Talk:Tutorial - Recording Computer Playback on Mac

{{ednote|1=Gale 26May13: ToDo Pasted in Bill's marooned, unlinked to content from http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/User:BillWharrie/Using_Soundflower_to_record_streaming_audio. As the Wiki page is short I suggest if there is anything worth including from it here that we do so and delete the Wiki page. Just include the image of the Mac Sound Prefs?


 * Bill 01Jun13: Incorporated wiki content into this page, with updated system prefs image. Remove ToDo

On Mac OS X, to record the audio you hear through your speakers using Soundflower, you need to set Soundflower as your default output device. In Audacity, you then set Soundflower as your input device.

1) Download and install Soundflower as per the instructions on the Soundflower web site. Note the system requirements, and get the right version for your version of OS X.

2) Choose {{menu|Apple Menu > System Preferences}} then the Sound panel, and select the Output pane. This is what it looks like in OS X 10.5.8 - it may look slightly different in 10.4 or 10.6. http://wiki.audacityteam.org/w/images/f/fd/MacSoundflowerOutputPrefs.png


 * Select "Soundflower(2ch)" in the output device list.
 * Note: you will now no longer have any output to your speakers. This is normal.

3) Go to the application that will be playing the sound you want to record. For example, start Safari and go to a web site that plays sound clips. Start some audio playing. Note that you will not be able to hear the sound.

4) Start Audacity, then choose {{menu|Audacity > Preferences}} then the Devices section. http://wiki.audacityteam.org/w/images/d/d2/MacSoundflowerDevicesPrefs.png


 * Set the Recording device to "Soundflower (2ch)" and Channels to "2 (stereo)"
 * Click the {{button|OK}} button to accept the changes

5) Click on the {{menu|Transport}} menu and make sure that "Software Playthrough" is checked.

6) Click on the input level meters (above the microphone symbol) to begin monitoring:
 * [[image:MacMetersActive.png]]
 * You should now be able to hear the sound playing on your computer.

You are now ready to record anything playing on your computer.

To set things back to "normal" so you can hear audio playing on your computer without running Audacity
1) Click on then the Sound panel, and select the Output pane. Select "Line Out" in the output device list. See step 2 above for an illustration.

2) In Audacity, if you want to record from a different source (such as the Line Input or an external USB device), select the input you want to record from in the Device Toolbar. See step 4 above for an illustration.

For help if you're stuck
Visit the Mac 2.0.x forum, click the "New Topic" button and ask your question. }}