PT7.2 session: Save Copy As PT6 session?

[Mount Royal]

I'm unable to properly Save Session Copy a 7.2 session to a "5-6.9 format session". The goal is to take an existing 7.2 session and create a complete PT6 session folder, including audio and fades. I am invoking "copy all audio files, wav format", with no change in SR or bit depth. The copy destination is on the same FW800 drive on which the original 7.2 session resides. The Copy and the original do not compete for the same destination folder. The Save Session Copy process appears to work, taking the anticipated duration of time and such. But the result is a PT6 session which is essentially empty. Details in examining the new session copy:

1) Finder reveals an apparently complete session folder. The folder is the expected size.
2) Finder shows an audio files folder that looks complete
3) Finder shows a fade folder that looks complete
4) Upon opening the PT6 session file however, the edit window contains almost no regions. Only one or two regions are visible in the timeline; all else is empty.
5) Regions bin does contain the expected regions. But, again, essentially all of those regions are absent within the edit timeline.

I am attempting to open this legacy "5-6.9 format" session with PT7.2. I don't have access to a system running pre-7 at present.

Where is my mistake in Copy process, please?

First I need to solve this PT6 Copy issue. What I truly wish for is to create a copy of the original session with PT7.2 and PT6 session files in the same parent folder. That parent folder would house copied audio and fade files. Is this not possible, meaning have PT7 and PT6 session files reference the same parent audio and fade folder, and to create this through the Save Session Copy method?

Perspiration is setting in. A deadline is approaching.

Many thanks, and cheers to a fine 2007.

John Caldwell

[Mount Royal]

I should have added: The Save Session Copy process appears to go without difficulty so long at the copied version is "latest version", meaning PT7.

Additionally I'll report that I have successfully copied as a 5-6.9 session. The difference in those instances of success was that the original 7.2 sessions were small; 16 tracks tops. The 7.2 sessions giving me trouble at present are much larger; 120 to 160 tracks.


Thanks again.

John-

[DigiTechSupt]

What happens if you save the session to a different drive?

If you 'show full pathnames' in the regions bin, is Pro Tools looking for them in the correct folder? Are the regions in the edit window greyed out, or just not there at all?

[Mount Royal]

Thank you, Digidesign.

What happens if you save the session to a different drive?

Good point. I wasn't smart enough to try a different (non-session) drive as the destination. I'll try a drive other than the session/audio drive, and other than the boot drive, for the destination and report in. FWIW, my previous successes with Save Copy to PT5-6.9 format was, now that you mention it, to the boot drive - not the session drive. BUT, Save Copy to "lastest" verion (PT7.2) has worked fine, even with the destination drive being the same as the original session drive. It's the 5-6.9 variation that poses my problem.

If you 'show full pathnames' in the regions bin, is Pro Tools looking for them in the correct folder? Are the regions in the edit window greyed out, or just not there at all?

No, they're not greyed out. The edit window timeline is a clean slate - it's empty. I can't answer about revealing the full path names. Will investigate and report this also.

Let's imagine the problem is in selecting the destination for Save Session Copy as the same drive which harbors the source session - that the PT6 session copy works as planned when a proper destination drive is chosen. What is the proper way to Save Session Copy so that you have in the destination session folder:

1) Both PT7 and PT6 session files
2) One and only one Audio File folder
3) One and only one Fades folder

I understand that this will require two steps - one for the PT6 copy, and one for the PT7 copy. But what is the method to allow both 6 & 7 versions to share the same Audio and Fades folder?

Has this come up before? Sorry if I've missed it.

Many thanks,

John-

[Mount Royal]

This is growing more puzzling. The destination drive appears to make no difference for the PT6 session copy. In the PT6 copy, the tracks are all there but they contain no audio; they are empty. The regions bin does list files with the expected path; that is, the path is for the Audio Files folder within the session copy folder.

Making matters less clear is that a few PT7.2 sessions I tried did work correctly insofar as generating a valid PT6 session copy. The sessions which did copy to PT6 correctly were smaller than the ones I'm now struggling with; meaning 40 tracks instead of the 150 track sessions I'm trying to generate in a PT6 format. I deleted tracks from the large sessions, making them 4 (four) tracks instead of 150, and they still will not generate a working PT6 session copy. It's as though the large PT7.2 sessions are corrupt in this very limited way.

As a workaround, could a PT6 session be built by importing tracks from a 7.2 session? I know we can import from PT6 into 7, but can 6 import tracks from 7 (with all associated data) using Import Session Data?

John-