard disk of the MRS-series. Typically, the MRS-series internal hard drive will show on the desktop as a volume called MRS-USR. If the MRS-series File Manager finds the disk it will display the list of all the projects inside your MRS-series in the Project List of the application:
However, you can select other projects or folders, like projects that you copied to your internal hard drive. To select a different project or folder, click on the SELECT button. A Choose dialog will be displayed. The appearance of the dialog depends on whether you are running Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X:

The Choose dialog under Mac OS X.
The Choose dialog under Mac OS 9. You can choose a project folder, i.e. a folder named PROJxxx where xxx is a three-digit number. But, you can also select a folder containing project folders, as in the examples above. As an alternative to the SELECT button you can use the menu item File>Select MRS-1266 Disk or Folder. After selecting a folder containing projects (projects are themselves folders named PROJxxx), the full path to the enclosing folder will be displayed in the field under the SELECT button. If you choose a project instead (a folder named PROJxxx), all the projects in the enclosing folder will be displayed, with the chosen folder selected. Once the Project List of the main window displays a list of projects, you can select one by clicking on it.

The Project List

Each project is displayed on a row of the Project List. There are three columns. The first one shows the number of the project, the second one shows the name of the Project Folder, and the third one shows the Project Name.

Sorting Projects

You can sort the projects in the Project List by number, folder, or name. To sort by number, click in the header of the project number column. To sort by folder name, click in the header column labeled Folder Name. To sort by project name, click in the header column labeled Project Name. To toggle between ascending order and descending order: In Mac OS 9, click on the triangle in the top right corner of the Project List (above the scroll bar). In Mac OS X, click on the column header you wish to toggle.

Editing Project Names

To edit the name of the project, double-click on the projects name. The name becomes editable:
Type a new name, then press ENTER when finished. While editing the name you may use typical edit commands such as Cut, Copy, and Paste, either from the Edit menu or by using keyboard shortcuts.

Working with V-takes

Once you selected a project from the Project List, its non-empty V-takes will show up in the Tracks and V-Takes grid of the MRS-series File Manager window.

Selecting V-takes

Mono Selection
To make a mono selection, click on a V-take. If you select a non-empty V-take, you will notice under the name of the V-take the string imp/exp mono:
That indicates that now you can import an AIFF or a WAV files into the selection, or export the selected V-take as AIFF. It also tells you that the selection is mono. If you select an empty V-take, you will notice the string import-mono. That indicates that the selection is mono, and that you can import an AIFF or a WAV file into the selection. Obviously, you cannot export since there is no audio in an empty V-Take.

Stereo Selection

To make a stereo selection, start by making a mono selection (click in a V-take). Your first selection will be the left channel. While holding down the SHIFT key click in another V-take. Your second selection will be right channel. If you want to toggle the channels, keep holding the SHIFT key and click again on the V-take designated as the left channel. Your last click while holding down the SHIFT key will always be the right channel:
As with the mono selection, a string under the V-take name indicates that you can import into the selection as well as export the V-take. The string also designates the left or the right channel. Similarly, you can select two empty V-takes (or an empty and a non-empty V-take). When one or both selected V-takes are empty, you can only import into the selection.

Editing and Playback

Editing the Name of a V-take
To edit the name of a V-take, double-click on the V-takes name. The name becomes editable:

Playback

You can use the transport buttons to play V-takes, to fast forward, or rewind:
The Transport Buttons. When you make a non-empty selection, either mono or stereo, the transport buttons become enabled. Press the PLAY button to hear the selection. To go back to the beginning of the V-take (or V-takes when the selection is stereo), press the ZERO button. To stop the playback, press the STOP button. To fast forward press the button labeled FF; to rewind press the REW button. During fast-forward or rewind you will not hear the sound. Press PLAY to hear the sound again or press STOP to stop. The counter on top of the transport buttons will show the location in hours, minutes, and seconds. You can also use menu items or keyboard shortcuts for playback. To play choose File Manager>Play from the menu bar, or command-P. To stop choose File Manager>Stop from the menu bar, or command-S. Each transport button has a corresponding menu item in the File Manager menu and a keyboard shortcut.

Import/Export

Once a mono or stereo selection has been made, the selected V-take(s) can be exported as AIFF, or an AIFF or a WAV file can be imported into the selection. There are three different ways you can import or export audio: drag-and-drop, using the IMPORT and EXPORT buttons, or using the Import and Export menu commands.

Importing AIFF or WAV files
You can import both into empty V-takes and non-empty V-takes. Importing into non-empty V-takes will permanently erase the previous audio content. However, a dialog will caution you and give you a chance to cancel. You can import AIFF or WAV files, mono or stereo, but they need to be 16-bit, 44.1 kHz. Before importing audio you need to select a V-take for mono or two V-takes for stereo. To make a stereo selection, first select the V-take that you wish to use as the left channel. Hold down the SHIFT key and click on a second V-take. Your first selection will be the left channel while your second selection will be the right channel. You can toggle the channels by holding down the SHIFT key and clicking in the V-take you want to be the right channel. If you are trying to import a stereo file into a mono selection, a dialog will let you indicate which of the left or right channels should be imported, or if you wish to cancel the operation. If you are trying to import a mono file into a stereo selection, a dialog will let you choose which of the left or right V-takes should be used to import, or if you wish to cancel.

Drag-and-Drop

In the Finder, click on the AIFF or WAV file you wish to import. Hold the mouse button down and drag the file over a V-take. For mono, you do not need to select the destination V-take before dragging. For stereo, you need to select the two destination V-takes before you start dragging the file. You can drop the stereo file on either of the two selected V-takes. After dropping the file over a V-take, a progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. You can cancel the import operation by pressing the Cancel button in the progress dialog. At the end of the operation, the audio contents of the file will be imported into the V-take(s).

Using the IMPORT Button

To use the IMPORT button you need to select first a V-take for mono, or two V-takes for stereo. Once you have a selection the IMPORT button becomes enabled:
Click on the IMPORT button. An Open dialog will appear. Select the file you want to import and click on Open. A progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. You can cancel the import operation by pressing the Cancel button. At the end of the operation, the audio contents of the file will be imported into the V-take(s).

Using the Import Menu Item
You need to select first a V-take for mono, or two V-takes for stereo. From the menu bar choose File Manager>Import AIFF/WAV to Take or use the command-I shortcut. An Open dialog will appear. Select the file you want to import and click on Open.
A progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. You can cancel the import operation by pressing the Cancel button. At the end of the operation, the audio contents of the file will be imported into the V-take(s).
Exporting V-takes to AIFF
You can only export non-empty V-takes. If you select an empty V-take the EXPORT button and the Export menu item will be disabled. You will not be able to drag an empty V-take to the desktop or to a folder.
Click on the V-take you want to export, hold the mouse button down, and drag the V-take to your desktop or to a folder. As you drag you will see a translucent image showing the name of the file that will be created. The name of the file is the name of the V-take with the.aiff suffix. For instance, if the name of your V-take is Guitar the name of the file will be Guitar.aiff (without the quotes). After dropping the V-take on the desktop or in a folder, a progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. If you made a mistake or changed you mind, you can cancel the export operation by pressing the Cancel button in the progress dialog. The result of this operation will be a new 16-bit, mono, 44.1 KHz AIFF file containing the audio of your V-take. To export two V-takes into a stereo AIFF file, you need to make a stereo selection. First select the Vtake that will be your left channel by clicking on it. Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the V-take that will be your right channel. You can now click on any of the two selected V-takes, hold the mouse button down, and drag the V-takes to your desktop or to a folder. After dropping the selection on the desktop or in a folder, a progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. If you made a mistake or changed you mind, you can cancel the export operation by pressing the Cancel button in the progress dialog. The result of this operation will be a new 16-bit, stereo interleaved, 44.1 KHz AIFF file containing the audio of the two selected V-takes.

Using the EXPORT Button

Click on the V-take you want to export. If you are going to export stereo hold down the SHIFT key and click on a second V-take. Your first selection will be the left channel while your second selection will be the right channel. You can toggle the channels by holding down the SHIFT key and clicking in the V-take you want to be the right channel. When you select a non-empty V-take, or two non-empty V-takes, the EXPORT button becomes enabled:

Click on the EXPORT button. A Save As dialog will appear. Navigate to the destination where you want your AIFF file to be saved. You can also change the name of the file if you are not happy with the default. Click on Save. A progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. If you made a mistake or changed you mind you can cancel the export operation by pressing the Cancel button. The result will be a new 16-bit, 44.1 KHz AIFF. The file will be mono or stereo depending on your selection.
Using the Export Menu Item
Click on the V-take you want to export. If you are going to export stereo hold down the SHIFT key and click on a second V-take. Your first selection will be the left channel while your second selection will be the right channel. You can toggle the channels by holding down the SHIFT key and clicking in the V-take you want to be the right channel. From the menu bar choose File Manager>Export Take to AIFF or use the command-E shortcut. A Save As dialog will appear. Navigate to the destination where you want your AIFF file to be saved. You can also change the name of the file if you are not happy with the default. Click on Save. A progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. If you made a mistake or changed you mind you can cancel the export operation by pressing the Cancel button. The result will be new 16-bit, 44.1 KHz AIFF. The file will be mono or stereo depending on your selection.
MRS-1266 File Manager Operation Manual