Right-clicking on an mp3 shows "Audacity" in the dropdown but it's v3.1.3

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

All spelled out so its visible, the subject is: Right-clicking on an mp3 shows “Audacity” in the dropdown but it’s v3.1.3

Windows 7.
Yesterday I clicked on “Install v3.2.1”, that did install, at least up to a point.
It works fine when I File>open an mp3 or drag its filename to the Audacity icon.
What it doesn’t do is start correctly when I right-click on an mp3 filename and choose Audacity in the dropdown.
That gives me the older v3.1.3.
Did I do something wrong?

Spinning my wheels, I attempted a “fix.” I renamed the folders “Audacity” and “Audacity 3.1” by adding “-old” to their names.
What that did was entirely remove Audacity from the right-click options dropdown!

How really fix?

2

Thank you for your report. Yes. It seems the Audacity 3.2.1 Install is somehow not associating MP3 files as it used to.

There is a Bug Report for the developers here that you can follow: https://github.com/audacity/audacity/issues/3881

In the meantime, you may be able to change the file association yourself: try right-clicking on any .MP3 file, Open With, Choose Another App, check the box “Always use this app to open .MP3 files”, and select Audacity. You many need to select “More apps”, possibly even “Look for another app on this PC”.

3

When did Audacity start associating itself with anything other than Audacity Projects? (Old versions of Audacity did not do that by design).

4

I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader. :wink:

5

All audio files appear to be associated with Groove Music on my W10 PC

I use drag&drop to drag audio files from my desktop into Audacity.

Peter,

6

I need to update my original lament. When I wrote that, my renames of folders had resulted in complete disappearance of the (old) Audacity option in that dropdown.

One day after, an interesting option appeared when I tested a right-click on an mp3. The new option was “Audacity 2.3.2 Setup”! And that’s exactly what it got!

Two more days after, under “Audacity 2.3.2 Setup”, an ADDITIONAL option appeared: “Audacity® Cross-Platform Sound Editor”! And THAT gets Audacity 3.2.1.

These changes happened all by themselves!

So I’m back to my normal procedure (starting Audacity by right-clicking on an mp3), which now get Audacity 3.2.1. Someday I would love to learn about Windows’s slow spontaneous magic tricks.

7

I’m glad to hear that it is all working properly for you now.

So the consensus here is that Audacity does not make file associations to MP3 files, and if you decide to do so, you are on your own. To reduce confusion, let me suggest uninstalling old versions of Audacity before installing new ones. Old versions of Audacity remain available at: https://www.fosshub.com/Audacity-old.html