This section outlines the accessibility features in GoldWave. Almost all of GoldWave's functionality is accessible through the keyboard. See Keyboard Commands and Options | Keyboard.
If a screen reader is active when starting GoldWave, the program automatically changes its interface slightly to be more screen reader friendly.
Screen reader mode can be switched on manually by using GoldWave Setup in the Windows Start menu and checking the Force screen reader mode box.
The status visual in the Control window becomes a text box that gives the elapsed time, the current status, and the left and right peak levels (in parentheses). The levels are reset whenever playback or recording is restarted. The levels are given in percentages, but tabbing to the text box and pressing D changes it to decibels. Pressing D again changes it back to percentages. Press R to reset the peaks. Press P to pause updates to give time for the screen reader to read it. These keys only work when the status visual has the keyboard focus and the keys have not been assigned to other functions in GoldWave.
All images are removed from the menus so that standard Windows text menu items are used instead of custom drawn ones, ensuring that menus are easily readable. If menus cannot be read, be sure to uncheck the Toolbar images in menu box under Options | Toolbar.
Also when a screen reader is active, GoldWave defaults to shared playback instead of exclusive playback so that the screen reader can share the audio device with GoldWave.
Almost all windows in GoldWave provide edit boxes where values and settings can be entered rather than relying on visual controls only. Use the Tab key to move between controls.
Use Alt+F6 to switch between GoldWave's Main window and Control window. Use the Tab key to move through the buttons and faders. The arrow keys change the fader settings. Unless you need to access the volume, balance, or speed faders, it is best to dock the Control window. Use the Tool | Control command to dock or undock it.
Finding certain parts of a sound file is done through keyboard navigation, which involves playing the file and moving the playback marker until the area if interest is located. GoldWave includes many keys for playing different parts of the sound. They are listed in the following table. The amount that the marker is moved depends on the zoom level, explained in the View section below.
The View | Auto Scroll Lock menu item must be checked for keyboard navigation to work.
| Keyboard Navigation | |
|---|---|
| Keystroke | Action |
| Space | Starts playback or stop it (toggles playback). The region that is played depends on the Play 3 button settings. |
| J, K, L | Rewinds, plays, and fast forwards respectively. Playback always starts at the playback marker position. |
| Shift+J, Shift+K, Shift+L | Makes the playback speed slower, normal, and faster respectively. |
| F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8 | Plays 1, plays 2, plays 3, rewinds, fast forwards, pauses, and stops respectively. See Play Properties for the play button settings. |
| Ctrl+G | Sets the playback marker to a specific time (go to). |
| H | Starts playback relative to the mouse's horizontal position in the waveform. |
| Shift+[ | Plays some audio up to the start marker. Marker preview controls the amount of audio played or three seconds is played if that value is set to zero. |
| Shift+] | Plays three seconds of audio up to the finish marker. Marker preview controls the amount of audio played or three seconds is played if that value is set to zero. |
| Ctrl+[ | Plays from the start marker to the finish marker. |
| Ctrl+] | Plays from the finish marker to the end. |
| Left | Move the playback marker backward. |
| Right | Move the playback marker forward. |
| Page Up | Moves the playback marker one screen backward. |
| Page Down | Moves the playback marker one screen forward. |
| Home | Moves the playback marker to the start marker's position. |
| End | Moves the playback marker to the finish marker's position. |
| Ctrl+Home | Moves the playback marker to the beginning of the sound. |
| Ctrl+End | Moves the playback marker to the end of the sound (playback stops). |
In addition to using the Edit | Selection | Set and the Edit| Selection | Move... commands, there are a number of ways of changing the selection with the keyboard. They are listed in the following table. The amount that the selection markers are moved depends on the zoom level, explained in the View section below.
| Keyboard Selection | |
|---|---|
| Keystroke | Action |
| Shift+Left, Shift+Right | Moves the start marker left or right (backward or forward). See the Marker preview playback setting. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Left, Ctrl+Shift+Right |
Moves the finish marker left or right. |
| Ctrl+A | Selects the entire sound. |
| Shift+Home | Moves the start marker to the beginning of the sound. |
| Shift+End | Moves the start marker to the finish marker's position. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Home | Moves the finish marker to the start marker's position. |
| Ctrl+Shift+End | Moves the finish marker to the end of the sound. |
| [ (left bracket) | Moves the start marker to the playback marker. |
| ] (right bracket) | Moves the finish marker to the playback marker. |
After deleting or cutting the selection, the selection is empty, so if the playback buttons are set to play the selection, nothing will play. Use Ctrl+A to select the entire file.
Keep in mind that most of the playback keys stop playback at the finish marker and there may be more audio beyond it. Use Trim Both to remove any audio outside the selection, if you only want to save what is in the selection.
If recording is stopped, the finish marker is moved to the stop time. To continue recording from that point, use Shift+End to move the start marker to the finish marker, then use Ctrl+Shift+End to move the finish marker to the end. Starting recording will continue from where it was stopped.
The view and zoom level control how much audio is displayed on the screen (or page). By default, GoldWave displays the entire file. Use the View Menu Commands to change the amount of audio displayed. This also changes the amount the playback marker and selection markers are moved with each keystroke. The playback marker is moved one tenth of the screen size. Selection markers are moved one hundredth of the screen size. Using View | 10 Seconds displays 10 seconds of audio in the view. The Page Up or Page Down key moves the playback marker 10 seconds backward or forward. The Left or Right key moves the playback marker 1 second backward or forward. The selection keys move the start or finish marker a tenth of a second (0.1s or one hundredth of the view). Using View | 1 Second displays 1 second of audio. At that level, the page, arrow, and selection keys move 1 second, one tenth of a second, and one hundredth of a second respectively.
The Shift+Up and Shift+Down keys zoom in and out by 75%. The status bars display the selection range and the current zoom level.
Use Window options to change the default initial zoom level when a file is opened.