Audition won't play while multi tasking?

[Vegas Pete]

This issue just started tonight...but when I'm using Audition it works fine, but if I go outside the program window for any reason (browse, editing in premiere, etc) when I come back inside nothing works. The space bar does not play and none of the record functions or anything else works. I have to restart the program or close the file and reopen it in order to continue my work. Is there an explanation for this?

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

You have to click on something - anything really - within the program to get the focus back. This is an operating system thing, not an Audition one.

[Vegas Pete]

Yes I understand that. When I click on anything within the program and try to resume my activity -- I am unable to playback audio. Not sure what this has to do with the operating system. This issue is only happening within Adobe Audition.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Control of Audition is via the OS - it has to be. Since you've already established that Audition can be controlled by it when it is first opened, that demonstrates that there's nothing inherently wrong with Audition. If it was, then everybody would have this problem, and they don't. It therefore follows that something within the OS as installed on your computer must be causing this - it's a simple logical progression. If it's only happening with Audition, then there's a fairly good chance that something like a rogue .dll file is behind it - that's how the linkage works. If you uninstall Audition and reinstall it, then the correct C libraries and .dll files should be reinstated.

So I suggest that you try that first, and see if it resolves this issue.

[Melanie2630807081o9]

I am having this same problem. I had to edit a radio piece yesterday and the space bar would not work--I could not play and pause with it, so my work took me twice as long. I tried EVERYTHING. Fussing with keyboard shortcuts, turning my computer on and off, uninstalling and reinstalling Audition. Still not working. I'm going insane. 

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Are you sure it's the same problem? Can you make Audition play by using the on-screen controls?

[Melanie2630807081o9]

Well, I can edit clicking the play and stop icons ... but when you're editing for radio on deadline and used to using the space bar... it's a drag. I felt like I had to relearn Audition. Certainly made me appreciate how the space bar used to pause and start the recording. 

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Previously when this happened to somebody, I reported it to one of the developers, but I've not seen (or heard) of any real resolution of it, and he's no longer with Adobe. However you look at it, it's still got to be OS-related though - Audition reacts to commands from keys, and this is handled by some specific .dlls, and those have not always been trouble-free. They don't come from Audition, but are part of one of the C++ libraries that is loaded when Audition is installed.

In the absence of any other suggestions, the only thing I can suggest is to do an ultra-clean uninstallation, and then reinstall. The ultra-clean uninstallation is relatively easy to carry out - Adobe have an app called CC cleaner which will do this for you. It takes out rather more than the Windows uninstaller does, but often that's a good thing, especially in situations like this.

Adobe CC cleaner app home page