Audacity Keeps Recording On 2nd Track Whenever I Open A Previous Project File

Hi everyone,

I’m running into a problem where whenever I re-open a saved project — even if it’s just a day old — Audacity always starts recording on a new track instead of continuing on the same one.

Here’s everything I’ve already tried:

  • Unchecked “Record on a New Track” in Preferences → Recording.

  • Tried both R (normal record) and Shift+Space / Append Record.

  • Remapped the shortcut so R = Append Record.

  • Checked Transport → Recording to confirm “Record on a New Track” is disabled.

  • Verified cursor placement (at the end of the waveform vs. in empty space).

  • Tried with and without Overdub enabled.

  • Updated to the latest Audacity version.

  • Reset preferences (deleted the config folder so it rebuilt fresh).

  • Confirmed that brand-new projects work fine — this only happens when I close and reopen a project (even if it’s from the day before).

Workarounds I tested:

  • Exporting audio as WAV and re-importing into a new project fixes it, but I lose my project setup.

  • Mix and Render also works, but it’s an extra step I’d rather avoid.

So my question is:
Why do saved projects (even recently saved ones) always force new tracks when recording, and how can I make them respect my current recording settings permanently?

Thanks for any help!

@Kai223

Testing on W10 with Audacity 3.7.5 with default (OOTB factory settings) I cannot reproduce this.

  1. launch 3.7.5
  2. import some audio (or record)
  3. Save project
  4. Exit Audacity
  5. relaunch 3.7.5
  6. open the saved project
  7. press Record
  8. Observe: recording starts at the end of the original track

Peter