Sonification Sandbox

This is the developer page for the Sonification Sandbox. You can find a list of releases, FAQs, and bugs here.

• Contents
• News
• Download
• Installation
• Getting Started
• FAQ
• Bugs

News

5.0.2 is now out. It fixes a few bugs and introductes a "quicksave" feature, which saves the contents in the same directory as the application/JAR file.

Download

All versions (4 and up):
• 5.0.2 (November 18, 2008)
• QuickSave feature: save the Sonification Sandbox as an SSP file in the same directory as the application or JAR file. The file name is "save.ssp".
• 5.0.0 (~November 1, 2008)
• 4.3.2 (March 10, 2008)
• Formula tab hidden. Some bugs prevent easy use of this feature.
• 4.3.1 (February 11, 2008)
• Mappings: Pan and Volume are now true mappings, correlating with the value of the point.
• Data Updating: fixed a bug where user changes didn't affect the graph.
• Context settings couldn't be changed. This is now fixed.
• CSV Import: smarter algorithm allows negative values and scientific notation.
• 4.3.0 (January 2008)
• Project overview: see a summary of your project on a single page.
• formula maker: use variables to express mathematical formulas, which are turned into graphs.
• Help system: a searchable help system to give you assistance.
• Improvements: interactive splash screen, more accessible, new layouts for each section, extended play time (500 milliseconds to 6 hours), additional graph examples, visual graph look and feel, graph color selection, class and package organization, better video export, resizeable windows, command line functionality, single JAR executable, absract libraries, threading, old bugs removal, and JavaDoc.
• 4.2.1 (September 19, 2007). Quicktime, AVI, and MP4 export. Systems without QuickTime and QuickTime for Java cannot export video (but the Sandbox will otherwise work). The data table is now more like a spreadsheet, accepting formulas and table cell references.
• 4.2.0 improved Macintosh support and MIDI exportation. Some widgets now modified to make feedback noises.
• 4.1.1 a new export wizard. Fixed CSV import problem from 4.1.0.
• 4.1.0 added command line UI, improved translator and UI support, and reorganized source packages.
• 4.0.2 main release for ICAD 2007. Code overhaul.

Installation

1. Download the JAR file.
2. Run the JAR installer. If the installer does not come up, you may need a newer version of the free Java JRE.

Getting Started

Sonification Sandbox GUI

There are a few considerations when using the GUI. First, an auditory graph must always have an x-axis defined before the player and visual grapher can display anything meaningful. To change this setting, select "type" from a channel in the "mappings" tab. Second, the GUI is designed for maximum flexibility. It does not have many built-in tools for making the graph "sound good" at first. You may have to play around with the settings to get an appropriate output.

Understanding Auditory Graphs

Jump to the auditory graph tutorial.

Command Line UI

The new command line or shell user interface is designed for quick results. A small graph can be converted from CSV to MIDI in about one second. To call the command line UI, enter the command

java -jar Sandbox.jar -c "C:\directory\inputfile.csv" ["C:\directory\outputfile.midi"]

where "C:\directory\inputfile.csv" is the full path and filename of the CSV input and "C:\directory\outputfile.midi" is the optional output MIDI file name. If the outputfile is not entered, then the Sonification Sandbox will create "inputfile.csv.midi" at the inputfile's path.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I run the installer?

The installer is a java-based JAR file. It is technically a file with compressed contents (a "zip" file). However, you can use Java to open the application. Typically, you will only need to double-click the file. Sometimes another applications has associated itself with the .jar extension. In that case you will need to tell the operating system to open the file with Java. I've heard of one case where the download was automatically renamed to a .zip extension. It is safe to change the extension back to .jar.

Bug Tracking

Please email Benjamin Davison at ben@cc.gatech.edu if you have any problems or find a bug.