Project and File Management
Keeping project, media and export folders separate so a session opens on another machine without relinking every file.
Related
A project file is only a map; the sound lives elsewhere. File management keeps that map pointing to the right place on any machine.
The problem
The session opens but every audio file is offline. Exports sit among recordings, and days later nobody knows which file is the master. Move to another computer or drive, and a changed path breaks half the project.
The practice
Give each project one folder with four layers, namely project, media, exports and backups. Copy media into the folder before importing, never reference the desktop or downloads folder. Use relative paths so the project records that media sits next door. Name recordings and exports with date and purpose, and keep mixes apart from masters.
Settings and judgement
Keep project folders on a fixed drive, with short paths and few special characters, so syncing behaves predictably. Fix sample rate and bit depth at the start; changing later means resampling. Archive unused media to a cold drive and keep only referenced files in the session. At each milestone, copy the whole folder, not just the project.
What to listen for
Open the session on another machine and solo every track. Missing media often fails silently, as silence or a substitute tone. One pass reveals which track is silent.
Common misunderstandings
A project file holds no audio, so copying it is not a delivery. Absolute paths are not safer; they break on the next machine. Keeping media on the same drive is not a backup, because one deletion takes both.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 工程目录与相对路径的做法，依通行 DAW 文档与音频工程教材核查，未抄文本
- 素材、导出与备份的分层惯例，依后期交付流程通识核查，未抄文本
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.