Free Pro Tools Application - Delete Prefs/Database now V2.2
 

I have written a small application with 3 buttons to delete ProTools preferences and Digidesign Database.

Delete ProTools Pref and Database

The next version will include an Archive and Restore of the preferences.

JC

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Thanks. It's just what we need.

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Thank you!

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

I just added 5 buttons to move one item at a time.

JC

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

very helpful
thank you

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

about time!!

thank you

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Hi, excellent app. Can you add in "com.digidesign.CoreAudioManager.plist" to be trashed aswell? This has caused many a problem when running Logic with DAE.

Thanks

http://208.86.158.125/images/graemlins/cool.gif


:)

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

JC… u da man!

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

great tool! thx

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Are you all really trashing your prefs so much you need an app do to it? I'd go as long as a year without trashing.

on a side note, when you DO trash, do you still need to restart?

Tim

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

i am curious, why is your app removing apple audiomidi prefs?

thanks

scott

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

kinda really makes the software suspect doesn't it

ok guys i bought a G5 dual 7.2 with 8 gig of RAM i'll be getting it going this week and back to work and if i still have the same problems i'll resurrect my PROBLEMS PROBLEMS PROBLEMS thread

i've had to downgrade to HD3 due to reduces slots in the G5 under the slot capacity of the G4 in order to have a digi approved puter....i guess i can sell the Accel card to pay for the computer...who wants it?

what a nice labor of love to make this macro or whatever it is....thanks for sharing i can't wait to try it....can you add in one that restores fresh audio "sweet" favorites?

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

No I don't trash my prefs often, but I work for more than one studio (6 ProTools studios, 9 users), and in tree of them, nobody speak English so I cannot tell them over the phone "Go read the troubleshooting tread on the DUC".

And if I'm not home (ex: Working on a show setup at 2 am) I cannot start Chicken of the VNC and take control of their Mac and do it for them (and I only have one of the studio setup for that).

So I wrote those scripts.
I rarely do. It's an old reflex from OS 9, as reinstalling the OS once a month used to be on Windows 95 for some people.

Sometime just closing the OS session is OK.
I wrote those scripts at the first OS X version of ProTools, and audiomidi pref was on the troubleshooting thread. It's not there anymore, so I will move it to an independent button.
Yes

I will also add on another button the "Volumes" folder in MacHD > Library > Application Support > Digidesign > Databases. I forgot to add it in the script 2 years ago, and I did not miss it. Plus I think it hold the "catalog" that I created in the digibase, and I don't want to lose them (there will be a warning when you click on that one)

I transformed these scripts into an application using Project Builder from the apple developer tools because I wanted to learn it. It took me half an hour to find where to change the version number as the french documentation I have for AppleScript Studio date back to 2004.

As I learn more AppleScript I will add a button for:
It is working well now, so make a copy of all my prefs so I can restore them later and one for:
I'm having problem right now so let's try a restore of those prefs to see if it cure all those problems
I will also add a French, Italian, Spanish, Polish translation.

History: I wrote those scripts at the first OS X version of ProTools, it was a simple script.
Tell finder to delete this and that file and delete Digi database on all disk.

Then came OS X 10.3 and the Digi Database script didn't work because of a new Network volume that the Finder was seeing, and ProTools was naming it's pref with the version number.

In a discussion on the DUC Tiago Silva wrote the actual Delete database script

tell application "Finder"
set disk_list to disks
repeat with i in disk_list
set folder_list to every folder of i
repeat with j in folder_list
if name of j is "Digidesign Databases" then delete j
end repeat
end repeat
end tell

So it's a simple copy and paste, but it gave me the basic knowledge to face the changing name of the prefs (ProTools v6.4, 6.7, 7.xx preferences) with this script

tell application "Finder"
set file_list to every file of folder "Preferences" of folder "Library" of home
repeat with i in file_list
if name of i starts with "Pro Tools" and name of i ends with "Preferences" then delete i
end repeat
end tell

Then, yesterday, I opened the book to learn how to integrated them into one AppleScript Studio application, went to the theatre, then made a version 1.1 with 5 independent buttons because Andre Knecht asked for it.

I will not transform this application into a 20 windows with 5 tabs each and a 10cm thick book to cover all troubleshooting options. It will stay a simple one window with 3 big buttons for the non geek ProTools users, and I will add translations for all those users who can't really read English well (for that I really like the command-control-D place the mouse over a word and see it's definition).

If you have ideas or some script that you want in this little app, then ask for it, and I will look into it.

JC

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Thanks JC, this is cool.

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

version 1.2 is out

Delete ProTools Pref and Database

new button for com.digidesign.CoreAudioManager.plist
moved com.apple.audio.AudioMIDISetup.plist out of the main scripts
Added version history

JC

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Nice scripts JC925602! You could also build this with Automator and then have the actions sitting on your tool bar or, make it a "workflow," that is only accessed when you control click. Automator works for all programs that have the requisite "handles;" the finder, Filemaker Pro, iTunes etc. But not Pro Tools itself.

Kevin

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Does it? I tried writing an automator action that moved a plug-in from the plug-ins folder to the plug-ins (unused) folder, and it didn't move it, it copied it. So, I thought, its an automator bug, I'll add a step to copy and then delete. Well, guess what it did? It didn't copy then delete, it just deleted it! This was all in the Finder, which of course is supposed to be automatable.

If you're going to do this with Automator, please test it rigorously. Automator has issues.

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Yes absolutely!! Automator has bugs and should be thoroughly tested. But for simple tasks like this it can save a minute or two. You just have to learn it's "quirks." I can't program apple script so thanks again to JC925602 for writing and posting this app.

Kevin

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Thanks JC

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

JC, you might consider moving DigiSetup.OSX away from the first button. I've found that I never need to trash it, but about once a week I trash the following, and all is well.

Pro Tools YYY Preferences
com.digidesign.protoolsYYY.plist
DAE Prefs
All Digidesign Databases folders on system and audio drives

My setup uses 4x 192 I/Os loaded with DA exp. cards and a Big Ben clock, so resetting DigiSetup.OSX, one interface at a time, is time-consuming. Therefore, it makes sense to give it a separate button if it rarely needs to be reset.

Thank you for making this application!

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Willard inspired me to get into the automator. By using it and also writing a simple little applescript file I was able to make an app that did everything this app does but also empties the trash and restarts for you. very cool, thanks for the inspiration...

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Thanks JC!
Anything that can save some time is appreciated!

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

thank you SOOOOO much for posting this.... I had made an apple script but as I am not much of a programmer it worked really badly. Your app is great and I use it a lot (Unfortunately)

Thank you

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Just a small idea:

maybe add a button deleting /library/appllcation support/digidesign/databases/Volumes/(all the contents)

Sometimes deleting the contents of this folder alone does the trick


:-)

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

this is potentially too good to get buried..it should be a sticky shouldn't it?

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

sticky. sticky. sticky.

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this!

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

I'm making the version 2.

Instead of a big button with predefined files, it will be a BIGGER BUTTON with check box on the side to select a custom set of files, plus a backup/restore preferences option (but not for the Digidesign Database folders -a V3 feature-), and maybe an icon and a French translation.

It will include the ~/library/application support/digidesign/databases/Volumes, ~/library/preferences/ByHost/com.apple.Midi.1231xxx.plist, ~/audio/Midi Configurations.

Am I forgetting something?

JC

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Does this work for Panther and Tiger ? For LE also ?

Thanks

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

It's supposed to as all the separate scripts where working with 10.3, 10.4, PT 6.x and 7.x TDM and LE.


JC

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

yes - please include the "Freeze Killer" and Database Corrector :-)))))

No - Your app is truly SUPERCOOL....

Thanks A Lot

25

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

A way to get paid for your labours donation ware should help!

How about being able to move all the files to a specified location/folder!! this way it could be used for backing up your prefs when they are fresh and all working well, and also it would enable them to be placed back in to situ if the pref trashing wasn't the problem etc.

This would help a lot especially when doing cs updates etc that overwrite certain prefs and folders.. midi patch names and stuff like this that gets blatted when doing updates.

Great app

Chris

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

definitely being able to archive/restore preference files would be great... if there was a way to make it a startup item so that everytime a user logged into the OS protools preferences would be restored to 'x'... that could be fun.... would you want to archive the digi databases? wouldn't that cause havoc somehow?

anyhow, great work, greatly appreciated... digi should send you a check....

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Being able to restore (replace) the prefs files would be a better idea. I have a set of "clean" prefs that I keep in a folder with all the optiones for PT set up the way I work -these are virgin uncurrupted prefs. I drag these into the prefs folder instead of trashing prefs so then I don't have to set everything back up. I make an alias of the prefs folder in the system and an alias of the backup prefs folder so I just have to double click each then drag between windows.

Re: Free Pro Tools Application - Delete Prefs/Database
 

Thanks a lot!!!!

GREAT!!!

Re: Free Pro Tools Application - Delete Prefs/Database
 

It occurred to me that when you create the portion that saves the 'good' prefs you might want to add the I/O settings to that as well. Not that they get corrupted but for those of us who use other machines it would be a cool way of 'remembering' to grab them....

in fact I think i would take the app and my 'good' settings with me and install them on the rental machines.

anyway - just a thought.

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

This does not trash databases in library-app support-digidesign-databases. Thank you for this tho

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Just one week or two for the next version with close to all the requests. I was a little bit busy.

JC

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

Will this work for LE or is it TDM specific?

Rail

Re: A new & free helper application for ProTools
 

works both.