# Audacity Recording & Exporting Quick Guide

The following video covers setting up your mics and output (i.e., speaks or headphones), setting your levels, and how to record and playback.&#x20;

{% embed url="https://youtu.be/CESQmaD0AZM" %}

Recording and Playback buttons:

![The record and playback button options.](https://1642143105-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MHrHp9GyHUj9GUOOagv%2Fuploads%2FU33FA2icCJVytmoQ6SSi%2Frecord.jpg?alt=media\&token=59362dd7-dfb0-4345-bf26-719951427ecf)

### Export Your Audio

When you are done recording, export your audio. **Go to File and "Export as MP3" or "Export as WAV."** WAV is the highest quality and MP3 is a lesser but still good quality.

If you have **multiple tracks** and want to export them separately, double click on a single track to highlight it. Go to "Export" and select "Export Selected Audio." Do this for each track you want to export. If you do not export your tracks separately, all of the sound will be combined in one file.

![Selecting "Export Selected Audio"](https://1642143105-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MHrHp9GyHUj9GUOOagv%2F-MVI-LNSPk2ySfPPC3Oq%2F-MVI-bcMOl0uteWnze4H%2FAudacity%20Export-1.png?alt=media\&token=5065aa59-80a5-4864-9759-1ec2bae257b2)

If you choose to save your recording by selecting "**Save Project**," it will save it as an **Audacity** **project**, which can only be opened in the application. This choice is fine if you want to keep working in the app, but once you want to share it out as an audio file or move it to a different platform for editing, you will need to export it. Moreover, it is a good practice to export it as an audio file even if you save it as a project so that you have a backup of your recording.

To **learn more about Audacity**, including how to use it for sound editing, see [Audacity tutorials](../../tutorials/audacity). To learn more about sound recording and editing concepts, see [Sound Recording & Editing](../sound-recording-editing).



