Audacity file with forty chapters; when I export to MP3 or WAV, chapter markers disappear. I want one MP# file with chapters. How do I do that? Thanks.
Chapter markers are not a standard part of the MP3 specification (other than as the informal standard ID3v2 Chapter Frame Addendum) and are not currently supported by Audacity.
I think you can add Chapter markers with iTunes (though I can’t help with that as I don’t use iTunes).
When I converted an audio book to MP3, I made a seperate MP3 file for each chapter and I put the chapter number in the track number field. That way, any MP3 player can play the files in the proper sequence.
Do you mean you imported a file into Audacity that had chapter marks already, or you created labels for each chapter in an Audacity project?
If you have labels then you want to use File > Export Multiple… . It creates separate files for each “chapter” but you can put those files in a playlist folder in your player and skip between them. That should work, if Doug’s method of tagging the track number in the files doesn’t work for you.
I don’t (often) use iTunes either but I am not sure it fully supports chapter markers within a single audio book file. I think iPad does. To write the chapter markers in an M4A or M4B file you could use http://www.ipodsoft.com/site/index.php?n=ChapterMaster.HomePage or the Nero AAC encoder ( Nero AAC - Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase ).
For a method of combining multiple files in iTunes into what will appear as a chaptered audio book, you could try How to Create Audiobooks From MP3s in iTunes .
If you must write chapter markers in an MP3 file you could try http://id3v2-chap-tool.sourceforge.net/ .
Gale
Thanks for the input. I’ll have to review all answers.
However, point of clarification: it is my book. I recorded it in Audacity. Now I want to publish as an audio book. So, I need one MP3 file with chapters and cover art. When I export my combined Audacity files to one MP3 file, no chapters appear. I need chapters in the MP3 file. Thank you.
The trouble with that is that although you can write the single MP3 with chapter markers using the tool I indicated, very few players will recognise those markers.
If your book is to be published or given to others then you should export as an M4A (AAC) file from Audacity. This requires you to add the FFmpeg library to your computer as per Audacity Manual .
AAC has formal support for chapter markers which you can write using the tools I indicated (or others). So many more players will be able to recognise those markers (but not all will).
Gale
So, I need one MP3 file with chapters and cover art.
The problem is, even if you can figure-out how to do it most of your readers won’t be able to see or use the chapter markers.
I suggest you do some research on the web to see what other authors are doing. And, consider making multiple formats available… And try to find-out what audiobook formats work best with the iPad, iPod, iPhone, Kindle, Android, etc. Make it EASY for your customers/readers!
Thanks to all for the great input. I hope I’m up to the task. Best.