Selected Track export is the same size as all tracks?

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Hi,

I exported a selected track as a .wav file. Before that I accidentally exported all 4 tracks as a .wav file. I knew this because I listened to both of the .wav files. Then I noticed the selected track .wav file is exactly the same size as the .wav with all the tracks. I had to go back and listen to them again to see if I was tired and loosing it. No it is true.

Is this suppose to be like this? These are the instructions I used.

Click on the track panel on the left side of the track you want to export (click below the volume and left-right slides). (the right area highlights blue).
Click file, export, export selected audio.
Choose the directory to save it to and rename the file as the example in quotes below shows.
“SongName-Guitar-John.wav”
Click save.
Click okay on the next prompt.

Thanks,
John

2

The file size of a WAV-file depends on the length. No matter, whether it is a single instrument oder a combination of tracks or silence.
so if you mix 4 tracks together to one WAV-file it has exact the same length as a WAV file of only one of those tracks.
When you reopen such WAV-files you will only have one track, not longer four!

But…
You also have the opportunity to save 4 tracks in one WAV-file and each track keeps independent. This will rise the filesize to 4 times bigger than before. When you reopen such WAV-files you will have four tracks again!