File Manager Manual

Contents
Software License Introduction Installing the Software Quick Tutorial Working with Projects Working with V-takes Importing and Exporting 5 2P 3P 4P 8P 10P 12P 13P

Software License

Zoom Corporation grants the right to use the ZOOM PS-04 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. Real-time resample library 2003 by Dominic Mazzoni and 1994-2002 by Julius O. Smith III All other trademarks, product names, and company names are the property of their respective owners.

Introduction

About the PS-04 File Manager
The PS-04 File Manager is an Apple Macintosh application designed to manage projects and V-takes of the PS-04 on an Apple Macintosh. When a PS-04 SmartMedia card is inserted into a SmartMedia USB Reader connected to your Macintosh, the PS-04 File Manager can perform the following functions:
Convert V-takes into AIFF files
The audio data recorded on any V-take of the PS-04 can be converted into an AIFF file (Macintosh standard audio file). This makes it possible to edit them for example with a waveform editor.
Convert WAV/AIFF files into V-take files
WAV files (Windows standard audio files) and AIFF files (Macintosh standard audio files) can be converted into any desired V-take for the PS-04. This allows you for example to edit data on a computer with a waveform editor and then load them back onto the PS-04.
Export a stereo mix to an AIFF file
You can select up to four V-takes (one per track), set the volume and pan for each and export a mix of them to an AIFF file. You could burn for instance a music mix that you have created on the PS-04 onto a CD-R disc
Wrong operation steps or system and driver software problems can lead to the loss of all audio data stored on the PS-04 SmartMedia card. For important projects, be sure to create a backup before editing with the PS-04 File Manager. Zoom Corporation will not accept any claims for restoring or preserving the contents of SmarMedia card.

System Requirements

The PS-04 File Manager has the following hardware and software requirements: USB SmartMedia Reader 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: 4 MB or more (plus space for converted data etc.) RAM: 64 MB or more

Installing the Software

Installing the PS-04 File Manager
Double-click on the PS-04 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 then click on Continue You will be asked if you agree with the Software License. If you do click on Agree Select your destination volume, and then click on Install When the installation is finished click on Quit If you are running Mac OS 9, the installer application may also update the CarbonLib extension in the Systems Extensions folder with a more recent version.

Quick Tutorial

After installing the software (with Mac OS 9 you may need to restart your computer), connect your SmartMedia USB Reader to your computer, and then insert the PS-04 SmartMedia card that you wish to manage. At this point you should see the SmartMedia card mounted on your Macintosh. u Start the PS-04 File Manager application. You should see the following window (or similar):
u In the top right corner of the window you will see a list of your PS-04 Projects. If you still have the demo project that ships with the PS-04, your will see GETAWY as your first projects. Click on it to select it:
On the left hand side of the window there is a grid will all the V-takes of the project. Now that project GETAWY is selected you can see that it has four takes, one per track. Click on the first take of track 1 to select it:
u While holding down the SHIFT key click on the other takes until all of them are selected:
u Notice that the transport buttons (lower right corner of the window) became enabled:
Click on the PLAY button and you should hear a mix of the four takes. You can fast forward, rewind, or return to the beginning of the song by clicking on the FF, REW, and ZERO buttons respectively.
Use the volume sliders and the pan knobs located underneath the V-Takes section to set the volume and pan settings for each track to your liking:
Drag the volume knobs up and down to increase or decrease the volume of a track. Click inside a pan rotary knob, then drag up to pan left and drag down to pan right. Now that you have set the volume and pan for each track, you are ready to export your stereo mix to an AIFF file. Click on any one of the selected takes, hold the mouse button down, and drag the selection to your Macintosh desktop or to a folder. As you drag, you will see a translucent image that shows the name GETAWY.aiff:
After dropping your selection on the desktop or in a folder, a progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. After the stereo mix was exported, notice that a file called GETAWY.aiff was created (the name will be different if you selected a different project):
Next you are going to import a stereo file. In the Finder click to select the GETAWY.aiff file, or another stereo AIFF or WAV file, hold the mouse button down and drag the file onto the PS-04 File Manager window and over the V-Takes area. Since the file you are dragging is stereo, two adjacent takes will get highlighted at a time. Drag the file over an empty take, for instance track 1, take 2. Notice where the file will be imported, the left channel to track 1, take 2, and the right channel to track 2, take 2:

After you let go of the mouse button, a progress dialog will appear indicating how the operation is advancing. After the audio file has been imported, you can see that two new takes have been created:
u Now you are ready to export four individual takes, each to a separate mono AIFF file. Click again on track 1, take 1. Holding down the SHIFT key click on the first take of tracks 2, 3, and 4. This time hold down the OPTION key and drag your selection to the Finder. A progress dialog will appear for each of the four tracks. At the end of the operation you will notice that 4 mono AIFF files have been created named GETAWY-Tr1-Tk1.aiff, GETAWY-Tr2Tk1.aiff, GETAWY-Tr3-Tk1.aiff, and GETAWY-Tr4-Tk1.aiff:

Working with Projects

Selecting a SmartMedia Card or Projects Folder
When you start the PS-04 File Manager it will look for a SmartMedia card. If it finds one, then all your projects will be displayed in the Project List area of the window:
However, you can select other folders containing PS-04 projects, like SmartMedia cards that you have copied to the hard drive of your Macintosh. To select a different projects folder, click on the SELECT FOLDER button. A Choose dialog will be displayed (with Mac OS 9 this dialog will look different):
Navigate until you see the Folder you wish to select, and then click the Choose button. Once you have chosen a SmartMedia card or a projects folder, you can select a project in the Project List Area by clicking on its name or number. As an alternative to the SELECT FOLDER button you can use the menu item File>Select PS-04 Card or Folder. The full path to the selected card or folder is displayed right under the list of projects.

Sorting Projects

Each project is displayed on a row of the Project List. There are two columns. The first one shows the number of the project, the second one shows the name of the project. You can sort the projects in the by project number, or project name. To sort by number, click in the Project Number header column. 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 again on the column header you wish to toggle:

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 PS-04 File Manager window.

Selecting V-takes

To make a single selection, click on a V-take. You may select either a non-empty V-Take or an empty one. A non-empty V-Take may be exported to an AIFF file or it can be used as the target for importing a WAVE or AIFF file. An empty V-Take may be used only as the target for importing an audio file. To make multiple selections hold the SHIFT key as you click in the V-Takes you want selected. You can select up to four V-Takes, but only one V-Take in each track may be part of the selection. Here is an example of four selected V-Takes, one in each track:

When importing a stereo file you can indicate which two V-Takes should be the target of your import by selecting exactly two V-Takes. Those can be either empty, non-empty, or a combination. If you drag a stereo file over one of the two selections, that V-Take will be the target for the left channel of the stereo file, while the other V-Take will be the target for the right channel.

Playback

You can use the transport buttons to play a mix of your selected V-takes, to fast-forward, or rewind. When your selection contains at least one non-empty V-Take, the transport buttons become enabled:
Press the PLAY button to hear a mix of the selection. To stop the playback, press the STOP button. To go back to the beginning of the song press the ZERO button. If you press the ZERO button while playing, the playback will not stop it will simply continue from he beginning. 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.

Adjusting Volume and Pan

You can adjust the volume level and pan position of each track with the volume sliders and pan rotary knobs:
Drag the volume knobs up and down to increase or decrease the volume of a track. Click inside a pan rotary knob, then drag up to pan left and drag down to pan right. You can adjust volume and pan in real-time while playing back a mix of your selected V-Takes. Those settings will be included when you export your mix as a stereo AIFF file. However, when you export each track individually, the volume and pan settings will be ignored. Each V-Take will be exported full volume to a mono AIFF file.

Importing and Exporting

Once you selected one or more non-empty V-take(s) you can export a mix of your selection to a stereo file or you can export each track individually to a separate mono file. You can import a mono file to an empty or a non-empty V-Take. You can also import a stereo file and each channel will go to a different V-Take. There are three different ways you can import or export audio: drag-and-drop, using the IMPORT AUDIO, EXPORT MIX, or EXPORT TAKES buttons, or using 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. You can import AIFF or WAV files, mono or stereo, 8-bit or 16-bit. To import a mono file by drag-and-drop, start by selecting the mono file in the Finder. Drag the file to the PS-04 File manager window and over the V-Take where you want to import the file. The V-Take does not have to be selected:
When you release the mouse button a dialog will show you the progress of the operation. After the file has been imported it will show as a new V-Take. To import a mono file with the IMPORT AUDIO button or a menu command, start by selecting the V-Take where you want to import the file. Click on the IMPORT AUDIO button or select the File Manager>Import AIFF/WAV to Take menu command. The file will be imported in the selected VTake. To import a stereo file by drag-and-drop, start by selecting the stereo file in the Finder. Drag the file to the PS-04 File manager window and over the V-Take where you want to import the left channel of the file. The right channel will be imported in the adjacent V-Take:
To import a stereo file with the IMPORT AUDIO button or a menu command, start by selecting the V-Take where you want to import the left channel of the file. Click on the IMPORT AUDIO button
or select the File Manager>Import AIFF/WAV to Take menu command. The left channel will be imported in the selected V-Take, while the right channel will be imported in the adjacent V-Take. If you want to import a stereo file to two V-Takes that are not adjacent, select one of the V-Takes, then while holding down the SHIFT key, click to select the other V-Take. Drag-and-drop the stereo file over the V-Take that will receive the left channel. You can also use the IMPORT AUDIO button or the Import AIFF/WAV to Take menu command. In this case the left channel will be imported to the V-Take with the lowest track number.

Exporting a Mix

Select all the V-Takes that you want to mix. Remember, you can make multiple selections by holding down the SHIFT key while you click to add to the selection. You can select up to four V-takes, but only one per track. Adjust the volume and pan settings of each track with the volume sliders and pan rotary knobs. You can use the playback function to listen to your mix while you adjust volume and pan. When you are satisfied, click on one of the selected V-Takes and drag it to the Macintosh desktop or to a folder. A dialog will show you the progress of the operation. The resulting file will be named after the name of the selected project. Alternately, you can use the EXPORT MIX button or the File Manager>Export Mix to AIFF menu command. Select the V-Takes you want to mix, adjust the volume and pan settings, then click on the EXPORT MIX button or select the Export Mix to AIFF menu command. A Save As dialog will appear allowing you to select the destination folder and rename your file.

Select the V-Takes you want to export. You can select up to four V-takes, but only one per track. Click on one of the selected V-Takes and while holding down the OPTION key drag the selection to the Macintosh desktop or to a folder. The selected V-Takes will be exported each in a separate mono file. The volume and pan settings will be ignored. Alternately, you can use the EXPORT TRACKS button or the File Manager>Export Takes to AIFF menu command. Select the V-Takes you want to export, then click on the EXPORT TRACKS button or select the Export Tracks to AIFF menu command. A Save As dialog will appear allowing you to select a destination folder for your exported V-Takes.