Preview Mode

Preview Mode is the standard way to open content in Orbit. Use the file selector (or drag-and-drop) to open a single ADM BWF or IAMF file for inspection and playback. This is the right mode for quick QC passes where you're stepping through one file at a time.

For working across multiple tracks in one session, see Sessions.

Opening a file

There are several entry points, all equivalent — they just suit different points in the workflow:

• Welcome screen → Open an ADM or IAMF → Open File… — when you launch Orbit with nothing loaded, the Welcome screen offers a single-file open as one of its main actions.
• File → Open File… (⌘O) — the standard menu path. Available with or without a session active, and it always opens the file in Preview Mode: if a session is open, Orbit closes it first (asking whether to save any unsaved changes). To add a file to a session instead, use File → Import Audio into Session… — see Sessions.
• Drag-and-drop — drop an ADM BWF, IAMF, or MP4-wrapped IAMF file onto the main window. Same result as the menu path.
• Recent files — File → Open Recent → Files lists recently-opened files (sessions are listed separately). The Welcome screen also surfaces them in its Recent panel.

The file you open is not copied anywhere — Orbit reads it in place. Moving the file on disk while it's loaded is fine; Orbit holds a security-scoped bookmark, not a hard reference.

Supported formats

• ADM BWF (.wav) — Broadcast Wave with embedded ADM metadata (axml + chna chunks). The standard immersive master format.
• IAMF (.iamf) — raw IAMF bitstreams.
• MP4-wrapped IAMF (.mp4) — IAMF carried in an ISOBMFF / MP4 container. Orbit recognises and routes these through the IAMF decode path automatically.

If a file looks like it should work but doesn't, the loader surfaces a specific error rather than failing silently — most often it's a missing AXML chunk in a .wav that wasn't authored for ADM.

What you can and can't do

In preview mode, most of Orbit's features work the same as inside a session — the audio engine, monitoring modes, meters, 3D visualizer, waveform views, head tracking, and binaural rendering are all live.

What's missing in preview mode (because it's a single file, not a project):

• Playlists — preview mode is one file at a time; there's no "next track" to advance to.
• Saved markers and loops — with Orbit Pro you can place markers and define a loop region in preview mode, but nothing is saved: preview mode keeps no state, so they're gone when you close the file, open another or quit.
• Pro-only Sessions features — Save Session and Save Session As… (Pro only) are disabled when you're not in a session. They light up the moment you promote preview to a session. The File menu's close item reads Close File (⇧⌘W) in preview mode and unloads the file back to the Welcome screen.

The Preview Mode pill

When you've got a file loaded but no session open, a small Preview Mode pill appears in the header next to the file name. It's a status indicator and a one-click action both:

• Indicator — confirms you're in preview mode and that any markers or loops you make are ephemeral — preview playback state isn't saved.
• Action — clicking the pill (Pro only) promotes the current file to a full .orbsession bundle via Create Session from Preview…. The file you've already loaded and its waveform cache are copied into the new bundle, so there's no re-render — see Sessions: Creating a session.

The pill disappears once a session is active.

Nothing is saved

Opening a file in preview mode doesn't create a session or any temporary bundle — the file loads in place, and its waveform cache is written next to it (see Waveform Cache). Preview mode keeps no state between launches, so there's nothing to recover after a crash; just reopen the file.

When to graduate to a session

Preview mode is the right tool for one-off QC passes. Reach for Sessions when:

• You're working through more than one or two files in a sitting and want playlist navigation.
• You want to preserve markers, the loop region and view state across reopens.
• You're sharing a project with another QC engineer and want a self-contained bundle.
• You're using video sync, where the video edit list and sync settings need to persist.

Promotion is one click — the Preview Mode pill, or File → Create Session from Preview….

See also

• Sessions — the multi-track / persistent counterpart to preview mode.
• Sessions preferences — the auto-save toggle and temporary-bundle cleanup for sessions.
• Overview — the layout you see when a file is loaded.