Audacity Forum

When I installed 1.3.7 last year, I wasn't sure if I'd like it, so I set it up to install in a different directory than 1.3.5, which I already had installed. I did this so that I could run them side by side. The problem I've been having is that when I right click on a file, and click Open With, only one version of Audacity appears in the list, and it doesn't say whether it's 1.3.5 or 1.3.7. When I open the file in Audacity, it opens in 1.3.5, and I can't make it open in 1.3.7. In order to open an FFmpeg compatible file this way, I have to open a 1.3.7 window, then right click on the file and open it in Audacity, forcing it to open in the right version.

I like both versions of Audacity, and I'd like to have them both available on my computer. Can anyone help me with this problem? Do I need to completely uninstall Audacity, and reinstall it? I have some experience editing the Windows XP registry, so if there's a registry fix for this, I'm open to that as well.

My recommendation would be to remove them both and install Audacity 1.3.12 - it has several important bug fixes and a few nice new features and other improvements.

stevethefiddle wrote:My recommendation would be to remove them both and install Audacity 1.3.12 - it has several important bug fixes and a few nice new features and other improvements.

If I uninstall Audacity, will it uninstall both versions, and if not, how do I uninstall the other version?

Also, what new features are available in 1.3.12?

Uninstalling Audacity 1.3 is pretty straightforward. The only bit that is in the dreaded registry is the file-type association but you can also get to that through "Folder Options" http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307859

The other bits of the uninstall are to delete the audacity folder that is in "Program Files".
The only other bit that is left is the Audacity Preferences and custom settings which are in:
Documents and Settings<user name>Application DataAudacity

You do not usually need to delete that - it's only a few kB and it saves having to set up your preferences again when you reinstall.
If you want to reset the Audacity Preferences, just go to Documents and Settings<user name>Application DataAudacity (you need to make hidden files visible) and find the file "audacity.cfg". Open audacity.cfg in Notepad and delete everything except the line:
NewPrefsInitialized=1
Then save the file.

If you have previously had Audacity 1.2.6 installed, there will be some settings in the registry from that, but using the above method to reset Audacity 1.3 preferences tells Audacity to ignore any settings from the registry.

New features? Mostly small details like:

improved "label" behaviour,
a grid on the "Plot Spectrum" view,
FFMpeg support (for importing/exporting more file types),
screenshot tools in the Help menu,
The compressor effect is much better than it used to be,
the Equalizer can now "invert" the Eq curve,
Stereo tracks can be split into two mono tracks in one operation,
Timer record, and overdub settings now available at the bottom of the Transport menu
A "mixer-board" (in the View menu)
Audacity projects can be checked to see if they depend on any external files (Check Dependencies in the File menu).
better support for Vista and Win 7
various other bug fixes and bits and pieces.

Thanks Steve. I'm glad you explained why my prefference settings for 1.3.5 also apply to 1.3.7. I was almost certain that it was a registry issue, but I'm glad it isn't. I'm not afraid of the registry though, since I've successfully edited it more than once, and I always back it up before I make any changes. I know about the file types page in Windows Explorer you were talking about, and I'll take a look at that.

If I want to just stick with 1.3.7, how do I uninstall 1.3.5 without uninstalling 1.3.7?

Delete it.