Single-Track Recording
1. Double-click the Cool Edit Pro icon on the Desktop to launch it. Click the "Edit View" button, which looks like a sound wave, in the top-left corner. Click "File" and then "New." Press "Enter" to create a new audio file.
2. Connect your recording source to the computer's sound card. Click "Options," and then "Device Properties." Click the "Wave In" tab and select the recording source from the drop-down menu. For example, if you're recording with a microphone, select "Microphone." Check the box next to "Use this Device in Edit View" and click "OK."
3. Click the "Record" button in the lower-left corner of the screen. Record your audio. Click the "Stop" button when you're finished recording.
Multi-Track Recording
1. Launch Cool Edit Pro by double-clicking its icon on the Desktop. The program should start in multi-track view; if not, click the "Multitrack View" button in the top left-hand corner.
2. Click the red "R" button underneath "Track 1" to prepare, or arm, it for recording. This arming function makes it more difficult to accidentally record over a track.
3. Connect your recording source to the sound card. Click the "Record" button to begin recording. Click the "Stop" button when you're finished.
4. Click the red "R" button again to disarm the track. To record a second track, mute the first track by clicking the green "M" button next to it, then arm the second track and record it as before.
5. Combine the audio tracks into one by selecting "Save Mixdown As" from the "File" menu. Specify a name and format for the sound file and click "Save."