3. Selecting Audio


1>. Selecting the entire project


You can select the entire length of all tracks on screen with Select > All or use the shortcut Ctrl + A (or ⌘ + A on a Mac).

Bulb icon Select all audio, if selection required

There is a setting in Tracks Behaviors Preferences called "Select all audio, if selection required" that auto-selects the entire project (whenever you issue an editing command that depends on a selection) if you have made no explicit time selection in audio tracks.

2>. Selecting the whole of an individual track


The whole of an individual track can be selected by clicking in the Select button in the Track Control Panel to the left of a track.

Holding Ctrl (or ⌘ + A on a Mac) and clicking on the Select button toggles the selectedness of the track.


3>. Selecting regions using the mouse


The easiest way to select a region of audio is to click the left mouse button anywhere inside of an audio track, then drag (in either direction) until the other edge of your selection is made, then release the mouse.
If it is not already selected, choose the Selection tool from Tools Toolbar, below:

Now click the left mouse button anywhere inside of an audio track, and click and drag to the other edge of your selection, and release.
Normally, you select both the tracks and the range simultaneously, by clicking and dragging. For example, to create the selection in the image below, make sure you are using Selection Tool , click in the track just after 7.0 seconds in the first track, then drag rightwards to 20.5 seconds as displayed on the Timeline, then downwards so that the gray selection region now includes the second track:

Visual cues indicating selection


There are two visual cues in tracks to alert you to the fact that you have selections present in those tracks:

1. In the above image the selected areas of the two top tracks track where audio waveform is present have their background turned white and areas where no audio waveform is present have their background turned blue where the selection exists.

2. The Track Control Panel changes from white to blue when a selection is present anywhere in the track. This can be useful as the selected audio waveform may not be showing on the screen.


Mouse selection tips


Some tips:
  • • You can drag from left to right or from right to left, it does not matter.
    • You can start your selection in one track, and end it in another track, and both tracks (plus the tracks in-between) will all end up selected.
    • If you move the mouse past the left or right edge of the window while dragging, Audiotikal will scroll the window in that direction as long as the mouse button is down.
    Esc key aborts selection drags, and restores the previous time selection, frequency selection (see later on this page), and set of selected tracks.
    • After making a selection you can modify it by going back and dragging the left or right edge.
  • 4>. Boundary Snap Guides


    Boundary Snap Guides make it easy to make a selection that starts or ends at a physical boundary, like a label or clip. Whenever snapping is taking place, a yellow vertical line appears to indicate the snap location.

    5>. Selecting / deselecting tracks using the mouse


    Tracks can be selected, deselecting any other tracks that are already selected, by clicking in the Select button in the Track Control Panel to the left of a track.