Saving format

[Joseph Ballew]

I have been with Cakewalk since using floppy disk. It has always been my favorite DAW.

I have two issues that are driving me crazy that I can't stop.

I don't use project files, I  only use bundle files. When I go to open a bundle file it always ask if I want to save audio to a folder. I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN. After I save my project to a bundle file, if I press save, it saves to a project file. I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN EITHER.  The way Sonar use to work was, if you saved a file as a Bundle file and as you continue to work on that file and press save, it would save as a Bundle file. Now it saves as a project file.

I don't use Project files. Also if I open a bundle file, I don't want a dialog box prompting me to save audio files. If I have saved my project as a bundle file, I don't want any prompts to change anything and if I save and already saved Bundle files and it saves as a project file, it is causing me major grief. I have looked at the manual and went thru preferences and don't see a way to fix this

I am sure there is a fix for this. I am running sequences with audio with my band live very soon and do not need major grief on stage with these two issues

[scook]

49 minutes ago, Joseph Ballew said:

I have been with Cakewalk since using floppy disk. It has always been my favorite DAW.

I don't use project files....

I don't use Project files....

I am sure there is a fix for this. I am running sequences with audio with my band live very soon and do not need major grief on stage with these two issues

Project files are not optional bundles are.

If you wish to use any Cakewalk DAW developed in this century, you will use project files.

It does not matter how the files are created, copied onto the computer or extracted from a bundle, the DAW won't work without a project file.

[Joseph Ballew]

When Cakewalk creates a project file and folders, I delete them and use just Bundle file. The bundle files works saving everything in one file. I have done it that was for over 20 years.

[Andres Medina]

Yes, I was a huge fan of Bundle files, until I didn't! jeje

Nowadays is a far better choice, less problematic, to use the "Copy All Audio with Project" option in the Save window.

You can either work in a regular project file without the audio, and when finishing your session or your project create a new file with the audio embedded.

I prefer to use the general wav location for the sessions, and the "Copy All Audio with Project" option for archiving and backup, but it's just my personal preferred workflow.

Regarding [When I go to open a bundle file it always ask if I want to save audio to a folder. I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN}, you will always get this prompt because CW needs to know where you are going to locate your audio.

As far as I remember, you were able to overwrite a bundle file only after saving it for the first time, as long as the project was still open, and not even sure it was so. 

Reopening a bundle always gave me the prompt you don't want.

[scook]

1 minute ago, Andres Medina said:

Regarding [When I go to open a bundle file it always ask if I want to save audio to a folder. I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN}, you will always get this prompt because CW needs to know where you are going to locate your audio.

It's not just the audio. The DAW can't run without a project file. That file has to go somewhere.

A bundle file is created from the project file and any associated audio files.

Without the project file there is no DAW project.

 

If it helps, think of a bundle as a zip file with compression turned off.

 

[Byron Dickens]

35 minutes ago, Joseph Ballew said:

When Cakewalk creates a project file and folders, I delete them and use just Bundle file. The bundle files works saving everything in one file. I have done it that was for over 20 years.

Just because you've been doing it wrong for 20 years doesn't make it right.

[scook]

22 minutes ago, Byron Dickens said:

59 minutes ago, Joseph Ballew said:

When Cakewalk creates a project file and folders, I delete them and use just Bundle file. The bundle files works saving everything in one file. I have done it that was for over 20 years.

Just because you've been doing it wrong for 20 years doesn't make it right.

There is nothing wrong with the workflow. Assuming a single bundle is not the sole archival copy (and the project needs archiving), it may be the most efficient way to get the data onto the target machine.

I was trying to explain how project files are a core component of the DAW and the bundle format is a convenience.

The DAW cannot directly read and write the files contained a bundle. The DAW can create a bundle from an existing project or create a project from a bundle, that is all.

I suppose one could create a feature request to directly work with bundles. Here is a link to the dedicated feature request area.