No matter what it ALWAYS copy audio to global folder.. im frustrated already.. this is BUG?

[bertox]

Yes, i unchecked the "Always copy.." setting and all that.. but every audio file i import gets copied to the Audio Data global folder on C:\.

No matter the bitrate or the freq, or if new or old project, ALWAYS get copied despite i say it to don't do that.

I think this is a BUG.

I remember old Sonars not having this nonsense issue.

[David Baay]

7 hours ago, bertox said:

No matter the bitrate or the freq, or if new or old project, ALWAYS get copied despite i say it to don't do that.

I'm not seeing that when the sample rate and bit depth match the project. If I check Associated Audio Files immediately after importing, it's referencing the path to the existing file and that persists when I save the projectso long as the Copy option in the Save dialog is also unchecked.

[bertox]

21 hours ago, David Baay said:

I'm not seeing that when the sample rate and bit depth match the project. If I check Associated Audio Files immediately after importing, it's referencing the path to the existing file and that persists when I save the projectso long as the Copy option in the Save dialog is also unchecked.

Well, as i said: its not happening to me, no matter what i set or what file im importing.

[Bass Guitar]

99 % of what you say is a bug is just pilot error. 

 

 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Bass Guitar

[bertox]

23 minutes ago, Bass Guitar said:

You guys are confusing me? 
I always thought that the copy audio box in the save dialogue was so that all the audio in the project you are saving gets put in the project audio folder. 

In my world if you uncheck that Copy Audio box the Audio will not be stored in the Project folders audio folder. 

This is especially true when you use “Save As “ to a different location. 
As well as if I start a new project even if there is no audio recorded yet that is how I get the project to be in its own folder. 

I only uncheck that box if I’m creating a midi only version of a project and using Save As to a different location. That will just create a CWP icon. No folders. See screenshot. 

 

 

 

 

I just need to IMPORT my audio files and mix em'. Nothing more. 

No need to copy em' to another location nor move em'. I need em' to stay where they are. And a DAW should use em' no problem if same sample rate and bit depth of the project.

Well, sadly thats NOT HAPPENING  here. No matter how i try. It always copy my audio files to the C:\ global folder, wasting my ssd space.

[billp]

How about this setting:

Always copy imported audio files. When checked this option forces Sonar to always copy all imported audio files to your audio data directory. If you want to keep all your audio files in one location, always keep this option checked.

[Wookiee]

On 11/16/2025 at 5:01 PM, bertox said:

Yes, i unchecked the "Always copy.." setting and all that.. but every audio file i import gets copied to the Audio Data global folder on C:\.

No matter the bitrate or the freq, or if new or old project, ALWAYS get copied despite i say it to don't do that.

I think this is a BUG.

I remember old Sonars not having this nonsense issue.

I suspect you misunderstand that "always copy" command. When checked it will always copy any imported audio to your projects audio folder. Unchecked if copies it to a global folder, this is to ensure it is always available to you projects as the original source may not be on your computer.

[bertox]

LOL 😅 you both above me saying contradictory things...

Besides that, seems no one really reads what i said... mostly the part of I TRIED ALL.

[David Baay]

Too many permutations. The result will differ depending on:

1. The project is new and unsaved so it's using the global Audio Data folder.

2. The project has been saved so it's using a per-project Audio folder.

2. Always Copy is checked/unchecked in Preferences

4. Always Copy is checked/unchecked in the import dialog.

5. Copy All Audio is checked/unchecked in the Save dialog

Since the OP was referring to the global Audio Data folder, I tested by importing  to an unsaved project. Always Copy was enabled in Preferences, but i overrode it by unchecking it in the Import dialog. This left the clip referencing the original 48kHz, 24-bit audio in the folder from which it was 'imported' both before and after saving the project with Copy All Audio unchecked.

If the sample rate and bit depth (and possibly other file-type/format parameters) are matching what Sonar needs, the 'import' will be near instantaneous because it's just creating a link to the existing location and generating a waveform picture. If it does any processing to bring the file in, there's some sort of file format mismatch - maybe something other than sample rate and bit depth.

EDIT: @bertox Double-check the value for Import Bit Depth under Preferences  > File > Audio Data. This can be different from Playback bit depth shown as Audio Driver Bit Depth in Preferences > Driver Settings.

Edited 18 hours ago by David Baay

[sjoens]

A question might be "How are you importing it?"  Show us the dialog window as you have it set up if that's the way you're doing it.  Then again, if you drag the file into the project you might bypass all that other stuff??

[Bass Guitar]

6 hours ago, sjoens said:

A question might be "How are you importing it?"  Show us the dialog window as you have it set up if that's the way you're doing it.  

This. 

I generally don’t change a lot of the defaults and have never had issues with saving files. 
One of the few changes that I make is I set my pathways in Preferences/ Files to my Data drive for the Projects and the Audio and video etc. 

I actually have a Folder in D drive labeled Sonar Audio. It’s always been empty but at least I know where to look if something does disappear. 

Edited 9 hours ago by Bass Guitar

[Wookiee]

6 hours ago, bertox said:

LOL 😅 you both above me saying contradictory things...

Besides that, seems no one really reads what i said... mostly the part of I TRIED ALL.

Then I suggest rather than belittle and berate those trying help here, by inferring we have not read your problem correctly. Why not report it as what you consider a "bug" via the proper channels.

What I will ask is, if you import audio into your project where do you expect, think, Sonar should store it, or do you think Sonar should not store it?

[bertox]

OK i've found the culprit: ME. 😅

I was importing FLAC files not Wavs.. 🤦‍♂️

So it stored every converted file on the Audio Data global folder, of course, as it supposed to do.

Btw NOW... i find it pretty bad that today -in 2025- this DAW still converts the FLAC files instead of read em' directly from storage.

[Bristol_Jonesey]

When you import a FLAC file into Cakewalk, it will automatically convert it to a WAV file using the project's sample rate and bit depth. Cakewalk handles this conversion to ensure the audio is compatible with its internal processing. 

Key behaviours

Automatic conversion: Cakewalk converts all imported audio, including FLAC, to the project's native WAV format.

Sample rate adjustment: The FLAC file will be converted to match the project's current sample rate, as set in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Driver Settings.

Bit depth handling: The bit depth is retained from the original file during the conversion process.