Audacity Forum

Hi. I just started working with Audacity. I had no problem recording, but cannot figure out how to
convert the recording to WAV. I opened the project and hit EXPORT, but cannot get a WAV option.
I have version 1.3.8. I read the tutorial. Thanks for your help.

rapidfirerob wrote:I have version 1.3.8

That version is obsolete. Upgrade to 1.3.12 http://audacityteam.org/download/

rapidfirerob wrote:I opened the project and hit EXPORT, but cannot get a WAV option.

"16 bit Microsoft PCM WAV" is the default export format.

How well will the updated version work with XP?
Do I have to save it to WAV using EXPORT before doing a
SAVE AS? Maybe this is why I could not get WAV to come up as an option as I had already
saved it as Audacity's proprietary file?

I use Audacity 1.3.12 daily at work (on XP). It's not 100% bug free (no software ever is), but 1.3.12 is the best release version so far and is very close to what will become the new Audacity 2.0.


"Save" and "Save As" produce Audacity Projects (.AUP file and a "_data" folder) that only work in Audacity.
"Export", "Export Multiple" and "Export Selection" produce ordinary audio files that can be used in other applications.

If you are Saving a project it should not matter if you have Exported one or more of the tracks or not.
Similarly, if you are Exporting an audio file it does not matter if you have Saved the project or not.

Many users never bother with Saving their Audacity Projects - they just do the editing then Export the audio file and close. Unless you intend to continue editing later there is little point in keeping the Audacity Project once it has been completed. On the other hand I often do quite complex editing and will need to return to the project at a later date to make further changes, so what I do is create an empty folder before I begin, then open a new Audacity Project and immediately "Save Project As" so that the .AUP file and its associated _data folder are both in the new folder that I created.

Top Tip: If saving Audacity Projects, click on "File menu > Check Dependencies" immediately before Saving (and if necessary follow the on-screen instructions to copy all audio data into the project).

More information here: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/File_Management_Tips

I have tried to convert the aud audio files to a wav format and then send it out, but am unable to. I am using a conversion program, but it has not successfully been able to convert. Which file gets converted the aud or the data and is it possible to send these files electronically. Thanks.

atshemi wrote:I have tried to convert the aud audio files to a wav format and then send it out, but am unable to. I am using a conversion program, but it has not successfully been able to convert. Which file gets converted the aud or the data and is it possible to send these files electronically. Thanks.

stevethefiddle wrote:"Export", "Export Multiple" and "Export Selection" produce ordinary audio files that can be used in other applications.

Just Export as a WAV file (or whatever format you want)