How to create an audio file

To create an audio file, you must have a microphone or a source of input (e.g., a webcam) and an audio program capable of recording sound. Thankfully, most versions of Windows and other operating systems come with a sound recorder capable of recording sound. Below are the steps on how to create an audio file in Windows and macOS.

Creating an audio file in Windows 8 and 10

To create an audio file in Windows 8 and Windows 10, follow the steps below.

1. Connect a microphone to the computer.
2. In Windows 10, type voice recorder in the search box next to Start. In Windows 8, start typing voice recorder on the Start screen.
3. In the search results, select the Voice Recorder application.
4. Click the blue microphone button and begin speaking.
5. Once the recording is made, it can be shared with others by clicking the Share option at the bottom of the application window.

The recording is saved as a .w4a file on your computer. To locate the file, click the ellipsis menu icon at the bottom right corner of the application window, and select Open file location.

Creating an audio file in Windows 7 and earlier

To create an audio file in Windows 7, follow the steps below.

1. Connect the microphone to the computer.
2. Click Start and type Sound Recorder in the search box.
3. In the search results, select the Sound Recorder application.
4. Click the Start Recording button and begin speaking.
5. When done recording, click Stop Recording.
6. Once the recording is made, Windows asks you to name the file and where it should be saved as a .wma file.

Once the file is saved, if you want to open the file, you'll need to browse to its location, and double-click the sound file.

Creating an audio file on macOS

To create an audio file on an Apple computer running macOS, follow the steps below.

1. Connect the microphone to the computer.
2. Open Applications and then open QuickTime
3. Once QuickTime is open from the QuickTime file menu bar at the top of the screen, click File and then New Audio Recording.
4. Click the red record button and begin speaking.
5. When done recording, click the stop button.
6. Click the close button to close the audio.
7. Enter a file name and choose where you want to save the file. Make sure to save the file as a .mov or .m4a file, depending on your version of macOS.

Once the file is saved, you can double-click the sound file to open it in iTunes or your media player of choice.

Example of an MP3 audio file

Below is an example of an MP3 audio file that can be played through your browser.