Do you ever get the notification “File is an Advanced Audio Coding file. Without the optional FFmpeg Library Audacity cannot open this type of file” while working with and editing Audio Clips and importing them into Audacity? The “FFmpeg Library not found” error has been experienced by the majority of users who have recently used Audacity program.
Because Audacity does not support all audio formats, we must convert a specific file type to an Audacity-compatible format to resolve this issue. Because audio format conversion might damage audio quality and result in considerably higher or smaller file sizes, this is not a good solution. With this article, we’ll look at how to resolve this problem in Audacity.
How to fix the error saying ” Importing FFmpeg Library missing”
Audacity can import and export a much larger range of audio formats, including M4A (AAC), AC3, AMR (narrowband), and WMA, as well as audio from most video files, if you install the extra FFmpeg Library. Let’s have a look at how we can accomplish this.
Step 1: When you open an audio file in Audacity, a pop-up box with the error warning displayed below displays.
Click OK to dismiss the Error Importing warning.
Step 2: To access the Preferences Devices, click to Edit > Preferences or just press Cltr+P.
Step 3: After that, go to Libraries and look for FFmpeg Library not found. Now, select Download.
Step 4: When you click on Download, you’ll be taken to an Audacity page that says ” Installing the FFmpeg Import / Export Library.” Select “Windows :FFmpeg installation section” from the drop-down menu.
Step 5: This will take us to a new page entitled ” Installing the FFmpeg Import / Export Library on Windows“.
Step 6: Now, go to the “Recommended Installer” section and follow the instructions. To download FFmpeg, go to the FFmpeg Download Page.
Step 7: You’ll be taken to a page where you may download the FFmpeg Library. Now, as stated below, click on the executable file (.exe) download link.
Step 8: Download the FFmpeg Library for Audacity on Windows, as described below.
Step 9: Head to FFmpeg Installer file and Run the setup.
NOTE: Before executing the setup, make sure Audacity is closed.
Step 10: Read the License and accept it before clicking on Next for the installation to proceed.
Step 11: Confirm that the installer will install the essential files to “C:\Program Files\FFmpeg for Audacity ”, then click on Next.
Step 12: Select Install from the drop-down menu.
Step 13: Lastly, click Finish to finish the installation.
Step 14: Audacity can now open, import, and edit a wide variety of audio files with ease.
Even after installing the FFmpeg library, you may still receive the same issue. This indicates that FFmpeg was installed while Audacity was open, or that it was installed in a non-default place (Directory) on your system. Audacity will now prompt you to set up Preferences in order to find the FFmpeg library. Follow the steps outlined below to accomplish this.
Step 1: Open Audacity and go to Edit > Preferences (or just press Cltr+P).
Step 2: Go to Libraries > Locate.
Step 3: If a Success message displays, indicating that Audacity has now automatically recognized legitimate FFmpeg libraries and requesting that you identify them manually, select NO.
NOTE: The FFmpeg library will almost always be installed in the correct location.
Step 4: If the warning ” Locate FFmpeg ” shows again, it implies we need to find the “avformat-55.dll“.
To do so, go to Browse and look for the folder.
Step 5: Next, we must navigate to the right FFmpeg folder.
Step 6: Next, choose ” avformat-55.dll “and click Open.
Step 7: Now that you’ve browsed to the FFmpeg folder, select OK.
You may now open and edit audio files in Audacity without any problems.
If you see the error “FFmpeg Not Found” after downloading, installing, and finding the directory containing FFmpeg, it implies you installed the wrong libraries. You must now download the appropriate libraries for your operating system.
That is all there is to it.
If you’ve any queries, check this video:
You will now be able to import and edit any audio file without any problems in Audacity. Please let us know how this article was beneficial to you.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.