How to Make a Cue Sheet Without the Original

Cue sheets are text files that contain metadata detailing the tracks on a compact disc (CD). When you burn a CD from a cue sheet (with the .cue file extension), the disc-burning application finds the length that each track should be from the cue sheet. While it can take quite a long time to write your own cue sheet, if you no longer have the original but still want to use one, you can create your own. Cue sheets are just plain text files formatted in a certain way. Cue sheets are typically used with long audio CDs where you have the entire album saved in a single file.

Instructions

1. Click "Start," type "notepad" and press "Enter" to open Notepad.

2. Copy and paste the following code, if the cue sheet is for a BIN archive:

   FILE "binname.bin" BINARY

   TRACK 01 MODE1/2352

   INDEX 01 00:00:00

3. Replace "binname.bin" with the name of your BIN archive.

4. Copy and paste the following basic structure, if the cue sheet is for an audio CD:

   PERFORMER "Artist Name"

   TITLE "Album Name"

   FILE "The audio file name.mp3" MP3

   TRACK 01 AUDIO

   TITLE "Track 1 Name"

   INDEX 01 00:00:00

   TRACK 02 AUDIO

   TITLE "Track 2 Name"

   INDEX 01 06:42:00

   TRACK 03 AUDIO

   TITLE "Track 3 Name"

   INDEX 01 10:42:00

5. Replace all values inside the inverted commas to represent the audio data. Replace the "INDEX 01" numbers with the time for each track. The first track should start at 00:00:00, the beginning of the file, and should increase each time (as above).

6. Click "File," then "Save As." Click the file type drop-down and click "All Files." Name your file and then use the extension ".cue" (without quotes). Save it alongside the audio file or the bin archive.

References

• QeD: The Cue file explained