Moving Audio with Labels Between Projects [SOLVED]

Audacity Version 2.1.2
Mac OSX Version 10.12.3

I am trying to move both audio and the associated labeled tracks between projects with no success. I have no problems moving the audio via copy/paste, but the track labels don’t come with the audio. (Seems to me like it should, its just another track, after all)

The use case is that I have a single audacity project file for Side A of a Cassette and a second file for Side B of the Cassette. I’d like to preserve the originals, including their track information, as separate files.

Then, I want to combine the separate files, preserving the track information, and perform various functions on them such as various noise reduction and equalization steps. If desired in the future, I want to be able to go back to the original and re-perform these actions (such as if technology gets much better and I could create new/better processed copies).

The procedures I’ve been trying are (a) select all, copy, paste, (b) select all, Labeled Audio Copy, paste, and (c) Import an audacity file (I know, not supported).

I don’t see this in the list of feature requests, and I haven’t found any specific help on it in the FAQ or manual. So that makes me think its possible.

Yes, I realize that I could manually go back and manually re-add track labels to the combined file (or maybe even import them by calculating the correct time offsets although that seems iffy to get exact), but since I have over 200 of these that I eventually want to get through I’m hoping there is a way to only have to label the tracks once and just move the audio and the labels together. If there is, however, I haven’t found it yet.

All help greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

This is tricky …

Let’s call your two original projects “A” and “B” and your combined project “C”

Open project A
Do Edit > Select All - this should select all the audio and label tracks
Do Edit > Copy
Switch to project C - we’ll assume this is a new project with no tracks in it
Do Edit > Paste - the audio and label tracks should paste in
In project C, click the “skip to end” button or press the “K” key - we’re setting the cursor where we want side B of the cassette to be pasted in
– note: do not click in the audio track to move the cursor because you will then de-select the label track.
Open project B
Do Edit > Select All - this should select all the audio and label tracks
Do Edit > Copy
Switch to project C
Do Edit > Paste - the audio and label tracks should paste in after the side A audio
– note that it is important at this step that both the audio and labels tracks are selected. If the labels don’t paste that means the label track was not selected. Undo and try again with both tracks selected but with the editing cursor at the end of the side A audio.

Now, in project C, you might want to turn on Sync-locked track groups. This way if you do any edits to the audio track the labels will stay in sync.

– Bill

Bill,

Thank you for your speedy and clear reply. I’ve tried the technique you outlined, along with some variations of it. Apparently my mistake was in the way that I was selecting either the copy or the destination (as I was clicking the audio or label track area to move the cursor), and following the directions you provided appears to solve the problem for me.

Thank you again!