Probably not Windows specific. I suspect a simple off by one bug, if we do consider it a bug.
Generate some sound. Select a middle portion. Ctrl-alt-k to split delete. Ctrl-f to fit all. Switch to multi tool.
Drag the grip at the left end of the waveform. The first clip can be moved right. Undo.
Drag the right hand grip. The second clip does not move left.
Confirmed on Mac.
You don’t have to do the split-delete, just the “Fit in Window”.
– Bill
What right hand grip?
I was not aware that there should be one (there isn’t on Linux). The manual only mentions:
To shift an individual clip, hold down CTRL (COMMAND on Mac) while over one of the clips. The pointer will change to the Time Shift toolTimeShiftTool.png. Then drag left or right with the mouse.
Which works on Linux,
and
To shift an entire track hover over one of the drag bars at the left or right edge of the waveform. The pointer will change to image of time shift tool. Then drag left or right with the mouse.
If the audio in the track is not touching either drag bar or contains multiple clips, you must hold down SHIFT while dragging from the drag bar.
OK, I’m with you; not on the audio, on the track space:
As can be seen in the picture above, the left hand drag bar is “over” the waveform. When the drag bar is over the waveform, the audio clip “under” the drag bar can be dragged. To drag track audio that is not “under” the drag bar, the Shift key must be held down.
On the other hand, after Ctrl+F, the right hand drag bar is immediately after the end of the track (as shown in Bill’s image) - there is no audio “under” the drag bar, and the shift key is required to move track audio that is not under the drag bar.
This is consistent with “fit audio to window” when the multi-tool is not selected - the audio track ends just before the end of the visible track, thus when the multi-tool is selected, the drag bar is over white-space.
For audio that is aligned to time = 0, if the track is selected and then “zoom to selection” (Ctrl+E), that will place the right end of the track under the right hand drag bar, and it will then do what you want.
I’ve updated the manual to say:
If the audio in the track is not under a drag bar, or if the track contains multiple clips, you must hold down SHIFT while dragging from the drag bar to move the track audio.
I had not noticed that ctrl-a ctrl-e zooms slightly closer than ctrl-f. Indeed, both drag bars work without shift in the first case.
I observe this in my example of two clips with a gap between, which I think those quotes do not make clear: drag on a bar moves one clip only. Shift-drag on a bar moves all the audio in the track.
ctrl-drag also moves clips that overlap the selection, without using the drag bars.
Do you have an account for editing the manual?
If not, would you like to suggest alternative wording for the manual here?
I look at the quote in context on this page Audacity Manual
It does describe shift-drag. It omits mention of unshifted drag on the grips. But it has just described ctrl-drag which does the same.
So I should ask what’s the rationale for the small difference between ctrl-f and ctrl-a ctrl-e.
That’s the 2.0.6 release manual. For the current development manual: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Multi-Tool
OK I mentioned that. http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Multi-Tool.
I also mentioned that you need to have audio fully under the drag bar to drag from the bar. That seems not strictly true but if audio is not fully under the bar, the drag does not work reliably. It doesn’t even seem to depend exactly where you drag from.
Gale
I think the distinction is justified. Fit in Window still gives you room to click after the end of the track. Zoom to Selection does not, without scrolling horizontally.
Gale
