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Although SoftSkies runs as a visual
plugin inside audio players such as iTunes, it can also run as a standalone application that
can visualize any sound source. This is essential when you want to visualize audio
from a live performance or social event using a microphone or an audio line-in input. You
receive SoftSkies Standalone when you upgrade
to SoftSkies Platinum.
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In general, you can use SoftSkies for private, non-commercial events at no cost,
but you must contact us for
a commercial license if you want to use SoftSkies in any commercial, official,
or public capacity. This software is the art of Drew O’Meara, and we can’t
keep our doors open without community support. Kindly see the license
agreement for details and terms of use.
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- Start SoftSkies Standalone. You can either search your system for "SoftSkies Standalone"
or you can navigate to it directly:
- Windows:
Start Menu > Programs > SoftSkies
- macOS:
/Users/(you)/Applications/SoftSkies
- When SoftSkies Standalone is running, switch to the desired audio input
device by using the menu: Settings > Audio Input Source
You can also change the current audio input source by right-clicking (or
control-clicking) on the SoftSkies Standalone window.
- Check that the volume level from the current audio source is not muted and
is turned up. People sometimes have everything set up properly but don’t
notice that the input is muted on the device itself or in the system's audio
settings. If you're looping back audio from your system (see below), ensure
that your system volume is turned up!
- Adjust the visual responsiveness in SoftSkies to your liking using Settings > Audio Sensitivity or
using the shortcut keys: + -
- Note that the setting Try Other Audio Sources When Silence Detected is
enabled by default. This means that if silence is detected on the currently
selected audio input source for more than 15 seconds, then SoftSkies
will begin checking other audio sources for activity. If it finds active
audio activity on another source, it will continue to use that audio source
until there's activity on the original source. When that happens, SoftSkies
will immediately switch back to displaying the original audio source. This
feature is particularly useful when SoftSkies is running as a screen
saver since it's nice for any active audio to be automatically visualized.
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On Windows, there are two methods to visualize audio coming from a Windows program or web browser.
Some Windows systems have a virtual sound device named Stereo Mix or What You Hear,
allowing programs like SoftSkies Standalone to visualize your system's output
audio. For example, audio playing from a web browser can be tapped and visualized
in SoftSkies Standalone. If your Windows system supports this, follow these steps:
- In Windows, open Control Panel > Sound
- Select the Recording tab
- Right click on the recording device Stereo Mix (or similar) and
select Properties
- Within the General Properties tab, select Use this device (enable)
- Restart Standalone and follow the above instructions to change the audio
source.
The second method to visualize audio from a program on Windows is to use SoundSpectrum Audio Cable,
included with SoftSkies Platinum. This is a Windows audio driver we bundle
that can be set up as a system output device, allowing system audio to be piped to programs
like SoftSkies Standalone. You can learn how to set it up here.
On macOS, if you want to visualize audio from an application, your only option is
to install a third party application such as Loopback by
Rogue Amoeba. LineIn and SoundFlower intalled together are also an effective (free/opensource) solution.
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