Storyline 360: Using the Audio Tools

Control how your audio behaves using the audio tools in Storyline 360. Adjust the volume, edit the waveform, export your audio, turn off compression, and more.

Select the audio icon at the lower left corner of the slide stage or click the audio track in the timeline panel to reveal the Audio Tools—Options tab on the ribbon. Then use the following tools to fine-tune your audio.

Previewing Audio
Editing Text-to-Speech Narration
Adjusting Volume
Editing Audio
Replacing One Audio Track with Another
Exporting Audio
Turning Off Compression
Choosing Playback and Recording Devices
Working with Closed Captions

Previewing Audio

Click Preview to hear the selected audio track. Click it again to stop the audio playback.

Tip: Another way to preview an audio track is to double-click the audio icon at the lower left corner of the slide. Single-click it to stop the audio playback.

Editing Text-to-Speech Narration

If you're working with text-to-speech narration, click Text-to-Speech on the ribbon to edit the selected audio clip.

When the Insert Text-to-Speech window opens, you can switch to a different language or voice, change the script, or generate closed captions.

When you're finished, click Update to save your changes.

Learn more about converting text to speech in Storyline 360.

Adjusting Volume

Click Audio Volume to change the relative volume of your audio track, then choose one of the following levels:

Low	This lowers the volume to 50% of the original.
Medium	This is the default option. It sets the volume at 100%, meaning there's no change to the original volume.
High	This raises the volume to 150% of the original.
Mute	This silences the selected audio track.

Tip: You can normalize audio throughout your course for consistent volume across all slides by adjusting the quality settings when you publish.

If your course audio already has consistent volume, you can speed up the publishing process by unchecking this option.

Editing Audio

Click Audio Editor to modify the selected audio clip. See this user guide to learn about the built-in audio editor.

Here are a few other ways to access the audio editor:

Right-click the audio icon at the lower left corner of the slide and select Audio Editor.
Right-click the audio track in the timeline and select Edit Audio.
Double-click the audio track in the timeline.

Replacing One Audio Track with Another

If you want to replace the selected audio track with a different one, click the drop-down arrow beside Replace Audio. Then choose an audio file from your computer or an audio clip from the media library. Or, record narration with your microphone or convert text to speech.

Exporting Audio

Sometimes, you may want to reuse audio in another project or make a backup copy. Just export it. Here's how:

First, do any of the following:
- Select the audio track, then click Export Audio on the ribbon.
- Right-click the audio icon at the lower left corner of the slide and select Export Audio.
- Right-click the audio track in the timeline and select Export Audio.
Browse to the location where you want to save the exported audio clip and give it a file name.
Use the Save as type drop-down list to choose a file format. You can export audio as MP3, WAV, or both.
Click Save to complete the export process.

Turning Off Compression

By default, audio is compressed in your published output so courses download faster for learners. However, you can turn off compression for MP3 audio files to preserve their original quality. Simply change the Compression setting to None. If you change your mind, set it back to Automatic.

Only MP3 files can be uncompressed in Storyline. The compression setting is grayed out for all other audio formats and narration that you recorded in Storyline. If you’d prefer not to compress audio in your course but the compression setting is unavailable, convert your audio to MP3, then import it back into your project.

Pro Tip: If your MP3 audio files have stereo sound and you want to keep the stereo format in your published course, turn off compression.

Choosing Playback and Recording Devices

To change your audio playback and recording devices, click the arrow in the lower right corner of the Audio Options group on the ribbon.

Then select a speaker for your default playback device and a microphone for your default recording device. You can also adjust the recording volume.

Working with Closed Captions

The Add Captions/Edit Captions button will change depending on whether your narration already has captions. Click it to open the closed captions editor where you can fine-tune imported captions or quickly add new ones with the help of caption placeholders that are already synced with your narration.

Use the Import, Export, and Delete buttons to import, export, and delete closed captions. See this user guide for details.