This tutorial explains how you can split a recording into several files. Often, you may need to save individual fragments of recorded audio into separate files. For example, you record an Internet transmission and want each song written to a different file. Or you may want to break a recorded file into several fragments of a fixed size or duration. For these functions, you can use the Split mode feature in the Professional Edition of Total Recorder.

The majority of players display information about the clip being played in the title of their window. Total Recorder is aware of the formats of window titles for most of the popular players. For such players, Total Recorder can extract information about the clip being played and use it for file tags (such as Ogg Vorbis tag or ID3 tag of MP3 file) and when generating file names for files that are created when recording in split mode.

The name of a playing clip can be extracted from the title of a player. Many, but not all, players allow you to extract information regarding the performer of a clip if such information is present in the file being played. Only Windows Media Player 9.x (or later) with a special plug-in (see below) lets you obtain values for all ID3 tag fields (ID3v1 and ID3v2) if such tags are present in the file being played.

There are several ways to use the Split mode feature depending on your requirements:

Splitting and Tagging While recording

• Starting split recording
• Starting split recording with tagging
• Using the Split Now feature

Splitting an Existing File

• Automatic split
• Manual Split

Splitting and Tagging While recording

• Starting split recording

If you want Total Recorder to automatically break the audio being recording into different files based on some predefined conditions (such as the size or duration of the recording, period of silence between songs, etc.), you can use the Split recording conditions dialog to specify a set of conditions under which a file should be automatically split.

1. Open the Options-> Settings menu, and select the Split tab. Select Split mode:

   
2. Press the Conditions button to open the Split recording conditions dialog:

   
3. Select the required options on the Split recording conditions dialog. For example, if you wish to record each song from an Internet broadcast into an individual file, it is recommended that you use the option for each software sound stream. This split condition is reliable and precise, but it can only be used when your player does not play multiple streams as one. Another option to separate songs is to use the if sound level does not exceed mmm% in xx.x seconds option. Since pauses do not always contain "pure" silence and are often filled with quiet noise, it is very important to correctly select the mmm% value that triggers Split mode.
4. Press OK.
5. From the drop-down list, select the file name generation rule template that you want to use in split mode. An example of a file name generated by this rule will appear in the Example field:

   
6. To add a new rule, or edit an existing rule, use the File Names tab (see File Name Generation Tutorial).
7. Configure your recording source and parameters in Total Recorder as required (see Setting Recording Parameters Tutorial).
8. Start recording. Total Recorder will generate a file name based on the template you indicated, and start saving the audio being recorded into this file. The file name will appear in the title on Total Recorder’s main window.
9. As soon as one of the specified split conditions occurs, Total Recorder splits the recording, saves the previous file, and starts recording to the next file. 

• Starting split recording with tagging

To split and tag the audio being recorded based on the clip info in the external player, take the following steps:

1. Select the Options-> Settings menu and select the Split tab.
2. Select Split mode: auto create a new file for:
3. Press the Conditions button. The Split recording conditions dialog appears:
   
4. Make sure that each of the following check boxes are checked:
• for each new sound format (fixed option)
• when clip info in external player is changed
• use clip info from external player for created file tag and name


5. Select a player from the Check state of these external players list.
   Please note that setting a lower value in the Check state of players every XXX milliseconds box results in more precise splitting but a greater load on your processor.

   It is also recommended you select a particular player in the Check state of these external players list. Selecting [All known players] results in additional processor load and incorrect behavior when more than one player is running.

6. Press OK.

7. Choose an appropriate rule for generating file names based on tag fields. To create a new rule, or to edit an existing rule, use the File Names dialog (see File Name Generation Tutorial).
8. If you plan to record and tag an MP3 file, you also need to go to Options-> Settings-> MP3 tab.

· Press the Change button. The ID3 tag dialog box appears:
· For File header type, choose MP3.
· Select Create tag as specified below.
· Check ID3v1 tag or ID3v2 tag or both.
·Keep all fields empty or fill in some fields you want to use permanently.
· Press OK twice.

9. Start recording. Total Recorder will capture the available clip info from the external player and use it for generating a file name based on the template you indicated and for filling in the ID3 tag fields. The file name will appear in the title on Total Recorder’s main window.
10. As soon as clip info in the window’s title of the external player changes, Total Recorder splits the recording, saves the previous file, and starts recording to the next file.

• Using the Split Now feature

The “Split Now” feature allows you to manually break a file during the recording process. To use this feature, take the following steps:

1. Open the Options-> Settings menu and select the Split tab. Select Split mode.
2. From the drop-down list, select the file name generation template that you wish to use in Split mode. An example of a file name generated by this rule will appear in the Example field). To add a new rule, or edit an existing rule, use the File Names tab (see File Name Generation Tutorial). Press OK.

   
3. Configure recording source and parameter settings in Total Recorder as required (see Setting Recording Parameters Tutorial).
4. Start recording. Total Recorder will generate a file name based on the template you specified, and start saving the audio being recorded into this file. The file name will appear in the title of Total Recorder’s main window.
5. When you want to stop recording to this file and start saving audio to the next file, press the Split Now button on Total Recorder's main toolbar.

Splitting an Existing File

• Automatic Split

You can split a file that has already been recorded into different fragments using the Split recording Conditions dialog.

Take the following steps:

1. Open the file that you want to split.
2. Use the Split recording conditions dialog to set your split conditions for splitting files. For saving files, the following split conditions are used: size, duration, and low level of sound.

   
3. Press OK.
4. Choose an appropriate rule for generating file names based on tag fields. To create a new rule, or to edit an existing rule, use the File Names dialog (see File Name Generation Tutorial). Press OK.

5. Use the File->Save special-> Save based on split conditions menu item.

   
6. The open file will be split and named according to previously set parameters.

• Manual Split

The Sound Image provides a visual representation of the characteristics of sound data. You can split the existing file using the Sound Image feature and Manual Split group:

You can launch the Sound Image from the View menu. It can be represented as either a panel in Total Recorder’s main window (View-> Show Sound Image in Panel) or as a separate window (View-> Show Sound Image in Separate Window). Associated with the Sound Image feature is a Manual Split group that contains buttons that let you manually split already existing files:

To split the file using the Manual Split group: