# Using &kappname;

TODO: screenshots

## Getting Started

Install soniK using the pre-compiled packages for your distribution or from source as described in Compilation and Installation.

Once installed, soniK can be started from the program menu or by running `sonik` at the command prompt.

When soniK starts, the following screen is displayed where you can select whether to start with an empty file, record a new file or open an existing file.

Startup dialog

## Opening and Saving Files

To open a file, use the File Open menu or the Open button on the toolbar. The standard KDE file dialog will be displayed, where you can choose the file to open. The File Open Recent menu can also be used to open a recently used file.

To save the current file, use the File Save menu or the Save button on the toolbar. To save the current file under a different name, use the File Save menu. A warning will be displayed if a file with the new name already exists.

Some file formats have options that control how to save the file, e.g. sub-formats and compression settings. A dialog will be shown when using the File Save menu to allow you to set these options.

## Viewing sounds

soniK displays the sound on screen with time increasing from left to right. The format of the times shown on the horizontal axis can be chosen using the View Time Format menu.

To move the cursor, use the arrow keys or Left click. To scroll the display, press the &Ctrl; key with the arrow keys or the &Shift; key with the mouse wheel. To zoom in and out, press the &Ctrl;+ and &Ctrl;- keys or use the mouse wheel. For more details on the available keys, see here.

To select a part of the sound, press the &Shift; key with the arrow keys or drag with the Left mouse button. Once a selection has been made, the edges can be dragged with the Left mouse button. The whole selection can be moved by pressing the &Shift; key with the Left mouse button.

soniK provides several ways of visualizing sound data. The display type can be chosen using the View Display menu. The default installation includes:

Normal display

- This display plots the value of the signal against time. The format of the vertical axis can be chosen using the View Scale Format menu. The colours used in the display can be configured in the Settings Configure soniK menu.

  Normal display

Spectral display

- This display plots the intensity of the frequencies in the sound against time. The vertical axis shows the frequency and the colour of each pixel shows the intensity of each frequency at that point in time. The colours used in the display can be configured in the Settings Configure soniK menu.

  Spectral display

## Playing sounds

TODO:

## Recording sounds

TODO:

## Editing sounds

TODO: cut copy paste delete crop

## Changing the format of a sound

TODO:

## Transforming sounds

TODO: plugin walkthrough

## Generating sounds

TODO: