Is anyone else using the latest version of audacity?

[KevinS]

I uploaded this version (3.3.2?) yesterday and am slowly getting used to it. I only stumbled upon it because I was having trouble with the program and decided to delete and then re-install it. I saw then that there was a new version.

I can't tell if any improvements were made.

[redrun]

I've got the very latest (3.2.3) on one PC, but since working with a file there means I can't use it on my older (3.1.something) version, I haven't used it for real yet.

For that reason I also can't tell if the changes have been improvements for my workflow on the whole. If your "Effect" menu was not previously sorted into the new categories ("Volume and Compression", "Fading", etc.), then you probably came from version 3.1.something, and there's a lot new! The official Audacity changelog contains a video to explain it:
https://support.audacityteam.org/additional-resources/changelog/audacity-3.2

If you were already on 3.2.something, then there's very little changed since then. Bug fixes, and an optional toolbar with buttons for cut/paste, which my older install still has.

[KevinS]

I've got the very latest (3.2.3) on one PC, but since working with a file there means I can't use it on my older (3.1.something) version, I haven't used it for real yet.

For that reason I also can't tell if the changes have been improvements for my workflow on the whole. If your "Effect" menu was not previously sorted into the new categories ("Volume and Compression", "Fading", etc.), then you probably came from version 3.1.something, and there's a lot new! The official Audacity changelog contains a video to explain it:
https://support.audacityteam.org/additional-resources/changelog/audacity-3.2

If you were already on 3.2.something, then there's very little changed since then. Bug fixes, and an optional toolbar with buttons for cut/paste, which my older install still has.

Thank you. I'm adjusting to 3.2.3 well enough. It feels like change for the sake of change for me, but I'm pleased to hear some bugs might have been addressed.

[TriciaG]

*sigh*

Yeah, I really should update mine, only to be able to instruct new people how to do things. I'm perfectly happy with the version I'm on (2.4.2), but it doesn't help me when new people don't know where the mic slider is, etc.

It's like driving a new car. All the components are there; they're just in different places, and ya gotta press the lever up rather than down, like you've been doing it for years in the old car.

[KevinS]

*sigh*

Yeah, I really should update mine, only to be able to instruct new people how to do things. I'm perfectly happy with the version I'm on (2.4.2), but it doesn't help me when new people don't know where the mic slider is, etc.

It's like driving a new car. All the components are there; they're just in different places, and ya gotta press the lever up rather than down, like you've been doing it for years in the old car.

If one could lock the sliders in a new version, you would jump up and shout. But alas...

When will they learn what is really needed?

[redrun]

If one could lock the sliders in a new version, you would jump up and shout. But alas...

Hmm, the input slider seems to stay in place on this test PC. If it doesn't for you, though, I'd recommend using your operating system's volume slider, as I do on the older one.

On Windows 10 (and probably 11), you can open the Settings app, go to System -> Sound, look for the "Input" section, select your mic, and then click "Device properties" just a little further down the page. That's probably the long way, but they move the other buttons around every once in a while, so that seems most likely to work when somebody reads this in future.

[KevinS]

If one could lock the sliders in a new version, you would jump up and shout. But alas...

Hmm, the input slider seems to stay in place on this test PC. If it doesn't for you, though, I'd recommend using your operating system's volume slider, as I do on the older one.

On Windows 10 (and probably 11), you can open the Settings app, go to System -> Sound, look for the "Input" section, select your mic, and then click "Device properties" just a little further down the page. That's probably the long way, but they move the other buttons around every once in a while, so that seems most likely to work when somebody reads this in future.

Which is the input slider? My wish is that the sliders to the left of the waveform, the gain and 'stereo' sliders, could be locked.

[redrun]

Which is the input slider? My wish is that the sliders to the left of the waveform, the gain and 'stereo' sliders, could be locked.

Ah, I thought you meant the slider that is now part of the "monitor bar" for the mic (there's also one for output).
In the toolbar, there's a pair of icons for a mic and a speaker. Each has a bar next to it, labeled with numbers, with a '0' on the right end. It's my understanding that '0' is the max volume, and the numbers are negative decibels (how far below that max you are). Each bar used to say something like "Click to monitor", and the mic one would light up as you talked, to show how loud you were against the numbers on the bar.

Having described all of that stuff you probably already knew, these two bars now also have a drag-able box that starts off by the 0 (that is, at the highest end). As a convenient new feature, you can slide that box to the left along the bar, and it will lower your input volume. Sort of a negative gain, since it doesn't ever amplify, but it's less trouble than either adjusting from the OS in the way I described or from Audacity's Preferences window.

But yes, it would also be nice to be able to see the full waveform without the risk of accidentally clicking on those sliders to the left of it.

[KevinS]

Which is the input slider? My wish is that the sliders to the left of the waveform, the gain and 'stereo' sliders, could be locked.

Ah, I thought you meant the slider that is now part of the "monitor bar" for the mic (there's also one for output).
In the toolbar, there's a pair of icons for a mic and a speaker. Each has a bar next to it, labeled with numbers, with a '0' on the right end. It's my understanding that '0' is the max volume, and the numbers are negative decibels (how far below that max you are). Each bar used to say something like "Click to monitor", and the mic one would light up as you talked, to show how loud you were against the numbers on the bar.

Having described all of that stuff you probably already knew, these two bars now also have a drag-able box that starts off by the 0 (that is, at the highest end). As a convenient new feature, you can slide that box to the left along the bar, and it will lower your input volume. Sort of a negative gain, since it doesn't ever amplify, but it's less trouble than either adjusting from the OS in the way I described or from Audacity's Preferences window.

But yes, it would also be nice to be able to see the full waveform without the risk of accidentally clicking on those sliders to the left of it.

Thank you. I understand now.

[Peter Why]

I'm using 3.2.2. I've got used to Audacity's updates messing me about, so I have made a note of all the settings that I use, so I can adjust each new update to my preferences. It does seem odd that Audacity doesn't hold onto my preferences and reinstall them when it updates.
Peter

[KevinS]

I'm using 3.2.2. I've got used to Audacity's updates messing me about, so I have made a note of all the settings that I use, so I can adjust each new update to my preferences.
Peter

Good idea!