Cue Sheet Templates

A cue sheet is an alternate form of the CD report, based on raw UTF-8 text, and can be customized in several ways. Creating a cue sheet requires an understanding of computers and some knowledge about programming, because it makes use of the commands and variables concept.

Tip

You can make a copy of a factory cue sheet template to create a custom cue sheet template. The factory templates are located in the following locations:

Windows: C:\Program Files\Steinberg\WaveLab Pro 9.5\Factory Presets\Presets\AudioCdCueSheetTemplates\
macOS: /Applications/WaveLab Pro 9.5.app/Contents/Factory Presets/Presets/AudioCdCueSheetTemplates/

Cue sheets are organized in the following way: There are a number of codes, commands, and variables, which you place in a text file – the template. If you ask the program to generate a cue sheet, it creates the text file based on the codes it finds in the template.

If the program encounters a variable, it replaces this with some information about the CD. For example, there is a variable called NUM_TRACKS. When the program finds this, it replaces it with the actual number of tracks in the CD.

Commands, on the other hand, are instructions for the program to do something. For example, the command TIMECODE SEPARATOR = followed by a few special characters, instructs the program what characters should be inserted between timecode values, so that you can get timecode values printed out in the format 00:00:00.00, 00 00 00 00, or anything else you prefer.

The following codes can be entered for specific purposes:

$: A variable. The text that follows right after the $ is the command name, for example, $TITLE. A variable can occur anywhere on a line, and there can be any number of variables on a line.
#: A command. The text that follows after the # is the command name, for example, #FOR EACH TRACK. There can only be one command per line and there should not be anything else on that line.
;: If a line starts with a semi-colon ;, the line is interpreted as a comment. Nothing on such a line is used in the cue sheet. This is useful for making notes, for example.

All other text characters can be entered on their own lines or among the variables, and are used as they are. For example, if you type Title: $TITLE and the title you have entered is My Greatest Hits!, the text Title: My Greatest Hits appears in the cue sheet.

To find out more about the available commands and how they are used, you can open the included templates and study them. The following variables are available:

Track Number

T0: As decimal number 1 or 22
T1: Blank Justified Two Digit Number 1 or 22
T2: Zero Justified Two Digit Number 01 or 22

Track Index

I0: As decimal number 1 or 22
I1: Blank Justified Two Digit Number 1 or 22
I2: Zero Justified Two Digit Number 01 or 22

Copy Protection Status

C1: x or
C2: Y or N

Emphasis Status

E1: x or
E2: Y or N

Absolute Time of Index

TIME_IA_0: As decimal number
TIME_IA_1: Blank justified 7 digit decimal number
TIME_IA_2: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff
TIME_IA_3: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not displayed
TIME_IA_4: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff compressed if there are no hours, none are displayed
TIME_IA_5: Time as mm:ss:ff no hours displayed
TIME_IA_6: Time as mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not shown, no hours displayed
TIME_IA_7: Time as mm:ss:ff no minutes displayed if not required, no hours displayed
TIME_IA_8: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s 4f
TIME_IA_9: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s

Index Time Relative to Start of CD

TIME_IR_0: As decimal number
TIME_IR_1: Blank justified 7 digit decimal number
TIME_IR_2: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff
TIME_IR_3: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not displayed
TIME_IR_4: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff compressed if there are no hours, none are displayed
TIME_IR_5: Time as mm:ss:ff no hours displayed
TIME_IR_6: Time as mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not shown, no hours displayed
TIME_IR_7: Time as mm:ss:ff no minutes displayed if not required, no hours displayed
TIME_IR_8: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s 4f
TIME_IR_9: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s

Index Time Relative to Start of Track

TIME_IT_0: As decimal number
TIME_IT_1: Blank justified 7 digit decimal number
TIME_IT_2: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff
TIME_IT_3: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not displayed
TIME_IT_4: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff compressed if there are no hours, none are displayed
TIME_IT_5: Time as mm:ss:ff no hours displayed
TIME_IT_6: Time as mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not shown, no hours displayed
TIME_IT_7: Time as mm:ss:ff no minutes displayed if not required, no hours displayed
TIME_IT_8: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s 4f
TIME_IT_9: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s

Pause Length

TIME_PA_0: As decimal number
TIME_PA_1: Blank justified 7 digit decimal number
TIME_PA_2: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff
TIME_PA_3: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not displayed
TIME_PA_4: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff compressed if there are no hours, none are displayed
TIME_PA_5: Time as mm:ss:ff no hours displayed
TIME_PA_6: Time as mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not shown, no hours displayed
TIME_PA_7: Time as mm:ss:ff no minutes displayed if not required, no hours displayed
TIME_PA_8: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s 4f
TIME_PA_9: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s

Track Length

TIME_TR_0: As decimal number
TIME_TR_1: Blank justified 7 digit decimal number
TIME_TR_2: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff
TIME_TR_3: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not displayed
TIME_TR_4: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff compressed if there are no hours, none are displayed
TIME_TR_5: Time as mm:ss:ff no hours displayed
TIME_TR_6: Time as mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not shown, no hours displayed
TIME_TR_7: Time as mm:ss:ff no minutes displayed if not required, no hours displayed
TIME_TR_8: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s 4f
TIME_TR_9: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s

CD Length

TIME_CD_0: As decimal number
TIME_CD_1: Blank justified 7 digit decimal number
TIME_CD_2: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff
TIME_CD_3: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not displayed
TIME_CD_4: Time as hh:mm:ss:ff compressed if there are no hours, none are displayed
TIME_CD_5: Time as mm:ss:ff no hours displayed
TIME_CD_6: Time as mm:ss:ff blank justified, leading zero not shown, no hours displayed
TIME_CD_7: Time as mm:ss:ff no minutes displayed if not required, no hours displayed
TIME_CD_8: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s 4f
TIME_CD_9: Time format as 1h 2mn 3s

Various

NUM_TRACKS: Total number of tracks as decimal number
UPC: UPC/EAN code
ISRC: ISRC code
FILE: File name (no path)
PFILE: File name (with path)
TRACK_NAME: Track name
TRACK_COMMENT: Track comment