Agent Audio

A Rant About the State of Sounds

Sounds enhance the interaction a user has with a program. Buttons click, sliders provide audio feedback, and panels swish and pop as they are hidden and revealed. Others, such as email and chat programs, cue the user to certain events as they occur, and games, getting still more elaborate, chirp, whistle, roar, and blast in response to gameplay. Yes, sounds can certainly play a significant role in the overall user experience. However, as some programs seamlessly integrate sounds as an extension of the user interface, yet others bolster them on as an afterthought. Alas, too many programs sport cheesy, low-quality audio clips that are hardly worthy of the distinction “sound.” Indeed, you’d swear that some developers dredge up these mono, 8-bit, 11 kHz mongrels from the 1984 era, but what on earth possesses them to do so!? Sensibility would suggest for minimal space and memory requirements, which may well be the case, yet I do sometimes wonder. Fortunately these pathetic sounds embedded in programs can be replaced with suitable alternatives.

Redemption

The classic Mac OS stores sounds as “snd” resources, usually within an application’s resource fork. Unfortunately getting at them requires a resource editor such as ResEdit, the very mention of which causes some users to grow pale and nearly writhe on the floor. Granted, resource editors must be used with the utmost care as they can easily cripple a program if not used properly. Some grit their teeth and look to ResEdit to delve into the resource quarry in their quest to replace unworthy sounds with audio gems of their own. Yet others suppress their yearnings for better sounds either out of caution or the lack of a more convenient replacement method. Agent Audio by Clixsounds addresses these issues, providing a safe and convenient avenue for sound replacement.

First Impression

Agent Audio greets you in stereo when launched followed by a polished interface similar to a dual tape deck. The left column lists the sounds resident in the destination file that can be replaced, whereas the right column lists sounds added from one or several source files that are poised to replace their defunct counterparts in the left column. Buttons on the outer edge of each column open sound-bearing files to list their contents, obtain information on individually listed sounds, and play them back. A sound selected in the left column is marked for replacement by a sound selected in the right column when the arrow button between the columns is clicked. Sounds given the “kiss of death” are denoted with a bullet. Sounds are not actually replaced until changes to the destination file are saved, meaning that you can vacillate to your heart’s content before Agent Audio drops the axe.

Mining for Gold

Agent Audio does more than supplant sounds. This utility can also excavate precious sound samples concealed in the resource fork of applications, control panels, extensions, or any other file that can accomodate them. Besides simply copying them from one file to another, Agent Audio can save them individually as System 7 sound files for easy playback in the Finder. Say, for instance, that you like the Agent Audio intro sound and would like to play it on startup. Click the plus sign button lining the left column and select the Agent Audio Sounds document in the Agent Audio Files folder. Two sounds should appear in the left column. Select the “Agent intro” listing and click the second button from the left along the bottom (shaped like a sound file). A standard Save dialog box is called up with two radio buttons appended at the bottom. Select System 7 Sound File and save it in the Startup Items folder within the System Folder. Perhaps you want to extract and archive all the sounds from a file. In the save dialog box, select the Agent Audio Archive radio button. Then you can load them as source files later when you’re looking for that perfect replacement sound.

Help When You Need It

Agent Audio is a relatively straightforward program to operate, but having an onboard help system just in case is an asset. Clicking the question mark button on the bottom row summons the help system to the foreground. A two-paned dialog appears with topics on the left and content on the right, complete with illustrations.

Areas For Improvement

While Agent Audio is quite polished, there are a few modifications that would make it even better. First off, Agent Audio crashes, albeit gracefully, when attempting to play a non-standard snd resource. Providing a checking mechanism before charging ahead would be prudent. Also when saving snd resources with slightly different sampling rates as System 7 sound files, the resulting files don’t always play in the Finder without first running them through a sound conversion program such as SoundApp. While I’m sure this is the exception, it was a little disheartening when I tried to extract the Robinson Robot sound I discovered in TechTool Pro 2 while playing around with Agent Audio. Finally, adding an option to save the changes of the destination file in a copy instead of the original would be useful; although saving the snd resources in an Agent Audio archive as a backup would be a sufficient workaround.

Some Final Thoughts

Agent Audio works as advertised: providing a safe and convenient method for replacing snd resources in applications, control panels, extensions, or any other file that may harbor them. I highly recommend it for users that get squeamish about handling a resource editor, but at a shareware price of $12, experienced wielders of ResEdit, Resourcer, or another resource editor may wish to stick with the slightly inconvenient method of juggling snd resources. However, if you long for the ability to add and delete snd resources, to change resource ID numbers and names without a resource editor, or to create standalone sound replacers that can be run without Agent Audio, then Agent Audio Pro is the utility that will fit the bill. The pro version is sold commercially while the normal version is downloadable. Details on both can be obtained on the Clixsounds website.

Jeremy Hoesly
ResExcellence Software Reviewer
April 26, 2001

The GlassWorks Blueberry Theme by Michael Rabe was used in the screenshots.

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