Hmm. I don't use the Vegas explorer much but it does let you browse regions so it has a reason to exist.

There's a little gotcha here. I tried it, doubleclicked a veg file in vegas explorer and Vegas started rendering the veg file. Turns out I had the auto preview button enabled. Disable it and the Vegas explorer will open the veg file.

Rob

Bob said "Not that many things support multiple document interfaces."

rmack350 said "Hmm. Vegas is the only NLE i've seen that doesn't do that."

Absolutely.

As far as the issue with 'spotting' to the timeline from an external app goes, the problem with Vegas is that it relies on a drag and drop method for adding to the timeline from the project media. Which is why it doesn't get supported by the Pro sound library management systems like Soundminer or Netmix (or the cheaper but sleeker option i'm using at my current gig, Basehead).

If I was able to force it to stick to a single window implementation (like the more established NLEs) you can work round this by quickly opening files in sequence as if Vegas was a wave editor. Essentially making Vegas the default app for sound files from within the sound library software.

Ah!
Here's your problem. Vegas isn't a wave editor!
Sound Forge is.
If you open a wave (or any media file) in Vegas it never "saves" the file. It save the project but the media file remains unchanged. Even if you render out the project the original media file remains unchanged.

On the other hand Sound Forge when you hit Save does overwrite the media file implementing your edits. And SF has MDI.

Bob.

farss wrote: "Here's your problem. Vegas isn't a wave editor!"

Well that distinction is pretty arbitrary, but if you want to speak in those terms then Vegas IS an NLE without the functionality to insert/'spot' a sound accurately without dragging from the media list :)

Although bizarrely right clicking on a sound in the project media list allows you to 'Add as CD Track', essentially spotting the sound at the current track and timeline position. But adding CD track markers everytime... so close... and yet...

The distinction is anything but arbitary. In many ways hard to see I'll admit but consider this.
I have two wave files, one 44.1KHz, the other 48KHz.

I open both in Sound Forge, do some edits and save both. I end up with those two wave files still at the original sample rate and bit depth. This is the functionality of a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).

Vegas was originally a Multitracker, these days it gets called a Non Linear Editor. I put those same two wave files on the timeline or I could if Vegas would let me open two projects in the one instance of Vegas, no matter. There is no functionality to make an edit and save the files back with the edits done. It simply is not a DAW.

One can render the files out though, the files you render to are new files, you haven't edited the original files. But even more significantly those files will be at the sample rate and bitdepth of the Project, the original sample rate and bit depth of the source files is ignored and the audio is resampled to the project settings.

Now I'm no expert on what it is you're trying to achieve however I'm assuming you're wanting to edit wave files. The way Vegas works means it's not the right tool for that task even if it did behave the way you wanted.

Look at it another way, I think if Vegas could do what you wanted Sound Forge would be redundant. You can use them interchangeably for sure but for your kind of workflow you've hit a point where the difference is very significant.

Another couple of things that Vegas doesn't have for hard core audio editing is Snap to Zero Crossing, no pencil tool etc.

Bob.

You should probably be using Soundforge for that.