Exporting a selection

[gibbo50]

Hi
Have Windows XP all patches Updates etc and using Audacity 2.0
I am having so much trouble trying to export a 17 second selection of a song i need to use for a project
I have spent so long trying to sort this out its driving me nuts..I have managed to clip the 17 seconds i need from the song but when i click FILE / EXPORT OR /EXPORT SELECTION to export the selection as an mp3 it decides to export the entire song every time i try , each time i have tried something different this happens.... I have saved the project luckily enough so can keep going back to it and trying
I have no idea what i am doing wrong i have tried everything i have removed the "snap to" tick from the box yet am getting nowhere Please help im still learning so if replying could you please put it in easy terms so i can understand
Many Thanks

[kozikowski]

File > Export Selection only works when you have something selected at the time you try to export. Drag-select a small portion of the show just anywhere. Leave it selected. File > Export Selection. Give it a name and see if that works.

One way to make sure you have what you want is to place labels at the IN and the OUT points you want. Tracks > Add Label...

Labels are sticky or magnetic and you can drag over them and they will force your selection to conform to the labels.

Koz

[gibbo50]

Hi
Thanks alot for the reply I have just sat here looking at the bit ive selected and your reply many times now and tried many things and sorry but i have no idea what "drag-select a small portion of the show anywhere" actually means! where do i drag it to and how do i drag it .. it seems when i try to drag the piece it just sits there doing nothing ..sorry to be a donut but i have no clue what that means ...OK i have got somewhere but i dont think im doing it right as it wont let me export the exact portion of the track i want..I have selected the selection tool on the toolbar and dragged it across the portion i want to cut BUT how do you ensure you select JUST the portion you want??? i selected the track using seconds and hundreths when i selected it but how do you select that exact portion of the track with the selection tool it just does not want to go to the exact start and stop its always a tiny bit out which spoils what i want to do

File > Export Selection only works when you have something selected at the time you try to export. Drag-select a small portion of the show just anywhere. Leave it selected. File > Export Selection. Give it a name and see if that works.

One way to make sure you have what you want is to place labels at the IN and the OUT points you want. Tracks > Add Label...

Labels are sticky or magnetic and you can drag over them and they will force your selection to conform to the labels.

Koz

[waxcylinder]

... BUT how do you ensure you select JUST the portion you want??? i selected the track using seconds and hundreths when i selected it but how do you select that exact portion of the track with the selection tool it just does not want to go to the exact start and stop its always a tiny bit out which spoils what i want to do

Have you inadvertently turned Snap To on - look at the bootom left of the Audacity window.

[gibbo50]

Hi Thanks for the reply i tried it with snap to ON /OFF..ll ways ..If using the hundreds of a second timing (which i did)How do you select that EXACT porion using the select tool it always seems to never end up on for example the 2.95 second start portion of the track it seems to get to 2.97 and then as soon as you try and slide it back to 2.95 it moves to some other point before 2.95 it just does not seem as though it is sensitive enough when using the selection tool by hand..either that or my hand is too shaky!!

[waxcylinder]

Are you zoomed in at all - it helps accuracy of selection if you do

See http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/zooming.html

WC