uncle808us Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Hi: I was wondering if anyone else uses Dropbox to save Logic projects. I work on projects during the day then save to Dropbox before going home. Then in the evening while in my easy chair I can continue to work on the project. So far I have only saved software instruments. Not any audio files. I would like to hear ideas on this as to pros and cons. Or any other ideas on syncing projects between two Macs. I hope this is of interest to others. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nev17 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I regularly use Dropbox to send & receive audio & midi files between myself and a collaborator who uses a PC with Cubase and have had no problems. You do need to make sure that everyone involved uses the same numbering system for the files otherwise it gets confusing. Other than that, it's all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Cardenas Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Be careful when using project files. Dropbox has problems with OS X packages and will convert them into folders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdee Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I use it on a daily basis and collaborate with a few other people. We share full Audio and Midi file Projects using LPX and GB. No issues to report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I always zip the files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darude Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Now that with LPX symlinks work again, I've got synced Logic ~Library/Application Support/Logic folders on my desktop and laptop, so every time I save any preset like channel strip etc (and even got a custom folder for sample instruments, which I manually duplicate on my external sample drive periodically), I've got them available on both machines as soon as the up/downloading happens in the background. Love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle808us Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 @darudevil: What is symlinks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darude Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Google: http://macs.about.com/od/faq1/f/What-Are-Aliases-Symbolic-Links-And-Hard-Links-In-Mac-Os-X.htm https://gigaom.com/2011/04/27/how-to-create-and-use-symlinks-on-a-mac/ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/synchronise-your-mac-apps-with-dropbox/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle808us Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 Thanks darudevil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeymonkey35 Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 How is Dropbox working for everyone these days? I store Reaper projects on Dropbox and never had any issues. The files are opened from a handful of Macs and PCs at different locations. Logic packages seem to work great too, but some users have had corrupted files. I'm now considering archiving some Logic projects on Dropbox.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Droopy_TX Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Be careful when using project files.Dropbox has problems with OS X packages and will convert them into folders. Eric, my understanding is that this is because LPX project files are really just ZIP-like archive files, and that Dropbox recognizes this, and presents them as folders in the web interface. It is, indeed, a pain. Note, though, if you install the Dropbox application on your computer, so that you open Dropbox as a replicated folder on your local hard drive, the LPX project files are presented in their "monolithic" file structure. My collaborator and I trade project files via this method, using the installed app on both sides. It makes it pretty seamless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stardustmedia Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 I work daily with Dropbox. Have my projects including all files (not zipped) there. No issues. Never. Don't worry about big sizes of Logic projects. When you save, not the whole package will uploaded, just the updated files within that Logic "file". Of course, when you record a lot of audio tracks, maybe at 24bit 192kHz, it will take some time to be uploaded. Otherwise, no worries. For example: My average project folder size is about 3-4GB. And my upload speed is something like 7MBit/sec. Fast enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeymonkey35 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 I work daily with Dropbox. Have my projects including all files (not zipped) there. No issues. Never. Good to hear! My experience with Reaper and Ableton has also been flawless. Storing Logic packages on Dropbox is just so convenient, and obviously a great off-site backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stardustmedia Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Never tried "package" as a save option. I always use "folders". But I guess a package is just a folder that contains all files, but is shown as one file. So updates and changes are not done to that one big package file, but just to the files within. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmowday Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 For what its worth, my daily professional practise is to use a dropbox folder for all my Logic projects. I just work in the DB folder. That way its in sync with all my machines around the studios and home. Never had a problem unless two machines have the same project open at the same time. Highly unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darude Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 For what its worth, my daily professional practise is to use a dropbox folder for all my Logic projects. I just work in the DB folder. That way its in sync with all my machines around the studios and home. Never had a problem unless two machines have the same project open at the same time. Highly unlikely. Same here, except that at some point symbolic links stopped working, like 9 > 10 update or something, but that was fixed later. I have my user .csts, sampler instruments etc and a huge bunch of samples and recent active projects in DB and have had it like that for years, love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle808us Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 Thank to all for your reply currently I use Resilio Sync.But both computers have to be on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle808us Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 also does not need internet access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonboy Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 I have had issues with Dropbox and Logic. I had one very large folder containing several logic projects which I uploaded to dropbox in an emergency situation to create space on my hard drive for a session, when I'd left my external drive at home. The Logic files uploaded on Dropbox don't resemble a logic project folder structure anymore. It's a complete disaster. What looks like it should be the .logicx file is now named ".musicapps-project-folder" (sits alongside the Audio Files / Freeze files folders). Downloading that file now from dropbox results only in a text file. Inside other project folders are only now 3 types of folders I don't recognise - named 'Alternatives', 'Media', and 'Resources'. Inside the 'Alternatives' folder is a folder called '000' which contains .plist files and a jpeg of the main logic window, like a screenshot. The Audio files folders are empty. The combined total of the upload was 100gb, there obviously was a problem on the upload and I didn't check thoroughly before deleting them from my hard drive due to the pressure of starting another session. It took a long long time to upload but there seems to be very little there. Lesson learned! I'm pretty sure these projects are not recoverable now - I have the audio stems backed up, so I could re mix them if I ever need to, but Dropbox does not seem reliable to me - I will never again use it for storing a sole copy of anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 The Logic files uploaded on Dropbox don't resemble a logic project folder structure anymore. It's a complete disaster. What looks like it should be the .logicx file is now named ".musicapps-project-folder" (sits alongside the Audio Files / Freeze files folders). Downloading that file now from dropbox results only in a text file. Inside other project folders are only now 3 types of folders I don't recognise - named 'Alternatives', 'Media', and 'Resources'. Inside the 'Alternatives' folder is a folder called '000' which contains .plist files and a jpeg of the main logic window, like a screenshot. The Audio files folders are empty. Putting a Logic package and/or Logic folders in dropbox can be dangerous because of what happened to you, unfortunately. When you zip it, the Logic folder is self-containing and dropbox doesn't interpret anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stardustmedia Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 I have had issues with Dropbox and Logic. I had one very large folder containing several logic projects which I uploaded to dropbox in an emergency situation to create space on my hard drive for a session, when I'd left my external drive at home. The Logic files uploaded on Dropbox don't resemble a logic project folder structure anymore. It's a complete disaster. What looks like it should be the .logicx file is now named ".musicapps-project-folder" (sits alongside the Audio Files / Freeze files folders). Downloading that file now from dropbox results only in a text file. Inside other project folders are only now 3 types of folders I don't recognise - named 'Alternatives', 'Media', and 'Resources'. Inside the 'Alternatives' folder is a folder called '000' which contains .plist files and a jpeg of the main logic window, like a screenshot. The Audio files folders are empty. The combined total of the upload was 100gb, there obviously was a problem on the upload and I didn't check thoroughly before deleting them from my hard drive due to the pressure of starting another session. It took a long long time to upload but there seems to be very little there. Lesson learned! I'm pretty sure these projects are not recoverable now - I have the audio stems backed up, so I could re mix them if I ever need to, but Dropbox does not seem reliable to me - I will never again use it for storing a sole copy of anything. That's bad. Gladly I never had any issues, and I have several hundred GBs in my project folder on DB. Around 30 sessions, in folders containing a lot of Logic files amongst other files and file types. When I look at the Logic project files thru the browser, they look different, yes. They look like a folder. Don't worry. That doesnt' matter. When I upload a new fodler containing all those files, then go home and synchronize there, everything looks as expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonboy Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 When you zip it, the Logic folder is self-containing and dropbox doesn't interpret anything. Yes, I'll do that from now on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonboy Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 [quote name="moonboy"That's bad. Gladly I never had any issues' date=' and I have several hundred GBs in my project folder on DB. Around 30 sessions, in folders containing a lot of Logic files amongst other files and file types. When I look at the Logic project files thru the browser, they look different, yes. They look like a folder. Don't worry. That doesnt' matter. When I upload a new fodler containing all those files, then go home and synchronize there, everything looks as expected.[/quote] Good to know that it can work, but don't take it for granted is my advice - at least always check! If you're using the app to sync then there's a copy on your hard drive as well, which is better practice - but I had a situation where I HAD to clear space on my laptop quickly, so I had to upload direct to the DB website as I couldn't use the dropbox folder on my computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stardustmedia Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Ah... I see, that's maybe where the issue is. I only use the desktop app. Here and there I use the browser, but never uploaded a Logic file this way. For audio files, or any other "normal" file types, this works like a charm. I don't take it for granted, no. I always make a copy of the sessions I worked on today to an external disc. Plus daily backup of everything to another external disc. DB works since 5-6 years perfectly for me. What I don't take granted, mostly, is that I cannot get online. The higher risk lies there, in my experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markalex905 Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Old thread, but I found a simple solution. Go oldschool and save the song not as a "Project" but as a Folder. Zip the folder, put it in Dropbox. Works perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ploki Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 or just stop using dropbox which is becoming worse and worse constantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stardustmedia Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 or just stop using dropbox which is becoming worse and worse constantly. I cannot agree with that statement. But as always YMMV. What is becoming worse? I had nothing but great experience with DB. I believe it's now over a decade. Except once, where one of my computers suddenly didn't sync properly and I couldn't get the current version of the project. The project was, of course correctly saved on the studio computer. So I had to copy the session from the external backup drive, no biggie. I guess DB is not going to work, if multiple user have access to the Logic session file, and edit it simultaneously. That's a risk. Logic is not built and meant for that. For a single user, that just wants to have access from multiple computers to "one" session, that is always updated, DB is an awesome solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ploki Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 New imposed device limit, new desktop client being a memory hog (more than 0.5gb) due to chromium, new desktop client default (and unchangeable behaviour) that double click now opens a file in applications instead of showing it in finder,... Frankly, I'm moving to icloud as soon as ios 13/catalina introduce direct link sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stardustmedia Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 I see. None of that bothers me. So as I said YMMV. It is not per se bad and unusable. It works flawlessly for me. And the new feature like "Wetransfer" makes it even better for me. No need to upload something, no need to share a folder. But use existing folders/files and just create an easy download link like Wetransfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ploki Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 that's not new, that's been around for ages - before the app was memory hugging garbage even. I really liked it, but my laptop has 16GB of RAM, i can;t afford DB chugging 0,5GB of it for running the most basic of all apps. Chromium framework killed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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