CNET Editors' review
Audacity is one of our favorite audio tools, so we were interested in seeing Audacity Portable, a fully portable version from PortableApps. Like the installed version, Audacity Portable edits your MP3s, WAVs, and other digital audio files. You can remove long intros, extract clips, and change the pitch, tempo, and other parameters of your song files or any audio recording. But, as the name indicates, Audacity Portable is completely portable, which means it runs as soon as you click the program's executable file without having to be installed. You can carry Audacity Portable with you on a USB drive, iPod, smartphone, or any portable storage device and run it on any Windows PC without leaving permanent traces behind. The latest release of Audacity Portable includes Windows 8 compatibility.
We clicked the program file, and the familiar Audacity interface opened, as did the Welcome to Audacity screen with its links to a Quick Help feature as well as a Manual, Wiki, and Forum. If you haven't used Audacity before, these resources explain it all, and other users stand ready to answer any question you can pose. But your best bet may be to do what we did when we were new to Audacity: Load a file and start tinkering. Thanks in part to Audacity Portable's busy but attractive and logical layout, that's a surprisingly easy thing to do. We started by loading a WAV we'd recorded from an LP. Audacity Portable's expandable spectral view let us zoom in to remove lead-in groove noise as well as select tracks for extracting and converting. Though portable, this program has plenty of options, features, and extras, including a long menu of effects as well as tools to analyze recordings and generate test tones, noise, and even silence.
We've had nothing but excellent performance from the freeware programs rendered portable by PortableApps, and Audacity Portable is no exception. Though it's not installed at startup, Audacity Portable even detected our various digital audio devices, interfaces, and outputs, including two external sound cards and both mono and stereo inputs. Audacity Portable lets you take audacious audio editing wherever you go.
Audacity Portable - Edit your audio files easily - Download Video Previews:Publisher's Description
From PortableApps:
Audacity Portable is the Audacity audio editor packaged as a portable app, so you can take your audio files along with everything you need to edit and record on the go. You can place it on your USB flash drive, iPod, portable hard drive or a CD and use it on any computer, without leaving any personal information behind.
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All versions:
3.8 starsout of 12 votes
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Current version:
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""I Just love Portability" - Don't You?"
Version: Audacity Portable 1.3.13 Rev 2
Pros
Sadly as time moves forward the little things you enjoyed sort of fade away, like U3 drives and other excellent ideas of days gone by.ahh..
It works and works well for my needs, quick revisions and tweaks! So glad the Author continues to update it!Cons
No cons I can complain about, glad the Author continues to support it!!
Summary
Portability & Stability on U3 & USB drives, safe, stable and small =))
What it does, it does well, Thanks to the Developer, and Supporters of it! -
"Very Good software"
Version: Audacity Portable 1.3.13 Rev 2
Pros
simplicity of use
Cons
None at the price!
Summary
Good sturdy shareware
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"This Program Works Just Fine"
Version: Audacity Portable 1.3.12 Rev 2
Pros
All of the advantages of Audacity but you can now have it on your memory stick to take with you.
Cons
Having to download and install the lame dll. But you have to do that with the installed version too. I'm not sure why you have to do this. Perhaps some one can tell us.
Summary
I'm not sure what issues the other users had with this program. For me it installed and ran perfectly. A great addition if you want to edit songs on the run.
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"Won't run. Files disappear after drive is removed."
Version: Audacity Portable 1.3.12 Rev 2
Pros
Can't tell. Can't get program to stay on jump drive, nor succesfully launch.
Cons
Instal to flash drive, remove drive, replace drive, open audacity portable folder, NOTHING THERE!!
Try to launch while files are still visible after install, and windows IMMEDIATELY says "this program has stoped working"Summary
this version needs fixing.
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"It's ok I guess"
Version: Audacity Portable 1.2.6 Rev 4
Pros
Nice large interface and buttons
Cons
I dunno, I just did like it to much
Summary
I found a program that is called "free audio editor" and everything else pales by comparison.
I meant to say I just did NOT like it to much
Updated on Aug 1, 2010 -
"Will not install"
Version: Audacity Portable 1.3.12 Rev 2
Pros
Love the previous version
Cons
none that I know of
Summary
Fix the latest version so it will install.
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"Does everything the full version does"
Version: Audacity Portable 1.2.6 Rev 4
Pros
Easy to use. Edits all the common audio files.
Cons
None that I have found.
Summary
I have used this program for years. It doesn't try to do everything, it just does audio editing well.
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"Fine job recording dictation I use for presentations."
Version: Audacity Portable 1.2.6 rev 3
Pros
Easy to use.
Lots of tools to enhance the sound file.
Export in three formats.Cons
I have not had any problems after I figured out how to get VISTA to recognize my microphone.
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"Need mp3 converter.. I use AnMing\mp3trt.exe. its free"
Version: Audacity Portable 1.2.6 rev 3
Pros
it works and doesn't have any cons.
It allows you to mix multiple tracks up and down... so many effects.. or just cut and paste.Cons
Need mp3 converter..but I already had AnMing\mp3trt.exe.mp3 to ringtone converter cause it's free too and works great too.
I also have mp3 cutter plus but I don't need that anymore.
ISummary
I'd pay for it if I had to but they don't even ask.
Yup.. I'm happy and I made one of my favorite songs (halleluja by leonard coehn) much more palatable.. -
"Awesome."
Version: Audacity Portable 1.2.4b
Pros
Im not an audio expert but for my uses this program works perfectly.
Cons
Why do you have to install another program so you can save in mp3? Dont worry ogg is also good.











