Selecting Channels

How to Select Channels

There are multiple ways to select a specific channel in an audio file depending on the properties of the audio.

There is no specific channel select when you work on a single channel (mono) audio file. However, as soon as it has two or more channels you can select or deselect channels.

Only selected channels will be affected by processing and be audible during playback.

Selecting Channels in Stereo Recording

In the screenshot below, you will notice we have used the color red, blue and green to indicate three different areas in the waveform overview.

Selecting the Left Channel of a Stereo Recording

To edit or select a region in the left audio channel of a stereo file, you'll have to select the upper half of the first channel, which is indicated as a red area in the screenshot above.

Alternatively, you can disable the right channel by using the enable/disable right channel button. The channel buttons are indicated below with red arrows.

Selecting the Right Channel of a Stereo Recording

To edit or select a region in the right audio channel of a stereo file, you'll have to select the lower half of the second channel, which is indicated as a green area in the screenshot above.

Alternatively, you can disable the left channel by using the enable/disable left channel button, indicated in the above image by a red arrow.

Selecting both Channels of a Stereo Recording

To select or edit a region in both channels simultaneously, you'll have to select between the upper half of the first channel and the lower half of the second channel, which is indicated as a blue area in the screenshot above.

Make sure that the enable/disable button for both channels is enabled.

Selecting Channels in Multichannel Recordings

In the above image, a 5.1 surround audio file where only the center channel is selected is shown.

Selecting Channels in a Multichannel Audio File

To edit or select a region in one of the available audio channels of a multichannel audio file, press and hold Ctrl while selecting your region in the desired channel. You can move the mouse cursor to other channels to create a contiguous selection of channels.

Selecting Channels using the Channel Buttons

You can also toggle the selection status of a channel using the channel selection buttons to the left of the waveform. Click one of the channel buttons to toggle the selection of that specific channel. The channel buttons are shown in the below image within the red box.

Selecting Channels from the Keyboard

Each of the first ten channels has its own Toggle selection for channel command, which switches that channel in or out of the selection. The commands have no default keyboard shortcuts; assign the ones that suit you in the Keyboard shortcuts preferences, where they are listed in the Editing category.

This is worth doing if you work regularly with surround or immersive material, where reaching for the correct channel button among sixteen of them is slower than pressing a key.