Open... - opens an audio file or an Audacity project in a new
window (unless the current window is empty). To add audio files to
an existing project window, use one of the Import commands in the
Project menu.
Close - closes the current window, asking you if you want to
save changes. On Windows and Unix, closing the last window will
quit Audacity, unless you modify this behavior in the Interface
Preferences.
Save Project - saves everything in the window into an Audacity-specific
format so that you can save and quickly continue your work later. An Audacity
project consists of a project file, ending in ".aup", and a project
data folder, ending in "_data". For example, if you name your
project "Composition", then Audacity will create a file called
"Composition.aup" and a folder called Composition_data.
Audacity project files are not meant to be shared with other programs; use
one of the Export commands (below) when you are finished editing a file.
Save Project As... - same as Save Project (above), but lets you
save a project as a new name.
Recent Files ... - brings up a list of files you have recently opened in audacity to be re-opened quickly.
Export As WAV... - exports all of the audio in your project as a
WAV file, an industry-standard format for uncompressed audio. You can
change the standard file format used for exporting from Audacity by
opening the File Format Preferences.
Note that exporting will automatically mix and resample if you have
more than one track, or varying sample rates. See also
File Formats.
Export Selection As WAV... - same as above, but only exports
the current selection.
Export as MP3... - exports all of the audio as an MP3 file.
MP3 files are compressed and therefore take up much less disk space,
but they lose some audio quality. Another compressed alternative
is Ogg Vorbis (below). You can set the quality of MP3 compression
in the File Format Preferences. See also
MP3 Exporting.
Export Selection As MP3... - same as above, but only exports
the current selection.
Export as Ogg Vorbis... - exports all of the audio as an Ogg Vorbis
file. Ogg Vorbis files are compressed and therefore take up much less
disk space, but they lose some audio quality. Ogg Vorbis files tend to
take up a little less disk space than MP3 for similar compression quality,
and Ogg Vorbis is free from patents and licensing restrictions, but
Ogg Vorbis files are not as widespread. You can set the quality of
Ogg compression in the File Format Preferences.
Export Selection As Ogg Vorbis... - same as above, but only exports
the current selection.
Export Labels... - if you have a
Label Track in your project, this lets
you export the labels as a text file. You can import labels in the
same text format using the "Import Labels..." command in the
Project Menu.
Export Multiple... - lets you split your project into multiple files
all in one step. You can either split them vertically (one new file per
track), or horizontally (using labels in a
Label Track to indicate the breaks between
exported files.
Page Setup - configure how Audacity will print out the track waveforms using the Print option, and what printer to use.
Print - Print out the main window view from audacity showing the tracks and waveforms.
Exit (Quit) - closes all windows and exits Audacity, prompting you
to save any unsaved changes first.