New Piece: create a new empty score ready to use. Note that the default library will be added to all newly created pieces.
hint: you may want to work with multiple open pieces at the same time, and use one of the pieces as a scratch pad to test some sounds and arrangements locally before copy-pasting them back into your main score.
Open Piece...: prompts a file dialog and lets you open a piece in a new window. The recognized file formats have a ".upic", ".upiz", ".mid", or ".midi" extension. In the later case, which corresponds to MIDI files, the MIDI score is interpreted roughly and placed in a newly created piece. You can then assign your own envelopes, waveforms and envelopes to each track or MIDI program: the sounds are tagged by both the track they belong to and the GM program they are to use.
Open Recent >: this submenu lets you open quickly one the 8 last pieces you have opened.
Insert Piece...: lets you insert an existing piece into the current piece. The inserted piece can be placed before, on top of, or after the current sounds in the piece. This action is not yet implemented.
Insert Library...: lets you insert the envelopes and waveforms of an existing piece into the current piece. The envelopes and waveforms are seen in the envelope and waveform editors, under their own section. Only a reference to the inserted piece is stored, which means that when you reopen the piece, the inserted library must be kept at the same relative location they were when the library was inserted. This action is useful to let you store sets of interesting waveforms and waveforms that you may want to use in several pieces. Also, you may edit the library at any time independantly of the main piece file. To remove a library, select it in the waveform or envelope editors, and press the "-" button above the list of libraries.
Import Sound Sample...: lets you import a .aiff or .wav sound file as a waveform and envelope. This action is not yet implemented.
Save Piece: stores the latest changes made to the piece. If the current piece has no corresponding file, then this action prompts you for a file name before storing the piece.
Save Piece As...: prompts you for a file name and lets you store the current piece and its associated waveforms, envelopes and libraries into a file for later access.
Play Piece: plays the entire piece.
hint: this action can be performed by deselecting all sounds and pressing Ctrl + Space bar or pressing the "Play" button in the toolbar.
Play Selection: plays the selected sounds, or the entire piece if no sounds are selected.
hint: this action can be performed by deselecting all sounds and pressing Ctrl + Space bar or pressing the "Play" button in the toolbar.
Export...: lets you export the current piece as a sound file, suitable for direct playback using most sound players, or importing the resulting soundtrack in other music composition tools. The exported file uses the settings of the parameters bar. The file format is determined by the extension you provide. If you don't provide an extension, it will use the last format you used, or AIFF if you haven't used this function. The most common formats available are WAV, AIFF and SND. Note this action is only available in HighC pro.
Export as Picture...: lets you export the current view as an image file, suitable for editing in a paint program, or to illustrate your creations. The supported file formats depend on your platform, but include a large choice, such as gif, png, bmp, jpg...
Close: closes the current piece, asking you whether you want to save its changes if there are any unsaved changes.
Exit: closes all the open pieces, asking you whether you want to save its changes if there are any unsaved changes.