Installing Audacity on Windows
Software name : Audacity
Homepage : http://audacity.sourceforge.net
Software version used for this installation : 1.2.6
Operating System use for this installation : Microsoft Windows XP
Recommended Hardware :
| Windows version | Recommended RAM/ processor speed |
Minimum RAM/ processor speed |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 98, ME | 128 MB / 500 MHz | 64 MB / 300 MHz |
| Windows 2000, XP | 512 MB/1 GHz | 128 MB/300 MHz |
| Windows Vista Home Basic | 2 GB / 1 GHz | 512 MB / 1 GHz |
| Windows Vista Home Premium/ Business/Ultimate |
4 GB / 2 GHz | 1 GB / 1 GHz |
Downloading Audacity
The latest stable version of Audacity for Microsoft Windows can be downloaded from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows. The latest stable version at the time of writing this document is Audacity 1.2.6.
Click on the "Audacity 1.2.6 installer" link. This will take you to a download page. This page lists locations around the world where the software can be downloaded. The idea is that downloads can be faster if they come from a place near you. To begin downloading, click on the download link of the location nearest you.
Once the download is complete you should see a downloads window like this:
or something like this on your desktop:
Open this file to begin installing Audacity by double clicking on the icon or clicking on "Open" on the downloads window.
You should now see a Setup Wizard like this:
Click "Next" to proceed.
The next step asks you to read and accept the License Agreement.
You cannot continue with the installation until you have accepted the agreement, so click on the radio button labelled "I accept the agreement" and then click "Next" to continue.
You should now see an Information window like this:
This window contains information such as credits and a changelog that you may find useful to read. Click "Next" continue.
You will now be prompted to select the folder Audacity will be installed into.
The Setup Wizard will automatically create a folder called "Audacity" in your "Program Files" folder so unless you want to install it somewhere else you can simply click "Next" to continue. If you wish to install Audacity somewhere else click "Browse".
You will now be asked to select which additional tasks you would like Setup to perform during the installation.
Click the check boxes to select or deselect the additional tasks then click "Next" to continue.
You will now see a window displaying the destination location and additional tasks.
Check that this information all correct and if it is click "Install" to continue. Click "Back" if you wish to change any of the installation settings.
You should now see a window like this:
Click "Finish" to complete the installation. If the check box labelled "Launch Audacity" is ticked Audacity will open straight away.
Installation is now complete. If you didn't choose "Launch Audacity" in the options above then you can launch Audacity by double clicking the following icon in the Audacity folder:
The first time you launch Audacity you will be prompted to select which language you want it to use.
Click on the dropdown menu to select the language you want.
Once you have chosen the language you want, click on "OK" to finish launching Audacity.
The Audacity interface should look like this:
That's it! You now have Audacity up and running and can begin making and editing recordings.
You may need to install an extra library to be able to export a file as an mp3.