Any way to export:M4A/AAC in a chain?

[scott967]

I suppose the answer is no, but thought I would ask. Maybe because it requires ffmpeg it can't be used as a command in a chain?

scott s.

[Gale Andrews]

I suppose the answer is no, but thought I would ask. Maybe because it requires ffmpeg it can't be used as a command in a chain?

Chains don't yet support FFmpeg formats (or uncompressed formats other than WAV) but we can add your vote for this.

If you want an old, experimental 1.3.14-beta build that does support M4A export in Chains (providing you have installed FFmpeg), please send me a private message (the "PM" icon to right of this post).


Gale

[scott967]

Thanks, I don't have enough posts to be trusted to PM. But since I have to use ffmpeg externally anyway (I was just muxing the audio from audacity into my final file) I experimented with exporting flac from a chain which I could encode back into AAC.

But in looking at how apply chain on files works, I see it doesn't recursively scan import folders so it isn't a useful as I thought it would be at first. I did notice what seems like a documentation bug. It seems like if I do a chain (with export) on either the current project or on files, the export is given the project/input filename and put into a "cleaned" subfolder. The documentation seems to say that's only for doing a chain on files. I also see that export file naming has a problem if the input file has a "." in the filename, and that adds additional work I would have to do to make it work.

So at this point, I think I will just individually open files and manually run the chain and then export AAC.

scott s.
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[Gale Andrews]

Thanks, I don't have enough posts to be trusted to PM.

Sorry I did not notice. But I can e-mail instructions to you if you especially want to export M4A in a chain.

in looking at how apply chain on files works, I see it doesn't recursively scan import folders so it isn't a useful as I thought it would be at first.

.
We'll add your vote for that.

I did notice what seems like a documentation bug. It seems like if I do a chain (with export) on either the current project or on files, the export is given the project/input filename and put into a "cleaned" subfolder. The documentation seems to say that's only for doing a chain on files.

Yes, you're correct, though our assumption is that people using Chains on the project are mostly not exporting. We'll correct it as we are reworking the Chains documentation at the moment.

I also see that export file naming has a problem if the input file has a "." in the filename, and that adds additional work I would have to do to make it work.

Dots in file names are not recommended if you are giving the file to someone else or using it on the internet.

Can you be specific what the issue is, with steps to reproduce? I don't see a problem with a file with one dot in the name.

Thanks


Gale

[scott967]

Can you be specific what the issue is, with steps to reproduce? I don't see a problem with a file with one dot in the name.

The issue (and it's noted in the documentation) is that if there is a dot in a filename, export won't "auto-add" .m4a as a suffix, at least in "project mode" it prompts for a filename extension (in windows anyway). Granted I could use a regex file renamer to remove all dots, but don't really see why that should be required.

Ideally for me, I would be able to create a chain that allows export in any of the formats provided in the file export dialog, including lame and libfaac or whatever, and I could point the chain at a folder in which it would select all supported file types (without having to manually select) with option to recursively scan subfolders.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain. Given the current implementation, I think open file, apply chain, export file will be sufficient.

scott s.
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[Gale Andrews]

Can you be specific what the issue is, with steps to reproduce? I don't see a problem with a file with one dot in the name.

The issue (and it's noted in the documentation) is that if there is a dot in a filename, export won't "auto-add" .m4a as a suffix, at least in "project mode" it prompts for a filename extension (in windows anyway).

That's not a problem with Chains, though, is it? You don't get held at a prompt if you apply a Chain to a project and export as FLAC? And the dot is still in the exported file name?

Granted I could use a regex file renamer to remove all dots, but don't really see why that should be required.

I hope that sometime we will have a checkbox that allows you to force the extension even if the file name includes dots. Until then, please add the extension at the end of the file name as suggested in the FAQ http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/fa ... extensions .

Ideally for me, I would be able to create a chain that allows export in any of the formats provided in the file export dialog, including lame and libfaac

Those are codecs rather than formats, but you can already export to MP3 from a chain now, and can export from a chain to M4A if you want to use the experimental build suggested.

I could point the chain at a folder in which it would select all supported file types (without having to manually select) with option to recursively scan subfolders.

OK, I already counted your votes for M4A export support in Chains and recursive search.

I'll also add a vote for a checkbox to select all files identified by the selected filter.

Thanks for your input.

Gale

[LukasAV]

What is the current status of this request?
I was just looking for exactly the same feature an could not find a chain option to export to M4A (only FLAC, MP3, Ogg and WAV) in version 2.1.2.
Would be great if this would be added.

[steve]

What is the current status of this request?

You can export as M4A with the "Export2" command, but you have to supply the full file name and file path, so it is not suitable for batch processing with a simple Macro.

Probably the best, or at least the easiest solution for now, is to export as WAV and then use a batch file converter to convert to M4A/AAC.

[Doely]

Just seeing if this has been fixed now? I've installed FFMPEG and have created a macro, but this won't export the file. If I select the Export2 function and rename .wav to .m4a I get an error on processing saying 'Could not export to M4A format!'

[steve]

'Could not export to M4A format!'

Oops, yes you're right.
In that case your only option is to export in a supported format (I would recommend WAV), and then use a batch file converter to convert to M4A/AAC.