The track gain sliders (on the left side of each track) are not usable, because there is no chance to see the current value and there is no chance to apply a specific value change:
When I move the mouse pointer over the gain slider, there is no tool tip.
When I click on the gain slider, a tool tip with the current dB value appears below the mouse pointer. So it is not visible to me.
When I move the mouse pointer out of the way to see the tool tip, I most probably change the value; so when the tool tip no longer is covered by the mouse pointer, it no longer shows the original value before the click.
So when I want e.g. to reduce reduce the gain of a track by 1dB, I cannot do it.
Any ideas?
(Note: This is not about amplify effects; and it is no solution to use such effects, because they always alter the wave form of the track.)
when you click on the slider button just raise your cursor up a little - you can still move it left/right to change the value.
Better still - double click on the slider button - a little Gain dialog will appear enabling accurate numeric setting.
WC
Hi!
Unfortunately, none of both works:
when you click on the slider button just raise your cursor up a little - you can still move it left/right to change the value.
This is exactly the problem: There is no way to ensure that the current value keeps unchanged while trying to move the mouse upwards. Just one pixel out of the vertical and you end up with a different value than the original one - most probably without noticing it.
Better still - double click on the slider button - a little Gain dialog will appear enabling accurate numeric setting.
Again, this does not work. When I double click the slider, Audacity first sets the current value to the position where I placed the double click, and then opens the gain dialog - showing the altered value.
But my problem is not to set a specific value.
My problem is: How can I read out the currently set gain value without the risk to alter it inadvertently?
I never use the gain slider… I just use the Amplify effect. You can enter -1dB if you want 1dB of attenuation.
You can also try View → Mixer Board. It looks like it’s got a 6dB “offset” but if you hover over the slider you’ll see the current setting.
Neither do I - and I got badly burned by it when I once nudged it inadvertently.
And that’s just why I wrote this proposal: https://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Proposal_Locking_and/or_Hiding_Pan_and_Gain_sliders
but sadly it never garnered much (any in fact) support … 
Peter