Johnbee58 Posted June 1 Share Posted June 1 I've been using Sonar via the early access Backstage Pass program since April. So far I'm not real impressed especially with the user interface but I realize there are many changes promised in the works so I'm not really expecting too much right now. I'm looking forward to better things ahead. 😀 I've been taking notice that Sonar has been creating extra files, sometimes even extra audio folders. These files have long and vague titles consisting mostly of lowercase letters and numbers. They are audio WAV files and seem to be copies of what I render from the project. Is this supposed to be happening and is there anything I can check or uncheck in Preferences to make this stop? I don't want to be wasting more storage space than necessary. It never happened in CbB. Thanks 😀John B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noynekker Posted June 1 Share Posted June 1 @Johnbee58 . . . Hi John, I see exactly what you mean. I don't look in my Audio sub folder very often, but you are correct, there are some extra files there that seem out of place. For me these are dated 10 days ago, and when I play them, they are just guitar tracks from an earlier version of my project, 10 days ago ? I thought they might be related to freezing or unfreezing tracks so did a few tests, but they don't change or go away. Can't be sure to delete them or not, maybe someone from Cakewalk will help out and explain what they might be, and if it's safe to delete them. As a test, I did a "Save As" of my project to a new folder location, and those files do not get transferred to the new audio folder. So, Ya' . . . they are just eating up drive space. Maybe, they are generated when a project crashes ? . . . hopefully someone knows about these files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoens Posted June 1 Share Posted June 1 Most every audio file generated by a project remains in the folder. When they're edited, bounced or changed, a new file is created in the folder along side the original that's no longer used in the project. This means destructive editing isn't really destructive and you can save yourself when a mistake happens by reinserting the file into the project. When you Save-As to another location, the files no longer used in the project are not transferred. This helps consolidate the final project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnbee58 Posted June 1 Author Share Posted June 1 (edited) 1 hour ago, sjoens said: Most every audio file generated by a project remains in the folder. When they're edited, bounced or changed, a new file is created in the folder along side the original that's no longer used in the project. This means destructive editing isn't really destructive and you can save yourself when a mistake happens by reinserting the file into the project. When you Save-As to another location, the files no longer used in the project are not transferred. This helps consolidate the final project. @sjoensThanks so much for your explanation. 😀  Now I must ask you if there s anyway to turn that feature off. While I appreciate the Bakers building that into the program my workflow for years has always included a way to accomplish this kind of a "safety" myself. To me this is just creating more files than I need. Or is there a simple way to know how to delete these "extra" files when the project is complete? Thanks 😀John B Edited June 1 by Johnbee58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoens Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 Only way I know ATM is to do as I described and Save-As to a new project and delete the old one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Borthwick Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 No need for that. You can run Clean Audio Folder from the process or tools menu I forget where it is. It will scan and show you all files no longer referenced by the project and allow you to delete them. Its pretty normal for the application to leave behind files as part of import or when you undo an import. It can’t delete them because the user may choose to redo the operation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnbee58 Posted June 2 Author Share Posted June 2 (edited) @sjoens & @Noel Borthwick Thank you both for your information. I found it. It's in the Utilities menu.😉 😀John B Edited June 2 by Johnbee58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Baay Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 On 5/31/2024 at 7:54 PM, Johnbee58 said: These files have long and vague titles consisting mostly of lowercase letters and numbers. Those are Project Preview files that can be played from the Start Screen without opening the project. They will survive Clean Audio, but can be deleted manually without causing any missing audio warning on re-launching the project. Sonar automatically creates them when you export to file and if you export something other than the Master bus or Entire Mix, the preview will reflect that. So far as I know you cannot currently disable this function globally, but there is a checkbox in the export dialog to disable it and I believe that will choice will persist on a per-project basis. I'm hoping/expecting that eventually there will be more control over this feature, including the ability to limit the length of preview files to conserve space. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnbee58 Posted June 2 Author Share Posted June 2 4 hours ago, David Baay said: Those are Project Preview files that can be played from the Start Screen without opening the project. They will survive Clean Audio, but can be deleted manually without causing any missing audio warning on re-launching the project. Sonar automatically creates them when you export to file and if you export something other than the Master bus or Entire Mix, the preview will reflect that. So far as I know you cannot currently disable this function globally, but there is a checkbox in the export dialog to disable it and I believe that will choice will persist on a per-project basis. I'm hoping/expecting that eventually there will be more control over this feature, including the ability to limit the length of preview files to conserve space. @David BaayThanks Dave! I've seen that preview in the Start menu, so it makes sense now. When you hold the mouse over it it will play without opening the project. I can see it being useful in some way but it would be handy if they create, as you say, a way to limit it before final storage. 😀John B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoens Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 (edited) 5 hours ago, David Baay said: Those are Project Preview files that can be played from the Start Screen without opening the project. You lost me here. Even google doesn't help. Where is this Preview? I don't see it in the Start Screen. Edited June 2 by sjoens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 (edited) The first time I discovered it I just about hit the ceiling!! I had my headphones on and it scared the zit out of me! I was expecting to open the project not be blasted at full volume with what I later figured out was a preview?? It’s another reason I no longer use the start menu. Haven’t those guys got more important stuff to work on than dumb ideas like that? Edited June 2 by John Vere 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helios.G Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 3 hours ago, John Vere said: The first time I discovered it I just about hit the ceiling!! I had my headphones on and it scared the zit out of me! I was expecting to open the project not be blasted at full volume with what I later figured out was a preview?? It’s another reason I no longer use the start menu. Haven’t those guys got more important stuff to work on than dumb ideas like that? To be fair, that can be a very useful tool if you have a large amount of projects and are looking for a specific one without needing to open them one by one. Maybe they could work on the volume being a bit more moderate for previews. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Baay Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 19 hours ago, sjoens said: Where is this Preview? I don't see it in the Start Screen. If a project has a preview file, a triangular Play button will be displayed when you hover of the project's thumbnail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoens Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Makes sense, since I can't save files yet I won't see it then. Thanks David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now