Toolbars Overview

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 and the Scrub 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 a special case. You may have one or both of the separate Recording and Playback Meter toolbars visible (both are visible by default). Alternatively you can have only the Combined Meter Toolbar visible (which displays recording and playback levels in a single meter).
• The tooltips for the toolbars and tools (visible when hovering over the toobar or tool) will display the shortcut for that tool/toolbar if one is set.

The Toolbars

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

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Transport Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

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

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Tools Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

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

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Recording Meter Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

• Displays recording levels and toggles input monitoring when not recording.

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Playback Meter Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

• Displays playback levels.

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Mixer Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

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

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Edit Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

• Cut, copy, paste, trim audio, silence audio, undo, redo, four zoom tools.

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Play-at-Speed Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

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

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Scrub Toolbar

• Starts, stops or switches to Scrub play or Seek play, and hides or displays the Scrub Ruler.
• This toolbar is not shown by default. Select View > Toolbars > Scrub Toolbar to show the toolbar, which by default docks in the upper dock.

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Device Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

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

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Selection Toolbar

Click on the image to learn more

 

• Controls the sample rate of the project, snapping to the selection format and adjusts cursor and region position by keyboard input.

  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.

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Spectral Selection Toolbar

• Displays and lets you adjust the current spectral (frequency) selection without having to be in Spectrogram view.
• This toolbar is not shown by default. Select View > Toolbars > Spectral Selection Toolbar to show the toolbar, which by default docks in the lower dock, beside or under Selection Toolbar.
• Choose your preferred format option from the dropdown menu above the boxes: Center frequency and Width   or Low and High Frequencies  .

In Center frequency and Width view, to clear the spectral selection entirely just use the Delete key after having clicked on any of the digits (note carefully that this is not the Delete key on the numerical keypad). When in Low and High Frequencies view you can clear either input box individually with the Delete key.

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Customizing Toolbar Layout

The size and position of toolbars can be customized. See Customizing Toolbar Layout for details.

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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.

Upper Toolbar dock area

Click on the image to learn more

 

Lower Toolbar dock area (showing Selection Toolbar)

Click on the image to learn more

 

Additionally if you choose to show the Spectral Selection Toolbar from the View Menu (it is not shown by default) then it will also be shown in the Lower Toolbar dock area by default.