3 When the work in Ardour is finished, one or multiple sound file(s) need to be
4 created, be it to be printed to a medium such as a CD or DVD, uploaded to a
5 streaming site or sent to another person or software for further work. This
6 can be done either using <kbd class="menu">Session > Export >
7 Export to Audio file(s)…</kbd>.
10 <figure class="right">
11 <img src="/images/export-dialog-file-format.png" alt="The Export window">
20 This tab contains controls for the format of the exported audio file(s).
21 More than one format can be enabled here, in which case each will be exported in turn.
22 Ardour is supplied with a list of export formats, including:
30 <li>CD (Red Book)</li>
32 <li>MP3 (extreme)</li>
34 <li>MP3 (standard)</li>
37 <li>Soundcloud and Spotify</li>
39 <li>YouTube and Deezer</li>
43 These formats can be edited, or new ones created, with the <a
44 href="@@export-format-profiles">"Edit Export Format Profile"</a> dialog, which
45 appears when clicking the <kbd class="menu">Edit</kbd> or
46 <kbd class="menu">New</kbd> buttons to the right of the drop-down list of
51 Presets can also be created, consisting of one or more formats. Ardour
52 provides some ready-made presets, too:
56 <li>CD + Ogg/Vorbis + FLAC</li>
61 <li>Ogg/Vorbis + FLAC</li>
68 Aside from providing a way to tell Ardour <em>where</em> to put the created file(s),
69 the <dfn>location</dfn> part of the window allows to name the exported files with
70 a lot of choice regarding the naming convention, hence blending into the user's
71 workflow, and providing a clean way to keep the export folders from being cluttered
72 with poorly named files.
75 The name of the file(s) can optionally be made of:
79 <li>The session or snapshot's name</li>
80 <li>A custom label (i.e., any text)</li>
81 <li>A revision number</li>
82 <li>The name of the timespan (see below)</li>
83 <li>A date (in multiple formats)</li>
84 <li>A time (also in multiple format).</li>
88 As in the screenshot above, when writing a file could erase a present file with
89 the same name, Ardour shows a yellow warning line in the bottom of the window, and
90 a button to list all the files that would be erased and replaced.
93 <h2>Analyze exported audio</h2>
96 <img src="/images/export-report-analysis.png" alt="The Export Report/Analysis window">
98 The Export Report/Analysis window
103 Checking <kbd class="option">Analyze Exported Audio</kbd> shows the Export Report/Analysis
104 window. This provides a lot of useful information about the exported file:
107 <li>the file name and location</li>
109 <li>its channel count</li>
110 <li>its sample rate</li>
111 <li>its duration and timecode.</li>
114 It also allows to <kbd class="menu">Play</kbd> the file, and the <kbd class="menu">
115 Open Folder</kbd> button gives a quick access to the place where it has been created.
118 The most prominent feature though, are the two generated views of the audio file
119 in time (waveform) and frequency (sonograph) domain, and the loudness
123 <li>the Peak value</li>
124 <li>the True Peak value (to take inter sample peaks into account)</li>
125 <li>the Normalization Gain (if it has been applied)</li>
126 <li>the Integrated Loudness</li>
127 <li>the loudness range</li>
128 <li>a graph of the multiplicity of the peaks at the different loudness levels.</li>
134 <img src="/images/export-dialog-timespan.png" alt="The Time Span tab">
141 This tab allows to select the range (or ranges) of the timeline to export. By default, "session" is
142 enabled—this will export the whole session from the start marker to the end marker.
143 Any loop or range present in the session can be chosen, or a combination thereof.
146 The realtime checkboxes allow to export audio as it is played,
147 and not freewheeling to render the file as fast as Ardour can. This can prevent
148 odd behaviours from some plugins (reverbs, etc...). This can be chosen globally
149 (with the <kbd class="option">Realtime Export</kbd> checkbox at the top) or individually on a per time span basis, with
150 the <kbd class="option">RT</kbd> checkbox next to each time span.
156 <img src="/images/export-dialog-channels.png" alt="The Channels tab">
163 This tab decides which outputs (tracks or busses) should be sent to the exported
164 file. By default, only the Master Bus is sent.