{"id":144139,"date":"2019-07-10T19:39:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-10T17:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=144139"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:42:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T04:42:37","slug":"audacity-keyboard-shortcuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/audacity-keyboard-shortcuts\/","title":{"rendered":"34 handy keyboard shortcuts for Audacity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Audacity\"<\/p>\n

If you’ve ever done any kind of audio editing you’ve probably at least heard<\/em> of Audacity<\/a> – that free program that covers the basics but probably isn’t as good as a more pricey DAW like Pro Tools<\/a>, Logic<\/a>, or Ableton<\/a>. While a heavyweight DAW like Ableton can get the job done like a champ, don’t overlook Audacity just because it’s free. Spend some time with the program and you can work absolute magic<\/em> with it. People will hear your final mix and be absolutely shocked that you made it with freeware.<\/p>\n

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\r\n Audacity<\/span>\r\n Free Download \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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One easy way to take your Audacity skills to the next level is to familiarize yourself with its many keyboard shortcut commands<\/strong>. This will allow you to work faster, gain a more discerning edge over your audio product, and fine-tune your tracks more accurately and meticulously. Here’s a list of 34 different shortcuts<\/strong> you can use as you work:<\/p>\n

Universal commands<\/h3>\n

Starting with the absolute basics, these are general Windows commands that seamlessly translate over to Audacity for ease of use. You’ve probably used many of these before in a program like Microsoft Word<\/a> or Photoshop<\/a>, and Audacity conveniently keeps the paradigm.<\/p>\n

\"Audacity<\/p>\n

CTRL+N New project<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+O Open project<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+W Close project<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+S Save project<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+Z Undo<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+Y Redo<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+X Cut<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+C Copy<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+V Paste<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+A Select all<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+D Duplicate<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+P Preferences<\/strong><\/p>\n

Playback commands<\/h3>\n

Audacity shares similar audio playback functionality as other digital audio workstations (like Pro Tools,\u00a0Reaper<\/a> or even Finale<\/a>). If you start using Audacity more consistently you’ll be using these functions a lot<\/em>. These shortcut commands will save you a ton of time:<\/p>\n

\"Audacity<\/p>\n

Space Play\/Stop<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shift+SPACE or L Loop<\/strong><\/p>\n

P Pause<\/strong><\/p>\n

R Record<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Preview for one second<\/strong><\/p>\n

B Play from cursor to selection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Navigation commands<\/h3>\n

Editing audio is a lot of zooming in and out, selecting parts of the file, syncing tracks, and picking just the right nanosecond where you want to start that Fade Out effect or modify the volume a touch. Navigating your project is a cornerstone of using the interface, and getting a grasp of the relevant keyboard commands will grant you more finesse, maneuverability, and precision.<\/p>\n

\"Audacity
Set your zoom level faster with CTRL+#<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CTRL+1 Zoom in<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+2 Zoom normal<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+3 Zoom out<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+E Zoom to selection<\/strong><\/p>\n

F4 Zoom tool<\/strong><\/p>\n

F1 Selection tool<\/strong><\/p>\n

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How to add free sound clips to your audio project<\/p>\r\n read now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Edit commands<\/h3>\n

At its heart Audacity is free editing software, and that’s what the program’s all about. The following edit commands are what you’ll probably be using the most, to avoid having to keep clicking on obscure toolbar buttons or hunting through menus. Get used to these and you’ll be able to add effects, switch tools, and remove unwanted noise on the fly.<\/p>\n

\"Audacity
Switch to the right tool for the job.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

F3 Editing tool<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+R Repeat previous effect<\/strong><\/p>\n

Delete or CTRL+K Delete<\/strong><\/p>\n

CTRL+L Silence<\/strong><\/p>\n

F2 Envelope tool<\/strong><\/p>\n

F5 Timeshift tool<\/strong><\/p>\n

F6 Multi tool<\/strong><\/p>\n

D cycle tool forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

A cycle tool backward<\/strong><\/p>\n

For editing audio on a budget, you can’t do much better than Audacity. While it does suffer a few shortcomings (such as an inability to import WMA, AAC, AC3, or proprietary file formats), you’re getting a program that can keep up with other digital audio workstations, and that does it all for free. Other Audacity functions include multi-track mixing, vocal reduction and isolation, MIDI playback, and even full cross-platform operation.<\/p>\n

We hope these helpful shortcut commands save you time! Stick with Softonic for more Audacity tips and tricks.<\/em><\/p>\n

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How to use Audacity: 14 beginner tips<\/p>\r\n Edit audio like a pro \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edit audio like a pro for free with these Audacity shortcuts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9155,"featured_media":144323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":2},"categories":[2518,2441],"tags":[2682,1757,2131,1358,1866,2078],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-144139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","category-how-to","tag-app-subdomain-redirectionaudacity","tag-audio","tag-editing","tag-free","tag-software","tag-tips-and-tricks"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144139"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325742,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144139\/revisions\/325742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144139"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=144139"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=144139"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=144139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}