Working with queries

When you need to find a particular object in your project and the Search tool does not meet your needs, you can create a query in the Query Editor. The Query Editor is a sophisticated and powerful tool that can help you search through a project and find any object you're looking for. Your queries can be as broad or as specific as required. You can also save and reload queries to make your workflow more efficient. After running a query, you can edit all objects within the Results pane at once. For example, you can use the Multi Editor to turn streaming on or off, or change the Conversion Settings for the entire group of objects in the Results pane.

For example, you could create and run queries to do the following:

To locate all sounds in your project that begin with the word sword, create a query for sounds with sound type SFX and the name sword*.
To locate all Music Segments routed through a given bus, create a query for Music Segments with a selected output bus.
To locate all voices with a Low-Pass Filter property higher than 10, create a query for sounds with sound type Voice and the property/value Low-Pass Filter value greater than 10.

The Query Editor is composed of the following sections:

	Query description
	Criteria browser
	Criteria list
	Results list

Creating queries

When you create a query in Wwise, you set up a unique search that will be used to find objects in a project. After you name your query, it is saved for future use.

You can create queries in two places in Wwise:

Queries tab of the Project Explorer
Within the Query editor

To create a new query from the Queries tab:

In the Project Explorer, switch to the Queries tab.
Do one of the following:
- Select a Work Unit or Virtual Folder and click the Query icon in the Project Explorer toolbar.
- Right-click a Work Unit or Virtual Folder and select New Child > Query from the shortcut menu.
A new query is added to the selected Work Unit or Virtual Folder.
Replace the default name with one that best represents the query, and then press Enter.
Note
Each query name must be unique, and may not include the following characters: ‘:<>*?”/\|.’. You can rename a query at any time by right-clicking it, selecting Rename, and typing a new name.

To create a new query from within the Query Editor:

In the Query Editor, click New
The New Query dialog opens.
Select the Work Unit in which you want to create the query.
Type a name for the query.
Note
Each query name must be unique, and may not include the following characters: ‘:<>*?”/\|.’. You can rename a query at any time by right-clicking it, selecting Rename, and typing a new name.
Click OK.
A new query is created.

Defining and running queries

When you run a query for the first time, you decide which criteria will be used for searching through the project. These criteria are saved automatically so you can save time when you run the same query again in the future.

	Note
	Query results take into account object-level properties that are not currently in use because they are being overridden by a parent. If you encounter unexpected results in the Query Editor, you can look for hidden object-level properties by temporarily enabling the Override parent option in the Property Editor.

To define the contents of a query:

Load a query into the Query Editor.
Type any additional information about the query in the Notes field.
In the Query From list, do one of the following:
- Select the type of object or other project element you want to search for. If you do not want to search for a specific type of object, select All Objects.
  To specify a location in the hierarchy from which your query will begin, do the following:
  - Next to the Start From Here box, click the Browse button (...).
  - The Project Explorer - Browser dialog opens.
  - Navigate to the folder where you want Wwise to begin searching.
  - Click OK.
    Note
    To clear the starting location you have selected, click Reset.
- Select WAQL Query if you want to perform a WAQL query. The WAQL Query field becomes available and the Start From field becomes unavailable. Refer to Understanding the Wwise Authoring Query Language (WAQL) for details on creating a WAQL query.
From the Platform list, select one of the following options:
- All to search for objects that are used on any platform included in the project.
- Current to search for objects that are used on the currently selected platform.
In the browser list, select each criterion on which you want to base your query. Do the following:
Double-click a criterion to load it into the Criteria list.
Type or select a condition for the criterion. You can use the wildcard operator (*) to replace part of a word when you are typing a criterion.
Note
To delete a criterion, right-click it and select Remove.

From the Operator list, select one of the following:

And to return results for which all your criteria are true.

Or to return results for which at least one of your criteria are true.

	Note
	If you need to create a more sophisticated query that contains both operators, you can create a criteria group. For more information on criteria groups, refer to Creating advanced queries using criteria groups.

Click Run Query.

The query results are displayed. You can sort these results by clicking each column heading.

	Tip
When you select an entry in the Results list, it automatically gets loaded into the Transport Control and is ready for playback. You can right-click a selection of entries in the Results list to access a series of commands, such as Edit, Show in Multi Editor, Show in Schematic View, and Convert. You can double-click any entry in the Results list to display it in the Property Editor. You can also drag project elements from the Results list to the Project Explorer. For example, you can drag one or more sound objects from the Results list into an Actor-Mixer or container within the Project Explorer.

Tip

When you select an entry in the Results list, it automatically gets loaded into the Transport Control and is ready for playback. You can right-click a selection of entries in the Results list to access a series of commands, such as Edit, Show in Multi Editor, Show in Schematic View, and Convert. You can double-click any entry in the Results list to display it in the Property Editor. You can also drag project elements from the Results list to the Project Explorer. For example, you can drag one or more sound objects from the Results list into an Actor-Mixer or container within the Project Explorer.

To keep the results of your query for use in another application, click Copy to Clipboard.
To clear your criteria and search results, click Clear.

	Note
	In Wwise, objects have inherent properties that persist even if these are replaced by those of parent objects. If you are finding false positives in your results, that is, results that do not contain the criteria for which you were searching, these objects might have inherent properties that are being overridden with the Override parent option.

Creating advanced queries using criteria groups

There may be situations where a basic query that uses one operator is not specific enough to find exactly what you are looking for. In these cases, you can create more advanced searches using criteria groups. Criteria groups are a subset of criteria with their own separate operator control. This allows you to create a query with different types of operators. For example, you can create a query that searches for all objects with names that start with the letter P AND that also contain either the number 1 OR 0.

You can use one or more criteria groups within the same query to find specific objects or other elements within your project. Criteria groups can even be nested within other criteria groups to create very sophisticated queries.

To create a criteria group within a query:

Load a query into the Query Editor.
In the Browser list, double-click the Group (And/Or) option under the Criteria Grouping section.
A new criteria group is added to the Criteria list.

In the browser list, add one or more criteria to the criteria group by doing the following:

Select the criteria group in the Criteria list.

Double-click a criterion to add it into the Criteria group.

Type or select a condition for the criterion. You can use the wildcard operator (*) to replace part of a word when you are typing a criterion.

	Note
	To re-order the criteria within a group, simply drag the criterion to the new location. Once a criterion has been added to a group, it can't be dragged outside the group.

From the Criteria Group Operator list, select one of the following:
And to return results for which all your criteria within the group are true.
Or to return results for which at least one of your criteria within the group are true.
Note
To add another criterion outside the group, click outside the group to deselect it, and then double-click the criterion in the Browser list.

Click Run Query.

The query results are displayed. You can sort these results by clicking each column heading.

	Tip
When you select an entry in the Results list, it automatically gets loaded into the Transport Control and is ready for playback. You can right-click a selection of entries in the Results list to access a series of commands, such as Edit, Show in Multi Editor, Show in Schematic View, and Convert. You can double-click any entry in the Results list to display it in the Property Editor. You can also drag project elements from the Results list to the Project Explorer. For example, you can drag one or more sound objects from the Results list into an Actor-Mixer or container within the Project Explorer.

Tip

To keep the results of your query for use in another application, click Copy to Clipboard.
To clear your criteria and search results, click Clear.

Using factory-defined queries

Wwise comes with pre-defined factory Presets for many common queries. You can save time by using these instead of defining queries from scratch.

To run a factory-defined query:

In the Project Explorer, switch to the Queries tab.
From the Factory Queries list, double-click a query.
The query is loaded into the Query Editor.
Type or select a condition for the criteria as required. You can use the wildcard operator (*) to replace part of a word when you are typing a criterion.

Click Run Query.

The query results are displayed. You can sort these results by clicking each column heading.

	Tip
When you select an entry in the Results list, it automatically gets loaded into the Transport Control and is ready for playback. You can right-click a selection of entries in the Results list to access a series of commands, such as Edit, Show in Multi Editor, Show in Schematic View, and Convert. You can double-click any entry in the Results list to display it in the Property Editor. You can also drag project elements from the Results list to the Project Explorer. For example, you can drag one or more sound objects from the Results list into an Actor-Mixer or container within the Project Explorer.

Tip

To keep the results of your query for use in another application, click Copy to Clipboard.
To clear your criteria and search results, click Clear.

Deleting queries

You may want to delete a query that you no longer need.

To delete a query:

In the Project Explorer, switch to the Queries tab.
Right-click the query that you want to delete, and select Delete Selection.
The selected query is deleted.

	Note
	If you delete a query by mistake, you can undo the delete by pressing Ctrl+Z, or by clicking Edit > Undo.

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	Note
	To clear the starting location you have selected, click Reset.

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