Editing to a very specific time target...?

[IntangibleArts]

Working on a locked-groove LP project & need to produce sound files of PRECISELY 1.8 seconds.
Is it possible, with Audacity, to establish time-markers within an existing audio file (& just select 1.8 seconds), or to pre-determine file-length in a new file, or in some other way determine exact time-length?
....because eyeballing it even when magnified at maximum won't cut it. Just curious. Thanks and praise, etc.

[Gale Andrews]

Working on a locked-groove LP project & need to produce sound files of PRECISELY 1.8 seconds.
Is it possible, with Audacity, to establish time-markers within an existing audio file (& just select 1.8 seconds), or to pre-determine file-length in a new file, or in some other way determine exact time-length?

Not in 1.2 because the "Snap to" feature does not support less than whole seconds. You could Generate > tone of 1.8 seconds, then import or record your track underneath. You can then click above the mute/solo buttons in the generated track to select it all, hover over the left or right edge of the track, then when the cursor changes into a hand, drag the region down into the recorded track. You can then label that region with Command - B. You could proceed in various ways after that depending on what you want to do.

If you get Audacity Beta you can use Selection Toolbar to create arbitrary 1.8 second lengths.

- Click in the waveform where the selection is to start
- right click over a spin box in Selection Toolbar to set the format to hh:mm:ss+hundredths
- set the End/Length button in the middle spinbox to "Length"
- enter 1 and 8 in front of the "s" so you produce 00h 00m 01.80s.

If you check "Snap To" you can alternatively drag a selection and keep your eye on the spinbox.

If you want to produce labels every 1.8 seconds in a long track, you can use Analyze > Regular Interval Labels in the Beta. You can also download Regular Interval Labels for use in 1.2. Put equalabl.ny in your Audacity plug-ins folder and restart.



Gale

[whomper]

...
Is it possible, with Audacity, to establish time-markers within an existing audio file (& just select 1.8 seconds), or to pre-determine file-length in a new file, or in some other way determine exact time-length?....

the bottom shows the exact time and length selected
and you can enter the values you want
down to the hs:ms/frame level

[Gale Andrews]

the bottom shows the exact time and length selected and you can enter the values you want
down to the hs:ms/frame level

To clarify, the "bottom" part that lets you enter values (i.e Selection Toolbar) is only available in Audacity Beta, not 1.2. In 1.2, you can see the time values in the Status Bar at the bottom, but cannot edit them.

As I also said, the selection format in 1.2 for seconds doesn't go finer than whole seconds. I assume IntangibleArts is on 1.2 given the post was in the 1.2 forum.


Gale

[whomper]

maybe its time for him to move to a newer version

[kozikowski]

I can do better than that. Newer Macs do not fully support Audacity 1.2.

http://audacityteam.org/download/beta_mac

Sooner or later, you're going to hit some particularly egregious 1.2 error and flush your show. You don't have to un-install 1.2. Just put 1.3.12 on top and it will pick up all your old preferences. You may not run both versions at once and Audacity 1.3 projects will not open in 1.2.

Koz