.MP3 back to .AUP conversion?

[_j33_]

Sorry, I'm really not sure where this topic belongs so I do apologize if I've posted it in the wrong place. I was going to post it elsewhere but I settled with here.

My problem is, is that I've lost the project file (though I'm not sure how - I must have deleted it accidentally) of one of .mp3s. However, I want to go through and make changes to the song, but do not want to have to start it again. Is there any way of converting the .mp3 BACK into a project file? Though I am doubtful, I'm hoping audacity has some special way of outputting its .mp3s that retains all its recording and track information.

Thanks very much for your help.

[Irish]

The short answer is no. You can't re-create a project from an audio file.
Audacity projects consist of hundreds of data files (.au files) and a project file (.aup) which tells Audacity how to construct the project from the .au files. If any of those files gets deleted, moved or renamed, some or all of the project will disappear.

There may be a possibility that you can recover the original project, depending on what files you have lost. See this page from the wiki.
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php? ... shRecovery

Failing that, the best you will get is to input that mp3 file to a new project, where it will appear as a single track.
However, you should be aware that, when you create an mp3 file, the compression process causes damage to the audio. That's why mp3 files are so much smaller than wav files. If you then edit that mp3, and export again as mp3, it causes more damage.

The experts here are constantly repeating the mantra; "export as wav ... export as wav". You can edit and re-edit wav files with no loss in audio quality.

If you export each track separately as a wav, you can re-create the project any time you want, even without the project files.

PO'L

[_j33_]

Well, thanks for the prompt reply. I guess I was a little too optimistic on the conversion back to .aup. It's not really a problem, I'll just record the song again. And I usually export as .mp3 because it's irregular that I'd delete a project file, but I'll try and create a backup .wav from now on.

[kozikowski]

This is the compulsive version.

Capture the live performance into Audacity. Export As WAV and name it with the show and date following the universal naming convention. Upper and lower case letters, numbers, underscore, and dash only. No other characters. I don't uses spaces, either.

ScoobyDo-Sc3a_20091010.wav

If the capture session goes into hours, I make them wait until I can Export each five or ten minute block as a new WAV file. They have to stop and reload the movie camera every eleven minutes anyway, so everybody is used to this.

At the end of the session, I make a copy of all the WAV files onto Something (Data CD, Data DVD, Thumb Drive) and then a third copy for delivery to the client in whatever form they want.

I don't use Projects (AUP, etc).

It's considered insanely bad form to "lose" a live performance and I never delete the original files.

"Somebody see if Koz still has that voice track from April."

Of course.

Koz

[kozikowski]

<<<it's irregular that I'd delete a project file>>>

You keep using the wrong words and that's dangerous.

Audacity Projects can easily be thousands of files. You do not save a show as an "aup file." You Save a Project and that creates an AUP file as a way to keep track of the thousands of other files in your show. People go for a very long time not knowing exactly what's happening in the background and they're fine until Something Happens Wrong.

"Here, let me email you my AUP file so you can hear the show." Not happening. That's like emailing the conductor without the orchestra. Damage, move, or rename any of those thousands of other files because you don't know what they are and you suddenly have no show. Is any of this starting to sound familiar?

Projects are brittle and very easily damaged. They're for use by advanced editors in very large shows.

Koz

[John Sprung]

Would it be wise to create separate sub-folders for each project, and keep all their stuff in their sub-folders?



-- J.S.

[steve]

Would it be wise to create separate sub-folders for each project, and keep all their stuff in their sub-folders?

Yes that's a good way of keeping everything organised, providing that you create the folder and then "Save" the Audacity project into it.
In some situations, "moving" and existing project into a different folder can destroy the project.