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Senior Computer Tutor
Don Edrington Home Profile
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Using the Windows Sound RecorderVista/Win7 users can go to Start, click All Programs>Accessories>Sound Recorder 
When the Recorder icon appears, drag it onto your Desktop. Double-click it to bring up a miniature "recording panel" with buttons for Record, Play, Stop, etc. With a microphone plugged into to your computer's "Mic" jack, you can create a new voice file by clicking File>New. Next, click Record (round red button) and speak into the microphone. To end the recording, click Stop (square black button). To save your recording go to File>Save As and give it a name. To hear your WAV, click File>Open. In the dialog box that appears, click on the WAV file and then click Play. Click Stop at any time. You can jump to the beginning of a sound file by clicking the "double left-arrow" button, or to its end by clicking the "double right-arrow" button. The longest WAV that can be recorded with the above instructions is one minute. You can overcome the 60-second limitation by clicking Record and then letting the Sound Recorder run for 60 seconds without any microphone input. Next, go to File>Save As and name the file something like blank.wav. To increase the recording time, go to Edit>Insert File, and click on the newly created blank.wav file. When you do this, the maximum recording time is increased by 60 seconds. You can repeat this step for each additional minute of recording time you want. After you "re-record" this file, go to File>Save As and give it a different name. This will preserve your blank.wav file for future use. To learn more about editing WAVs, go to the Sound Recorder’s Help menus (or press F1). If you are unfamiliar with WAV files, most of the various dings, beeps, and brief musical chords heard on your PC are WAVs. These built-in sounds can be found by typing .wav into your computer’s Search area. Also, many of the downloadable songs found on various free music pages are WAV files. (Downloadable Songs) They will play on all Windows computers, but only on some of the various portable MP3 players. Read the label carefully before buying a portable player. Finally, WAVs can be attached to outgoing emails, just like any other kind of file. Windows Mail and Outlook Express users can send an email with an embedded WAV that will begin to play the moment the message is opened. Go to Create Mail and click on Format>Background>Sound, navigate to the recorded WAV, and double-click it. As for creating a voice WAV, many computers have a built-in microphone. However, using a headset-combo with speakers and microphone is the easiest way to make recordings. |
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