WaveVisual Help Center


Songs are a great source of inspiration when making sound wave art. They are also one of the easiest ways to experiment with WaveVisual. To turn a track from Spotify’s catalog into a sound wave, use **Search songs** in the editor.

1. Open [wavevisual.com/editor](http://wavevisual.com/editor).
2. In the left sidebar, select the **Audio** tab.
3. Under **Add your audio**, click **Search songs** (_Find music from Spotify’s catalog_).
4. In the **Search songs** dialog, type at least three characters in **Song name or artist**. Results are powered by Spotify’s catalog.
5. Choose a track, then click **Confirm song**. WaveVisual loads the track and builds the waveform on your canvas.

![Audio tab with Search songs and other source options](/media/10bf4b2f-e3bb-42b2-a4c8-607f5ab692d5-01-editor-audio-tab-laptop.png)


When you start typing, WaveVisual searches Spotify’s catalog and shows matching tracks and artists.


![Search songs dialog with Spotify results](/media/c8e7f0a0-b33d-4bb6-a5ec-d61ccd8b9002-02-search-songs-modal-results.png)


After a song is selected, WaveVisual fetches the audio analysis for that song and refines the analysis to generate an accurate, visually appealing sound wave.


**Note:** Spotify tracks are copyrighted, so WaveVisual can't play the full song back inside the editor. You'll see a link to open the track on Spotify instead of a Play button—see **How can I play my audio?** for details.


![Editor with waveform after confirming a track](/media/0aab3cec-7e6e-4e1c-821a-711e1dc93574-03-editor-after-song-selected.png)



Use Search songs under the Audio tab to pick a track from Spotify’s catalog and generate a sound wave in the editor.

Creating sound waves from songs


You can personalize how your sound wave is drawn in the **Sound Wave** tab. The main controls are: **style**, **colors**, **thickness**, **space**, and **height**—plus **bar length** and **circle radius** when you use a circle style.


### Where to find it


Open the **Sound Wave** tab in the left panel. At the top you choose the style; below that are the color row and sliders for thickness, space, and—for horizontal styles—height. When the style is **Circle**, extra sliders appear for bar length and circle radius.


### Style


Choose how the wave is drawn:

- **Standard**: Horizontal bars (the classic look).
- **One-sided**: Horizontal bars that extend from a single baseline instead of mirroring up and down.
- **Circle**: A circular waveform, ideal for round artwork and posters.
- **Dotted**: Bars rendered as dots instead of solid rectangles.
- **Bezier**: A smooth, curved waveform line instead of individual bars.

Changing style can reset thickness and space to defaults for that style.


### Colors


Use the color row to set a single color or a gradient. Add multiple color stops and drag to reorder them; the wave bars follow these colors along the waveform.


### Thickness


**Thickness** is the width of each bar. Lower values give thinner bars; higher values give bolder bars. The range depends on whether you use Standard or Circle. Below, examples of the same wave at different thickness.


![Sound wave when thickness is set to 2](/media/204037f7-1d60-4e59-b8f1-050ee8d36698-CleanShot_2026-03-16_at_21_49_07.png)


![Sound wave when thickness is set to 5](/media/79e66544-e49f-42cd-9b8c-da7d481de193-CleanShot_2026-03-16_at_21_51_04.png)


### Space


**Space** is the gap between each bar. At 0, bars touch and the wave can look like a solid shape; higher values make the bars more separated. Here are some examples:


![Sound wave when space is set to 5](/media/bce5ce53-c6c8-4110-87c5-dda9826ffe9c-CleanShot_2026-03-16_at_21_51_38.png)


![Sound wave when space is set to 0](/media/18c3038b-6b03-43ee-8893-ed7e49f24114-CleanShot_2026-03-16_at_21_52_01.png)


When **space** is zero, bars touch and the wave can read as one continuous shape.


### Height (horizontal styles)


For **Standard** (and other horizontal styles), **Height** is a percentage that scales how tall the bars are. 100% is the default; reduce or increase it to fit your layout. This control does not appear for Circle style.


### Circle-only: Bar length and Circle radius


When the style is **Circle**, two extra sliders appear:

- **Bar length**: How far each bar extends from the circle (from the centre outward).
- **Circle radius**: The size of the circle. Use it to make the ring larger or smaller on the canvas.

### Height (examples)


These examples show how bar height can vary for horizontal waves.


![Height is set to 336](/media/1a4b58b8-2b22-469b-9410-d8ea7b04bc1c-CleanShot_2026-03-16_at_21_52_39.png)


![Height is set to 736](/media/cbe2b43c-0a82-423a-9015-434fe6c91989-CleanShot_2026-03-16_at_21_53_01.png)



Control how your wave looks: choose a style (Standard, One-sided, Circle, Dotted, or Bezier), colors, thickness, space, and height—plus circle-only bar length and radius.

Customizing the wave style


Adding a text element to your design very straight forward. Simply head to the **Text** menu and click on **Add New Text**.


![text_menu.png](/media/d805a555-39c4-4882-848c-2068c215e60a-text_menu.png)


Text elements have a few configuration options. You can modify their colors, fonts and font sizes within the same menu.


We have various font options available within our editor. These are the options at the moment:

- Arial
- Barlow
- Barrio
- Big Shoulders Display
- Comic Sans MS
- Dancing Script
- Indie Flower
- Inter
- Krona One
- Lato
- Lobster
- Merriweather
- Montserrat
- Nunito Sans
- Open Sans
- Oswald
- Playfair Display
- Poppins
- Roboto
- Sans Serif
- Shadows Into Light
- Silkscreen
- Yellowtail

If there is a specific font you want to see in our editor, feel free to contact us about it. We will do our best to help you.



Explaning how to add and configure text elements to an artwork.

Adding text elements to designs


QR codes are the most common way we share links in the physical world these days. Whether it is a restaurant’s menu or a vaccine passport, QR codes are everywhere and virtually every modern mobile phone can easily recognize them. Therefore, we’re utilizing QR codes to allow you to scan your designs back and listen to your sound.


The options related to QR codes can be found under **QR Code** tab within our [editor](https://wavevisual.com/editor).


![sizzy-photo-studio-2022-05-09T223550.181Z.png](/media/8d17f2c3-24a0-46e9-b836-815a07f1b70d-sizzy-photo-studio-2022-05-09T223550_181Z.png)


You can choose what happens when someone scans the QR code:

- **Design landing page** (default): A dedicated page that shows your design and an integrated audio player so viewers can listen to your sound.
- **Uploaded audio**: The QR opens your uploaded audio file directly.
- **Song on Spotify**: If your sound is from Spotify, the QR can open that track on Spotify.
- **Custom URL**: Point the QR to any URL you want.

All QR codes lead to clean, responsive landing pages—no need to place a separate link in your artwork. Find the **QR Code** tab in our [editor](https://wavevisual.com/editor), pick a destination, add the QR to your canvas, and export your design.


![sizzy-photo-studio-2022-05-09T223557.988Z.png](/media/36eb2738-e974-4ad4-b291-c2a3f92a4167-sizzy-photo-studio-2022-05-09T223557_988Z.png)


To learn more about how you can customize your artwork, you can refer to these articles:


[bookmark](https://help.wavevisual.com/using-the-sound-wave-editor/v87wD4kkWzBich4tiwxpVK/customizing-the-wave-style/oeuZ6faoESuHmvym4exVHV)


[bookmark](https://help.wavevisual.com/using-the-sound-wave-editor/v87wD4kkWzBich4tiwxpVK/adding-text-elements-to-designs/j9s7AKquXg8anY7dfY9ZWE)


[bookmark](https://help.wavevisual.com/using-the-sound-wave-editor/v87wD4kkWzBich4tiwxpVK/creating-sound-waves-from-songs/cjsBW8iPQpL3w7i8EWySzb)



Add a QR code from the QR Code tab; each code leads to a landing page where people can view your design and play the audio.

Adding a QR code to a sound wave art


Pick a canvas shape for where the design will be used. **Video** fits widescreen and vertical video. **Print** matches paper and photo frames. **Social** matches feed posts and stories. You can change the shape later from **Resize** in the editor header.


## Change the canvas size

1. Open your design in the editor.
2. Click **Resize** in the header. On a phone, the same control opens a panel from the bottom.
3. Choose **Video**, **Social**, **Print**, or **Other**, or search for a name such as YouTube or A4.
4. Click a size. The canvas updates right away.

Under the tabs, a short note explains the result: waves, text, images, and QR codes move with the new canvas and stay on the artboard.


![Resize menu with Video selected. The note under the tabs says elements move with the canvas.](/media/c7f493e2-0054-4587-b35b-0138145d2a75-resize-video-menu.png)


## What moves with the canvas


Resize keeps the arrangement. It does not stretch the wave or the text.

- A wave, text block, image, or QR code that sat in the center stays in the center of the new canvas.
- If something would hang past the edge, it is moved back onto the artboard.
- Background colors, gradients, and background images fill the new canvas.
- Text size and wave size stay the same. After a large change, such as a tall poster to a widescreen video, check that text still looks the size you want.
- Undo returns the previous size. Use Ctrl+Z on Windows or Cmd+Z on Mac.

The same wave, after switching from a YouTube frame (16 × 9) to A4 portrait:


![Canvas on the YouTube Video size, 16 by 9.](/media/eec3b681-b675-4eeb-9ed6-a4cd67dbad35-canvas-youtube-16x9.png)


![The same design after Resize to A4 portrait. The wave stays on the artboard.](/media/36b2c937-45a7-4c75-b1cc-bcd2100b0f83-canvas-a4-portrait.png)


## Video, social, and print


Use **Video** when the design will play in a video or sit in a video frame. Use **Print** for a poster, flyer, document, or photo. Use **Social** for feed posts and vertical stories. Switching between them moves the layout with the canvas. Nudge anything that needs a closer look afterward.


### Video


| Size                   | Good for                                                      |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| YouTube Video, 16 × 9  | Widescreen video, thumbnails, and presentations               |
| Wide and Cinema, 2 × 1 | A wide cinematic frame. Both presets use this same shape.     |
| Ultra Wide, 3 × 1      | Banners and very wide video                                   |
| YouTube Shorts, 9 × 16 | Vertical video. Instagram Reel and TikTok use this shape too. |


Animated downloads use this frame. MP4 can be 1080p or 4K. Choose the file type and resolution in the **Download** tab.


### Social

- **Instagram Post**, **Facebook Video**, and **LinkedIn Post** are square (1 × 1).
- **Instagram Portrait** is 4 × 5, a taller feed post.
- **Instagram Reel** and **TikTok** are 9 × 16, the same shape as YouTube Shorts.

### Print


![Resize menu with Print selected, including A4, US Letter, and photo ratios.](/media/99fa3f6a-e336-4bd7-a4f3-af3acc22e471-resize-print-menu.png)


| Size                | Dimensions   |
| ------------------- | ------------ |
| Print Landscape     | 3 × 2        |
| Print Portrait      | 2 × 3        |
| A4 Landscape        | 297 × 210 mm |
| A4 Portrait         | 210 × 297 mm |
| US Letter Portrait  | 8.5 × 11 in  |
| US Letter Landscape | 11 × 8.5 in  |
| Print Tall          | 1 × 2        |
| Print Square        | 1 × 1        |
| Photo Print         | 2.7 × 3.5 in |
| Photo 11×14         | 11 × 14 in   |
| Photo 5×4           | 5 × 4 in     |
| Classic             | 4 × 3        |


PNG and JPEG downloads use this shape at 300 DPI, up to about 12,000 pixels on the long edge. PDF and SVG stay sharp at print size. Pick the resolution in the **Download** tab. See [What is the export resolution?](https://app.notion.com/p/5e0245aea89142bf97701b76e212e79f).


Applying a design template can also change the canvas shape when the template uses a different ratio. See [Using design templates](https://app.notion.com/p/3d192f3e5a7a81e0ab78d3d25f34a737).



Choose a canvas for video, social, or print. Resize moves waves, text, images, and QR codes with the new shape and keeps them on the artboard.

Finding the right canvas size


Welcome to the help article on shortcuts in our sound wave art editor! In this article, we will cover the various shortcuts that you can use to make your design experience more efficient and streamlined.

1. Backspace for deleting objects: To delete an object in your design, simply select the object and press the backspace key on your keyboard. This will remove the object from your canvas.
2. Ctrl/Cmd + Z for undoing: If you make a mistake or want to revert a change, you can use the Ctrl/Cmd + Z shortcut to undo your last action. This is a great way to quickly fix mistakes or try out different design options.
3. Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z for redoing: If you have undone an action and want to redo it, you can use the Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z shortcut. This will reverse the undo action and restore the change that you had previously made.
4. Escape for unselecting objects: If you have multiple objects selected and want to unselect them all at once, you can use the escape key on your keyboard. This will deselect all objects, allowing you to start fresh with your selection.

We hope these shortcuts will help you work more efficiently and effectively in our design editor. If you have any questions or need further assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team. Happy designing!



Full list of currently available keyboard shortcuts in WaveVisual editor

Keyboard shortcuts


If you reuse the same look—same colors, type, and layout—save it as a template instead of rebuilding it each time. Saved templates are private to your account.


### You need to be signed in


Saving templates requires an account. If you are not signed in, **Save design as template** asks you to sign in.


Applying public templates under **All Templates** works without an account.


![Your Templates and All Templates in the Templates tab](/media/9ffadced-c61e-4b90-90a9-a2faa9286646-templates-tab.png)


### How to save

1. Finish the design you want to reuse (wave style, background, text, layout).
2. Open the **Templates** tab.
3. Under **Your Templates**, click **Save design as template**.
4. The new thumbnail appears in **Your Templates**. Click it later to apply that look to any design.

### Update or delete


On a saved template thumbnail:

- Use the refresh control to **overwrite** that template with your current design. Confirm in the **Update Template** dialog—this cannot be undone except by saving a new template.
- Use the trash control to delete it. Confirm in the **Delete Template** dialog.

### What gets saved


The template stores the visual layout: wave style and placement, background, images, and text. It does not lock in a specific audio file. When you apply it later, your current audio stays on the canvas.


### Related

- [Using design templates](https://app.notion.com/p/3d192f3e5a7a81e0ab78d3d25f34a737)
- [What's the difference between wallpapers and templates?](https://app.notion.com/p/3d192f3e5a7a81ccba33fc7d9d25942c)


Sign in and save a design as a reusable template. Update or delete it later from Your Templates.

Saving your own templates


A design template is a finished look you can apply to your current artwork: wave style, colors, background, text, and layout. Your audio stays on the canvas.


### Where to find them


Open the **Templates** tab in the editor. Public layouts are listed under **All Templates**. You can also browse the catalog at [wavevisual.com/templates](https://wavevisual.com/templates) and open one in the editor.


### How to apply a template

1. Add your audio (upload, record, search a song, or paste a Spotify link)—or apply a template first and add audio after. Either order works.
2. Open the **Templates** tab.
3. Click a thumbnail under **All Templates**.
4. You should see a brief **Template applied** confirmation.

![Applying a design template from the Templates tab](/media/6f90ae30-4447-47c9-999a-f10c00c917fe-templates-applied.png)


### What changes — and what does not


Applying a template updates the visual design:

- Wave style, colors, thickness, spacing, and position
- Background (including wallpapers and images from the template)
- Text on the canvas
- Canvas shape (portrait, landscape, or square) when the template uses a different ratio

It does **not** replace your audio. The sound wave still represents the track or recording you chose.


You can keep editing after you apply a template—change colors, move the wave, swap the wallpaper, or pick a different template.


### Wallpapers vs templates


**Wallpapers** in the **Background** tab only change the background image. **Templates** in the **Templates** tab change the whole design.


### Related

- [Saving your own templates](https://app.notion.com/p/3d192f3e5a7a8106b726cb53fc7a7c40)
- [Gradient background templates](https://app.notion.com/p/627146698bcc4012a09fba4b38efcfc3)
- [What's the difference between wallpapers and templates?](https://app.notion.com/p/3d192f3e5a7a81ccba33fc7d9d25942c)


Apply a full layout from the Templates tab. Your audio stays; colors, background, text, and wave style update.

Using the sound wave editor

Generating sound waves