Select to next/previous label

Hi, apologies if the answer is obvious. I have googled, watched tutorials, etc. This question seems obvious to me, but maybe I am using wrong search terms…

What I would like to do is simply select everything - from current cursor position - to the next (or previous) label.
When moving songs or clips to re-order them or apply effects, I want to do this all the time. Currently the only work-around is to scroll through multiple screens until I find the label, then hold shift + click. The problems with this is that the scrolling is tedious (gonna wear out my mouse wheel again), and the click may not be exactly where I carefully positioned the label.

I would point out that you can do Shift+End or Shift+Home. But that does not work for labels…

Seems basic to me. BTW I am using 3.2.1 on W10.

I’m assuming that you’re using point labels, and not region labels.
There are not any single commands for what you want to do, but you can use a series of three commands.
These commands include the commands Extra->Selection->Move to Previous/Next Label, which have the shortcuts Alt + Left/Right arrow, and are documented here: Label Tracks - Audacity Manual
(The setting to show/hide the Extra menu is in the Interface page of Preferences.)

To select to previous/next label:

  1. Select > Store cursor position.
  2. Extra > Selection > Move to Previous/Next Label (Alt + Left/Right arrow).
  3. Select > Cursor to stored cursor position.

For convenience you’ll probably want to create a couple of macros (each of three commands). You can then assign shortcuts to these macros using the shortcuts page of preferences.

1 Like

Hey thanks!

This is exactly what I need, thanks!

I can’t thank you enough David, with the macro created it is a HUGE time-saver!