Annotations may be edited if you have enabled editing from the Edit menu. If
you have specified an existing annotator on the command line or in the Load
window (accessible from the File menu), you can modify the annotations assigned
to that annotator. You may also specify a new annotator name and create the
annotation set from scratch. If you do not specify an annotator name, WAVE
creates an output annotation file for you if you insert any annotations; the
annotator name in this case is the name by which you invoked WAVE (normally
`wave').
If you have chosen to have annotations displayed by WAVE attached to signals
(using the `Show annotations' menu button on WAVE's View panel), be sure to
read the comments on `Multi-edit mode' at the end of this help topic, since
editing operations in that mode are slightly different.
Move the mouse so that the pointer enters the signal window (the portion of the
main window in which the signals are drawn), and click the left mouse button.
(While within the signal window, the shape of the pointer changes to a pair of
crosshairs, which intersect at the "hot spot".) The Annotation Template window
appears; it shows the attributes given to any annotations that are inserted.
The `Type' item shows the annotation mnemonic; if this field is `.', existing
annotations will be deleted rather than changed. You may change the type
either by pulling down the type menu using the right mouse button, or by typing
the mnemonic while the pointer is in the signal window. Other fields may be
set as desired. You may remove the Annotation Template window from the screen
by pressing the "Dismiss" button, but you may prefer to leave it on-screen as
a reminder of its current contents.
To INSERT an annotation, type its mnemonic while the pointer is in the signal
display area (or select the desired type and other attributes in the Annotation
Template window). Move the pointer's hot spot to the spot where you wish to
insert the annotation, and click the middle mouse button. If you wish, you may
"drag" the fiducial line (which appears when you press the middle button) to
the exact location desired, then release the button to insert the annotation.
To SELECT an existing annotation (in preparation for moving, changing, or
deleting it), click the left or right mouse buttons to move the pointer one
annotation at a time left or right. The annotation under the pointer is
"selected" by this operation and may be moved, changed, or deleted while it is
marked with a rectangle. WAVE recenters the display on the selected annotation
if the pointer would otherwise move past the left or right edge of the signal
window.
To COPY an existing annotation, select it, then press <Copy> (or <F6> if your
keyboard does not have a <Copy> key). This action copies the selected
annotation into the Annotation Template. Now insert the copy at the desired
location.
To MOVE an existing annotation, select it using the left or right mouse button,
drag its marker bars to the desired location, then release the button.
Until the button is released, the rectangle stays in its original position;
if you decide not to move the annotation, simply move the pointer back into
the rectangle before releasing the button. To move an annotation by an amount
less than the width of the rectangle, simply drag the pointer above or below
the rectangle to the desired position.
To CHANGE an existing annotation, set the desired attributes in the Annotation
Template window as described above. Select the annotation to be changed using
the left or right mouse buttons. While the pointer is within the rectangle,
click the middle mouse button. The previous annotation at the same time is
overwritten by the new one. Thus this operation is just like inserting a new
annotation, except that you select an existing annotation first.
To DELETE an annotation, type "." while the pointer is in the signal window, or
select the ". (deleted annotation)" item from the Type menu within the
Annotation Template window. Select the annotation to be deleted using the left
or right mouse buttons as above, then click the middle button to delete the
annotation. The previous annotation is removed, and a "." appears in its place
(thus this operation is exactly like changing an annotation). The "." marks
remain until the annotation file is closed; until that time, they can be
selected in the same way as ordinary annotations, but they are not written to
the output annotation file.
If you perform the deletion operation on an annotation that is marked as
deleted, the annotation is "undeleted" (i.e., restored to its original state).
To perform the same operation repeatedly it is not necessary to retype the
annotation mnemonic (or ".") each time. Type the mnemonic only when you wish
to change the type of editing operation.
The operations above, with the exception of moving an annotation, may also be
performed using the keyboard. The `Num Lock' indicator must be off (press the
`Num Lock' key to turn off the indicator if necessary), and the pointer must
be in the signal window (as indicated by a crosshair pointer replacing the
normal arrow pointer). In this context, keys <4>, <5>, and <6> (left-arrow,
unmarked, and right-arrow) on the numeric keypad behave in the same way as the
left, middle, and right mouse buttons respectively (except that <shift> cannot
be used with the keypad as with the mouse buttons; <control> and <meta> do
work, however). You can move the pointer left or right using the <=> and <*>
keys on the keypad (useful for inserting annotations); the pointer accelerates
while these keys are depressed.
To change or delete all annotations in a specified interval:
1. mark the beginning of the interval with the `<' (begin analysis) marker
2. mark the end of the interval with the `>' (end analysis marker)
3. set the Type, Text, Subtype, Chan, and Num fields of the Annotation
Template as desired
4. press the `Change all in range' button in the Annotation Template window
Since this operation can have far-reaching consequences, WAVE asks for
confirmation before performing it if either of the `<' or `>' markers is not
on-screen.
During editing, the current state of the annotation buffer is saved frequently
to avoid the possibility of data loss. The output annotation file is given
the name of the input annotation file. Since input annotation files are not
necessarily found in the current directory, it may not be necessary to create
a backup file for the input in order to avoid overwriting it. If, however,
the input file is found in the directory in which the output file is to be
written, it is renamed by appending a tilde (`~') to the annotator name. Only
one level of backup is preserved, so you will overwrite the original
annotation file if it is in the current directory and you open the same
annotator more than once.
Markers (displayed as `<', `:', and `>') may be edited just as for annotations,
but they are not saved in output annotation files. It is not necessary to
enable editing from the Edit menu in order to be able to edit markers. Note
that there can be at most one `<' (beginning of analysis) and one `>' (end of
analysis) marker in the annotation buffer at any time; inserting one of these
markers has the effect of deleting any other marker of the same type. You may
have as many `:' (index) markers as you wish. It is also possible to insert
`<' and `>' markers by entering the time directly into the `Start' and `End'
fields in the Analyze window (obtained from the File menu). Markers are not
affected by use of the `Change all in range' button.
For information on defining new annotation types, see the help topic called
`Resources'.
Multi-edit mode
---------------
Using the `Show annotations' menu button on WAVE's View panel, you may choose
to have annotations displayed attached to signals. In this case, the `chan'
field of each annotation specifies the signal number of the signal to which it
is attached. If annotation editing is enabled when annotations are displayed
in this way, WAVE is in `multi-edit mode'.
WAVE draws the signals in order of signal number from the top to the bottom of
the signal window, beginning with signal number 0 at the top of the signal
window. When annotations are attached to signals, WAVE draws them about 2 mm
above the center of the range of the attached signal (except for special
annotations that are displaced above or below the usual level). Although this
presentation usually helps to avoid the visual confusion that might result from
drawing annotations directly on the associated signals, it may contribute to
confusion if the spacing between signals is too small (as may happen if the
signal window is reduced in height, or if many signals are displayed). If this
becomes a problem, try increasing the height of the signal window (by dragging
on the resize handles on the window frame), or displaying only a subset of the
signals (by specifying which signals are to be shown in the `Signal list' field
of WAVE's Analyze panel, and selecting `Draw: listed signals only' in WAVE's
View panel).
In multi-edit mode, annotation editing operations are slightly different from
those described above. The most important difference is that you must always
point to the desired signal when inserting or moving annotations. In this
mode, the `chan' field in the Annotation Template window does not determine the
`chan' field of an inserted annotation; rather, the signal to which you point
determines the `chan' field, and the `chan' field in the Annotation Template
window is updated accordingly after each insertion. To move an annotation to a
different signal, simply select it and drag the pointer to the desired time and
signal. If you wish to change the `chan' field of an annotation without
changing its time, select the annotation and use the up-arrow and down-arrow
keys (keys <2> and <8> on the numeric keypad; `Num Lock' must be off) to move
it to the desired signal. Hold down the <control> key during these operations
to copy the annotation, rather than to move it (simultaneous annotations are
permitted if their `chan' fields differ).
Changing the display scales ("zooming")
---------------------------------------
While editing, it may be helpful to change the time or amplitude scales.
You may do so either using the controls on the View panel, or by using
these keyboard commands while the focus is in the signal window:
<Ctrl>+<(> Zoom in (show more detail by expanding the time axis)
<Ctrl>+<)> Zoom out (show more context by compressing the time axis)
<Ctrl>+<+> Increase the amplitude of the signal(s)
<Ctrl>+<-> Decrease the amplitude of the signal(s)
<Ctrl>+<*> Invert the signal(s)
<Ctrl>+<=> Restore the scales selected on the View panel
If you have selected a signal (by <Shift>+<left click> near the signal of
interest), amplitude changes will be applied to that signal only. Otherwise,
they will be applied to all signals.