I would like to record something in WAV.
How to do this. Can I use a Head-set for this or do I need a microphone?
So many questions.
Audacity does not “record in WAV”, it records in its own very high quality format. This is called an “Audacity project”. You can then “export” the audio from the project as a “WAV file” (which is the default export format), or one of several other supported formats.
I presume that your “headset” has a microphone, in which case yes you should be able to record your voice using that.
If the headset plugs into the computer with one or two “mini-jack” plugs, then you need to set Audacity to record from the microphone input of your computer’s sound card.
If the headset connects via USB, then you need to set Audacity to record from the USB microphone (often listed as “USB audio” or something similar.
To set up Audacity, connect your microphone first, then launch Audacity.
Then look in the device toolbar, set “Host” to MME, set the number of channels to “1 (mono)”, and set the recording input to your microphone (USB or sound card depending on the type of headset).
The playback device should be set to whatever device you use for playback - if it’s a USB headset, then it will be called something like “USB audio”. If the headset connects to the computer sound card, then it will be listed as your sound card - possibly called “front” or “speakers”. You may need to experiment with this setting. I’d suggest that you try the “default” setting for playback first.
Other than the device toolbar, other settings can probably be left at their default settings. If you do change other settings, write down what you have changed (pen and paper) so that you can change them back if you mess up 
Hi
Thanks for the info. I was able to record what I wanted but the file is too big. I use it for our company answering machine and can only record maximum 2mb.
How can I solve that?
Thanks you
By default Audacity will export as standard “CD quality” WAV files. That’s “16-bit, 44100 Hz sample rate”.
Your company answering machine is probably expecting a lower quality audio file of some type. You will need to look in the manual for the answering machine to find out exactly what format it requires. There are also variations of the WAV format such as “ADPCM”, “u-Law”, “A-Law”, and others. See what you can find out. If you can tell us precisely what format is required then we will probably be able to tell you how to get that format with Audacity.
Hi
Our telephone programm is online.
The only thing I can find out is that the maximum length for a record is 2mb and has to be in WAV.
I already tried to use other extensions but without succes. Would like to send you a print screen but was not able in this window.
Please see here for how to attach files: https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/how-to-attach-files-to-forum-posts/24026/1 You can attach PNG or JPG images.
Can you attach an example of a file that plays in the answering machine? Then we can examine the file to determine what type of WAV file it is.
Gale
Hi
I was able to send a print screen of the window where I have to put the file in. Unfortunately it’s in Flemish.
If you need it, I can translate it for you.
Pascale
Or is this helpfull.
Een .wav-bestand moet volgende formaat hebben: CCITT u-Law, 8KHz, 8 bits, mono, 7kb/sec. Wees voorzichtig met copyrights. Het gebruik van auteursrechtelijk beschermde muziek is niet gratis voor gebruik in publiek domein
Interestingly the sample that you posted is a slightly different format from the format described in text in your next post.
The sample “openingsuren.wav” is: Mono, unsigned 8-bit, 8kHz, PCM
whereas the text says: Mono, unsigned 8-bit, 8kHz, CCITT u-Law
so they’re almost the same - just the last bit that’s different.
Let’s cover both options.
Mono:
When you record, set the “number of channels” to “1 (mono)” in the device toolbar.
8 kHz
Set the “project rate” to 8000 (lower left corner of the main Audacity window)
When you export, select “other uncompressed files” as the file type (where it says “Save as type”) in the Export dialog (http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/file_export_dialog.html)
You will then see two options:
“Header” should be set to “WAV (Microsoft)”
“Encoding” should be set to either “u-Law” (to match what your text says), or “Unsigned 8-bit PCM” (to match the file that you attached).
Hello
After trying and trying it worked.
Thanks a lot for your help. Couldn’t have done it without you.
Pascale
Thanks for confirming. I will mark the topic as {SOLVED] and lock it in that case.
Gale