save as and save

[nuevocello]

I recorded some great audio but I saved as and not save. Since it has been stored in bits and pieces, how can I put it all back in order in sequence and export it as a wav or mp3 file. Please give me detailed steps as I am not a computer whiz. Thanks.

[waxcylinder]

Save As and Save do basically the same ting - the only difference being that Save As lets you file under a different project name (if fo example you may want a second copy of the same project - so that you can diverge the projects - or you may want to keep a backup copy at a known state).

When you save an Audacity project as <project_name> it creates a number of things

1. a top level master project file called <project_name>.aup
2. a folder at the same filing level called <project_name_data>
3. and within the folder a sub-folder structure with lots of little .au files - segments of the recording (mainly audio clips - but a couple of then are graphics files)

When you re-open a project with Audacity you should always open the <project_name>.aup top level file. This tells Audacity how to thread together all the little .au files. It is deliberately designed this way so that Audacity doesn't have to open and work with a single humungously large file, which would hamper performance. You should not be attempting to open or manipulate any individual .au files.

When you have finished editing your Audacity project you can Export it from Audacity as a WAV file or MP3 file depending what sound quality you wish to achieve. WAV files are around ten times larger than the equivalent MP3 files but are uncompressed and thus the audio quality is higher.

WC

[kozikowski]

<<<
1. a top level master project file called <project_name>.aup
2. a folder at the same filing level called <project_name_data>
3. and within the folder a sub-folder structure with lots of little .au files - segments of the recording (mainly audio clips - but a couple of then are graphics files)
>>>

4. Any original sound clips.

This is the one that kills people because of its advanced craziness. Depending on the composition of your show, all your original sound clips, even from another earlier capture can become part of the project.

I created a simple project and opened a sound file from an external FireWire drive. From that point forward, any time I disconnected that portable drive, my project would go in the toilet. Worse yet, if I wanted to move the project to another computer the entire directory and folder structure including the FireWire drive would have to go with me.

Not for the squeamish these projects.

Koz

[waxcylinder]

Ah yes.... and the original sound clips - a good point Koz.

However it is possible to avoid this issue by setting your Audacity preferences so that Audacity makes its own copy of the original sound clips and files - and is thus the project is fully self-contained ad is no longer dependent on them.

Simply go to Edit>Preferences>File Formats and click the radio butto that says "Make copy of the file before editing (safer)" - it takes a little bit longer as the button below suggests but is much safer for most folks.

There are good reasons sometimes for not copying the file and using the external file - e.g. you may have a very large WAV file that you just want to make a few quick edits to and then re-export (to a different filename).

WC

[Mon1018]

Ah yes.... and the original sound clips - a good point Koz.

There are good reasons sometimes for not copying the file and using the external file - e.g. you may have a very large WAV file that you just want to make a few quick edits to and then re-export (to a different filename).

WC

Well said.Totally agree with Guy.

[kozikowski]

<<<it is possible to avoid this issue by setting your Audacity preferences so that Audacity makes its own copy of the original sound clips and files>>>

I don't remember seeing that in 1.2.x. This could certainly mean I just haven't found it yet.

Koz

[waxcylinder]

Koz,

you should have this feature available in 1,2 (my copy of 1.2.4 has it).

Go to Edit > Preferences > File Formats and the topmost box should have two radio buttons which enable you to toggle your preferences between these two modes.

WC