Export Multiple: Hide Metadata Editor after first file.

[waxcylinder]

It would also give us the opportunity to label the button "Export" instead of being forced to accept" Save".

A big +1 to that.

Peter

[Gale Andrews]

In my opinion, if all of "QA" was united in wanting to get rid of the "export" word, we'd probably get it removed.


Gale

[waxcylinder]

@Gale: it's not getting rid of the "Export" word that Ed and I are voting for here - it's getting rid of the "Save" word in the "Export" dialog.

Remember in "Export Multiple" the action button is correctly imvho labelled "Export" whereas in "Export" the similar action button is inconsistently labelled "Save".

My understanding has always been that Audacity "Saves" projects i.e. native format - but "Exports" non-native audio formats.

If we wanted to banish the export word then we would surely need to rename Export, Export Multiple and Export Labels to Save, Save Multiple and Save Labels.

That's my pet hobby-horse let out of the stable for a run around the field again

Peter.

[steve]

My understanding has always been that Audacity "Saves" projects i.e. native format - but "Exports" non-native audio formats.

That is, and always has been my understanding.
This is the approach used in DAW applications.

IF Audacity projects were a single file, then I think that getting rid of "Export" could be considered, but until such time I believe that it is essential to make the distinction between "Saving a project" and "Exporting an audio file" as clear as possible.

[Edgar]

+1 what Peter and Steve say

[Gale Andrews]

@Gale: it's not getting rid of the "Export" word that Ed and I are voting for here - it's getting rid of the "Save" word in the "Export" dialog.

I know that perfectly well And I would still say you are still saving the exported file.

So I'm with Koz on this. No export. This isn't Ardour. The distinction could be between saving a project and saving an audio file.


Gale

[waxcylinder]

Is someone going to write a proposal for this - or even do the development

Peter

[Gale Andrews]

Is someone going to write a proposal for this - or even do the development

It already has a bug report (P3). The only person who has taken an interest in it so far is Joel, as far as I can see. I can probably get Leland interested in it but he has other priorities now in getting an FFmpeg update going.

A partial step towards the goal of an efficient metadata workflow would be to pass the common metadata from the first metadata window to the subsequent windows (which would finally reinstate the functionality that was available in Audacity 1.2). Joel's first attempt was not suitable IMO because he was trying to make behaviour conditional on the content you typed in the first metadata window.

I think Steve has "slightly" moved towards my idea of having a single checkbox [No Metadata] in each export window (which exports no metadata and hides Metadata Editor). This checkbox replaces the Preference "Show Metadata Editor prior to export step".

One hard thing about all this will be to accommodate those who want common metadata for each track and those who want different metadata for each track (who are well served by the current arrangement).


Gale

[steve]

I think Steve has "slightly" moved towards my idea of having a single checkbox [No Metadata] in each export window (which exports no metadata and hides Metadata Editor).

If it provides a solution to being able to export with no metadata, then I can probably be convinced
I think that "how flexible" and "how convenient" will be key issues in arriving at the best solution.
I rarely use export multiple, so I'm happy to leave decisions about how best to handle that to those that do. My corner is for those that want no metadata in any exported file, so as long as that need is satisfied then I'm happy