Toolbars Overview

Peter 21Oct14: New images needed here (recording now before playback).

• Peter 10Nov14:I fixed the Recording and Playback Meters - but the Device Toolbar and the Mixer Toolbar need reversing to put recording first (may happen automatically when the parent pages get updated).
• Peter 11Nov14: indeed the main images did auto-update from the parent toolbar pages - removed the P1
• Peter 20Nov14: Following a recent post by Koz about providing context I decided to add an image of the full set of toolbars.
  • Peter 20Nov14: ToDo-2 Once the front page imagemap has been updated I plan to cannibalize it for the full toolbar set image.

The Toolbars provide quick access to many functions in Audacity. In some cases the functions provided by a toolbar are available only through that toolbar.

All Toolbars are enabled by default, but if your desired toolbar is not visible, choose View > Toolbars then click to put a checkmark by the toolbar you wish to enable.

Peter 20Nov14: testing out Steve's annotated version.

Peter 20Nov14: Do we need to add the Selection Toolbar here or just clarify what the above image actually shows?. How about an image like this suitably annotated?

Device Toolbar

• Selects audio host, recording device, playback device and number of recording channels

Edit Toolbar

• Cut, copy, paste, trim audio, silence audio, undo, redo, sync-lock, zoom

Recording Meter Toolbar

• Displays recording levels and toggles input monitoring when not recording

Playback Meter Toolbar

• Displays playback levels

Mixer Toolbar

• Adjusts the playback and recording volumes of the devices currently selected in Device Toolbar

Selection Toolbar

• Controls the sample rate of the project, snapping to the selection format and adjusts cursor and region position by keyboard input

Tools Toolbar

• Chooses various tools for selection, volume adjustment, zooming and time-shifting of audio

Transcription Toolbar

• Plays audio at a slower or faster speed than normal, affecting pitch

Transport Toolbar

• Controls playback and recording and skips to start or end of project when neither playing or recording

Arranging Toolbars

Peter 11Nov14: ToDo-2 New images needed here (recording now before playback). P2 rather than P1 as these are non-default images anyway, so we could live with these.

Toolbars can be docked in two toolbar areas of the Audacity Project window, providing there is space available: either above the Timeline, or above the Status Bar at the bottom of the window (Selection Toolbar is in this location by default). Toolbars may also be floated anywhere else in or outside the project window, including on a secondary monitor. The toolbar positions on exiting Audacity are always remembered when restarting Audacity next time.

Toolbars are docked or floated by dragging on their serrated left edge. When docking a toolbar into a toolbar area, a blue triangle will appear, indicating an available docking position. The default toolbar docked positions can be restored at any time by clicking View > Toolbars > Reset Toolbars.

The image below shows Tools Toolbar being docked to the right of Transport Toolbar:

The image below shows some toolbars floated outside the Project window: