I too suffer from a file where the Normalize operation doesn’t work.
I have used the envelope tool to reduce a couple of spikes. I guess this must be a bug, since Preview button in Normalize dialog box plays the apparently normalized sound. But pressing the OK button have no effect on the audio volume.
I cannot upload project file (approx 3 Mb) apparently because:
File size limit
Can’t upload extension 001,002 etc for splitted .7z files
So I upload some relevant screen shots instead
[edit]
Forgot to say: I know that Mix’n Merge track will make it possible to commit normalizing. But I think it’s weird that there is no option for this in Normalize dialog box to do any mix’n merge neccesary in order to do the normalizing.
When you use the Envelope Tool it does not alter the audio data. The volume envelope takes effect during playback by adjusting the playback level as it plays, but the actual recorded audio data is unchanged.
The Normalization effect, like virtually all effects in Audacity, is applied immediately to the audio data, so it takes the actual audio data and processes it.
In the example shown the actual peak level of the data is higher than it appears due to the envelope. If you want the Normalization effect to take account of the changes to the peaks that you have made with the envelope, then it is necessary to “render” the waveform so that the actual audio data has the required lower peaks.
Yes that’s correct.
When the project is exported all un-muted tracks are mixed down to a single file. If there is just one track then it is “rendered” to a single file (which is pretty much the same as “mixing down” except that there is only one track). Using “Mix and Render” from the tracks menu does the same thing.
“Rendering”, “Mixing Down” (and thus Exporting) will cause “real time effects” (track pan, track gain, track envelope and Time Track) to be applied to the audio data.
