Edit a voice memo on your Mac
After you have a voice memo, you may want to make changes to it. Learn how to overwrite part of a recording, trim it down, and more.
Replace part of a voice memo
If you want to overwrite some existing audio, use Replace.
In the Voice Memos app
on your Mac, select the recording in the sidebar.Click the Edit button in the upper-right corner.
If you have a trackpad or a Magic Mouse, you can also swipe left with two fingers on the recording and choose the More button
, then select Edit Recording.Drag the blue vertical line (playhead) in the waveform overview left or right. If you have a trackpad or a Magic Mouse, you can also swipe left or right with two fingers in the waveform detail to position the playhead.
Click the Replace button and record the new audio.
Click Done to save the recording.
Alternatively, click the Pause button
to temporarily stop recording. Click Resume to continue recording.
Trim a voice memo
If you want to delete some excess audio, use Trim.
In the Voice Memos app
on your Mac, select the recording in the sidebar.Click the Edit button.
If you have a trackpad or a Magic Mouse, you can also swipe left with two fingers on the recording and choose the More button
, then select Edit Recording.Click the Trim button
, then drag the yellow trim handles to set the range to trim.Click the Play button
to check your edit, then adjust the trim handles if necessary.Do one of the following:
Click Trim to remove everything outside the trim handles.
Click Delete to remove the sound between the trim handles.
Click Save to save the recording.
Duplicate a voice memo
If you have a recording that you want to copy (either to leave as is or to edit), you can duplicate it.
In the Voice Memos app
on your Mac, select the recording on the left.Choose File > Duplicate.
The recording is copied and appears in the sidebar.
Rename a voice memo
By default, the name of a recording will be based on your location. However, you can rename it.
In the Voice Memos app
on your Mac, select the recording in the sidebar.Click the name in the sidebar, enter a new name, then press Return.
To have the name of your recordings default to a generic name (not a location-based one), choose Voice Memos > Preferences and uncheck “Location-based naming.” See Change preferences.