Clean Audio Folder Problems

[Horace Mix]

Hello:

I'm having problems with the utility "Clean Audio Folder". 

Let's say I work on a song named "My song". I create a folder named "Artist - My song". Inside I have all the project files (Audio - Audio Export- Melodyne - Mix Scenes - My song.cwp) but also a folder named "Files" with other audio files I use in my work.

When I try to delete all the unused files the dialog says for example that guit (take 06).wav file cannot be deleted. I have to open the systray and stop the Cakewalk process because it will show that dialog box for each file, one by one.

If I browse the project's folder, the "Clean Audio Folder" utility will also include audio files outside the folders "Audio" and "Audio Export" which is a problem because I use to create a "Files" folder containing audio tracks sent by my client and I don't want to lose them but I want to keep them inside the project's folder. 

If I browse the "Audio" folder within the project's folder the "Clean Audio Folder" dialog will find all the unused audio files, but again, it won't erase them. 

Honestly I don't trust the utility but I need to reduce the weight of the project's folder once I have to archive the work. 

Any solution? Maybe a remake of this Utility to asure it works properly? I'm hoping for an update soon!

NOTE: I use external HDD for my projects and everything works perfectly except for this problem.

Kind regards

Horace

[David Baay]

The whole point of Clean Audio Folder is to find all un-referenced audio anywhere in the subdirectories of the project folder. It just isn't designed to accomodate storing audio files that it doesn't recognize as part of the project. I don't think that's likely to change.

Workarounds that come to mind are:

- Change the file extensions to something other than .WAV or maybe convert them to .FLAC.

- ZIP the Files directory.

[John Vere]

What works for me I  as just use a”Save As “. And put it in a different location. It will only save stuff that was being used and all the garbage is left behind. 

Edited February 26, 2023 by John Vere

[Bristol_Jonesey]

6 hours ago, John Vere said:

What works for me I  as just use a”Save As “. And put it in a different location. It will only save stuff that was being used and all the garbage is left behind. 

This 100%

Just make sure you've got "Copy audio with project" checked.

You can then delete your original project folder with impunity

[John Vere]

I always have at least 4 copies all on different drives. The main back up drive is in the computer so only a quick click to “save as” and put it there. 
Only downside to this is when you see your start screen the next day there will be 2 versions of that project there on the recent list.
 

My habit to avoid working on the wrong version is to always open from the Existing projects tab then I know where I am. 
Another way would be to always include the date in the back up versions name 

 

[marcL]

14 hours ago, John Vere said:

What works for me I  as just use a”Save As “. And put it in a different location. It will only save stuff that was being used and all the garbage is left behind. 

 

7 hours ago, Bristol_Jonesey said:

This 100%

Just make sure you've got "Copy audio with project" checked.

You can then delete your original project folder with impunity

This works as long as you have no audio files that are only referenced. If you have some referenced-only files, then they are also copied with the project's audio file. And usually there is a reason why you reference those files, i.e. you don't want them to be copied! 😉

[Horace Mix]

On 2/25/2023 at 11:33 PM, David Baay said:

The whole point of Clean Audio Folder is to find all un-referenced audio anywhere in the subdirectories of the project folder. It just isn't designed to accomodate storing audio files that it doesn't recognize as part of the project. I don't think that's likely to change.

Workarounds that come to mind are:

- Change the file extensions to something other than .WAV or maybe convert them to .FLAC.

- ZIP the Files directory.

Thank you for your advice. 

[Horace Mix]

On 2/26/2023 at 6:42 AM, Bristol_Jonesey said:

This 100%

Just make sure you've got "Copy audio with project" checked.

You can then delete your original project folder with impunity

 

On 2/25/2023 at 11:41 PM, John Vere said:

What works for me I  as just use a”Save As “. And put it in a different location. It will only save stuff that was being used and all the garbage is left behind. 

 

Thank you! Very clever! I thought about saving in *.bun (bundle) but I think your idea is better!

[John Vere]

Nobody trust bundles even though I think they are fine  but over the year many people have lost their work when it was saved that way. It’s usually a person who save as a bundle years ago and now it won’t open. I have back up CWP file in project folders that are from 2005 that open fine but just with warnings of missing plug ins. 

[Andres Medina]

Yes, I switched from Saving as Bundle to Save As (including audio files). And I use this only when the project is finished, saving at least two copies in two different drives (plus the Cloud). 

I think that once you get a personal file handling system that works fine for your needs/habits, it’s easier to avoid the kind of problems you describe.

The  Clean Audio Folder utility is not really a file manager, but a (sometimes) useful tool to delete un-referenced audio files, but I guess that means that the file is REALLY orphaned, and not just in a different drive, or hidden somewhere.

[Horace Mix]

30 minutes ago, John Vere said:

Nobody trust bundles even though I think they are fine  but over the year many people have lost their work when it was saved that way. It’s usually a person who save as a bundle years ago and now it won’t open. I have back up CWP file in project folders that are from 2005 that open fine but just with warnings of missing plug ins. 

Hahaha! That is so true! I had a few broken bundles in the past. That's why I don't use them anymore.