Mixing multiple tracks for export multiple

[FrankDd]

Hi,

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1
Audacity 2.1.0

What I am trying to do is open/import ~30 tracks in an order that I want and then mix/process those tracks and then render a mix track. Then I would like to multiple export that rendered track.

What I have been doing is load the tracks in order using a .lof file. I then align the tracks end-to-end. At this point I go through manually and add blank point labels at each track start. I then export the label track and load it into a spreadsheet. I add the track names in the spreadsheet, export it from the spreadsheet and import it back into Audacity. I now have two label tracks, one to use for the export multiple and one to use for notes on the project.

Is there a way I can add labels for all of the tracks in an automated way? Is there a better way to accomplish what I am trying to do?

Thanks

[Gale Andrews]

I'm not clear why you need the spreadsheet unless it's for comments. Are the comments inserted into each exported file's metadata?

A labels text file of the form here http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/im ... abels.html can contain the label positions and text content.

Gale

[FrankDd]

I'm not clear why you need the spreadsheet unless it's for comments. Are the comments inserted into each exported file's metadata?

Gale

I start with spreadsheet that I create using some DOS commands to get the files in the order that I want them loaded into Audacity. This sheet has one column of nothing but file names. I copy this sheet and add a column with the word "file" in front of this file name column. I export this sheet to make the .lof file

After the files are loaded into separate tracks, I align the tracks end-to-end. Now comes the part I wish was easier to do. I make blank point labels at the start of each track. When I export the blank label track, I end up with a file that looks like:

0.000000 -> 0.000000 ->
388.284082 -> 729.013696 ->
729.013696 -> 729.013696 ->
1608.771338 ->1608.771338 ->

This is a tab separated value file that can be imported to another spreadsheet sheet. I now have two columns with the times for the label positions. I take the file name column, remove the file extension and I now have a song name column which I add to the label time positions and export that to get:

0.000000 -> 0.000000 -> Song title one
388.284082 -> 729.013696 -> Song title two
729.013696 -> 729.013696 -> Song title three
1608.771338 ->1608.771338 -> Song title four

I import this into Audacity and now I have a label track for each audio track that has the song name.

After I process the tracks (crossfades, eq and making sure I move the label tracks to align with the proper track) I render a new mix track. I move the mix track to the top position in Audacity and the song name label track to the second position. An export multiple will now export each song in the mix.

It would be nice to add a blank label track after each audio track when I use the .lof file. Or, maybe do this with some type of chain command. I could then sync lock the tracks and then do the align end to end. Audacity exports multiple label tracks as one track, so I end up with the one blank label track when I export the labels from Audacity.

Once I get the entire process figured out, I can automate the spreadsheet stuff.

[Gale Andrews]

It would be nice to add a blank label track after each audio track when I use the .lof file. Or, maybe do this with some type of chain command. I could then sync lock the tracks and then do the align end to end. Audacity exports multiple label tracks as one track, so I end up with the one blank label track when I export the labels from Audacity.

OK if you need label track export/import to have the ability to recognise multiple or blank tracks, that would be a feature request.

Gale

[FrankDd]

How about if a project has four tracks:

Audio Track A
Label Track A
Audio Track B
Label Track B

and they all start a time zero. Is there some way (maybe sync-lock) that I can align the tracks end-to-end and have Label Track B moved along with Audio Track B to the new start time at the end of Audio Track A?

[steve]

Do you really need to have a separate label track for each audio track? What does that give you that you can't achieve with one label track?

[Gale Andrews]

How about if a project has four tracks:

Audio Track A
Label Track A
Audio Track B
Label Track B

and they all start a time zero. Is there some way (maybe sync-lock) that I can align the tracks end-to-end and have Label Track B moved along with Audio Track B to the new start time at the end of Audio Track A?

Tracks > Align Tracks > End to End ignores selected label tracks even if Sync-Lock is on.

You could simply select the audio track and label track you want to drag.

Gale