Walker Mode

Status: Current Last updated: 2026-03-30 13:40 EDT

Step through utterances one segment at a time, playing each segment’s audio automatically. Walker mode is the primary tool for reviewing transcript alignment — verifying that each utterance’s timing bullet matches the actual speech in the audio.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Alt+Down`	Step to the next utterance
`Alt+Up`	Step to the previous utterance

Each step moves the editor cursor to the corresponding utterance line. If media is available and auto-play is enabled, the segment’s audio plays immediately.

[VIDEO: 30s demo of walker stepping through utterances) Capture this: open a .cha file with media and the waveform panel. Press Alt+Down repeatedly, showing the cursor advancing through utterance lines while each segment’s audio plays and the waveform highlights the active segment.

How It Works

The walker maintains a pointer to the current utterance index in the document
Pressing Alt+Down advances the pointer and moves the editor cursor to the next main tier line (a line starting with *SPK:)
If talkbank.walker.autoPlay is enabled, the utterance’s bullet segment plays automatically
The waveform panel (if open) highlights the active segment
After playback completes, the walker waits for the next keypress (or pauses for pauseSeconds in continuous mode)

Configuration

All walker settings live under the talkbank.walker namespace:

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`talkbank.walker.autoPlay`	boolean	`true`	Automatically play the media segment when stepping to a new utterance
`talkbank.walker.loopCount`	integer	`1`	Number of times to loop each segment before allowing advance. `0` = loop indefinitely until manually advanced.
`talkbank.walker.pauseSeconds`	number	`0`	Seconds to pause between segments during continuous playback
`talkbank.walker.walkLength`	integer	`0`	Number of utterances to play continuously. `0` = all remaining utterances from the current position.

Example Configuration

To set up the walker for careful alignment review — playing each segment twice with a 1-second pause between utterances:

{
  "talkbank.walker.autoPlay": true,
  "talkbank.walker.loopCount": 2,
  "talkbank.walker.pauseSeconds": 1
}

To step through utterances without audio (text-only review):

{
  "talkbank.walker.autoPlay": false
}

Document Change Reset

The walker resets its position when the active document changes. Switching to a different .cha file or a non-CHAT document clears the walker state. When you return to the original file, stepping resumes from wherever the cursor is positioned.

Tips

Combine with the waveform panel (Cmd+Shift+W) for visual feedback — you can see the highlighted segment on the waveform as you step through utterances.
Use with Review Mode for systematic post-alignment review. The Post-Alignment Review workflow describes the full process of verifying that timing bullets match the actual speech.
Adjust loop count for difficult segments. When reviewing a transcript with fast or unclear speech, set loopCount to 2 or 3 so each segment replays automatically before advancing.
Use walkLength for focused review. If you only need to review the next 10 utterances, set walkLength to 10. The walker stops after that many steps rather than continuing to the end of the file.

Batchalign