Patrick Ohly and A.C.T. have released an extension to the AIFF standard enabling applications to store several kinds of track information within an AIFF file. This extension has been designed to be a portable, easy to interpret and comfortable way of exchanging audio data just the way they are stored on a (Red Book compatible) CD.
Samplitude Opus currently supports RANGE and INDEX information from this AIFF extension, creating a range where the CD data is defined as a "Track" and creating a cursor where the CD data is indexed.
It is also possible to export AIFF-CD "audio-images" containing the same information. This way CD writer software such as MakeCD can be used to write a Red Book compatible Audio CD (or mixed mode) in DAO mode, using just one (large) input file.
Samplitude Opus currently only supports the IMAGE format of AIFF-CD, which means that you should create a single HD Project (or a RAM Project if your RAM is large enough...) containing the complete audio data for the CD.
This can be achieved by recording the complete side of a record in one turn, not stopping when a track has ended, turning the record over and, whilst still recording, also playing the second side. The result is a rather large project containing all music tracks.
You should now define where a CD track should start and end - simply create ranges for this, which cover what you want to have in a track. Ranges may overlap or have garbage data between them - it doesn't matter. Each range will result in a track except for the first ("All") range. Use the Range Manager (RightAmiga-J) to control the ranges, eventually removing wrong ones.
A hot gadget has been added to help you creating the image faster. It shows "Track" written over a CD. Click on that gadget and you will be asked for a Range Name if you have just selected a range or a Cursor Name if you created a cursor entry.
If you want to have Index markers set within tracks simply create cursors where you want them to appear. Note that Index resolution on Audio CDs is not exact - Index markers can only be set at "block" boundaries.
When you are finnished with preparing the data choose "Project/Export/AIFF-CD" to create the Audio Image. Note that you need enough room on your HD since Samplitude Opus currently only supports the Image format, not the Header format, so the complete CD image will be exported (a bit more than the size of your project).
Open up your CD writer software (like MakeCD) and "Import AIFF Image". All tracks you created should appear in the list and may be modificated - or written to CDR using DAO mode (use DAO mode for better access quality!).
You can export the contents of an audio CD with any application compatible to the new AIFF extension and import the image file with Samplitude Opus' "General Importer". Ranges and Cursors will be created where Tracks and Index markers have been set on the original CD.
Since the basic format is standard AIFF every application understanding AIFF can import or export the data. If the extension is not supported you only do not get Track and Index information and may have to set them manually - using Samplitude Opus.