FAQ
From Audacity Manual
Ideas for new FAQs
- How can I import WAV files from portable players?
About Audacity
Is Audacity really free? Why?
Yes, Audacity is completely free, open source software. You are free to use this program for any personal, commercial, or educational purposes, including installing it on as many different computers as you wish. You are also free to give it away, sell it, or modify it for your own use, under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
The authors of Audacity decided to release it under the GPL for many reasons. Some of us do it out of generosity. Some of us do it for moral reasons, because we feel that all software should be free; others believe that there is a place for both free and proprietary software.
One reason Audacity is free is so that it will be more popular and useful. Yet another reason is to encourage collaboration. Because of Audacity's free license, dozens of people around the world have contributed code, bug fixes, documentation, and graphics.
We welcome donations to support Audacity development.
Does Audacity contain any spyware or adware?
No. Audacity does not include any spyware or adware. Audacity is completely free and open source. It is developed by a not-for-profit volunteer group, and the source code is available for anyone to study or use.
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May I distribute copies of Audacity?
You can redistribute Audacity under the GNU General Public License, which gives you permission to modify, copy, and sell the program as long as you keep the same license and make the source code available. For details, see License, and Advice for Vendors.
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Someone is selling Audacity on eBay. Is this legal?
It is legal to sell Audacity, as long as the seller makes the program and source code available under the GNU General Public License.
Some vendors try to trick customers by selling the software under a different name. If you bought a product and later found out it was Audacity, we encourage you to ask for a refund or file a complaint if you feel you did not get a fair deal. We ask vendors to give proper credit to the Audacity project, and allow users to make an informed choice.
If you want to buy Audacity on CD, please check out the vendors listed on our purchase page.
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I saw an ad that misled me into thinking I had to pay for Audacity. What can I do?
Some advertisers are indulging in sharp practice in giving the impression you have to pay for Audacity, when it is in fact free. If the advert is a Google advert and does not comply with their terms you can complain about it to Google here
If the Google ad did not "Accurately represent the product or service", that is something that Google will act on. For example, we have complained about an ad that claimed to provide the 'latest version' of Audacity 'guaranteed', whereas there were later versions with more functionality available. In the comment field you should say in what way the advertising did not "Accurately represent the product or service".
If you ended up paying by credit card for a service due to a fraudlent advertisement, you may be able to initiate a chargeback with your credit card company. You need to show that the advertising and website that you visited was misleading. Generally you should try to sort out a refund with the retailer first, but often they are near impossible to contact and there is a timelimit of several days on initiating a chargeback.
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Does Audacity work with screen-reader programs for blind users?
Audacity works with most screen-reader programs, but some of Audacity’s features are difficult or impossible to use without a mouse. We are working on improving the program’s accessibility and keyboard shortcuts. For more information, see Audacity for Blind Users.
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What does “time remaining” mean? Does Audacity expire?
Audacity does not expire, but the time you can record for depends on the amount of disk space you have. The message you are seeing exists only in older versions of Audacity, so please update to the latest version. In newer versions, the message says "Disk space remains for recording xx hours and yy minutes".
To get more recording time, delete your old files and folders (especially your old Audacity Project files and _data folders when you have finished with them), or use an alternative disk with more space on it. Or consider recording in mono instead of stereo (on the Audio I/O tab of Preferences) or in 16 bit instead of 32 bit (Quality tab of Preferences). Either of those choices will halve the disk space needed.
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Installation and Plug-Ins
Recording
How can I record in stereo?
The deault setting in Audacity is for recording and editing in mono, single channel.
To record in stereo, open the Audacity preferences. In the “Audio I/O” section, change the number of recording channels from 1 (mono) to 2 (stereo).
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How do I record from vinyl records, cassette tapes, or minidiscs?
First, set Audacity to record in stereo.
Next, plug one end of a stereo cable into the “Line Out” or “Headphone” connector on your tape deck, minidisc player, or stereo system. Plug the other end into your computer’s “Line In” connector. If you do not have a cable that fits both of these connectors, you can find one at an electronics store.
Choose “Line In” as the input source on the Audacity toolbar, or in the Audio I/O tab of Preferences (Vista) or Apple Audio-MIDI Setup (OS X).
Then press the Record button. While Audacity is recording, start playing your tape or disc. When you have captured the entire recording, press the Stop button.
Vinyl or shellac records can also be recorded into Audacity with a special type of turntable that connects to the USB port of your computer. These turntables need to be set up differently to those that connect to your line-in port. For instructions on setting up USB turntables, see USB_turntables on the Audacity Wiki.
There is also a detailed tutorial, Transferring_tapes_and_records_to_computer_or_CD, on the Wiki. This will guide you through the steps from recording your records, cassettes or minidiscs to exporting as an audio file and burning to CD.
Notes:
Do not plug stereo equipment into your computer’s “Microphone” port, which is designed for low-powered (“mic-level”) signals only. Use the “Line In” port instead.
Do not connect a turntable directly to your computer. The signal from a turntable is distorted; it must be corrected by passing it through a phono pre-amp or a receiver with a “phono” input.
See also:
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Why is the Input selector in the Mixer Toolbar not working as expected?
The Input selector may be greyed-out, lacking the expected choices, or apparently not recording from the indicated source.
The causes of these problems vary by operating system and sound card driver. For a complete discussion, see the Mixer Toolbar Issues page on the Audacity Wiki.
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Why can’t I hear what I’m recording?
Windows and Linux To monitor your recording, open your computer's volume control panel. Turn up the playback volume and turn off the “mute” checkbox for your recording source (usually “microphone” or “line in”).
If this does not work, open the Audacity preferences. In the “Audio I/O” section, turn on the “Software Playthrough” option.
Mac OS X Open the Audacity preferences. In the “Audio I/O” section, turn on the “playthrough” option. “Hardware Playthrough” is best if it is available. If it does not work, you can choose “Software Playthrough” instead.
Monitoring while Recording from a Microphone Always use headphones when listening as you record from a microphone, to avoid the playthrough of the recording being picked up in the recording itself.
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Can I play a track while recording a new one on top of it?
This is called multi-track recording. It makes it possible to record harmonies with yourself, or add new instruments or vocals to an existing recording. To do this in Audacity, follow these instructions:
If on Windows or Linux, in the dropdown menu on Audacity's Mixer Toolbar, choose the correct input you are plugged into (probably microphone or line-in). On Windows Vista, choose your input on the Audio I/O tab of Preferences instead. Import or record the first track. Open the “Audio I/O” section of the Audacity preferences, and check the box labeled Play other tracks while recording new one. Close the preferences and press the Record button. If you are recording from a microphone, make sure you use headphones so that the microphone picks up only what you are recording. See also:
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Why isn’t my new track in sync with the previous ones?
When you make a multi-track recording, there is an unpredictable delay between playback and recording. Audacity tries to correct for this automatically, but this doesn't yet work on all computers.
If a new track is not synchronized with the others, you can zoom in and use the Time Shift tool to drag it to the correct location.
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Can Audacity record RealAudio or other streaming audio?
Windows and Linux
With most Windows and Linux audio devices, it is possible to record whatever sound the computer is currently playing, including internet radio streams.
In the drop-down menu on Audacity's mixer toolbar, choose “Wave Out” or “Stereo Mix” as the input source. (The exact name may be different, depending on your computer's sound drivers.) When you press the Record button, Audacity will capture whatever sound is playing on your computer's speakers. Note that on Windows Vista, the “stereo mix” option must be chosen in the Audio I/O tab of Preferences, in the “Recording Device” dropdown. On Windows, if you don't have a “Wave Out” or “Stereo Mix” option, or if it won't record, go to the system Control Panel and try to enable this option there. For instructions see: Using the Control Panel on the Wiki.
If this doesn't work on your computer, you can instead use a cable to connect your computer's “Line Out” (speaker) port to its “Line In” port, and use Audacity to record from Line In.
Mac OS X
Mac OS X users can capture streaming audio using a program like Audio Hijack or Wiretap Pro.
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Can I set Audacity to record at a certain time?
Sorry, Audacity does not yet support scheduled recording. We may add this feature to a future version of the program.
You can make Audacity stop recording after a certain time limit, by following these steps:
- Turn on “Play existing tracks while recording” in the “Audio I/O” section of the preferences.
- Choose “New Audio Track” from the Project menu.
- Zoom out if necessary, then click and drag to select the amount of time you want to record.
- Start recording. Audacity will stop recording automatically when it reaches the end of the selected area.
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Opening and Saving Files
How do I open an Audacity project (AUP file) in another program?
Audacity project files are saved in a special format that only Audacity can open. To open your project in another program or burn it to CD, you must open the “project.aup” file in Audacity, and use the Export commands (in the File menu) to save it in a standard format like WAV or AIFF.
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Why does Audacity create a folder full of .au files when I save a project?
Audacity breaks long tracks into small pieces so it can edit them more efficiently. When you save a project, Audacity stores all of the pieces in a folder with a name like “project_data.”
You do not need to open these files yourself. Audacity will load them automatically when you open the “project.aup” file, which is saved in the same location as the “data” folder.
See also:
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Audacity crashed! Can I recover any unsaved data?
You may be able to recover your project automatically with the Audacity Recovery Utility. Please see the Crash Recovery page for more information.
Please note the .au files need to be numbered consecutively when input to the Crash Recovery Utility or errors will occur in the program. If this problem occurs you can open Audacity's temporary folder in your system File Manager (e.g., Windows Explorer) and try resorting the .au files by time modified and then batch renaming them using a numeric sequence whilst they are sorted by time modified. An arrangement looking something like this should work:
- b001.au 15:56:02
- b002.au 15:56:02
- b003.au 15:56:10
- b004.au 15:56:10
If your file manager does not have a suitable renaming tool, you should be able to obtain suitable free tools on the Internet.
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Can Audacity import file formats like WMA, AAC, FLAC, etc.?
Audacity cannot import or export files in WMA, AAC, RealAudio, Shorten (SHN), or most other proprietary formats, or any kind of Digital Rights Management (DRM) protected file, including many purchased online such as on iTunes or Napster. Because of licensing and patent restrictions, we are not allowed to add these formats to Audacity. Future versions of Audacity might be able to support these formats using codecs installed in your operating system.
Some open formats are not yet supported by Audacity, including Ogg Speex and FLAC. We hope to support these formats in future versions of Audacity.
Audacity can currently import WAV, AIFF, AU, MP2/MP3 and OGG Vorbis files. If you cannot import your file into Audacity, you can as a workround convert it to WAV or AIFF. As long as it's not a DRM-protected file, you could do this with iTunes® or with SUPER player. If it's a DRM-protected file, you can burn it to an audio CD in the application that is licensed to play it, then extract (rip) the CD track to WAV or AIFF. On Windows, you can use Windows Media Player 11, iTunes, or CDex to extract to WAV. Or you can play the file on your computer and record it – see Can Audacity record RealAudio or other streaming audio?.
For more detail on supported formats, see the feature list.
See also:
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Why can’t I play MIDI files?
Sorry, Audacity cannot play, edit, or convert MIDI files. It can only display them visually (for comparison with recorded sounds). We might add MIDI editing to a future version of Audacity, but for now Audacity is focused on sampled audio (like WAV files).
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How do I import a track from an audio CD?
Audacity cannot import a track directly from an audio CD. You must use a separate program like CDex or iTunes® to extract CD tracks into a format that Audacity can read, like WAV or AIFF.
On Mac OS X computers, CD tracks appear in Finder as AIFF files so can be imported directly into Audacity. For more help on importing audio from CD tracks on both Windows and OS X, see our Wiki help page on How_to_import_CDs.
See also:
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How do I save my recording on an audio CD?
After making a recording or editing a file in Audacity, follow these steps to save your work on an audio CD:
- Use the “Export as WAV” or “Export as AIFF” command to save your Audacity recording in a sound file.
- Use any CD-recording software (iTunes or Nero, for example) to burn this file to a CD.
To make a disc you can play in normal CD players, make sure to create a “music” or “audio” CD (not a “data” CD). Use CD-R discs, because some players cannot read CD-RW. You can burn only 74 (or 80 depending on the CD-R) minutes or so onto an audio CD – this is a limitation of the audio CD format.
Some CD software will burn only 16-bit, 44.1KHz stereo sound files. If your CD recording software won't open your sound file, export the file again after choosing the following settings in Audacity:
- At the bottom of the Audacity window, set the Project Rate to 44100 Hz.
- In the File Formats preferences, choose WAV (16-bit...) or AIFF (16-bit...).
- If your project does not already contain a stereo track, choose “New Stereo Track” from the Project menu. (This will make Audacity export your recording as a stereo file.)
For helpful tips on CD burning with Windows Media Player and iTunes, and help on burning longer “data” CDs, see How_to_burn_CDs on the Audacity Wiki.
See also:
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How can I split a long recording into multiple files or CD tracks?
Follow these steps to create a separate file for each song or segment of a long recording. This is particularly useful if you are creating a CD, since each file will appear as a separate track on the CD.
- Click to place the cursor at the start of the first song.
- Choose “Add Label at Selection” from the Project menu. If you wish, you can type the name of the song.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each song.
- When you are finished, choose “Export Multiple” from the File menu. When you click the “Export” button, Audacity will save each song as a separate file, using the format and location you choose.
A detailed, illustrated tutorial explaining this process is available on the Splitting recordings into separate tracks page on the Audacity Wiki.
See also: How do I save my recording on an audio CD?
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Editing
Why can’t I use the effects or other menu items?
Some menu items are grayed out or disabled until they are ready for use. Before choosing an effect, you must select the audio that you want to change. To select audio, click and drag with the Selection tool to highlight it, or choose the “Select All” command from the Edit menu.
Also, many menu items are disabled while playing, recording, or pausing a track. To enable them, press the yellow Stop button.
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How do I combine two files into one longer file?
Follow these steps to splice two files together:
- Import both files into Audacity.
- Select the second one by clicking on its label (the area around the mute/solo buttons).
- Choose “Find Zero Crossings” from the Edit menu.
- Choose “Cut” from the Edit menu.
- Place the cursor by clicking in the first track, after the end of the audio.
- Choose “Paste” from the Edit menu.
You can press the Play button to hear the result, and use the Export commands (in the File menu) to save it as a sound file.
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How do I mix two tracks together?
To mix two files, just import both of them into Audacity. They will appear in separate tracks, and will be mixed together when you press the Play button. You can use the Time Shift tool to move them around so that they start at different times, or use the other editing commands to alter either of the tracks.
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Can I remove the vocals from a recording to make a Karaoke track?
This is possible only for certain stereo tracks. When the vocals are exactly the same on both stereo channels, you can remove them by “subtracting” one channel from the other. This works for many studio recordings, where the vocal track is mixed exactly in the center.
To do this in Audacity:
- Import your stereo file into Audacity.
- Open the track menu (click the arrow next to the track title), and choose “Split Stereo Track.”
- Select the lower track (the right channel) by clicking it in the area around the mute/solo buttons.
- Choose “Invert” from the Effects menu.
- Using the track menus, change each track to “Mono.”
Press the Play button to hear the results. If you are lucky, the voice will be gone but most of the other instruments will be unaffected, just like a karaoke track. You can use the Export commands in the File menu to save the results.
If the vocals are not exactly the same on both stereo channels, there are some other techniques or optional plugins you can try. Please see our Vocal_Removal Wiki page for more details.
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Old - need merging or deleting
How can I help to improve Audacity?
There are many ways you can help.
- If you are a programmer and you know C++, we can always use more developers. We especially need more Windows and MacOS programmers, as many of the current developers prefer Linux.
- If you are bilingual, you can help us translate Audacity into another language.
- If you are good at writing, you can help us write documentation and tutorials.
- Finally, anyone can submit bug reports and suggestions. The more detailed, the better.
If you would like to help out in any one of these ways, please email the developers at audacity-devel@lists.sourceforge.net. You may also want to go to the Sourceforge web site and join the mailing list yourself.
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I found a bug! Now what?
The most important thing when reporting a bug is to be as specific as possible. Give us enough information that we can reproduce the bug ourselves, otherwise it's unlikely that we'll be able to fix it.
- Be sure to let us know what operating system you run (such as Windows 98, MacOS 9.1, Fedora Linux 3, etc.) and any other information about your computer that you think might be relevant.
- Then, can you reproduce the bug? If it happens consistently, tell us the exact sequence of events which causes the bug to occur. If you get an error message, make sure you send us
the exact text of the error message.
We want to squash all of the bugs! Thanks for taking the time to help us track them down.
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Windows: What do I do with the .exe file?
From the browser, select the option to "Run from current location". This launches the Audacity setup program, which will install the Audacity program files and create an entry in the start menu.
- If you already downloaded the file, just double-click on it to start the installer.
- If you prefer not to use the Installer program, you can also download Audacity as a ZIP file, which you can decompress using WinZip or any other extraction program.
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Windows: How do I uninstall Audacity?
Audacity can be uninstalled by opening Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. Select "Audacity" from the list and click the button "Add/Remove". This launches the Audacity uninstall program.
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Mac: What do I do with the .sit file?
You need a recent version of StuffIt Expander. StuffIt Expander comes with all Macintoshes and is usually configured by default with all Mac web browsers. If Audacity does not decompress automatically, drag "audacity.sit" to StuffIt Expander to decompress it.
There is no need to install Audacity. Just drag the Audacity folder to your Applications folder, or wherever else you would like to put it. To uninstall, just drag the entire folder to the trash.
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Unix: Why do I get failed dependencies when installing from the RPM?
First, ensure that the wxGTK is installed; a link can be found from our Linux page - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/linux. Be sure that you use the appropriate version of wxGTK - Audacity 1.2.x requires wxGTK 2.4.x, and it will not work with any other version.</p>
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Unix: Why do I get an error while loading the shared library libwx_gtk-2.4.so?
This could be one of two problems:
- If you installed the wxWidgets RPM, be sure to run "ldconfig" (as root) so your system knows about the new library.
- If you installed wxWidgets from source, it may have been installed in /usr/local, but /usr/local/lib may not be in your library path. Add /usr/local/lib to the file "/etc/ld.so.conf"
and then run "ldconfig". You may also want to add "/usr/local/bin" to your path, so that programs can find the "wx-config" utility.
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How do I mix two tracks together?
Audacity mixes automatically. All you have to do is import two tracks into the same project, which you can do using the "Import Audio" command in the Project menu, or simply by dragging the two audio files to Audacity. When you press the record button, Audacity generates a new track automatically, also.
In order to save your mix, you can either Export the project, which will automatically mix all of your tracks together, or you can select your tracks and use the "Quick Mix" command in the Project menu.
Other Frequently Asked Questions...
Can I remove the vocals from a recording?
With some stereo recordings, it is possible to remove the vocals because of the way in which the recording was mixed at the studio. Often, the vocals are placed in the exact center of the recording, while all other instruments are slightly off-center. If you subtract the right channel from the left channel, the vocals get completely cancelled out, leaving only the other instruments.
This only works on some recordings!
To attempt this in Audacity, import a stereo recording, then click on the track pop-up menu (the little down-arrow next to the name of the track) and select "Split Stereo Track". Now select the lower track (the right channel) and use the "Invert" effect (from the Effect menu). Finally, use the track pop-up menus to make both channels Mono channels, and then mix them together using Quick Mix. If you're lucky, the vocals will be gone.
Other Frequently Asked Questions...
When I try to record harmonies with myself, why are the two tracks out of sync?
This is normal and it happens because there is a small delay between when Audacity starts playing sound and when it actually reaches your speaker. Audacity does not automatically try to correct for this delay, and you must do it manually.
To correct this delay, use the Time Shift Tool to slide one of the tracks over until they line up. Note that you can use the tool while you are listening to the recording.
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Why doesn't Audacity ship with an MP3 encoder?
Unfortunately, the algorithm to encode or create MP3 files is patented, and Audacity would not be able to include an MP3 exporting algorithm without either charging a fee or violating the law in many countries.
As a compromise, Audacity comes with the ability to use other MP3 encoders, which you must download separately. It is up to you to make sure you are in compliance with any licensing restrictions imposed by MP3 encoders.
See LAME MP3
Other Frequently Asked Questions...
How do I record streaming audio?
(This needs to be categorized.)
You can record streaming audio, Skype, or pretty much any program that outputs sound. If you use Mac OS X, you may want to check out [Audio Hijack], a shareware program designed specifically for this purpose. On Windows, you can sometimes record from the "Wave Out" channel of your sound card - choose it as the audio input device instead of "Line In" or "Mic".
If all else fails, use a loopback cable:
 A stereo mini loopback cable |
 A loopback cable plugged into the back of a typical PC |
