Possible to append rec on same track?

luvlywevva · February 25, 2015, 1:19pm

Hi, an oldie user of ‘Cool Edit 96’ here, just getting to grips with Audacity and trying all the buttons.

Is it possible to continue recording at the end of a saved file (append record), but not to have Audacity making a whole new track?

Also, is it possible to record small section (insert) or (overwrite) a portion of a saved file?

Thanks
(Windows 7)
.

steve · February 25, 2015, 1:36pm

Yes.
“Transport menu > Append record”
Shortcut: Shift+R
http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/transport_menu.html

You can’t record over a portion of a track. What you do is:

Select the bit that you want to overwrite, and silence it. You can silence it with “Edit > Remove Special > Silence Audio” (Ctrl+L), which is a “destructive” edit, or using the envelope tool, which is a bit fiddly, but is a “non-destructive” edit.
Extend the selection a bit so that you have a lead in / out (pre-roll / post-roll).
Press Record (shortcut “R”). The new take goes onto a new track. You can then trim / adjust / crossfade as necessary.

luvlywevva · February 25, 2015, 1:58pm

Good stuff, just tried it and that’s very handy for me, thanks.

Now making a wall chart of Audacity keyboard shortcuts.

cheers

steve · February 25, 2015, 2:05pm