Audio File First Aid

Introduction


Audio File First Aid is the first audio utility of its kind. Simply put, it allows you to diagnose and repair (if possible) malformed audio files. If Wave Editor or Sample Manager tell you that they cannot open an audio file, use Audio File First Aid to open and fix the file. To open Audio File First Aid, choose Wave Editor > Audio File First Aid.


Choosing A File

To choose a file, click the Choose... button and select a file:

Or drag and drop a file:


Viewing a File

Once you have chosen a file, Audio File First Aid will show you the contents of the file. The component parts of an audio file are called "chunks." You can view the contents of a chunk and read a description of it by clicking on an entry in the top holf of the pane:


Diagnosing a File

If Audio File First Aid determines that a problem exists with the file, it will present an warning, denoted by a yellow triangle, or an error, denoted by a red circle. A warning is non-fatal. An error denotes that the issue will prevent the file from being opened in Wave Editor and possibly other audio applications.

To view a warning, select it in the top pane:

To view an error, select it in the top pane:

Audio File First Aid will display "treatments" available for particular warnings or errors.


Reparing a File

If Audio File First Aid can repair a file, it will will notify you. To view available treatments, select the diagnosis in the upper pane:

To repair a file, choose the desired treament by clicking the appropriate button at the bottom of the window:

A green checkmark denotes that the file was repaired successfully.

Audio File First Aid will not modify the contents of the original file. It will ALWAYS create a new file and prepend the file name of the original file with "DAMAGED" in brackets:


Opening a File

Finally, you can open the file by selecting "Open in Wave Editor:"