INSERTING PRE RECORDED AUDIO INTO A SPECIFIC PLACE

Audacity Help Forum macOS
1

For the better part of 3 years, I’ve been using the program and I still haven’t figured out one thing.

I am involved in making dramatized stories. I need to be able to insert sound effects into certain spots of the audio. Importing tracks always imports them as a new track (which is fine) but puts them at the beginning. I need to be able to select a spot, click import and the track is imported and sitting at the spot where I selected rather than going to the beginning and making me use the time shift tool to drag it to where it needs to be repeatedly. Any help is most appreciated. Again, I have a feeling this is super simple and I just have overlooked it in all the forums etc.

Thanks again to anyone out there who can help.

RJ

2

Import it as the separate track you already have. Then use the Time Shift Tool (two sideways black arrows) to slide it into position. You can just leave it there and it will play along with the dialog, change the volume for Theme Under, etc. The dialog and sound effect are separate tracks, so you can do whatever you want to either one.

Koz

3

No, you haven’t missed anything. Audacity does not have an “import in place” command. The best I can offer is a workaround …

  • create a new track for the sound effect, if needed
  • click in the spot in the sound effect track where you want the sound inserted
  • create a new project (if you haven’t already - see below)
  • import the sound into the new project
  • select all
  • cut
    ( optionally close the second project without saving changes, or keep it around for subsequent SFX imports )
  • switch to main project
  • paste.

This keeps your place in the main project (so you don’t have to use the time shift tool), and also allows you to set up one track for the sound effects and have all sound effects quickly and easily pasted into that track.

– Bill

4

Another workaround.

Click in a track at the time position you want to import.

File > Import > Audio… or drag the file in.

Tracks > Align Tracks > Start to Cursor/Selection Start.

You can create a shortcut for the align command in Keyboard Preferences.


Gale