turning separate projects into project alternatives

[mauveformation]

Hi guys, is it possible to turn separate projects into project alternatives? I am saving projects in a folder and often have a few projects saved within the same folder, the audio files etc are shared. Thank you.

Edited January 11, 2023 by mauveformation

[Jordi Torres]

Hi mauveformation,

Yes, you can hack this and the fact that both projects are already sharing audio files makes it a bit easier.

Start by opening the main project (the first alternative) then:

1. Create a new alternative and give it the name of the second folder or whatever other name you may want to give it, then switch back to the first alternative.
2. Close the project or quit Logic entirely
3. In the Finder, locate the second project's project file, Ctrl-click it and choose Show Package Contents
4. Go into Alternatives > 000 and select all (Cmd - A) and copy (Cmd - C) all the files you find in there.
5. Now go to the main project's project file in the Finder,  Ctrl-click it and choose Show Package Contents
6. Go into Alternatives > 001 and select all (Cmd - A), delete all files you find there (Cmd - Delete) the paste (Cmd - V) all the files you copied from the second project's Alternatives > 000 folder.
7. Open the main project then switch to the second alternative and it shall load the second project but as an alternative.

Hope that helps,

J.

 

 

[Alan Shields]

I have done this in the following way:

1. Open the first project and create an alternative. I usually name the alternative after the second project
2. select everything in the project and delete (these are already in the first alternative).
3. Go to File > Import > Logic projects and select the project you wish to bring in.
4. Tick the boxes for anything that you wish to bring in to your project, I typically select everything but you are of course free to choose exactly what you want.
5. Don't forget to save your alternatives. Now alternative 1 is your first project and alternative 2 is your second.

The whole process can be carried out quite quickly

HTH,

Alan.

[Jordi Torres]

Hey Alan,

9 minutes ago, Alan Shields said:

Go to File > Import > Logic projects and select the project you wish to bring in.

That does make it slightly easier now doesn't it? 😅

I guess I have a tendency to go to the back door first. 

J. 

 

 

[wonshu]

What is the advantage over just having a couple of project files in a folder?

[Alan Shields]

1 hour ago, Jordi Torres said:

Hey Alan,

That does make it slightly easier now doesn't it? 😅

I guess I have a tendency to go to the back door first. 

J. 

Different people have different preferences for doing things their own way. Each to their own but I felt that the way I usually do it was the easiest.

57 minutes ago, wonshu said:

What is the advantage over just having a couple of project files in a folder?

This is just as much a personal preference. Some people don't like alternatives, so they would prefer to have a couple of projects in a folder. There are usually a few different ways of doing things and it's just a case of finding the way that works best for you.

Alan.

[wonshu]

Yes.

I'm not debating or trying to change your way, I was just asking to perhaps learn something. I'm trying to understand if there is something to doing it a different way from the way I'm doing it. 

[scg]

1 hour ago, wonshu said:

I'm trying to understand if there is something to doing it a different way from the way I'm doing it. 

You can share assets between projects, but alternatives share assets automatically and transparently, which can be valuable if you're iterating on the same overall project. Alternatives can also provide conceptual clarity (e.g. 'these sub-projects are all related, and are all part of the same parent project'). They can be easily accessed and managed from the 'alternatives' menu without having to close your entire project or navigate the file system. They can be exported as separate projects if needed. If you want to back up your iterations, you only have to back up one project, rather than a folder of projects. And so on.

Of course like with most things there are different ways to accomplish the same goal, and different people have different preferences. But, alternatives do provide a different way of working with multiple versions of a project than simply managing them manually using the file system.

[wonshu]

I see.

I think we do the same thing horizontally within the same project file. That way we don't have loading times and the mix stays consistent across variations.

Of course, these projects were borderline overloading for the 2013 MacPros - the MacStudio now handles them without a hitch.