Toolbars Overview

From Audacity Development Manual
Revision as of 04:34, 15 December 2014 by Billw58 (talk | contribs) (ToDo-1 for spectral editing toolbar; latest annotated toolbar image)
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Peter 29Nov14: The long ednote discussion has been moved to the Talk Page.
  • Peter 26Nov14: images will need updating as the Toolrack has been removed by Leland.
    • Peter 28Nov14: I have supplied a raw Windows 7 Basic Theme inage of the upperdock toolbars scaled to 91% with Paint. It requires further processing to add green borders and annotations (in blue?)

      It is probably worth parking the current imagemap and image somewhere as it is likely to be just what we need for 2.1.1 alpha.

  • Peter 30Nov14: Uploaded the latest raw upper tooldock image - updated after James' latest change to show the "Click to Start Monitoring" in a blank recording meter when it is inactive.

    ToDo-1 needs arrows and blue annotation links. DONE

  • Bill 14Dec2014: ToDo-1 Needs image and description of Spectral Editing Toolbar, which also needs its own page.
  • Bill 14Dec2014: ToDo-2 Note to self: upload latest version (v5) of annotated toolbar image with all-45-degree arrows (just for James!) and adjust imagemap rects

Werkzeugleisten - Übersicht Flag of italy small.png FrenchFlagSmall.png Información general sobre las barras de herramientas Pregled alatnih traka

Toolbars provide quick access to many functions in Audacity. In some cases the functions provided by a toolbar are available only through that toolbar. Other than the Spectral Selection Toolbar, all toolbars are enabled by default; if your desired toolbar is not visible, choose View > Toolbars and click to put a checkmark by the toolbar you wish to enable. The Meter toolbars are special case; you may have either the Combined or one or both of the individual (Record or Playback) Meter toolbars visible.

Toolbar dock areas

There are two dock areas for toolbars in Audacity. By default, most of the Audacity toolbars are in the upper dock, with only the Selection Toolbar in the lower dock.

Toolbars can be arranged and resized within either of the two docks, or floated free of the docks.

Hover over each green-bordered toolbar in the dock images to learn more then click to go to that toolbar's details page. Or jump to the brief toolbar descriptions.

Upper Toolbar dock area

Bill 29Nov2014: Updated version with 3-pixel green borders, text in 'link colour', text further above/below image, not 'fx' button in edit toolbar.
Transport Toolbar has buttons for controlling playback and recording and for moving to the project start or endTransport Toolbar has buttons for controlling playback and recording and for moving to the project start or endTools Toolbar lets you choose various tools for selection, volume adjustment, zooming and time-shifting of audioTools Toolbar lets you choose various tools for selection, volume adjustment, zooming and time-shifting of audioRecording Meter Toolbar lets you see if audio being recorded is clipped, which results in distortionRecording Meter Toolbar lets you see if audio being recorded is clipped, which results in distortionPlayback Meter Toolbar lets you see if audio being edited is clipped, which results in distortionPlayback Meter Toolbar lets you see if audio being edited is clipped, which results in distortionMixer Toolbar lets you adjust Recording Volume (the amplitude at which recordings will be made) and Playback Volume (how loud the project's audio sounds, not affecting the volume of exported audioMixer Toolbar lets you adjust Recording Volume (the amplitude at which recordings will be made) and Playback Volume (how loud the project's audio sounds, not affecting the volume of exported audioEdit Toolbar has buttons for editing, Sync-Lock Tracks and zooming which are an alternative to using menu items or keyboard shortcuts for these tasksEdit Toolbar has buttons for editing, Sync-Lock Tracks and zooming which are an alternative to using menu items or keyboard shortcuts for these tasksDevice Toolbar selects Audio Host, recording device, recording channels and playback device, avoiding the need to open Devices Preferences to make these settingsDevice Toolbar selects Audio Host, recording device, recording channels and playback device, avoiding the need to open Devices Preferences to make these settingsTranscription Toolbar|Transcription Toolbar lets you play audio at a slower or faster speed than normal, also affecting pitchTranscription Toolbar|Transcription Toolbar lets you play audio at a slower or faster speed than normal, also affecting pitchAudacity Toolbars Bordered Arrows 2.png
Peter 29Nov14: raw Windows 7 Basic theme image ready for green boxing and blue annotating
  • Gale 29Nov14: (with annotations being further above/below the image, please)
Audacity Toolbars.png

Lower Toolbar dock area

By default the lower dock only contains Selection Toolbar.

Selection Toolbar includes controls for Project Rate, Snap To and for manipulating units of time or other selection formatsSelection Toolbar green-boxed.png

The Toolbars

The individual toolbars are described briefly below. Click on any toolbar image to go the details page for that toolbar.

Transport Toolbar

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

Tools Toolbar

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

Recording Meter Toolbar

Recording Meter Toolbar
  • Displays recording levels and toggles input monitoring when not recording.

    Note the two vertical bars at the right of this toolbar which mean that this toolbar can be resized by clicking and dragging on the bars.

Playback Meter Toolbar

Playback Meter Toolbar
  • Displays playback levels.

    Note carefully the two vertical bars at the right of this toolbar which mean that this toolbar can be resized by clicking and dragging on the bars.

Mixer Toolbar

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

Edit Toolbar

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

Transcription Toolbar

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

Device Toolbar

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

    Note the two vertical bars at the right of this toolbar which mean that this toolbar can be resized by clicking and dragging on the bars.

Selection Toolbar

The default position of Selection Toolbar is at the bottom of the main Audacity window, thus it is not visible in the Toolbars image at the top of this page.

Selection Toolbar includes controls for Project Rate, Snap To and for manipulating units of time or other selection formats

Arranging and resizing Toolbars

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 can be 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. Some of the Toolbars can be resized (the Meter Toolbars and the Device Toolbar) by clicking and dragging on the vertical bars at the right of the toolbars.

The image below shows Mixer Toolbar being docked to the right of Device Toolbar:
Docking-a-toolbar.png
The image below shows the Transport and Recording Meter toolbars floated outside the Project window, with the Recording Meter dragged wider and taller:
FloatingTools win7-basic.png
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