Using Audacity/The Interface

The Audacity Interface

Playback Control Toolbar

The Playback Control Toolbar functions much like the buttons on a DVD or CD player, or perhaps more accurately the buttons on tape deck. It enables you to preview parts of your project and add (record) new ones.

Button	Action
	moves the cursor to the start of the project.
	plays your project from the position of the cursor. Use to listen to the audio in your project.
	pressing the record button will record a new track from your computer's sound input device.
	pause playback or recording. Press again to unpause.
	stops playback or recording.
	moves the cursor to the end of the project.

Tools Toolbar

These tools work directly on tracks in the Track Window.

Button	Action
The Selection Tool	use to select sections of an audio track to work on.
The Envelope Tool	this tool allows you to control how tracks fade in and out.
The Draw Tool	allows you to draw on the waveforms of individual tracks.
The Zoom Tool	zooms in or out of a specific part of the audio.
The Timeshift Tool	allows you to change the positioning of tracks relative to one another in time.

Edit Toolbar

Button	Action
Cut	removes selected audio data and places it on the clipboard.
Copy	copies the selected audio data to the clipboard without removing it from the track.
Paste	pastes whatever is in the clipboard into the track at the position of the selection cursor.
Trim	deletes all of the track except the current selection.
Silence	replaces the current selection with silence instead of removing it completely.
Undo	undo the last editing operation performed.
Redo	redo any editing operations that were just undone.
Zoom In	zooms in on displayed tracks displaying less time and giving a more detailed view of the track.
Zoom Out	zooms out displaying more time and a less detailed view of tracks.
Fit Selection	fits selected audio into the width of the screen to show the selection in more detail.
Fit Project	shows entire project in one screen.

Meter Toolbar

Shows the input and output levels. You will use the input levels to test whether you are getting enough input through your mic or recording device.

Mixer Toolbar

These sliders control the mixer settings of the soundcard in your system. The selector on the right (labeled Vol in this image) controls what audio input you wish to use.

The slider near the small speaker icon will control the output of your soundcard affecting the overall volume of your project.

The slider near the small microphone icon controls the input of your soundcard; adjust this to increase the level of input on your microphone.

Track Window

New or existing tracks (or audio clips) in your project are lined up in the sequence that they are recorded or imported in this window. This example shows a stereo audio track; you can tell it is in stereo because of the two wave forms (one for left and one for right) that a present. Along the top of the Track window is a timeline in seconds, or even fractions of a second.

Selection Toolbar