Presenter 360: Editing Audio

Use Articulate Presenter's built-in audio editor to fine-tune your narration and animation timings. You can record, import, and export audio; delete mistakes; insert silence; adjust the volume; and more.

• Accessing the Audio Editor
• Zooming for Precise Editing
• Previewing Audio
• Recording Narration
• Importing Audio
• Exporting Audio
• Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Audio
• Deleting Audio
• Cropping Audio
• Syncing Animations
• Adjusting Slide Markers
• Adding Silence
• Changing the Volume
• Correcting Mistakes and Saving Changes

Accessing the Audio Editor

There are two ways to access the audio editor. If you want to edit audio for all slides in the same window, go to the Articulate tab on the PowerPoint ribbon and click Audio Editor.

If you’re working in the consolidated narration window, you can edit audio for individual slides, one at a time. Just right-click any audio clip in the timeline panel and select Edit Narration.

Zooming for Precise Editing

If you launched the audio editor from the PowerPoint ribbon, you'll see the audio waveform for your entire course when the editor first opens.

To drill down to a specific slide for editing, just click a slide thumbnail in the left navigation pane. The waveform will zoom in until the waveform for the selected slide fills the screen.

If you launched the audio editor from the consolidated narration window, you’ll only see audio waveform for the current slide, and there won’t be a slide-thumbnail panel.

Regardless of how you launched the audio editor, you can use any of these zoom features for even more precise editing:

• The easiest way to zoom in or out is to scroll your mouse wheel.
• Another option is to use the zoom slider in the lower right corner of the window. Drag the slider to the right to zoom in. Drag it to the left to zoom out.
• To zoom into a specific portion of the waveform, use your mouse to select just that portion of the waveform, then click Zoom Selection to fill the audio editor with only the selected portion of the waveform.

Tip: Click Show All on the ribbon to zoom back out to the entire audio waveform.

Previewing Audio

To hear a preview of your audio, use the play/pause and stop buttons in the lower left corner of the audio editor.

Another way to preview is to right-click the audio waveform and select Play.

To hear just part of the audio, use your mouse to select a portion of the waveform. Then use the play/pause and stop buttons, or right-click the selection and choose Play.

Recording Narration

You can record additional narration or even replace the audio waveform with an entirely new recording. Here’s how:

1. Click the waveform at the point where you want to add audio. The playhead (blue vertical line) will move to the point on the waveform where you clicked.
   
   If you want to replace some of the audio, use your mouse to select a portion of the waveform.
   
   If you want to re-record all the audio, press Ctrl+A to select the entire waveform. It'll be overwritten in the next step.
   
   
2. Click the red Record button in the lower left corner of the audio editor.
3. When the Record Microphone window opens, click the red Record button to begin recording.
4. When you've finished recording, click the Stop recording button.
5. To preview your recording, use the play/pause and rewind buttons.
6. If you need to record your narration again, just click the Record button to start over. If you want to delete your narration altogether, click the Delete button.
7. If you change your mind about recording narration and would prefer to import audio instead, click the Import audio file button. Browse to the audio file you want to insert and click Open.
8. Click Save.

Importing Audio

Follow the instructions below to import audio, depending on how you launched the audio editor.

Via the PowerPoint Ribbon

Select the slide where you want to import audio, then click the Import drop-down arrow on the ribbon and choose either Single file or Multiple files. If you’re importing a single audio file, browse to the file you want to import and click Open. Then choose where you want to import the audio clip: Current position: Audio will be imported at the current position of the playhead on the waveform. Beginning of slide: Audio will be imported at the beginning of the current slide. End of slide: Audio will be imported at the end of the current slide. If you’re importing multiple audio files, the Import Audio window will open. See this user guide to learn more about importing multiple audio files at the same time. When you’re done, click OK to close the import window.

Via the Consolidated Narration Window

Click the waveform at the point where you want to add audio. The playhead (blue vertical line) will move to the point on the waveform where you clicked. If you want to replace some of the audio with an imported file, use your mouse to select a portion of the waveform. If you want to replace all of the audio with an imported file, press Ctrl+A to select the entire waveform. It'll be overwritten by the imported audio file. Click Import on the ribbon. Browse to the audio file you want to import and click Open.

Exporting Audio

You can export a copy of your audio for backup purposes or to use in another project. Follow the instructions below, depending on how you launched the audio editor.

Via the PowerPoint Ribbon

Go to the File tab on the ribbon, scroll to Export, and choose either WAV or MP3. Browse to the location where you want to save your exported audio and click Select Folder. Presenter will create a separate file for each slide in your course that includes audio. To export audio for only one slide, launch the audio editor from the consolidated narration window. See below. To export all the audio from your course to a single audio file, see this user guide.

Via the Consolidated Narration Window

Go to the File tab on the ribbon and select Export. Browse to the location on your computer where you want to save your exported audio and give it a file name. Use the Save as type drop-down to select MP3, WAV, or Both WAV and MP3. Click the Save button to complete the export process. Presenter will export the audio for the current slide only. To export all slides to individual audio files at the same time, launch the audio editor from the PowerPoint ribbon. See above. To export all the audio from your course to a single audio file, see this user guide.

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Audio

Cut	Use your mouse to select a portion of the audio waveform, then do any of the following: Press Ctrl+X. Click Cut on the ribbon. Right-click the selected waveform and choose Cut.
Copy	Use your mouse to select a portion of the audio waveform, then do any of the following: Press Ctrl+C. Click Copy on the ribbon. Right-click the selected waveform and choose Copy.
Paste	Click the waveform where you want to paste audio, then do any of the following: Press Ctrl+V. Click Paste on the ribbon. Right-click and select Paste.

Deleting Audio

Use your mouse to select the portion of the audio waveform that you want to remove, then click Delete on the ribbon.

You can also right-click the selection and choose Delete.

Cropping Audio

You can crop audio, meaning you can keep a selected portion of the audio waveform and delete everything else.

1. Launch the audio editor from the consolidated narration window.
2. Use your mouse to select the portion of the waveform that you want to keep.
3. Click Crop on the ribbon. (You can also right-click the selection and choose Crop.)

Syncing Animations

If you launched the audio editor from the PowerPoint ribbon, you can fine-tune your animation timings with the audio waveform. (To sync animations in the consolidated narration window, see this user guide.)

Blue, dashed, vertical lines on the waveform represent on-click animations. Hover over any of these animation markers to see which object animations they represent.

There are two ways to adjust the timing of an animation:

• Drag the animation marker left or right along the waveform. (You can’t drag one animation marker past another.)
• Click the waveform where you want the animation to occur, then click Set Next Animation on the ribbon.

Adjusting Slide Markers

If you launched the audio editor from the PowerPoint ribbon, you can fine-tune the timing for each slide by adjusting its slide marker on the audio waveform. (This is especially helpful if you need to import a single audio file and split it across multiple slides. See this user guide for details.)

Gray vertical lines on the waveform represent where slides begin.

There are two ways to adjust the timing of a slide:

• Drag the slide marker left or right along the waveform.
• Click the waveform where you want the next slide to occur, then click Set Next Slide on the ribbon.

Adding Silence

You can insert silence into your audio waveform to improve phrasing. Click the waveform at the point where you want to insert silence, then click Silence on the ribbon. (You can also right-click and choose Insert Silence.)

When the Insert Silence window appears, enter the number of seconds of silence you want to add and click OK.

Tip: If you want to replace part of the waveform with silence, just select the portion you want to replace and click Silence. You won't be asked to specify the number of seconds. Instead, silence will simply replace the selected waveform.

Changing the Volume

You can change the audio volume by clicking Volume on the ribbon and using the slider to make adjustments.

If you only need to change the volume for part of the waveform, use your mouse to select that portion of the waveform, click Volume, then use the slider to adjust the volume.

Correcting Mistakes and Saving Changes

If you make a mistake or change your mind, use the Undo and Redo buttons in the upper left corner to correct it.

When you're finished editing, click Save & Close on the ribbon.

Tip: To close the audio editor without saving your changes, just click the X in the upper right corner.