# Adding custom timestamp at the beginning of track **URL:** \ **Category:** GNU/Linux\ **Created:** [May 20, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101 "2023-05-20T14:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThomasW](https://forum.audacityteam.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@ThomasW](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/ThomasW)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/1 "2023-05-20T14:03:09Z")
Hello, I’m recording bird migration during all night (from sunset to sunrise). I then get big tracks (WAV files) of 8-12 hours. I’m using a Olympus LS-P4 recorder together with specific microphones integrated into a parabolic dish. I’m just using Audacity to analyze and visualize the recordings (not for direct recording). I would need to visualize the date and time on my recording in order to determine when the birds’ calls did occur over the night (at what time). My issue is that when opening a recording with Audacity, the start of the track is time 0. Is there a way to adjust this by indicating a custom timestamp (the date and time I started the recording in the field)? Many thanks for help! Thomas ---
**Author:** ![Trebor](https://forum.audacityteam.org/user_avatar/forum.audacityteam.org/trebor/32/45854_2.png) [@Trebor](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/Trebor)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/2 "2023-05-20T18:03:21Z")
> [@ThomasW](#): > > Is there a way to adjust this by indicating a custom timestamp There was a plug-in for that … > [@Labels to show time that a recording was made](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/labels-to-show-time-that-a-recording-was-made/47327): > > Recent version of Audacity have an option to add a time stamp to the name of a recorded track: [http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/recording\_preferences.html#Name\_newly\_recorded\_tracks](http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/recording_preferences.html#Name_newly_recorded_tracks) The “Custom Track Name” in the Recording Preferences, automatically names new recorded tracks according to the other track name option, overriding the default “Audio Track” name. By enabling “Custom Track Name” and “System Time”, the time (taken from to the computer’s system clock) is appended to the track name, … But I don’t know if it will work on the latest versions of audacity. ---
**Author:** ![ThomasW](https://forum.audacityteam.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@ThomasW](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/ThomasW)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/3 "2023-06-15T14:59:56Z")
Thank you @Trebor and sorry for late reply. I think you misunderstood my question. I don’t mean including timestamp in the file name, I’m talking about the timestamp displayed on the timeline when displaying a sound track in Audacity (see red rectangle in the attached screenshot). If the recording started on 2023-06-14 at 10:22pm, I would like to set this timestamp at the begining of the timeline in order to be able to determine the timestamp of another part of the track, say 1 hour and 12 minutes later… I’m not sure to be clear enough as english is not my native language. Hope it is! Thanks again. ![20230615_165532_screenpresso_01](https://forum.audacityteam.org/uploads/default/original/3X/2/8/288d5ea3c1a5bcbb925a55432a0b3c2b74382acf.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Trebor](https://forum.audacityteam.org/user_avatar/forum.audacityteam.org/trebor/32/45854_2.png) [@Trebor](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/Trebor)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/4 "2023-06-15T16:24:28Z")
> [@Trebor](#): > > But I don’t know if it will work on the latest versions of audacity. I just checked: the “recording time” plugins work in Audacity 332: they appear in the “Generate” menu, (if you can install them) > [@ThomasW](#): > > I don’t mean including timestamp in the file name These plugins need the recording start-time in the file-name to calculate the “real” time at the cursor / or the “real” time for the labels … ![record time demo](https://forum.audacityteam.org/uploads/default/original/3X/9/2/922042333ab910745890165f34e6407fd5331d4f.gif) … ---
**Author:** ![kozikowski](https://forum.audacityteam.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/919ad9/32.png) [@kozikowski](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/kozikowski)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/5 "2023-06-15T16:50:10Z")
I think you bumped into Audacity’s complete refusal to become a surveillance/security recorder. Nothing good can come of being dragged into police or legal actions. Koz ---
**Author:** ![ThomasW](https://forum.audacityteam.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@ThomasW](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/ThomasW)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 7:27pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/6 "2023-06-15T19:27:40Z")
Thanks @Trebor! I managed to install Audacity 333 on my Linux but I miss the entries ‘Generate \> Recording time/labels…’ I can’t find any plugin named ‘Recording time’. Is version 332 necessary? I thought 333 would show the same. Thomas ---
**Author:** ![Trebor](https://forum.audacityteam.org/user_avatar/forum.audacityteam.org/trebor/32/45854_2.png) [@Trebor](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/Trebor)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/7 "2023-06-15T21:56:46Z")
> [@ThomasW](#): > > I can’t find any plugin named ‘Recording time’. Audacity does not come with the “recording time” plugins installed: you have to install them yourself. They are in a a zip file at the bottom of this 2017 post … > [@Labels to show time that a recording was made](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/labels-to-show-time-that-a-recording-was-made/47327/2): > > I’ve now expanded this with idea with a second plug-in called “Recording Time”. The attached file (below) is a ZIP archive containing 3 files. The archive should be unzipped into the Audacity plug-ins folder. The three files are: record-time-labels.ny: An updated version of the plug-in posted in the first message of this forum topic (includes a small bug fix). record-time.ny: A new plug-in that reports the recorded time at the cursor / selection position (more info below) time-string.lsp:… All three files in the zip must be extracted into tha Audacity plugins folder for the record-time plugins to work. Two of the plugins need to be enabled in Audacity’s plugin manager … !['recording time' plugins enabled in Audcaity's plugin manager (Windows)](https://forum.audacityteam.org/uploads/default/original/3X/b/0/b0f2f4dcc6b60081f86069d7da16c14f2bcc536b.png) [https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/manage\_effects\_generators\_and\_analyzers.html](https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/manage_effects_generators_and_analyzers.html) > [@ThomasW](#): > > I managed to install Audacity 333 on my Linux You don’t need the latest Audacity for these plugins: they are from 2017. ---
**Author:** ![ThomasW](https://forum.audacityteam.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@ThomasW](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/ThomasW)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:26am UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/8 "2023-06-16T10:26:34Z")
Thank you so much @Trebor. Seems great! I will just have to cut my audio tracks before and after midnight in order to get real times after midnight. Thomas ---
**Author:** ![system](https://forum.audacityteam.org/uploads/default/original/1X/81a69b20bcd548215067cfaceccc8a10bfa2d176.png) [@system](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/adding-custom-timestamp-at-the-beginning-of-track/76101/9 "2023-06-19T14:03:29Z")
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