I’m using Audacity 2.0.0 (cd that came with the product I purchased), I successfully recorded a cassette and exported the file to .mp3 format on a Windows 10 computer. Even though I clicked the “pause” button between songs during recording the .mp3 came out as a single file without any identifiable breaks between the songs. So I have essentially a sequential copy of the tape in a digital format with no means to randomly access the contents.
Is there any way to get individual selection in .mp3 format without recording and exporting each selection on the cassette individually?
Audacity 2.0.0 is quite old now. The current version is always available for free download from the Audacity website: http://www.audacityteam.org/download/
The only widely supported way to get individual selection when playing back MP3s is to make one MP3 per “song”. However, you don’t have to record and export each song individually. You can record the entire album/cassette, then add a “label” for the start of each song, then use “Export Multiple” to export each labeled section as a separate MP3.
The process is described in detail in the manual: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/splitting_a_recording_into_separate_tracks.html
Most MP3/Media players also allow you to create “playlists”, so you can create a playlist that has all of the songs, in the right order, from the album. Playing the playlist will then play through the entire album, but will also allow you to skip from one song (MP3 file) to the next (or previous). This should be documented in your MP3 / Media player manual.