newbie needs step-by-step conversion steps

[philiptdotcom]

As many people have noted, Audacity seems to have quite the steep learning curve.

I'd like to start with some 1-2-3 instructions about how to convert a WMA file to MP3. I installed the two things you have to install in order for Audacity to supposedly be able to convert proprietary formats (I get "numbers" in the areas that indicate that the components were installed and "found"), but when I try to "Import" a WMA file, it gives me the message that Audacity can't open it due to patent restrictions and that I need to convert it...blah, blah, blah...

So.... HOW do I convert it? Please, just give me step-by-step instructions from the main Audacity menu. (Assume that I just double-clicked on audacity.exe & go from there.)

I think this will help lots of folks!!!

(P.S. - If that's easy--and the following is easy--please ALSO include instructions to allow all files [perhaps of one type, or perhaps just ALL audio files] in a particular directory structure to be converted to another particular format--either in the same directories as the original files OR in a specified copy of the directory structure originating at another point.)

Thanks!!

Aloha,
-pt

[steve]

WMA can be a tricky format - there's more than one version of WMA. Audacity 1.3.13 with FFMpeg installed can convert some WMA files, but only if they are the right type of WMA format.

Also, Audacity is probably not the best program for the purposes of format converting (it's not really the job that it was designed for). You would probably be better to use a standalone format converter such as dBPoweramp, SUPER, Foobar2000, or one of the many other media encoder programs available.