Launching Audacity by opening a file doesn't import the file

[Todd Merrell]

Hi Koz,

Yes, I've verified and repaired the permissions on the disk repeatedly using the Disk Utility. I'm doing it again right now just for the sake of thoroughness. The only permissions that ever seem to need repairing, and they always need to be repaired (ostensibly because data related to the files is dynamic and everything is being rewritten? I've seen that behavior before...), are the "System/Library/CoreServices/..." files that all end with the .nib extension, which is the file extension for interface files made using XTools' Interface Builder. Is this useful?

Probably more useful is that every permission I have set looks EXACTLY like yours, that is, for audio and Audacity specific files, except for two things:

1) My Audacity folder is spelled with a capital A (not a showstopper, as far as I can tell), and, more interestingly:

2) All my audio files have permissions ending with "@", which indicates that my audio files have extended attributes, which the OS assigned, I did not. So, my perms look like this in my Desktop folder:

[email protected]:~/Desktop% pwd
/Users/toddmerrell/Desktop
[email protected]:~/Desktop% ls -al
total 289200
drwx------+ 15 toddmerrell staff 510 Sep 11 00:50 .
drwxr-xr-x+ 28 toddmerrell staff 952 Sep 18 19:09 ..
[email protected] 1 toddmerrell staff 12292 Sep 11 00:50 .DS_Store
-rw-r--r-- 1 toddmerrell staff 0 Jul 11 21:14 .localized
[email protected] 1 toddmerrell staff 103936 Jul 11 21:30 2011-12 Season Details.doc
[email protected] 1 toddmerrell staff 27601556 Aug 7 20:05 EnfuseGUI-2.1.2 (1).dmg
[email protected] 1 toddmerrell staff 519052 Sep 2 00:33 Live Sessions
lrwxr-xr-x 1 toddmerrell staff 9 Jul 16 05:03 Movies -> ../Movies
lrwxr-xr-x 1 toddmerrell staff 8 Jul 16 05:03 Music -> ../Music
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 99 Jul 13 22:09 The Numbers Game.logic -> //Library/Application Support/Logic/Logic Studio Demo Songs/The Numbers Game/The Numbers Game.logic
-rw-r--r-- 1 toddmerrell staff 90929953 Aug 27 01:25 VirtualBox-4.1.2-73507-OSX.dmg
-rw-r--r-- 1 toddmerrell staff 8899077 Aug 8 00:03 allofit1.jpg
[email protected] 1 toddmerrell staff 101760 Sep 9 01:30 piano2-CoolEdit.mp3
-rw-r--r-- 1 toddmerrell staff 10538887 Aug 8 00:01 stacked floor.jpg
-rw-r--r-- 1 toddmerrell staff 8811989 Aug 7 20:33 stackedImage.jpg

...and for the /Applications folder:

[email protected]:/Applications% pwd
/Applications
[email protected]:/Applications% ls -al
total 48
drwxrwxr-x+ 70 root admin 2380 Sep 7 21:20 .
drwxrwxr-t 34 root admin 1224 Sep 7 21:20 ..
[email protected] 1 toddmerrell admin 21508 Sep 10 23:26 .DS_Store
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 0 Jan 26 2010 .localized
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Mar 3 2011 Address Book.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 App Store.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 Apple Qadministrator.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 Apple Qmaster.app
[email protected] 11 toddmerrell admin 374 Sep 2 19:44 Audacity
drwxr-xr-x 10 toddmerrell admin 340 Sep 7 21:20 Audacity 1.3.12
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Sep 15 2010 Automator.app
[email protected] 8 toddmerrell admin 272 Jul 12 23:08 Battery 2
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 May 5 2010 Calculator.app
drwxrwxr-x 11 toddmerrell admin 374 Jul 29 03:20 Canon Utilities
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jan 26 2010 Chess.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 Cinema Tools.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 Color.app
drwxrwxr-x 4 root admin 136 Jul 17 22:15 Compressor.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 7 2010 DVD Player.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 14 22:06 DVD Studio Pro.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 Dashboard.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jan 21 2011 Dictionary.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Dec 3 2009 EnfuseGUI.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Mar 2 2011 FaceTime.app
drwxrwxr-x 8 root admin 272 May 13 2009 Final Cut Pro Additional Easy Setups.localized
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 Final Cut Pro.app
[email protected] 4 toddmerrell admin 136 Jun 15 22:29 Firefox.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Aug 18 2009 Font Book.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 Front Row.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 GarageBand.app
drwxr-xr-x 4 toddmerrell admin 136 Oct 5 2010 Gimp.app
[email protected] 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Sep 14 01:10 Google Chrome.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Dec 17 2009 Image Capture.app
[email protected] 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Jun 24 19:41 LibreOffice.app
[email protected] 7 toddmerrell admin 238 Sep 20 2004 Live 4.0.3 OS X
[email protected] 7 toddmerrell admin 238 May 31 2005 Live 4.1.4 OS X
[email protected] 6 toddmerrell admin 204 Mar 29 05:23 Live 8.2.2
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Sep 5 22:06 Logic Node.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Sep 5 22:06 Logic Pro.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 16 05:52 MacPorts
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Mar 3 2011 Mail.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 MainStage.app
drwxrwxr-x 9 toddmerrell admin 306 Mar 29 10:38 Max5
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 Motion.app
drwxrwxr-x 4 root admin 136 Jul 23 20:53 Native Instruments
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 Photo Booth.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Mar 28 14:18 Picasa.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 25 2010 Preview.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 QuickTime Player.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Sep 5 22:06 Safari.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 Soundtrack Pro.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 toddmerrell admin 102 May 30 10:02 StarStaX.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jan 26 2010 Stickies.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Nov 3 2010 StuffIt Expander.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jan 26 2010 System Preferences.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jan 26 2010 TextEdit.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 Time Machine.app
drwxrwxr-x+ 32 root admin 1088 Jul 14 22:06 Utilities
drwxr-xr-x 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Jul 15 06:48 VLC.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Jul 17 22:15 WaveBurner.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Mar 6 2011 iCal.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Apr 28 2010 iChat.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 iDVD.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 iMovie.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 iPhoto.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jun 30 2010 iSync.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 toddmerrell staff 102 Oct 7 2009 iTerm 3.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Sep 5 22:06 iTunes.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jul 17 22:15 iWeb.app
[email protected] 7 toddmerrell admin 238 Feb 15 2008 xfuse

...and for my /Applications/Audacity folder:

[email protected]:/Applications/Audacity% pwd
/Applications/Audacity
[email protected]:/Applications/Audacity% ls -al
total 184
[email protected] 11 toddmerrell admin 374 Sep 2 19:44 .
drwxrwxr-x+ 70 root admin 2380 Sep 7 21:20 ..
[email protected] 1 toddmerrell admin 6148 Sep 3 21:48 .DS_Store
drwxr-xr-x 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Apr 6 19:36 Audacity.app
[email protected] 1 toddmerrell admin 18614 Apr 6 19:41 LICENSE.txt
[email protected] 51 toddmerrell admin 1734 Apr 6 19:37 Languages
-rw-r--r-- 1 toddmerrell admin 65290 Apr 6 19:41 README.txt
[email protected] 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Apr 6 19:41 help
[email protected] 3 toddmerrell admin 102 Apr 6 19:36 modules
[email protected] 28 toddmerrell admin 952 Apr 6 19:37 nyquist
[email protected] 24 toddmerrell admin 816 Sep 3 21:48 plug-ins

...and here are the extended attributes for the example audio file:

[email protected]:~/Desktop% xattr -l piano2-CoolEdit.mp3
com.apple.ResourceFork:
00000000 00 00 01 00 00 00 05 08 00 00 04 08 00 00 00 32 |...............2|
00000010 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000020 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000030 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000040 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000050 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000060 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000070 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000080 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000090 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000100 00 00 04 04 00 00 00 24 2F 41 70 70 6C 69 63 61 |.......$/Applica|
00000110 74 69 6F 6E 73 2F 41 75 64 61 63 69 74 79 2F 41 |tions/Audacity/A|
00000120 75 64 61 63 69 74 79 2E 61 70 70 00 00 00 00 00 |udacity.app.....|
00000130 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000140 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000150 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000160 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000170 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000180 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000190 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000200 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000210 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000220 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000230 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000240 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000250 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000260 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000270 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000280 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000290 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000002A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000002B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000002C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000002D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000002E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000002F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000300 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000310 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000320 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000330 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000340 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000350 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000360 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000370 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000380 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000390 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000003A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000003B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000003C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000003D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000003E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000003F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000400 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000410 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000420 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000430 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000440 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000450 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000460 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000470 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000480 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000490 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000004A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000004B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000004C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000004D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000004E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000004F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000500 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 05 08 |................|
00000510 00 00 04 08 00 00 00 32 06 00 00 00 E7 07 00 00 |.......2........|
00000520 00 1C 00 32 00 00 75 73 72 6F 00 00 00 0A 00 00 |...2..usro......|
00000530 FF FF 00 00 00 00 A8 00 00 00 |..........|
0000053a
com.apple.metadata:kMDItemWhereFroms:
00000000 62 70 6C 69 73 74 30 30 A2 01 02 5F 10 2D 68 74 |bplist00..._.-ht|
00000010 74 70 3A 2F 2F 77 77 77 2E 6B 6F 7A 63 6F 2E 63 |tp://www.kozco.c|
00000020 6F 6D 2F 74 65 63 68 2F 70 69 61 6E 6F 32 2D 43 |om/tech/piano2-C|
00000030 6F 6F 6C 45 64 69 74 2E 6D 70 33 5F 10 38 68 74 |oolEdit.mp3_.8ht|
00000040 74 70 3A 2F 2F 66 6F 72 75 6D 2E 61 75 64 61 63 |tp://forum.audac|
00000050 69 74 79 74 65 61 6D 2E 6F 72 67 2F 76 69 65 77 |ityteam.org/view|
00000060 74 6F 70 69 63 2E 70 68 70 3F 66 3D 31 37 26 74 |topic.php?f=17&t|
00000070 3D 36 30 35 39 38 08 0B 3B 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 |=60598..;.......|
00000080 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000090 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 76 |........v|
00000099
[email protected]:~/Desktop% cd

Helpful?

-Todd

[Gale Andrews]

Thanks, Todd. Well it's easily tested either by finding an MP3 without extended attributes or deleting them with xattr -d as described here:
http://gerry.ws/2010/04/1314/managing-f ... -os-x.html

Have you tried exporting an MP3 from Audacity, quitting then launching Audacity from Finder with that MP3? It may be that downloading the files from the internet gives them their extended attributes. To export MP3 you'll need the LAME encoder if you don't have it already.

Another thing that may be worth a try is trashing all your older versions of Audacity (or trash their Open With's). You had multiple Audacity Open with's when you wrote this post.

At one time a million years ago, there was a scramble where the System was looking for 'Audacity' and the install created 'audacity' or it could have been reverse.

When that fun was happening Audacity wouldn't launch at all.


Gale

[Todd Merrell]

Hi Gale,

Okay, I attempted to open the test mp3 file with Audacity and the app opened without the fie being imported (obviously), then imported the file, and exported it as an mp3. It saved the file with an @ attribution from Audacity, so this is happening with Audacity, not just my OS. Then I checked a WAV file I'd made on my field recorder (copied directly from an SD card into my laptop's built-in reader) and re-rendered at 44.1 16-bit using Logic, and it had the @ attribution and didn't open on launch, and the same is true for my WAV renderings of projects made with Ableton Live. Then I looked at the raw WAV files from my field recorder which did NOT have the @ attribution (a-HA!), so i attempted to open those with Audacity, and got the same thing! No import upon launch.

As for deleting my open with's, I don't believe that's the problem, because when I select open with for a file that has NOT been associated with Audacity, I have the same problem. I can delete and re-install .12 and .13, but I installed .12 at your suggestion to see whether the version had any bearing on the problem, but it didn't, and I had the same problem before I downloaded .12, so I don't see how this would help. I have multiple versions of Audacity on my PowerPC PowerBook Pro running 10.4.11, and I've never had a problem with selecting whichever version I want with open with, and all files were imported upon launch.

In a nutshell, the @ attribution has no bearing on behavior, nor does open with when a file is already not associated with Audacity. The problem appears to be with Audacity's launcher, unless we're missing something. Ideas?

-Todd

[kozikowski]

The problem appears to be with Audacity's launcher

Your Audacity launcher.

I don't believe that's the problem...

If you don't know what the problem is, you don't know what the problem is not.

I once followed a grandfatherly engineer around when he was doing a radio energy survey job at great cost. I jokingly told him he wasn't doing anything I couldn't do. "That's perfectly correct," he said, "but I come without a preconceived idea of what the problem is. I don't skip steps. The urge to do that is amazing."

Koz

[Todd Merrell]

Koz,

Please know how glad I am that you and Gale are so engaged in the project, and in this issue. As a former tech for an ISP in Chicago in the early days (1992+3), occasional programmer, computer musician since 1988, and computer user since 1979, I am most sympathetic to the work you and Gale are doing, and familiar with good troubleshooting technique. I also know the difference between someone who has a very good understanding of what he's doing, and someone who has forgotten to plug in the printer.

About my conclusion, I used deductive reasoning. Before and after I'd specified open withs for specific files, and before and after I'd installed 1.3.12, I had the same problem. I have now deleted my open withs as Gale had suggested, and attempted to open the test files manually with Audacity 1.3.13.0, and have the same problem. As you've already admitted, you haven't read all of my posts, which are very thorough. I don't skip steps.

And it is not *my* launcher. It's Audacity that has the problem. Whatever applications I have installed have nothing to do with the problem, because I am telling the OS to open the selected files with Audacity, not some other application with a nest of dependencies or anything. My configurations are correct. I'm using CoreAudio, and the only problem I have, while small but annoying, is the one I've mentioned many, many times.

Right now, for the sake of thoroughness, I completely uninstalled both .12 and .13, the only two versions of Audacity I have on this machine, and got rid of dependent files (LAME lib, LADSPA, etc.). I reinstalled .13 only, and confirmed that this is the only version I have and that I have no leftover dependent files, because when I select open with, I have only Audacity as an option, not .13 and .12. I attempted to open the test file with open with, got the "Welcome to Audacity 1.3.13beta" window, and got the same result! Launched app, no imported file. And yes, I set my preferences to sensible ones that have always worked before I attempted this latest open with Audacity.

Best,
-Todd

[Gale Andrews]

I wasn't sure if you had even tried "Open with" before adding 1.3.12, but thanks for testing anyway.

Clearly this is a machine-specific problem, right? Koz is also on 10.6.8 and gets the files in when launching Audacity.

I don't seriously expect this is the answer but to eliminate another possibility... go to the "Interface" Preferences in Audacity and uncheck "Show 'How to Get Help'".

I don't recall you answering this before, but is there any place you can configure the "Open with" arguments? Something that controls the syntax with which a file is passed to the application during Open with?

Did you ever try dragging the file to the Audacity icon to launch the app? If not, please do.



Gale

[Todd Merrell]

Gale,

I always use open with. I have created maybe a dozen aup files in the past five years. Generally I use Audacity for viewing and comparing waveforms/levels, and exporting audio files.

Yes, I had already dragged the file icon onto Audacity's icon, and have tried it again. No change.

As for creating arguments for open with, there appears to be no way of doing that from the GUI, and I've never needed to do that in the 23 years I've been using Macs. Just open the file with an application, it's that simple. I've never had this problem with any application, ever. I don't see how this is necessarily machine specific. I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of your users haven't encountered the problem because they just open Audacity, create an aup project file, and go from there. BTW, I did create an aup file too, just to test. Same thing! When I try to open an aup file I get a blank audio window. This is not an "open with" problem. My OS and machine are brand new, I don't have any funky custom configurations nor applications, unless you consider Developer Tools, MacPorts, Ableton Live, Logic Audio, or Final Cut Pro funky. I'm not running any portfiles when I use Audacity.

And I've unchecked and checked "Show How to Get Help" to no avail.

Todd

[Gale Andrews]

I don't see how this is necessarily machine specific. I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of your users haven't encountered the problem because they just open Audacity, create an aup project file, and go from there.

I am quite sure a majority do not experience it.

When I try to open an aup file I get a blank audio window.

Open it how exactly? If you mean launch Audacity and drag the .aup in, that does not work for anyone, it is still a feature we have to add. If you mean execute the .aup to launch Audacity, it is still a question of passing the file to the app. If you mean something else, please say.

As one last shot, did this machine have any other versions of Audacity prior to 1.3.13? If so, try resetting audacity.cfg to default settings (or maybe do it anyway):
http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Preferences#stored

Otherwise I don't think this is going anywhere unless a Mac developer can reproduce it (I don't think anyone can so far). So I would suggest you open files with the -a argument at the command line as discussed or set Audacity to launch at login:
http://osxdaily.com/2006/11/29/how-to-l ... -mac-os-x/


Gale

[Todd Merrell]

Hi Gale,

It is possible that some users who are new to Audacity and/or OS X 10.6.8 may be experiencing this problem, but are unaware of what the behavior should be, that's all I was suggesting.

As for how I attempt to open the aup file, it's the same way that I and anyone using a GUI would typically open a file: double-clicking. This is how I've opened aup files since 2006.

1.3.13 was the very first Audacity version installed on this machine. I edited the .cfg file as you suggested, resulting in the same problem. I even trashed the .cfg file to create a new default one (this is standard operating procedure on Macs) and got the same thing: a new default .cfg file with the same result.

I'm confused - why hasn't this been forwarded to a Mac developer already? I certainly don't want developers who are not familiar with the OS X environment to waste their time. I appreciate your efforts so far very much.

Best,
-Todd

[Gale Andrews]

I'm confused - why hasn't this been forwarded to a Mac developer already?

If you re-read my reply to your very first contact about it to [email protected], you'll see that I Cc'd to Leland and Michael who develop on Macs, but I also told you they are very busy (mostly with their real jobs - we are all volunteers whose income stream lies elsewhere).

The fact they have not replied probably means they can't repeat the problem. As no-one else (we know of) can reproduce it, the problem won't even make it to our bugtracker; I'll just keep a note locally in case further information comes to light. There are several dozen cases of one-off weird behaviours on Mac I am sitting on that are not reproducible and have never been heard of again since they were reported.

I think you have reasonable workarounds especially launching at Audacity at login (given there is no problem once Audacity is running).

If you want to compile a debug version of Audacity and track what happens when you try to launch Audacity with a file, then I'll certainly pass that up the line.



Gale