problems with saving a session copy

[soundispatch]

ok,

sorry if this has been asked before (i'm sure it has somewhere), but when saving a session copy (from the file menu), i encounter this problem:

all of the data (much of which has been removed from the session) from the original 'audio files' folder is copied as well.

ok, not a huge problem UNTIL they are deleted from the copied audio files folder. then, when starting up the (copied) session, protools pops up with a dialog box saying it can't find such-and-such audio file(s).

i know, you're saying "but cal, these files are necessary, they are still being used in the session". no, they aren't. i even went through and created duplicate files (shift+option+3) of all the tracks in the session, then tried to delete all unnecessary files. i even tried re-importing all the unused audio files, renaming them, THEN deleting them. the session would still start up looking for the renamed (unused) audio files.

this happened every time, even after selecting 'skip all', then resaving the file.

my temporary solution was when this dialog box came up, i repeatedly selected a 'dummy' file that was in fact being used in the session. of course warnings come up like 'the sectors do not match', etc. but i just ignored these. i mean, these files don't really exist in the session!!!

after this, i could then trash the unused files, and the (copied) session opens no problem.

there must be a reason for this weird caching of audio filenames. does anyone know a better workaround?

thanx,

cal

p.s. as for WHY i'm doing this, i want to keep the original sessions, but need to make a copy with bounced plugs, automation, etc. for tracking at another studio. the data also needs to be as compact as possible--- thus the trashing of unused files in a session copy...

[Rail Jon Rogut]

You have to make sure that you delete unused playlists that you don't need anymore.. and then select all unused.. and remove the regions from the session - before using the Save Session Copy In.. function.

Rail

[The Mighty Burner]

when you do a "save session copy as", you can deselect "copy all audio folders" in the dialog window that pops up. You can also make other choices regarding the session format, fade files, etc....However...you may WANT to copy the audio files. Here's why:

It's one more way to save space and improve system performance. When you're totally done recording in a session, do the entire select unused regions, clear, and consolidate process, but then save the session using the Save Session Copy As command. This will duplicate everything that is in the session, but put it all together in one spot. Be sure to include audio files, fades, and whatever else you want when saving the copy. (There are check boxes in the Save Session Copy As dialog box.) This process may take a while because it copies ALL of the files that the session needs.

Once you've done this, open the new session (copy), making sure it opens without a hitch and that its not missing any files. Then, you can erase all of the associated files with the original session (that are probably spread all over the place on your drives) and just use the copy. This process will help in the organization of your hard drive and can reduce fragmentation.

Good Luck!

[soundispatch]

rail - i didn't use multiple playlists. do you think this is still an issue?

burner - thanks for the tip on drive efficiency, but it doesn't really solve my problem.

i'm thinking perhaps another workaround is to save a session copy without the audio files, then consolidate/duplicate all audio tracks in the entire session copy. this should place the new tracks in the session copy 'audio files' folder. perhaps it will be possible to remove the unused regions without a hitch.

has anybody tried this?

thanks again,

-cal

[Rail Jon Rogut]

Hmm.. NO, if you have no playlists.. then the only thing I can think of is that somehow it's copying audio that may be in the undo buffer over too. Some experimentation may be in order.

Rail

[The Mighty Burner]

I still don't understand your problem. As long as you correctly remove and delete the unused audio regions from the audio bin (using the "select unused" and "clear selected" commands), which permanantly removes the audio files from your hard drive, and THEN do your session copy, you should have no problems. PT will copy the session data and the audio files (if you've checked this box)....the files you've deleted will not be copied because they have been permanantly deleted from your HD prior to the copy. Perhaps you are only removing the unused regions from the tracks or the session, but not deleting them from your hard drive. If this is the case, you can make a session copy without copying the audio, and then export your tracks from your original session into your new copy....OR:

If you want to keep ALL the audio files in your original session (whether they are currently being used in track playlists or not), then you can just do the session copy with all the audio files, open the new copy, and then do the "select unused" and "clear selected" commands in the copy before writing it all to a CD/DVD for transport to another studio. This is probably the better solution than exporting/importing audio to new tracks in the session copy.

It really sounds to me as if you are just not managing file names and cleaning up your session correctly and efficiently.

Maybe I am just misunderstanding your problem...sorry if I have, but I would like to help ya if I could...maybe tell more.

Good Luck,

[Rail Jon Rogut]

Burner

You should be able to open a session, delete all unused playlists, and then select all unused (incl. whole files) and remove them from a session.. and then use Save Session Copy In.. to create a smaller, compact session for burning to CDR for sharing with another PT user without having to copy the complete unadulterated session to another drive and then deleting all the unused playlists and regions.

Your method (the 2nd) would consume much more time and just frankly shouldn't be neccessary. It's just a time consuming work-around to what could be a bug.

Rail

[The Mighty Burner]

Rail -

I'm in total agreement, and that's exactly what I am suggesting...check out my original post. The original poster replied saying, "thanks but this didn't solve my problem", which I didn't understand. I posted that second reply to offer other possible ways to do the same thing...not necessarily logical or effiecient.

I wanted to try and help this guy, but I'm afraid I'm possibly misunderstanding or something...thanks for the reply though.

BTW...that's a good point about the playlists that I didn't mention...audio regions that are in alternate track playlists will not be selected when you do an "select unused" command...

Peace,

[soundispatch]

hi burner,

If you want to keep ALL the audio files in your original session (whether they are currently being used in track playlists or not), then you can just do the session copy with all the audio files, open the new copy, and then do the "select unused" and "clear selected" commands in the copy before writing it all to a CD/DVD for transport to another studio.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">in my original post i wrote:

ok, not a huge problem UNTIL they are deleted from the copied audio files folder. then, when starting up the (copied) session, protools pops up with a dialog box saying it can't find such-and-such audio file(s).

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">when i wrote 'deleted', i mean using exactly the method you describe above. you see, i don't want to delete the unused files from the first session. i have samples in there i may use later when i get the session back.

maybe to be a little more clear, i should state the very basic problem i'm running into: the audio files are somehow being 'cached' and therefore impossible to delete from within the session.

i know the method you describe should work, because this is the most logical and obvious way to go about it. it's exactly what i did --- twice with different sessions. however, when i chose 'select unused', then 'clear selected' (selecting the 'delete' option) the files were not deleted from my hard drive. they stayed in the 'audio files' folder in the copied session. i know you're thinking that this is perhaps a problem with the allocation, but this is all in order. they weren't deleted from the original session by accident.

so --- if you have done this same procedure many times with absolutely no problems, then it's something at my end. however, saying this, i received a reply on another board from another user who has encountered the same problem. You can check it here.

i'll play around again with it tonight and let you know the results. thanks for all your help.

-cal

[The Mighty Burner]

Are you sure that the "unused" audio regions in your session copy are not being used in any track playlists? I've never had PT prompt me to find an audio file unless it is active in a playlist somewhere (I'm assuming you've worked with playlists before, i.e. multiple playlists on a track, clearing unused playlists, etc.).

If that's the case, very strange...no answer from Digi support, eh? I'll take a look at the other thread and keep my wheels turning on this to see if I think of something else...

Sorry I couldn't be of greater help...

Good Luck!