FAQ

FAQ:About Audacity > Forward To: FAQ:Installation and Plug-In Plug-Inss |< Index of Frequently Frequently Asked Asked Questions

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1 Is Audacit Audacity y really free? Wy?

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! "oes Audacit Audacity y contain any s#yware$ %alware or adware?

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& 'ay I distri(ute co#ies of Audacity?

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) *o%eone is selling Audacity Audacit y on e+ay, Is tis legal?

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 A searc result resu lt %isled %e into #aying for an Audacity download, dow nload, Wat W at can I do?

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. Audacity isn/t dis#laying in te ex#ected or desired language, 0an I cange tis?

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 Will Will tere (e a 2ersion of Audacity for iPod$ iPad or oter s%art#ones or ta(let co%#uters?

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3 4ow accessi( accessi(le le is Audacity for %otion- or 2isually-i%#aired 2isually-i%#a ired users?

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5 Wat features does Audacity a2e for s#eec transcri#tion or s#eec recognition?

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16 "oes Audacit Audacity y run on .)-(it syste%s? o

16,1 Windows and 7inux .)-(it

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16,! 16, ! 'ac 8* 9 .)-(it

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11 "oes Audacity su##ort su# #ort low latency latenc y A*I8 A*I8 dri2ers?

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1! 4ow do I find wic Audacity 2ersion I a2e$ an d if tis is te latest 2ersion?

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1& Wy doesn/t Audac Audacity ity si# wit an 'P& encoder?

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1) 4ow can I el# to i%#ro2e Audacity?

Is Audacity really free? Why? es$ Audacity is co%#letely free$ o#en source software, ou are free to use tis #rogra% for  any #ersonal$ co%%ercial$ or educational #ur#oses$ including installing it on as %any different co%#uters as you wis, ou are also free to gi2e it away$ sell it$ or %odify it for your own use$ under te ter%s of te ;<= ;eneral Pu(lic 7icense, Te autors of Audacity decided to release it under te ;P7 for %any reasons, *o %e of us do it out of generosity, *o%e of us do it for %oral reasons$ (ecause we feel tat all software sould (e free> oters (elie2e tat tere is a #lace for (ot free and #ro#rietary software, 8ne reason Audacity is free is so tat it will (e %ore #o#ular and useful, et anoter reason is to encourage colla(oration, +ecause of Audacity/s free license$ doens of #eo#le around te world a2e contri(uted code$ (ug fixes$ docu%entation$ and gra#ics, We welco%e donations to su##ort Audacity de2elo#%ent,  (ack to to#

Does Audacity contain any spyware !alware or adware?  <o$ if you always download Audacity fro% our site tt#:@@audacity,sourceforge,net, Please re2iew inde#endent 2erification of te Audacity software (y 2isiting te 2irustotal,co% searc #age$ entering audacity Bwitout quotesC in te searc (ox and clicking te *earc itD (utton, Eisit sitead2isor,co% to 2iew te re#ort for tt#:@@audacity,sourceforge,net, Audacity is always co%#letely free and o#en source, It is de2elo#ed (y a not-for-#rofit 2olunteer grou#$ and te source code is a2aila(le for anyone to study or use,  <oneteless$ 2irus ceckers can occasionally re#ort false #ositi2es for te Audacity installer  for Windows B,exeC, Tis can a##en (ecause Audacity uses a co%#ressed installer, *o%e anti-2irus #rogra%s can also (lock installers if you run te% fro% te%#orary s#ace, Try downloading te installer to your "eskto# and running it fro% tere, If you are concerned a(out te safety of te installer$ #lease feel free to download te i# 2ersion of Audacity and ceck tat for 2iruses, Please re#ort false #ositi2es a(out Audacity to te su##lier of te security #rogra% so tey can u#date teir 2irus definitions, Also$ *%art*creen filter in recent 2ersions of Internet x#lorer BIC %ay co%#lain tat Audacity is not co%%only downloaded and ask you to confir% te download, Tis

warning is nor%al and will only occur Bif at allC wit a new Audacity release or download, Te warning occurs (ecause Bin addition to cecking a list of known %alwareC$ I cecks a 'icrosoft data(ase of files tat are well known and downloaded (y %any Internet x#lorer users, For %ore el#$ #lease see te *%art*creen FAQ,  (ack to to#

"ay I distribute copies of Audacity? ou can redistri(ute Audacity under te ;<= ;eneral Pu(lic 7icense$ wic gi2es you  #er%ission to %odify$ co#y or sell te #rogra% as long as you kee# te sa%e license and %ake te source code a2aila(le, We ask 2endors to gi2e #ro#er credit to Audacity$ to add so%e 2alue to teir #roduct Bfor exa%#le ( y including 2ideo tutorials or o#enly licensed sound sa%#lesC$ and to offer custo%ers tecnical su##ort, *ee Ad2ice for Eendors for details,  (ack to to#

#o!eone is sellin$ Audacity on e%ay& Is this le$al? It is legal to sell Audacity$ as long as te 2endor %akes te #rogra% and source code a2aila(le under te ;<= ;eneral Pu(lic 7icense B;P7C, If te 2endor %odifies Audacity$ our trade%ark requires tat tey call te #rogra% so%eting oter tan Audacity, *ee our 7icense #age for details, *o%e 2endors sell un%odified Audacity under a different na%e$ or don/t gi2e us any link or  credit for te software - tis is difficult to #re2ent under te current ;P7, If you (ougt a  #roduct and later found out it was Audacity$ we encourage you to as' for a refund or file a co!plaint  if you feel you did not get a fair deal, *ee 'ay I distri(ute co#ies of Audacity? for wat we ex#ect fro% Audacity 2endors, If you a2e concerns tat Audacity Bun%odified or oterwiseC is (eing sold witout a c o#y of te ;P7$ or witout any offer to #ro2ide source code$ #lease e-%ail us in confidence, If you want to obtain Audacity on CD : Free I*8 downloads and inex#ensi2e 0"s (y #ost containing Audacity and oter o#en source software are a2aila(le fro% su##liers on our Audacity on 0" #age,

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A search result !isled !e into payin$ for an Audacity download& What can I do?

If you searc for Audacity on te internet$ you will often see s#onsored results tat are links to co%#anies selling Audacity Bor te rigt to access itC for %oney, For exa%#le tere %ay (e a free download (ut te s%all #rint will co%%it you to a #aid su(scri#tion to  (uy software or ser2ices e2ery %ont, 8r te co%#any %ay guarantee to su##ly te 2ery latest 2ersion wen teir 2ersion is out-of-date$ or so%eti%es te download is really is free (ut carries s#yware or 2iruses, ou sould a2oid tese ad2ertisers and only download Audacity fro% tt#:@@audacity,sourceforge,net@ , If te ad2ertise%ent is #ro2ided (y ;oogle an d does not co%#ly wit teir ter%s you can co%#lain a(out it to ;oogle ere, Audacity is a registered trade%ark in te =* A and recognised as suc (y ;oogle$ terefore if ad2ertise%ents on ;oogle,co% include Audacity in te ad2ertise%ent or link text you %ay re#ort tis to ;oogle, ou can also co%#lain to ;oogle if te ad2ertise%ent did not accurately re#resent te #roduct or ser2ice - #lease tell ;oogle in wat way te ad2ertising was not an accurate re#resentation, If you #aid %oney (y credit card due to a fraudulent ad2ertise%ent$ you %ay (e a(le to initiate a carge(ack wit your credit card co%#any, ou need to sow tat te ad2ertising and we( site you 2isited was %isleading, ;enerally you sould try to sort out a refund wit te retailer first$ (ut often tey are 2ery ard to contact and tere is a ti%e li%it of only a few days on requesting a refund,  (ack to to#

Audacity isn(t displayin$ in the e)pected or desired lan$ua$e& Can I chan$e this? Audacity can dis#lay in %any non-nglis languages, Te language Audacity uses on first run is deter%ined (y te language te o#erating syste% uses, <ote tat on Windows$ te Audacity installer only sets te language for te installer to run in$ not te language Audacity runs in, If you can read the lan$ua$e Audacity is currently runnin$ in $ it/s easy to cange to anoter language, 8#en te Preferences$ ten coose Interface fro% te list on te left,  <ow coose te s#ecific language required fro% te 7anguage (ox$ ten click 8G, 'ost of te Audacity interface will cange language at once$ (ut a 2ery few interface ele%ents will cange next ti%e you restart Audacity, If Audacity is runnin$ in an unfa!iliar lan$ua$e $ you can na2igate te %enus sequentially to cange te language:

1, 0oose te second %enu fro% te left in te Audacity %enus at to# left of te screen (on Mac, choose the first menu from the left)

!, 0oose te (otto% ite% of tat %enu$ wic o#ens te Preferences (on Mac, choose the second item from the top) &, In te list on te left of Preferences$ coose te fift ite% fro% te to# ), 8n te rigt$ o#en te dro#-down (ox containing a list of te language coices , *elect te language you want and #ress <TH on your key(oard, ., Hestart Audacity to fully co%#lete te language cange and re-order te ffect %enu al#a(etically, Alternati2ely$ you can quit Audacity and edit te audacity,cfg settings file, To cange language in te ,cfg file$ cange te line under 7ocaleJ to your #referred language (y using te a##ro#riate two-caracter code, For exa %#le$ 7anguageKen Bwitout quotesC sets nglis$ 7anguageKde sets ;er%an,  (ack to to#,

Will there be a *ersion of Audacity for i+od i+ad or other s!artphones or tablet co!puters? 0urrent 2ersions of Audacity work internally wit uncompressed  audio to #er%it ig quality editing wit a wide range of effects, Tis requires %ore #rocessing #ower and disk s#ace tan is a2aila(le on %ost %o(ile de2ices, Also te wxWidgets interface li(rary we use only as li%ited su##ort for %o(ile o#erating syste%s and s%all screen resolutions, Terefore$ considera(le rewriting of Audacity and its interface will (e required (efore Audacity will work on #orta(le %usic #layers like iPod$ s%art#ones like iPone$ ta(let co%#uters like iPad or any of te <exus de2ices running Android, 4owe2er$ Audacity in #rinci#le does su##ort a ta(let P0 running Windows 9P Bincluding Windows 9P Ta(let P0 ditionC$ Eista$ Windows  or Windows 3 Bincluding 'icrosoft/s *urface wit Windows 3 Pro ta(letC, Audacity will not run on te Windows HT o#erating syste% wic si#s on de2ices running AH' arcitecture Bsuc as 'icrosoft/s *urface wit Windows HT ta(letC, Tere are %any alternati2es a2aila(le for ligtweigt recording o r editing on %o(ile  #latfor%s: •

Android: Ta#e'acine Hecorder 

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i+hone i+od ,ouch and i+ad: o

E0 Audio Pro

o

4okusai

o

i*aidWat?D

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#y!bian: 'ixx 'o(ile

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Windows "obile: Wa2ePad for 0 (free),

 (ack to to#

-ow accessible is Audacity for !otion. or *isually. i!paired users? Audacity as nu%erous key(oard sortcuts wic can (e custo%ised in te Gey(oard Preferences, 'ost of Audacity can (e wolly or #artially used witout a %ouse$ wit excellent key(oard na2igation of te selection, A few features currently a2e no key(oard alternati2es$ nota(ly cli#s$ Ti%e Tracks and te Tools Tool(ar tools exce#t *election Tool, Audacity works well wit %ost screen-reader #rogra%s on Windows Bincluding Laws$ Window-yes and <E"AC and wit Eoice82er on 'ac, 4owe2er a few features$ nota(ly 7a(el Tracks and 'eter Tool(ar aren/t read, We still a2e to i%#ro2e screen-reader su##ort for 7inux, For %ore infor%ation$ see Accessi(ility, Tere are useful links to free screen readers and su##ort resources for te (lind on our Wiki #age Audacity for (lind users,  (ack to to#

What features does Audacity ha*e for speech transcription or speech reco$nition? Audacity is not s#ecialised transcri#tion or s#eec recognition software$ (ut as so%e useful features for tose transcri(ing s#eec %anually, •

ou can use Transcri#tion Tool(ar to #lay audio %ore slowly Balso lowering te  #itcC,

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ou can add la(els at te #lay(ack #osition using 0TH7 M ' Bor 08''A<" M , on 'acC ten ty#e into te la(el, =se File N x#ort 7a(els,,, to ex#ort a ta(deli%ited #lain text file containing te text and a udio #osition of eac la(el,

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Audacity as %any oter configura(le key(oard sortcuts tat can (e used to control #lay(ack and editing, 4owe2er as yet Audacity as no glo(al sortcuts tat

work e2en if you a2e focus in anoter #rogra%, *o%e %ouse gestures Bnot yet configura(leC can also (e used, Foot pedals:  Audacity as no (uilt-in su##ort for foot #edals$ (ut if you can install a suita(le dri2er so tat te #edal deli2ers %ouse clicks or key strokes$ Audacity can (e controlled (y tose, Te #edal %anufacturer %igt (e a(le to assist$ or so%e #edals Bfor exa%#le$ E#edal or 9-keysC already co%e wit software to %a# #edal (uttons to s#ecific keystrokes, Alternati2ely if your #edal is recognised (y te co%#uter as a ;a%e 0ontroller or 4u%an Interface "e2ice$ you %ay (e a(le to use tird-#arty software suc as Auto4otGey BWindowsC to %a# #edal (uttons to keystrokes, =*+ 82erdri2e can do te sa%e on 'ac for a =*+ #edal, #peech reco$nition:  If you are looking for software tat can recognise %icro#one in#ut or s#eec in an audio file and con2ert it auto%atically to a text file$ see Wiki#edia/s list of s#eec recognition software,

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Does Audacity run on /0.bit syste!s? Tere is no .)-(it 2ersion of Audacity$ (ut in #rinci#le it sould run on .)-(it syste%s$ su(Oect to a2ing a##ro#riate dri2ers for te sound de2ice, *ufficient HA' %ust (e a2aila(le to run Audacity s%ootly and su##ort te greater %e%ory require%ents of .)-(it syste%s co%#ared to &!-(it,

Windows and 1inu) /0.bit 8n .)-(it 2ersions of Windows 9P$ Windows Eista$ Windows $ Windows 3 and 7inux$ sound de2ice dri2ers s#ecific to te .)-(it o#erating syste% are essential, If u#grading fro% a &!-(it to .)-(it o#erating syste%$ a .)-(it ca#a( le co%#uter is required$ and te sound de2ice dri2ers %ust also (e u#dated to a .)-(it 2ersion, =sers u#grading fro% &!-(it Windows 9P to .)-(it Windows Eista or  sould %ake es#ecially sure teir co%#uter is well a(o2e Audacity/s %ini%u% syste% require%ents for Windows,

"ac 2# 3 /0.bit 8* 9 16, and later su##ort (ot .)-(it and &!-(it #rocessors equally well$ wit few if any issues wit te su##lied syste% dri2ers,  (ack to to#

Does Audacity support low latency A#I2 dri*ers?

7icensing restrictions #re2ent us including A*I8 su##ort in released 2ersions of Audacity$  (ut Audacity can (e co%#iled wit A*I8 su##ort for #ri2ate$ non-distri(uta(le use, *ee A*I8 Audio Interface on te Wiki for details,  (ack to to#

-ow do I find which Audacity *ersion I ha*e and if this is the latest *ersion? 0lick 4el# N A(out Audacity (or on a Mac Audacity > About Audacity) to ceck te 2ersion of Audacity you are running$ ten 2isit our "ownload #age to 2iew te latest releases, ou can su(scri(e ere to recei2e an e-%ail wene2er we release new 2ersions of Audacity, Wene2er asking for el# or re#orting #ossi(le (ugs$ #lease quote Audacity/s full three. section *ersion nu!ber  Bfor exa%#le$ !,6,6C and your operatin$ syste!  Bfor exa%#le$ Windows  .)-(itC,  (ack to to#

Why doesn(t Audacity ship with an "+4 encoder? =nfortunately$ te algorithm to encode or create 'P& files is #atented and Audacity  would not (e a(le to include an 'P& ex#orting algorit% witout eiter carging a fee o r  #otentially 2iolating co#yrigt law in so%e countries, As a co%#ro%ise$ Audacity co%es wit te a(ility to use oter 'P& encoders$ wic you %ust download se#arately, It is u# to you to %ake sure you are in co%#liance wit any licensing restrictions i%#osed (y 'P& encoders, To install 7A'$ see 4ow do I download and install te 7A' 'P& encoder?,  (ack to to#

-ow can I help to i!pro*e Audacity? *ee tis #age on te %ain Audacity site,  (ack to to#

> Forward To: FAQ:Installation and Plug-Ins |< Index of Frequently Asked Questions

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5a*i$ation •

0ontents

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=sing Audacity

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ffects

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Tool(ars

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Preferences

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Index

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Tis #age was last %odified on 1. <o2e%(er !61&$ at 6&:),

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VVVVVVVXD

6ettin$ #tarted 6ettin$ #tarted Welco%e to te 76ettin$ #tarted7  quick el# guide for Audacity, ;et (ack ere any ti%e (y clicking 4el# N Quick 4el# Bin we( (rowserC in te Audacity #rogra%, 7earn ow to: •

i%#ort and #lay an existing audio file

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record your 2oice$ guitar$ standard turnta(le or ta#e deck

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record wit a =*+ de2ice B=*+ turnta(le$ =*+ ta#e deck or =*+ sound cardC

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edit sounds$ including a##lying effects

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sa2e or o#en an Audacity #roOect

•

ex#ort to an 'P& or oter audio file

•

 (urn to a 0"

•

For a detailed reference guide to all te Audacity %enus and controls$ click ere or 4el# N 'anual Bin we( (rowserC in te Audacity #rogra%,

•

If you need to download te current 'anual$ click ere,

•

Questions?  Eisit our Frequently Asked Questions BFAQC for answers to %any

e2eryday issues,

6ettin$ #tarted Welco%e to te 76ettin$ #tarted7  quick el# guide for Audacity, ;et (ack ere any ti%e (y clicking 4el# N Quick 4el# Bin we( (rowserC in te Audacity #rogra%, 7earn ow to: •

i%#ort and #lay an existing audio file

•

record your 2oice$ guitar$ standard turnta(le or ta#e deck

•

record wit a =*+ de2ice B=*+ turnta(le$ =*+ ta#e deck or =*+ sound cardC

•

edit sounds$ including a##lying effects

•

sa2e or o#en an Audacity #roOect

•

ex#ort to an 'P& or oter audio file

•

 (urn to a 0"

•

For a detailed reference guide to all te Audacity %enus and controls$ click ere or 4el# N 'anual Bin we( (rowserC in te Audacity #rogra%,

•

If you need to download te current 'anual$ click ere,

•

Questions?  Eisit our Frequently Asked Questions BFAQC for answers to %any e2eryday issues,

Welco%e to te 76ettin$ #tarted7  quick el# guide for Audacity, ;et (ack ere any ti%e (y clicking 4el# N Quick 4el# Bin we( (rowserC in te Audacity  #rogra%, 7earn ow to:

•

i%#ort and #lay an existing audio file

•

record your 2oice$ guitar$ standard turnta(le or ta#e deck

•

record wit a =*+ de2ice B=*+ turnta(le$ =*+ ta#e deck or =*+ sound cardC

•

edit sounds$ including a##lying effects

•

sa2e or o#en an Audacity #roOect

•

ex#ort to an 'P& or oter audio file

•

 (urn to a 0"

•

For a detailed reference guide to all te Audacity %enus and controls$ click ere or 4el# N 'anual Bin we( (rowserC in te Audacity #rogra%,

•

If you need to download te current 'anual$ click ere,

•

Questions?  Eisit our Frequently Asked Questions BFAQC for answers to %any e2eryday issues,