XSPECT: INTRODUCTION

Analysis/Synthesis Team,
IRCAM 4 Janvier 96

4. How do you run it ?

You have to be logged on an Alpha or SGI machine from a Xwindow console, X-Terminal, Mac or PC where an X server is installed.

In order that X graphic displays appear on your console, you have to make sure that the Unix environment variable DISPLAY is set to design your console.

You can check that by typing :

echo $DISPLAY

which should answer

your-console-name:0.0

If not, you can set it by typing

setenv DISPLAY your-console-name:0.0

Note : take care NOT to type setenv $DISPLAY instead of setenv DISPLAY.

In order to run Xspect, you should have its path in your path variable. If Xspect is not installed in a standard place, you may have to ask that to your system manager. At IRCAM, you can usually find a version in:

/u/formes/bin/$arch/xspect
or
/u/formes/bin/$arch/$SYSTEM/xspect

where $arch is sgi or alpha.

Then you can run Xspect by typing:

xspect option | option | ... | sound-file | sound-file | ... |

where the sign "|" separates optional arguments, option are optional option-arguments and sound-file are optional soud-files. See section Options (they can be listed on line by typing Xspect -h).

The sound files given in the command line are searched as usual Unix files. A menu-item "Visit file" in the menu "File" allows you to examine other files by openning a file-browser window: this browser is opened at the location (directory) given by you soud file directory variable SFDIR if it is set; otherwise the browser is opened at the current location (directory).

When Xspect is started, it usually displays a doted line rectangle that you can displace with the mouse until you find the place you like and click to place the first Window. Therefore, what first appears is a Window. By using the New window item in the File menu, you can further open several of such Windows up to your convenience. When such Windows become too cumbersome on your console, you can iconify them temporarily, de-iconify them, displace, change their size, place them below or above others etc.... in order to always have the optimal setting.