Selections, Time Shfit Tool, and Label Tracks

[Gale Andrews]

Thought I'd list the custom hotkeys, it's had to remember which ones: Amplify Alt+A, Equalization Ctrl+Alt+E, Fade In Shft+F, Fade Out Ctrl+Alt+F, Silence Alt+S. Since the topic is about LABELS, the Hotkeys are: Export Labels Ctrl+Alt+L, Import Labels Ctrl+Alt+Q (that's my hint.. import quotes).

If you look in Users\<your user name>\AppData\Roaming\Audacity\audacity.cfg, your modified keys are listed in the [NewKeys] section.

Gale

[edwinn]

Thought I'd list the custom hotkeys, it's hard to remember which ones: Amplify Alt+A, Equalization Ctrl+Alt+E, Fade In Shft+F, Fade Out Ctrl+Alt+F, Silence Alt+S. Since the topic is about LABELS, the Hotkeys are: Export Labels Ctrl+Alt+L, Import Labels Ctrl+Alt+Q (that's my hint.. import quotes).

If you look in Users\<your user name>\AppData\Roaming\Audacity\audacity.cfg, your modified keys are listed in the [NewKeys] section.

Kool, very kool.

[NewKeys]
Silence...=Alt+S
Amplify...=Alt+A
PlotSpectrum=Alt+P . . . (for a selection)
Fade\ In=Shift+F
Fade\ Out=Ctrl+Alt+F
ExportSel=Ctrl+Shift+S
Equalization...=Ctrl+Alt+E
ImportLabels=Ctrl+Alt+Q
ExportLabels=Ctrl+Alt+L
RepeatLastEffect=Ctrl+Shift+V

Am using Plot Spectrum all the time to decide what Rate (in Hz) to Export. So Alt+P is excellent! and quick.

Did an experiment last night.. cleaned up some FLAC's recorded yesterday and SAVED them, then either shut-down Audacity completely or did a Ctrl+N for New window and closed the old window, then dragged and dropped a FLAC onto the new window and it retained the PATH from the previous closed session. I think that means Audacity doesn't examine/ retrain what folder a drag-and-drop came from?

Will test it again with both cases above. Yes I'm taking this topic seriously, not to bug rake, but for Usability purposes, Application Notes even.


-Ed

[edwinn]

If you look in Users\<your user name>\AppData\Roaming\Audacity\audacity.cfg, your modified keys are listed in the [NewKeys] section.

Now that you mention the CFG file, there are two file PATHS defined:

DefaultOpenPath = E:\\- MEDIA 720\\- RADIO SHOWS\\

[Export]
Format=FLAC
Path=E:\\- MEDIA 720\\- RADIO SHOWS\\


Do those get changed dynamically? or how are paths retained when opening/ exporting files? and what about `dropping audio files´ on Audacity to open?

For audios, one does an Open.. but for labels, one does an Import?


---
From the File Menu Help section:

Recent Files
"Lists the full path to the twelve most recently saved or opened projects or most recently imported audio files."


Does `imported´ mean `opened´ files? and what about audio files dropped onto Audacity to edit them? Do those count as legitimate `file opens´, or imports? or show up in Recent Files list?

Just sayin', not askin'.


-Ed

[edwinn]

one cannot effectively add labels on the fly because an inadvertent `key press´ will stop the recording

We have recently disabled some key presses during recording for exactly this reason.
Do you recall which keys cause the problem?

YES.. found out what KEY interrupts RECORD. It's the Spacebar!


Looking further, if you go into Preferences, Keyboard, and search for "Play".. there it is, Play/Stop. But it doesn't say Record/Stop, or Stop Recording.

Spacebar Play/Stop is essential for editing no question, but one cannot effectively Record and add labels with this configuration IMHO. And that would explain why the spiral bound books interrupted the recording.

The workaround would be to CLEAR the Play/Stop Key definition before starting to Record, then re-enable it later to Edit (normal mode).
Just tested it, and that does the trick.

Seems it would be an easy and fun bug fix.. umm I mean an enhancement.


-Ed

[steve]

Spacebar is the standard "start / stop" key in virtually all recording software, I doubt that will be "fixed". Audacity does of course allow you to change the default key bindings. Personally I just avoid pressing the stop key while recording

[Gale Andrews]

Spacebar Play/Stop is essential for editing no question, but one cannot effectively Record and add labels with this configuration IMHO.

This is incorrect. You can use SPACE to add a space in label text while recording, as long as the label is still open.

The problem may be you are using RETURN or ENTER in error, which closes the label. If the label is closed, even if the yellow focus border is still in the label track, SPACE will Play/Stop, which includes stopping a recording.

We probably won't "fix" that. Otherwise, after creating a label then ENTER to close it, an extra step of UP arrow would be needed in order to use SPACE to play the labelled audio.


Gale

[Gale Andrews]

Audacity doesn't examine/ retrain what folder a drag-and-drop came from?

As I already said, "Export Audio should also open at whatever DefaultOpenPath is, but due to a longstanding bug, it doesn't."

Application Notes even

See http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Relea ... nd_Exports:

If you import an audio file from a folder other than the one you last exported to, you cannot export over that file without changing the export directory manually.

Gale

[Gale Andrews]

If you look in Users\<your user name>\AppData\Roaming\Audacity\audacity.cfg, your modified keys are listed in the [NewKeys] section.

Now that you mention the CFG file, there are two file PATHS defined:

DefaultOpenPath = E:\\- MEDIA 720\\- RADIO SHOWS\\

[Export]
Format=FLAC
Path=E:\\- MEDIA 720\\- RADIO SHOWS\\


Do those get changed dynamically? or how are paths retained when opening/ exporting files? and what about `dropping audio files´ on Audacity to open?

Please see my previous post. DefaultOpenPath gets set to the last folder you imported from.

Export Path does not get set automatically to DefaultOpenPath. Export Path merely remembers what the path it last used.

Export Labels does not have a path set. It simply uses DefaultOpenPath, once it's been changed from the installation directory it starts out at.

From the File Menu Help section:

Recent Files
"Lists the full path to the twelve most recently saved or opened projects or most recently imported audio files."


Does `imported´ mean `opened´ files? and what about audio files dropped onto Audacity to edit them? Do those count as legitimate `file opens´, or imports? or show up in Recent Files list?

"Imported" means File > Open or File > Import > Audio. Audacity does not open audio files at all. The difference between File > Open and File > Import > Audio is that "Open" always imports into a new project window.


Gale

[edwinn]

Thanks for the replies, and sorry for being a pain.

Labeling on the fly while recording is working VERY WELL after (temporarily) disabling the Start/Stop Spacebar shortcut.


Another usability observation

While recording, the waveform progresses to ~80% across the view window, and before it runs off the right window edge or wraps, I usually DRAG the horizontal scroll bar to pull the focus, [recording] point, or cursor back toward the center. However it only goes back to 75-80% the way across. It would be best to [be able to] drag the cursor back to ~20% the way across window. This is to aid in LABELING. Some labels are l-o-o-o-n-g.


The workaround

If you know you're going to record a 1-hour or 2-hour show, then once underway [recording], ZOOM out till 1-Hr or 2-Hrs is in view in Audacity. Then click at 2-hrs [end of the show] and add a label `End´ using Ctrl+B.

Now the recording waveform can be zoomed and scrolled [dragged] nearly ANYWHERE in the 2-Hr space, on the fly.

Still need to exercise it more, but this [track label] is a POWERFUL feature of Audacity!!


BTW thanks for the tip of shifting down-up between audio and label selections. Very good.


-Ed

[Gale Andrews]

Labeling on the fly while recording is working VERY WELL after (temporarily) disabling the Start/Stop Spacebar shortcut.

Sorry, but there is simply no need to disable SPACE when typing labels during recording. The only way that SPACE would stop the recording is if you pressed ENTER after typing the label then pressed SPACE, or if you pressed UP arrow while typing in a label then pressed SPACE. In both those cases I think it is legitimate for Audacity to stop the recording.

If you think this is a problem, please give exact step by step instructions as to how to use SPACE to stop recording while typing a label.

While recording, the waveform progresses to ~80% across the view window, and before it runs off the right window edge or wraps, I usually DRAG the horizontal scroll bar to pull the focus, [recording] point, or cursor back toward the center. However it only goes back to 75-80% the way across. It would be best to [be able to] drag the cursor back to ~20% the way across window. This is to aid in LABELING. Some labels are l-o-o-o-n-g.


The workaround

If you know you're going to record a 1-hour or 2-hour show, then once underway [recording], ZOOM out till 1-Hr or 2-Hrs is in view in Audacity. Then click at 2-hrs [end of the show] and add a label `End´ using Ctrl+B.

Now the recording waveform can be zoomed and scrolled nearly ANYWHERE in the 2-Hr space, and on the fly.

Sorry but I cannot follow what you are describing or see the difference that the end label makes.

If you want the screen to scroll while recording I would simply zoom out far enough so that the screen won't scroll by the time you have finished the longest label you want to type. The horizontal scrollbar is not really useful if you allow scroll while recording.

If you don't want the screen to scroll while recording, I can see that does not work as well as it should. CTRL + M when you want to start a new label at the recording position does not move the screen to the position of the new label. A second CTRL + M does so, and this shows you an empty label created by the first CTRL + M.


Gale