These are the instructions for the LAME encoder which enables exporting to an mp3:

You can also convert a WAV to an mp3 in Windows Media Player using the "rip" function. You can choose the type of files you want in the options menu.

Audacity mp3 instructions:

For 1.3.3 and later users

First, if you are using Audacity Beta 1.3.3 or later, try exporting an MP3 straight away! 1.3.3 or later on Windows will look automatically in your system folders for the LAME encoder. If you already have it, you can export an MP3 by clicking File > Export, then in the Export File dialogue, choose MP3 Files in the Save as type dropdown, and click Save. After completing the Metadata Editor for your ID3 tags (just click OK if you don't want to change the tags), you should see the progress bar for the MP3 export. Otherwise, you will see the "Locate Lame" dialogue. If that occurs, press "Cancel" and proceed as per the following "All users" section.
All users

1. Download an unzipped copy of the required lame_enc.dll here
Left-click this link, do not right-click
2. Do not open this file, but save it to your computer. As you will be using this .dll file directly for encoding it is recommended to save it into your Audacity installation folder. This is normally at C:\Program Files\Audacity. Once lame_enc.dll is saved to your computer:
3. Launch Audacity, click Edit > Preferences then the File Formats tab. Note: In Audacity 1.2.x, it may be necessary to click the left-pointing arrow top right of the window to reveal the tab. In Audacity 1.3.4 this tab is called Audio Files; in 1.3.5 - 1.3.7 Import / Export; in 1.3.8 or later Libraries.
4. Look for the MP3 Export section.
5. Click on the "Find Library" or "Locate..." button
6. In Audacity 1.2.6 this will ask if you want to locate the LAME encoder. Click "Yes". In Audacity 1.3.3 or later, click the "Browse" button
7. In the dialogue box, go to the folder where you put lame_enc.dll earlier, and select it.
8. Click Open, then OK.

In the same "MP3 Export Setup" section, you can then in Audacity 1.2.6 set the bit rate of the exported MP3 by clicking on the downward pointing arrow in the "Bit Rate" dropdown.

In 1.3.3 or later, click File > Export, then choose MP3 in the "Save as type" dropdown and click the "Options" button to choose bit rate in the "Quality" dropdown. The default bit rate is 128 kbps in both versions of Audacity. A higher bit rate gives you higher quality at the expense of a larger filesize, and vice-versa. A 128 kbps bit rate takes up about 1 MB of space per minute. The "Options" button also gives access to more advanced MP3 encoding options as follows:

1. Bit Rate Mode (Variable, Average, Constant or use a Preset)
2. Encoding Speed (with other than constant bit rate encoding)
3. Channel mode (currently Stereo or Joint Stereo ).

Constant bit rate with stereo channel mode is always used by Audacity 1.2.5/6. Variable bit rate tends in most genres to give higher quality for the same bit rate.

Additional encoding options such as higher quality algorithms are available by choosing "external program" in the "Save as type" dropdown, then specifying the relevant commands to be passed to your MP3 encoder (such as LAME) in the dialogue box.

Colin

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