Label Track Regression in Audacity 4: Font Clipping, 18pt Cap & Multi-Language Alignment Issues

Carlos732 · September 6, 2026, 3:48pm

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a critical issue regarding Label Tracks in Audacity 4 that affects workflows involving educational content, linguistic annotations, and multi-language audio alignment (e.g., aligning fully vocalized Arabic script with Latin translations).

In Audacity 3.x, label tracks functioned as rich, highly readable annotations[cite: 1]. In Audacity 4, however, several limitations have been introduced:

Text Clipping & Font Size Limits:
The interface font size in Audacity 4 is capped at 18pt[cite: 1] (whereas Audacity 3 allowed up to 48pt)[cite: 1]. Additionally, the fixed-height green label container clips characters vertically, cutting off top/bottom diacritics (harakat) in complex scripts like Arabic.
Font Metrics Reset Bug:
Changing font preferences temporarily fixes the display, but saving, closing, and reopening the project causes the text to reset back to a clipped state.
Readability & Feature Expansion:
The region connection line overlays the text, making it harder to read[cite: 1]. Furthermore, for educational projects using multiple tracks (e.g., source language on one track, translation on another), being able to assign different font sizes per label track—or adding basic formatting options like bold/italic—would make labels infinitely more useful

Audacity 4 clipped text3272×1374 427 KB

Audacity 4 temporary fix after font change3282×1374 474 KB

Audacity 3.7.9 multi-language layout1920×899 206 KB

I have already opened an official issue on GitHub (#11997) and reached out to the accessibility team:

github.com/audacity/audacity

[UI/UX Bug] Label Track Regression in Audacity 4: Vertical Clipping of Arabic Scripts (Harakat) and Font Metrics Reset on Reload

opened 11:38AM - 06 Sep 26 UTC

Carlos56487

bug

### Bug description ### Summary In Audacity 4, label tracks suffer from a criti…cal UI rendering bug and usability regression. The fixed-height green label container vertically clips complex non-Latin scripts (specifically fully vocalized Arabic with *harakat* / diacritics). Furthermore, selecting a custom font in Preferences only fixes the rendering temporarily until the project is saved and reloaded. ### Problem Description 1. **Vertical Clipping & Truncation:** When working with detailed language alignment (such as audio language lessons), increasing the system/interface font size (e.g., to 18pt) causes the green region label banner to clip top and bottom diacritics (*harakat*). Unlike Audacity 3.x, where the label container expanded vertically to match the track height, Audacity 4 constrains the banner to a narrow fixed box. 2. **Font Metrics Reset on Save/Reload (Reproducible Bug):** - Changing the font family or size under *Preferences > Appearance* triggers a screen repaint that temporarily renders the Arabic text correctly with all diacritics visible. - However, upon saving, closing, and reopening the project, Audacity fails to persist or recalculate these line-height metrics. The label box defaults back to a clipped state, destroying readability again. 3. **Line Connection Overlay:** The horizontal region connection line between handles renders directly over the text instead of behind an opaque background, obstructing letterforms. 4. **Lack of Per-Track Styling:** There is no option to set font size or family per track, which is essential when mixing complex scripts (e.g., Arabic) with Latin translations in multi-track alignment projects. ### Steps to reproduce 1. Create a Label Track and insert an Arabic text string with full diacritics (harakat). 2. Go to Preferences > Appearance and set a larger font size (e.g., 18pt) or custom font. 3. Observe that the text momentarily renders correctly inside the label banner after the repaint. 4. Save the project (.aup3), close Audacity, and reopen the project. ### Attached Screenshot: - Audacity 4 temporary fix after font change. <img width="1641" height="687" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0765e2ea-e5aa-4243-ae05-efc7cba1067c" /> ### Expected behavior - The green label box should scale vertically or respect track height so Arabic characters and diacritics (harakat) are never clipped. - Font metrics and proper label rendering should persist after saving and reopening the project. - The region connection line should render behind the text, not over it. ### Attached Screenshot: - Audacity 3.7.9 multi-language layout)* <img width="1846" height="864" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ac979ee0-d237-4330-a396-e59f19e66fb3" /> ### Actual behavior - The label container stays at a fixed narrow height, vertically truncating top and bottom diacritics. - Upon saving, closing, and reopening the project, Audacity loses the line-height rendering, resetting back to severe text clipping. - The region connection line overlays the text, reducing legibility. ### Attached Screenshots: - Audacity 4 clipped text. <img width="1636" height="687" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d266b6a6-21b8-4c94-936e-0f1c7783c86a" /> ### Audacity Version Audacity 4.0.0 ### Operating system macOS ### Additional context - Additional UX issue: In Audacity 4, the interface font size is capped at 18pt in Preferences. This maximum size is insufficient for complex scripts like Arabic with full diacritics (harakat), especially for educational and language learning materials. - Feature request: Please expand the maximum font size limit to at least 36pt (as was available or accessible in Audacity 3) and consider allowing per-track or per-label font size adjustments.

If anyone else uses label tracks for text-audio alignment or non-Latin scripts and is experiencing this issue, please feel free to leave your thoughts or support the ticket on GitHub!

Best regards,
Carlos