Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The following are the FAQs copied in from the main SF site. They need re-reading and updating for 1.3.14/2.0 where appropriate.

22Sep09: (Peter) FAQs in manual updated to be in line with those on the main Audacity site (which had themselves been updated).

24Sep09: (Peter) FAQ page broken into one page per section - based on the pre-existing section headers in the FAQ. This page probably needs its layout changing now - maybe to just be a simple index with pointers to the relevant FAQ pages?

Gale 25 Sep09: I do want this page to link to both the index page for each FAQ section and to the individual questions in that section. But having the headings in this page as links to the pages for the FAQ sections is very non-standard. That means if we have headings on this page they need a link to the FAQ section index underneath (as per the "Recording" section here now). In that case we keep the Table of Contents (__TOC__) . Or, we use (__NOTOC__) to hide the Wiki-generated table of contents and mimic the Wiki TOC by having no headings, so it looks like "Opening and Saving Files" and "Editing" here now. I prefer mimicking the TOC.

1 About Audacity


2 Installation and Plug-Ins


3 Recording


4 Opening and Saving Files


5 Editing:

Ideas for new FAQs

ToDo develop responses for these proposed FAQs and migrate them to the published part of the page.
Steve 26Jul11: Perhaps there could be a section for using Audacity with other applications, such as Skype, YouTube, DAWs and Games
  • Why do I get the following error message when I hit the record button: "Error while opening sound device. Please check the input device settings and the project sample rate." What does that mean? (this comes up soooo... many times on the forum)
  • Recording from YouTube does not work. (Very similar to "RealAudio or other streaming audio" but this specific question is extremely common).
    • Gale: I changed title of the FAQ to refer to YouTube. It should be the same issue - if you can't record Real Player you can't record YouTube (off the sound card). But it would be sensible to add a div there explaining there are better ways to download YouTube videos directly.
  • How do I avoid the echo when using my USB microphone? (software playthrough)
  • First track is being recorded onto the next track (Windows sound card set to record Stereo Mix).
  • I've upgraded to Vista/ Windows 7. Why is there no "Stereo Mix" / "What U Hear" option. (relates to Q 3.2.5)
    • See this Wiki article.
  • Why is there a very low level hiss on Exported files? (dither)
  • Are you planning a release of Audacity for mobile devices like iPad or Android smartphone?
  • How can I import WAV files from portable players?
  • How can I make my recording so it plays back in both speakers?
  • I recorded my tapes/LPs in stereo so why do I get only the left in both speakers?
  • Can I create Ringtones with Audacity?
    • See this Wiki article.
  • Why have I lost sound on Windows after using Audacity?
When you connect a USB audio device to a Windows computer, Windows automatically allocates both input and output to the USB device. If the USB audio device is an input only device (such as a microphone or turntable) or an output only device (such as headphones or speakers), then it is necessary to go into the Windows Control Panel and in the "Sounds and Audio Devices" section, set the input and output devices to the devices that you want to use.
  • Why does my recording keep pausing automatically, or pressing Pause has no effect?
Most likely you have enabled Sound Activated Recording by mistake and the recording input is below the threshold level at which recording is set to start (you will notice that the blue Pause button is depressed after you press Record). The "latency correction" message will only appear when you stop a recording that you were trying to start from time zero.

You can uncheck Sound Activated Recording either in the Recording Preferences as above (click OK to save the change) or in the Transport Menu.

  • Why do I have to compile Audacity to get ASIO support?
    • See this Wiki article.
  • Can I record from 2 usb mics at the same time?
(and/or - Can I record from more than 1 device at the same time?)
  • When I try to record I get only a flat line and no sound. Why?
  • I copied the .aup file to another computer or sent it by e-mail to a friend, but now when I open it there's no sound. Why? And/or - What is this _data folder and what are all those .au files in there?)
  • Can I use parts of Audacity source code in my school project?
  • Why do I see a lot of vertical red lines in the track I just recorded?
  • Can I include screenshots of Audacity in my book, or link to Audacity on my web site?
  • How do I record Skype or other VoIP programs with Audacity?
  • I'm overdubbing vocals but my voice gets more and more out of step with the music track
  • Why does Audacity hang when I launch it?
  • Why do I have to ask questions on the Forum instead of getting help by e-mail?
  • Why do my longer projects always crash but not the short ones?
  • How do I make a recording without small skips or duplications?
  • Can Audacity preview or apply effects live, in real time?
    • No
  • Do I have to uninstall the stable version of Audacity to use the Beta? How do I upgrade Audacity to a newer version? (or Do I have to delete the old version first before upgrading?)
    • Gale 18 Oct11 pasting verbatim answer just given on [email protected]:

      By default, 1.3.13 http://audacity.googlecode.com/files/audacity-win-unicode-1.3.13.exe will install into a different "Audacity 1.3 Beta (Unicode)" directory in Program Files. This gives you the option to either retain 1.2.6 or uninstall it from the "Audacity" directory in Program Files.

      As 1.2.6 no longer supports Windows 7, it is recommended to uninstall 1.2.6 and install 1.3.13 to its default "Audacity 1.3 Beta (Unicode)" directory. However the two versions have different groups of settings so in principle if you install them to different directories you can run one version or the other.

      We do not recommend installing 1.3.13 over the top of (in the same directory as) 1.2.6 because it will leave three duplicate plug-ins and two different uninstallers (unins000.exe for 1.2 and unins001.exe for 1.3) but it is not harmful if you really want to do it.

  • How do I find which Audacity version I have, and know if this is the latest?
    • Click Help > About Audacity to see the version of Audacity you are running
    • To see what are the latest released versions of Audacity go to the Audacity Download page.


Old - need merging or deleting

ToDo we need to merge or delete ...

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