Solved: Pro Tools First doesn't open projects - MacOS
 

Hi all, I've had some trouble opening projects on MacOS.

What happened:

• Opened PTF, double clicked a project from the project overview to open it
• Then, nothing... no windows popping up, absolutely nothing, also no errors

What caused this:
My Macbook is setup to use "ICloud drive" and "Optimize Mac-storage". This means it will automatically remove local files (which are backed-up to iCloud) when you're not using those files for some time, in order to free up local storage space
This caused PTF not being able to find the project files it needed. I'm assuming this behavior wasn't expected as PTF was not throwing any errors and left me in the dark (and reinstalling multiple times....:()

How to solve:

• Use Finder to navigate to Documents
• Look for the ProTools folder and check the iCloud symbol next to the folder name
• In my case, it indicated that this folder (or parts of the folder content) where backed-up to iCloud. When that's the case, you'll see a cloud symbol with a down pointing arrow.
• Clearly, some files PTF needed to startup the project where removed locally and pushed to the cloud.
• Click the cloud symbol to start retrieving those files back to the local storage
• Once completed, it will not show any cloud symbol and you'll be able to start your PTF session again
• I've tried to exclude the folder from uploading to iCloud by adding .nosync behind the folder name, but ProTools didn't accept that.

Re: Solved: Pro Tools First doesn't open projects - MacOS
 

I'm having this exact same problem, except that instead of not being on icloud I'm trying to save my projects onto an external hard drive. My computer is getting old and I don't want to risk it crashing. Do you think I'd have to move the files onto the computer so that I can edit them in pro tools, and then drag them back to the hard drive when I'm done? That would be workable, but I feel like it shouldn't be necessary...

Re: Solved: Pro Tools First doesn't open projects - MacOS
 

You should just be able to open the sessions directly from the external drive. With that in mind, consider this:
1-you should have all your work backed up to multiple locations, such as 2 separate external drives AND the cloud.
2-if sessions don't run well from your external drive, it may have a very slow drive inside the case(many use 5400 rpm or 5900 rpm drives). This is another good reason to stick with solid state external drives.

Yes, doing backups is boring and tedious, but there are 2 kinds of computer users: those that have had a data loss, and those that WILL have a data loss:rolleyes: