Exporting A File

Software name : ­Audacity
Software version : 1.2

Projects created in Audacity are always saved in Audacity's own unique file format that cannot be opened by most other software. It is therefore necessary to export projects to more common file formats in order to use them with other audio software or media players.

Audacity can export the following formats: AIFF, MP3 and Ogg Vorbis.

AIFF files provide uncompressed CD quality audio so this format should be used if you want to open your Audacity project with other music production software or CD authoring software.

MP3 and Ogg Vorbis are both compressed? audio formats so they have lower sound quality but much smaller file sizes making them ideal for use in media players. The most important difference between these two formats is that Ogg Vorbis is completely open while MP3 is not. For this reason you will need to download and install the LAME MP3 encoder before you can export in MP3 format.

To export a file from Audacity you need to have an Audacity file open.  If you do not already have a file open from a recording or editing session then you can open one by pressing the Apple and O keys together or by clicking on "Open" in the Audacity File menu.

You should now see a window like this:

Use this window to browse to the file that you wish to open. Once you have selected the file simply click "Open" to open it. You should now see something a bit like this:

To export the file click "File" then click on the format that you want to export as.

You should now see a window like this:

Use this window to edit the file name and select or create an appropriate folder into which to save the new file. Once you are happy with that simply click on "Save" to begin exporting.

You should now see a window like this:

The time it takes to export the project will depend on the length of the recording and the speed of your computer.

When exporting is complete the above window will disappear. You should now be able to see the file in the folder that you chose to save it into looking something like this:

That's it. You can now enjoy listening to the results of your Audacity project through other audio software or transfer it on to your portable media player.