Importing Audio in Audacity

Before importing files in Audacity, you need to first be aware of the file formats Audacity accepts. These file formats are:

• Audacity Project format (AUP)
• WAV (Windows Wave format)
• AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format)
• Sun Au / NeXT
• MP3 (MPEG I, Layer 3)
• Ogg Vorbis

After you have ensured that your file is compatible with Audacity, you are ready to import your file into Audacity. There are three ways of importing files:

1. You can drag and drop files into the Audacity Window

2. You can go to the File menu and go to “Import" and then "Audio”

3. Or you can simply use the keyboard shortcut “Command +Shift + I”

Your imported file should now be seen in the Audio track, ready for editing.

Need Help with Audacity?

Check out the Manual and the Quick Help link!

First, if you are not inside Audacity, open the application. Once it launches,  you will see a welcome box.

Click on Quick Help if you have a specific question. The Quick Help page looks like this:

Click on Manual if you want to browse Audacity Manual to learn more about what Audacity can do:

If you are already inside Audacity, then just click on Help and you can go to either Quick Help or to the Manual.