CHAPTER 2: EDITING AUDIO FILES 257Mixing tracksMixing tracks refers to taking two audio files and combining them into one. Mixingessentially blends the data from the audio files so that their respective soundsoverlap and play through one another. When mixing, you can only mix waveformswith the same properties and need to have the two waveforms already open in theAudio Editor workspace. (To mix files with different properties, first convert themor cut one and click Edit: Paste - Mix to paste it into the other.)To mix two tracks:1. Click Edit: Mix. The Mix dialog box opens displaying all files open in theworkspace which share the same properties.2. Select the file you want to mix by clicking on it in the Mix with list box.3. Set the desired amplification levels for each waveform (between 1-100%).100% keeps the original amplification and anything below reduces it.4. Click OK. A new edit window is created merging the two files.Removing a mixed trackThere will be times when, after combining a group of files together, you may wantto remove one of the files from the mixture. For example, you may be preparingan audio project for a client and, after having created a master file, they decidethey want to remove the voice of one of their managers. Initially, this seems likean impossible task as all the files have been truly integrated. Fortunately, thesolution is not as difficult as it seems. All you need to do is select the original audiofile containing the manager's voice and then click Effect: Invert. (This actionaffects only the waveform, flipping it upside down, and does not affect the actualsound.) Once inverted, copy the entire waveform and then select the edit windowcontaining the master file. Clicking Edit: Paste: Mix (leaving the mixing levels at100%) pastes the inverted waveform into the file. As it is now the opposite of theoriginal file, it negates the manager's voice and, as a result, removes it from thefile.You cannot remove a file from a mix using the Invert method if you havealready applied other effects to the mixed file. This is because any effects youapply alter or shift each point in the waveform, and the inverse of the elementyou want to remove will no longer match properly to the original.
