Audacity
The Audacity Environment
To use Audacity, you must first become familiar with the environment and tools. This document will provide you with a description and explanation of the basic tools and functions of Audacity. This includes everything you see upon opening a file in Audacity.
- Accessing Audacity
- The Control Toolbar
- The Track Display
- Mixer Toolbar
- Meter Toolbar
- Edit Toolbar
- Customizing Your Environment
Accessing Audacity
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To open Audacity, from the Start menu, select All Programs » Audacity
The Control Toolbar
The Control toolbar is made up of two sections. The Audio Editing tools are located to the left of the Control toolbar. Using these tools you can directly modify certain aspects of your track. The Audio Control section is located on the right of the Control toolbar and allows you to control aspects of playback and recording.
Audio Editing Tools
The Audio Editing tools assist you in editing your track. You can fine tune elements of your track by moving the Waveform left or right along the timeline, changing or fading the volume for specific sections, or manually altering small parts of the Waveform itself.
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Selection Tool |  |
Selects the audio |
| Envelope Tool |  |
Changes the volume of the desired portion of track |
| Draw Tool |  |
Directly changes the shape of small parts of the Waveform NOTE: You must be zoomed in to the extent that the nodes of the Waveform are visible.  |
| Zoom Tool |  |
Zooms in or out of the project |
| Time Shift Tool |  |
Slides Waveform left or right along the timeline |
| Multi-Tool Mode |  |
Enables you to access all of the editing tools without selecting them depending on the location of the cursor and keys being pressed. |
Audio Control
The audio controls allow you to start, stop, and pause recording and playback as well as move the cursor to the beginning or end of a track.
The following table provides more information on the Audio Control buttons and their functions.
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Skip To Start |  |
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the track |
| Play |
 |
Plays the track from the cursor position. If a section is selected, only the selection will play. |
| Loop |  |
Continuously plays the track. HINT: To access this button, hold [Shift] and the Play button converts to the Loop button. |
| Record |  |
Begins recording a new track |
| Pause |  |
Pauses the playback or recording |
| Stop |  |
Stops the playback or recording |
| Skip To End |  |
Moves the cursor to the end of the track |
The Track Display
Audacity displays your audio recording as a Waveform on a track. By applying various tools and functions to the Waveform Display you are able to modify your track to meet your specifications.
Waveform Display
The Waveform Display is a visual representation of your audio recording. Regardless of the format of your audio recording, it will appear on the Waveform Display. By viewing the Waveform you are able to see the changes being made to your track. The Waveform also serves as an interactive timeline for your audio track. When using the Edit toolbar or Audio Editing tools you will apply them to the Waveform.
The Cursor
The cursor is a vertical line located on the Waveform Display. By moving the cursor, you can indicate where playback will begin from. During playback the cursor advances along the Waveform. This allows you to pinpoint the location of what you are hearing on the Waveform. Move the cursor using the Selection tool.
Vertical Ruler
The Vertical Ruler represents the output range allowed by the audio file. Anything that goes above 1.0 or below -1.0 will be missing during playback. This is called clipping. For more information on clipping refer to Working With Soundtracks: Clipping. By clicking the Vertical Ruler you can zoom in or out. This becomes necessary for editing small sections of the Waveform (e.g., using the Draw tool).
Timeline
The Timeline is located above the length of the track. It serves as a reference point when pinpointing certain parts of the track. At the default zoom level it is divided into fifths. If you zoom in, the increments decrease. If you zoom out, the increments increase.
Track Control Panel
The Track Control panel is located on the left of every Track Display. It allows you to control the gain and balance levels, and allows you to delete, mute, or play the track solo. You can select a track in its entirety by clicking the Track Control panel anywhere outside a button or slider.
These are the basic controls and functions of the Track Control panel.
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Close |  |
Closes the track |
| Solo |  |
Plays only the selected track |
| Mute Track |  |
Mutes the track |
| Gain slider |  |
Controls the gain of the individual track. Using the Gain slider, you can raise or lower the volume of the track. |
| Track Balance slider |  |
Controls balance of the individual track |
| Track pull-down menu |  |
This menu contains options for changing the name of the track and moving it. |
Mixer Toolbar
The Output Volume slider (left) lets you adjust the volume of playback for the entire project. The Input Volume slider (right) lets you adjust the recording volume. You will need to adjust the Input Volume if the input level is too quiet, or if you encounter clipping. For more information on clipping, refer to Working With Soundtracks: Clipping. The Input selector (far right) allows you to choose from different input sources (e.g., microphone, line in).
NOTE: Altering either the Output Volume slider or the Input Volume slider will not affect any part of the project that has already been recorded.
NOTE: Certain operating systems (e.g., Windows Vista) will not show the Input selector. For more information refer to Recording Audio in the Audacity Basics document.
Meter Toolbar
The Meter toolbar allows you to monitor the audio levels of both the output (left) and input (right). You are able to alter these levels using the Mixer toolbar. Using the Meter toolbar you can tell whether the output or input volumes are too low, or if either one is clipping. For more information on clipping, refer to Working With Soundtracks: Clipping. For more detailed information on the Meter toolbar, refer to Meter Toolbar.
Edit Toolbar
The various tools located here assist in editing tracks (e.g., remove an unwanted section of the audio, silence a section of the audio). To use them you must first select a portion of the Waveform with the Selection tool. The Editing tools provide you with various ways to remove sections of a track. Different tools will work better for different circumstances.
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cut |  |
Cuts a selection |
| Copy |  |
Copies a selection |
| Paste |  |
Pastes the cut or copied selection |
| Trim Outside Selection |  |
Removes all audio from the track outside of the selection |
| Silence Selection |  |
Removes all audio from the track within the selection NOTE: This will only remove the audio, leaving silence in its place. |
| Undo |  |
Undoes last action |
| Redo |  |
Redoes last action |
| Zoom In |  |
Zooms in on the entire project |
| Zoom Out |  |
Zooms out of the entire project |
| Fit Selection in Window |  |
Fits the selection to the size of the window |
| Fit Project in Window |  |
Fits the entire project to the size of the window |
Customizing Your Environment
When using Audacity, you can move any toolbar to any location you desire, including outside the Audacity program window. This can be convenient if the project you are working on has multiple tracks.
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To move any of the toolbars in Audacity, to the left of the toolbar, click the FLOAT button
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To put a toolbar back in its original position, from the View menu, select Dock [toolbar]
