Export - Audacity Manual

# Export

From Audacity Development Manual

To be able to hear your work in other media applications or players, you need to Export it to an audio file.

- You can export audio from the whole project or from a selection. Alternatively you can export a set of multiple audio files.
- In contrast, saving an Audacity project creates a project file containing all your track contents, including labels and envelope points, so you can return to your work later exactly as you left it. However, other applications cannot read Audacity projects.

When using Export Audio Audacity will only export tracks that are not grayed-out by use of the Mute or Solo buttons in the tracks' Track Control Panels.

So what you hear by previewing with playback prior to export is what you will get in the Exported audio file.

- There will be a warning if you export with all audio tracks muted.

To export, choose File > Export Audio then choose the file format you want to export to in the Format dropdown. To burn a CD for standalone CD players, choose WAV or AIFF.

## Export Audio dialog

In summary, there are several steps to follow when exporting:

- Choose the filename to export to.
- Choose the folder to export to.
- Select the Format required for your exported file.
- Choose the audio options that you require for your chosen format. Note that these will vary according to the format you choose.
- Optionally, press Edit Metadata to edit the metadata tags for your exported file.
- Choose the export range, whole project, selection or multiple files
  - The Metadata Editor dialog will then appear. This lets you enter embedded information tags in the file such as artist, year or genre.
- Press Export.

| Help with choosing the file name: Avoid periods (dots) in the file name, or you will have to add the extension such as .wav or .mp3 at the end of the name. Some characters cannot be used on all operating systems or for email or Internet use. For maximum compatibility use only: A to Z or a to z characters whole numbers (0 to 9) underscores ( _ )

See Export Audio Dialog for more detailed information on this dialog.

See Export Audio for more help with exporting.

## Export Formats

There are a number of audio formats that Audacity, as-shipped, can export to, others can be added with additional software.

- Shipped available exports include WAV, AIFF, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC and MP2
- You may install the optional FFmpeg library to export to many more audio formats including AC3, M4A(AAC), MP4 and WMA.

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