Audacity Forum

I've recently downloaded the free Audacity 1.2.6 on my Desktop running Windows XP. I have done several projects and tried to export the files. Then learned I need an MP3 encoder and I downloaded from LAME_ENC.DLL. Tried to put it in Audacity and was told I had more than one copy running and would lose data. But, I can't save the newly edited files (can't export in MP3 without encoder). Do I have to turn off the projects and lose edited files, then start over? Help!

Sorry if this is the wrong forum. Couldn't be sure except that I use windows.

<<<I can't save the newly edited files.>>>
<<<tried to export the files.>>>

In the world of Audacity, those two are reeeeeeealy different.

Save A Project... gives you a show management environment. Export As... gives you a sound file that you can email to your mom.

I would slowly back yourself out of your mess by saving as many projects as you have shows open and end up with a clear workspace.
While you have your projects, DO NOT move or delete your old sound files or change directories or folders or anything else. Projects are brittle and easily damaged.

Another direction you can take is to Export As WAV.... That will give you stand-alone sound files with the same quality as your show, but you lose the links to your original capture clips and sound segments.

Then,clear at the bottom of all this,figure out the lame MP3 export problem on a four second temporary scratch sound file, not one of your shows. Use the piano piece from here:

http://www.kozco.com/tech/soundtests.html

Install the lame MP3 management program (in Windows, it would be a DLL, Dynamic Linked Library) and see if you get stuck. "lame" is the name of the program that does the MP3 exports. It's name is an engineering recursive joke. "Lame Ain't an MP3 Encoder."

Koz