By Rob Stewart - JustMastering.com - Last updated August 7, 2017

NOTICE: I stopped maintaining this Excel prototype because once you get to know how to use SoX, a tool such as this is less helpful. I am keeping it on the site in case it's helpful for others to learn how to use SoX. 
 

I have created a Microsoft Excel-based (Prototype) GUI for the popular SoX (Sound eXchange) SRC (Sample Rate Converter). Why would I do this? SoX is an extremely high quality sample rate converter that is suitable for use in audio mastering. It is command line based, though, and I prefer to use GUIs. I wanted to create a user interface for SoX with features that would make it easier to use, such as:

  • easily select most of the SoX SRC configuration options
  • automatically run SRC and format conversions on single files
  • automatically create an icon on my desktop that I can drag and drop files to for batch conversion
  • tag each file with the settings chosen (dither type, quality level etc.)
  • keep an ongoing log, for troubleshooting purposes

Below is my work in progress. This is prototype GUI was developed in Office 2007, on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. I hope, someday, to be able to convert this into a standalone desktop tool. Please contact me if you have any questions. Enjoy :)!



Download SoX SRC Excel-Based GUI:

 

SoX_Tool_V1.4.xlsm SoX_Tool_V1.4.xlsm
Size : 244 Kb
Type : xlsm

PLEASE NOTE:

  • You need Microsoft Windows and Office (Excel) 2007 or higher to run this GUI. 
  • You need a version of SoX Sound eXchange  Sample Rate Converter installed. The tool is designed for version 14.4.0, but you can change that in the "Config" tab (note that older versions may not be 100% compatible). 

 

If you find this SoX GUI tool useful, please consider...

Support SoX Sample Rate converter directly Without the SoX converter program itself, this prototype would just be an empty spreadsheet. Consider donating to their cause at http://sox.sourceforge.net.
Adding a link to JustMastering.com to your website Adding a link back to JustMastering.com would help me immensely :)!

Submit Feedback!

 Tell me what you think of the work in progress, and what features you'd like added (within the limits of SoX of course!).
Like JustMastering.com on FaceBook. I appreciate any support you can provide to help spread the word :)!
Follow JustMastering.com on Google+. Once again, I appreciate any support you can provide to help spread the word.

Minimum Requirements:

What this GUI Tool does:

This Excel workbook writes batch files based on the choices you make in the GUI, and then runs them! It will not do the actual processing itself, it just writes the command lines necessary to make SoX work. It does store a history of all major operations in case you wish to go back and look at what it did (by date). 

Bearing this in mind, this tool is limited only by what you can do with the SoX command line executable file, but to keep the tool relatively simple, not all SoX features/options have been included. Instead, I have focused mainly on the sample rate and audio file format conversion features since that's what I use for my audio mastering work.

It is also important to note that if you experience any difficulties with the tool, a good first step is to check the "Action Log" tab to see the command line that was created, and then check that against the SoX documentation, just in case you have chosen command line options that are not applicable for the file format or sample rate. The tool does have some "intelligence" built in, in that it will warn you if certain settings aren't valid, but again for simplicity, I couldn't add every check and balance. 

Important Notes:

  • This product comes with no warranty or guarantee. I hope you find it useful but please remember to use it at your own risk, and test it first before using it for mission critical work. Rob Stewart and/or JustMastering.com will not be held liable for any damages resulting from the use of this tool.
  • This is a prototype, and it has only been tested on Microsoft Excel 2007 and Excel 2010 running on Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
  • This workbook uses Macros. In order for it to function correctly, you may need to adjust the macro security settings within Excel. 

Planned Updates for a future release:

  • User override settings (to allow you to add your own switches if necessary)
  • Storing and retrieving "favourite SRC settings"

SoX SRC Excel-Based GUI - Version History

Version 1.4
 		Updated Jan 13, 2013, has the following enhancements (see "Version Enhancements" tab within the tool for more detail)
  • Fixed display feedback issue on under the hood tab when selecting output file encoding (description was getting cut off)
  • Suppressed error messages when creating or confirming the Input/Output folder path ("already exists" messages)
  • Fixed spacing issues with command line syntax (removed extra spaces that weren't required in certain situations)
  • Moved Input and Output folder error messages to below the input fields (were appearing behind the buttons before, making them unreadable)
  • Added an FYI note to "SoX" tab about converting multiple files, and updated "Info" tab with more information about converting multiple files.
Version 1.3
 		Updated Jan 12, 2013, has the following enhancements (see "Version Enhancements" tab within the tool for more detail)
  • Fixed file naming issue when using the "user defined" sample rate conversion quality setting
  • "Reset Options" button will now clear the "UnderTheHood" settings as well, and reset them to the detaults
  • For compatibility reasons, changed all macros to create separate working batch files and to store them in the user profile isntead of "c:\" (typically files will now get saved under "my documents" and are named for each step that they perform)
  • "UnderTheHood" tab now allows you to specify output audio file encoding (such as fixed or floating point, u-law, signed integer etc)
  • Added "Visual Feedback" section to "SoX" and "UnderTheHood" tabs which displays the exact SoX command lines that will be used, based on all settings chosen
  • Added "Designed for SoX version" column to Version Enhancements tab for tracking purposes
  • Added a "Troubleshooting" tab which contains helpful troubleshooting information for known issues
Version 1.2
 		Updated Jan 10, 2013, has the following enhancements (see "Version Enhancements" tab within the tool for more detail)
  • Fixed "duplicate commands" issue when user defined settings were used
  • Moved "No Dither" option to bottom of SRC dither selection list
  • Fixed some display/formatting anomolies in the "UnderTheHood" tab
  • Shortened list of output audio file formats to only list fully supported audio formats (anything marked "optional" in the SoX documentation)
  • Made the "stat" and "stats" SRC statistics features optional (See "UnderTheHood" tab)
  • Fixed minor issue where some of the SoX global options settings weren't getting added to the "bulk batch file" command line
  • Made the "pause" feature optional (This feature leaves the command window open until you press any key, allowing you to see everything that was done during sample rate conversion)
Version 1.1
 		Updated Jan 9, 2013, has the following enhancements (see V1.1 Enhancements tab within the tool for more detail)
  • Performance Enhancement - Disabled the Screen Update feature when running the macros
  • Added pause at end of generate (helpful in case there were issues during conversion)
  • Added buttons to empty input and output folders (action log gets updated with this, too), with warnings
  • Verbiage for reset action log update changed from "Settings were rest to JustMastering.com defaults" to "Settings were reset to defaults"
  • "Create bulk batch file" function now creates a separate batch each time you change the SRC settings and click the "create bulk batch file" button (names are automatically set based on the options)
  • Added button to "Config" tab to delete all custom bulk batch files created (including desktop links), with warning message
  • Added feature to bulk batch file to open the output folder after batch runs
  • Added warning messages to buttons for clearing and cleaning the action log
  • "Open Input Folder" and "Open Output Folder" buttons will now create that folder first, if it doesn't already exist
  • Enhanced Action Log detail when events are recorded - eg when creating a bulk batch file, both file name created and SoX string used are logged
  • Added STATS to batch command to display details about the output file
  • Fixed the "No Dither" option (was not working in v1.0 due to syntax error)
  • Added "Under the Hood" tab which allows you to customize or tune the SRC, and also set the verbosity for error/processing messages
Version 1.0
 		First version made available, Dec 23, 2012.