For ten years I’ve been able to stop play exactly where I want on any project or track simply by pressing stop with my mouse. Now suddenly, I can’t.
Apparently I have to press pause or “x”…???
I am well aware that in life, the simplest things are always the most complicated…but
…this seems like a simple but huge change to me, maybe I’m missing something?? But really, 10 years of pressing stop and the cursor and stopping exactly where I want it to and then starting to edit…wtf…why change this?
Is there a way to revert or an option or preference I’m missing here?? Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.
The behaviour in previous versions of Audacity was that clicking the Stop button would stop playback and return the cursor to where it was when play started. The idea of the behaviour was that it enabled the user to easily play the same section multiple times without losing the start position. To stop playback so that the playback cursor remained at the stop position required using the “Stop and Set cursor” command, either from the Transport menu of “Shift + A”.
In Audacity 2.2.0, the “Shift + A” shortcut has been replaced with the more convenient shortcut “X” (aide-memoire: “X marks the spot”).
It is not “more convenient”. It completely and I might say…stiflingly…makes the whole process of using Audacity to do any kind of editing of a sound file…more difficult. Constantly snapping back to the start of the track…how the heck is that "more convenient…pray …do tell me more? It has never ever done that before…
I think Audacity is a simply marvelous piece of kit, and it has been the stand by of mine for all kinds of personal and professional work for many years…I love it…this simple BUT MASSIVE change certainly has me seriously considering shifting away…not that anyone would care I guess…
Why would anyone change this? What misguided logic makes one think that somehow making something more difficult makes it easier?
And just to reinforce my frustration…a small note…your opening sentence Steve is incorrect…Audacity has never (never) ever (ever) constantly snapped back to the start of track…ever…that’s nothing I have ever (ever) experienced before…in over 10years.
Sorry to contradict, but the behaviour that I described has been the case for over 10 years. I don’t understand how your experience can be different, unless perhaps you are confusing Audacity with some other program.
Are we talking about different things?
Here are steps in Audacity 2.1.2 (which just happens to be an old version that I have handy at the moment, but any old version will do)
Generate 30 second tone from the Generate menu into a new Audacity project.
Click on the Play button
Click on the Stop button.
This behaviour is not platform dependent - it’s the same on Windows, macOS and Linux.
I am not confusing Audacity with some other program.
The "behaviour "you described and visualise has never happened in any version of Audacity that I have ever used before. Hence my taking the time to join the forum and then make this post. I have always been able to stop the cursor exactly where I want to…now I can’t…
So seems like that as a long term user, with a set of techniques in using the software over many years, I’ll have to re-learn how to manipulate the cursor for editing purposes. I’m capable of that, but it’s just a large imposition on top of a busy life…and in my humble view…an unnecessary intrusion.
…the simplest things are always the most complicated.
Well, like Steve, I’ve used Audacity for over ten years and done a lot of QA testing and documentation - and the behavior with the Stop button is as Steve describes and shows in his little vid.
I note that the Manual does not explicitly say this - but I will fix that.
It is possible the temporarily “stop” playback and start from the same place with the mouse - and that is by using the Pause button.
I’ve always longed for the Stop button to behave as you describe and as my many tape recorders over the years have worked leaving the cursor where I stop.
I did manage to get the “Stop and set cursor” shortcut changed a couple of releases ago from the awkward “Shift+A” to the simpler single button “X”.
At that time we did discuss the possibility of having the behavior of the “Stop” button be user-selectable (bu adding a new Preference) enabling the user to choose the existing behavior - or to switch to a “stop and set cursor mode” - in which case the “X” shortcut would be swapped to be the current prevailing behavior. But, sadly, nothing came of that - I for one would choose the stop-and-set-cursor mode.
