ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) Hi. Me again. For those who know - I'm having ISSUES! Until I get my Mac and Hard Drive stable again, I decided to manually copy all my work onto a separate drive. Time Machine wouldn't do it properly, because it seems there were some corrupted files (surprise surprise); several Auto-Save 000 files and plus general arrangement files as well as audio files - Yay! Anyway, after a lot of time wasting spending, I managed to eventually get all the files I knew I might need across to a 'safer' drive, also needing to restore some from earlier TM backups. So far so good - please read on... Hope you can understand this. I disconnected the troublesome drive and tried to open a project from the new drive. Obviously, it couldn't find the audio, so I pointed it to the new drive and it DID load a lot of the audio as it should (even if it did come up with something like 'some regions have changed in length' or something... so I will have to double check all is as it should be... but anyway, the problem is, that it seems a lot of the files now have a "_1" at the end on the new drive (and in some cases, there are many many duplicates in the Logic arrangement all with numbers after them) and Logic can't see the original files (without the added numbers at the end). I can locate them from the old drive (or TM) and import them individually, then convert them to put them in the new audio folder fine - but there are LOADS of them missing and it's taking FOREVER!!! BOTTOM LINE: Is there a quick way to import all the '!' missing files. I tried importing all the files still blacked out (not grey) in the audio folder, but they all have _1 after them and so aren't working. Can anyone suggest a quicker way to do this - I feel like I'm losing the will! I JUST EDITED THIS POST AS THE DUPLICATION PART HAS BEEN SOLVED. It appears that there are, (I think due to having had other problems), several duplications of some song clips and other audio within the project. They ARE there, hence the numerous copies, so I just have to accept that. Edited January 31, 2023 by ADLondon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 5 minutes ago, ADLondon said: Me again. For those who know - I'm having USSUES! Did you see that I provided an explanation for the main issue you described in your last thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 Plus - can I select an audio file (in the browser) and find out where it is being used in the arrangement? Because I find it very unlikely all these duplicates are valid and are actually in the arrangement... but they're not being selected with 'select unused'. Thanks. 2 minutes ago, polanoid said: Did you see that I provided an explanation for the main issue you described in your last thread? It was about the background automation lines you mean? If so, I did, but didn't pursue it yet because I have been having to deal with a self-ejecting drive corrupting files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 2 minutes ago, ADLondon said: but they're not being selected with 'select unused' If they're not selected with "Select Unused" they are used somewhere. You could post the project (without including the actual audio files) so others here can check Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 15 minutes ago, polanoid said: If they're not selected with "Select Unused" they are used somewhere. You could post the project (without including the actual audio files) so others here can check Ok - well I'll have to go through each one then... can't post project yet... I have just discovered if I click the arrow down on the file to all the used edited sections, and select those one by one, it shows me where they are in the arrangement, but sadly the curser/view doesn't jump to it and you have to scan through to see what's highlighted. Not too terrible on a 3 minute song, but a 90 minute play is a pain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 6 minutes ago, ADLondon said: and you have to scan through to see what's highlighted Just enable Catch Playhead in the Tracks Area and use e.g. the Go To Selection Start key command 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 But I go back to my main question here... Is there a quick way to import all the '!' missing files? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 1 minute ago, ADLondon said: But I go back to my main question here... Is there a quick way to import all the '!' missing files? Passing that question to the others, I'm afraid I don't understand what you did up to now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 10 minutes ago, polanoid said: Just enable Catch Playhead in the Tracks Area and use e.g. the Go To Selection Start key command Cheers, that helped 8 minutes ago, polanoid said: Passing that question to the others, I'm afraid I don't understand what you did up to now. I thought I'd explained in the long explanation - but thanks for your help on the other bits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Assuming files are scattered in location A and location B, and both A and B are mounted and accessible - close the project. Open the project. It will ask for the first file it can find. Use the Locate button and point to the file in question. The next missing files in that location will be found automatically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 2 minutes ago, fuzzfilth said: Assuming files are scattered in location A and location B, and both A and B are mounted and accessible - close the project. Open the project. It will ask for the first file it can find. Use the Locate button and point to the file in question. The next missing files in that location will be found automatically. No it doesn't, because in the copy it's renamed everything with a '_1' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 I'm guessing because they are technically copies - given they are on a different drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) 19 minutes ago, ADLondon said: in the copy it's renamed everything with a '_1' How did that copy come to be ? Logic is not renaming files on its own, except the'yre actually new, different files. Your CSNY files are all little snippets derived from the originals "...(1971).aif" and "...Version2.aif" Edited January 31, 2023 by fuzzfilth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 53 minutes ago, ADLondon said: I thought I'd explained in the long explanation Long it was indeed. Still missing lots of important information. How did the files get renamed with the additional "_1"? Where did you copy the files from? Were the Logic Projects organised into Project Folders? Or Packages? Were the audio files stored inside the project folder/package? Or somewhere outside? And where did you copy the files to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 1 hour ago, ADLondon said: Is there a quick way to import all the '!' missing files? That isn't even a valid question. The files marked with a "!" are files that could not be found when the project was opened, so what you want to do is not import the file, but locate the file, i.e. tell Logic where the file is. Of course that's only possible if you know where it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 Ok all. I've finally been through and found and imported each file manually. Couldn't find a quick/bulk way to do it. I am now (temporarily) working on the Mac's HD, (that needs a mix of where it's at ASAP!) not the SSD external HD (which I know needs seeing to, even though I suspect the Mac does too - which of course is a concern) - but at least I also have a working copy of my biggest project once more! Yay!! I had to change the location from my non SSD external HD as it was simply toooooo slow and I was sitting with my head in my hands for far too long while I waited for it to do ANY action, hence having it on my Ma'c SSD HD... but I can actually get back to the mix. I didn't find quicker way to do it, other than duplicate the files from the original source and import them OR type out the _1 if it was superfluous. Either way - it's (hopefully) all there now. 🙏🏼 5 minutes ago, polanoid said: Long it was indeed. Still missing lots of important information. Ok... answers here. How did the files get renamed with the additional "_1"? No idea Where did you copy the files from? From the Ext SSD HD Were the Logic Projects organised into Project Folders? Or Packages? Folders - with Audio Were the audio files stored inside the project folder/package? Yes inside the AUDIO folder And where did you copy the files to? Originally, when I posted this, to a different Ext HD - but non SSD. NOW as per my last post, it's on my Mac's INT SSD HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 I now have what I need in reference to this question... but and thank you to @polanoid for the solution to finding regions quicker within a project on the arrange page - and for all their interest/help. HOWEVER, if anyone does find a solution to a quicker way to import many REFERENCED/USED audio files at once, please DO let me know, thanks! (FYI just importing them via 'Audio File'/'Add Audio File' simply adds a load of files but doesn't link to the audio/regions as used in the project, as they are still looking for the ones with a '!') Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 10 minutes ago, ADLondon said: Were the audio files stored inside the project folder/package? Yes inside the AUDIO folder Look, that's the part I don't understand. If they were, you should have been able to just copy the whole Project Folder to your new HD and you would have been all set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 Just now, polanoid said: Look, that's the part I don't understand. If they were, you should have been able to just copy the whole Project Folder to your new HD and you would have been all set Tell me about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 5 minutes ago, ADLondon said: just importing them via 'Audio File'/'Add Audio File' simply adds a load of files but doesn't link to the audio/regions as used in the projec Add Audio File will either do a) nothing (if the file is already referenced in the project), or b) what the name says, i.e. add the audio file to the project (which will then be unused until you also add it to the Tracks Area) it is not meant to re-"link" (i.e., change the file reference to another location) files references already existing in the project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 9 minutes ago, ADLondon said: HOWEVER, if anyone does find a solution to a quicker way to import many REFERENCED/USED audio files at once, please DO let me know, thanks! Logic will automatically find all referenced files by their name if they are inside the Project Folder / Package. If - for whatever reason - the file name has changed (like the mysteriously appended "_1" in your case) without letting Logic know about that, there is no chance to automatically repair the file references, you will have to manually locate each file separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 1 hour ago, polanoid said: Add Audio File will either do a) nothing (if the file is already referenced in the project), or b) what the name says, i.e. add the audio file to the project (which will then be unused until you also add it to the Tracks Area) it is not meant to re-"link" (i.e., change the file reference to another location) files references already existing in the project I realise that - hence why that isn't an solution. Lol 55 minutes ago, polanoid said: Logic will automatically find all referenced files by their name if they are inside the Project Folder / Package. If - for whatever reason - the file name has changed (like the mysteriously appended "_1" in your case) without letting Logic know about that, there is no chance to automatically repair the file references, you will have to manually locate each file separately. I still don't mind finding them manually, but don't you think it's a shame you can't bulk select for all missing audio? ie. you select the missing files and it imports it and replaces the missing ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 4 hours ago, ADLondon said: you select the missing files and it imports it and replaces the missing ones This is exactly what happens if you open the project and Locate the *changed* location of the first file, as I described. This requires that the file names have not changed. If the file names are different, Logic will not randomly replace any audio files with any other arbitrary audio files, and I'm glad it doesn't as this would tear your timeline to shreds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted February 1, 2023 Author Share Posted February 1, 2023 14 hours ago, fuzzfilth said: This is exactly what happens if you open the project and Locate the *changed* location of the first file, as I described. This requires that the file names have not changed. If the file names are different, Logic will not randomly replace any audio files with any other arbitrary audio files, and I'm glad it doesn't as this would tear your timeline to shreds. This is not what is happening. 1. For some reason, when I copied the files and tried to open them within the Logic project, some DID have a different name - an addition of _1 2. Just also discovered that for some reason, it didn't copy them all!???! Go figure! I think I have gremlins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 2 minutes ago, ADLondon said: when I copied the files Again, how did these copies occur ? Time Machine Restore ? Finder Copy ? Copy/Convert inside Logic ? Something else ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted February 1, 2023 Author Share Posted February 1, 2023 Manually copied from one drive across to another - from Finder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 (edited) And this did add "-1" to the file names ? I find that hard to believe. Did you wait for the copy operation to finish ? Edited February 1, 2023 by fuzzfilth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubmanus Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 For what it's worth, I get this "file_1.wav" behavior when I: Have an external drive mounted (over a network if that matters) Copy a Logic session from this external drive to my drive (by dragging in Finder) Open this Logic session (the local copy) and save it while the external drive is still mounted This typically creates a full new set of audio with "_1" and is kind of a nightmare. Originals are not lost though. So I've learned the hard way not to do that. Not sure if that sheds any light. If I were you (and I understand correctly), I would get NameChanger to batch rename your files. If you have a full set of originals, but Logic is looking for "_1": copy your full set of audio into a new subfolder, use NameChanger to add "_1" to all the files, and dump all of these into the Audio Files folder of your project. Not ideal for saving space but might be a shortcut to get you going. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADLondon Posted February 1, 2023 Author Share Posted February 1, 2023 14 minutes ago, grubmanus said: For what it's worth, I get this "file_1.wav" behavior...... @grubmanusTHANK YOU!! That is worth a LOT! It's difficult when people don't appear to believe you, making you start questioning yourself as to if you somehow made it up! So THANK YOU for explaining how you have had it happen to you. Yes, I did have both drives still mounted. Makes sense as '_1' is a naming method for copies. Thank you for the acknowledgement, the why, AND for a quicker fix should it happen again!! Gosh I could've done with you the past couple of days! I basically did what you explained NameChanger does, but MANUALLY! Took an age! 😓 I don't quite understand however, why it didn't add the _1 to ALL the audio files. That still doesn't make sense to me... but I don't know how much I really care anymore. 🌟🌟 🙏🌟 🌟 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polanoid Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 (edited) 12 hours ago, grubmanus said: For what it's worth, I get this "file_1.wav" behavior when I: Have an external drive mounted (over a network if that matters) Copy a Logic session from this external drive to my drive (by dragging in Finder) Open this Logic session (the local copy) and save it while the external drive is still mounted This typically creates a full new set of audio with "_1" and is kind of a nightmare. Originals are not lost though. So I've learned the hard way not to do that. Not sure if that sheds any light. Nice find. Didn't try to reproduce it yet, but I take it that it is reproducible for you. This sounds very much like a bug in Logic - did you report it to Apple already? I guess what happens here is that, when you open the local copy (step 3) Logic still uses the files on the external drive (because copying the session via finder does of course not update the file references in the project, so they still point to the external drive, and Logic sees that they still exist, so it uses them instead of the files - with the same name - inside the project folder), and when you then save the project (with the Copy Audio Files to Project Folder/Package switch on), Logic needs to append the "_1" in order to not overwrite the already existing files in the Project Folder / Package. Maybe this is hard to fix, because this situation (a project referencing two audio files with the same name, one inside the project folder and one outside of it) can theoretically happen, so Logic would need to do a comparison of the whole file content and check if it is exactly the same to just change the file reference instead of copying the whole file, which could of course take a lot of time. Key takeaway of all this is of course: Never open and save Logic projects you copied from an external drive that is still mounted and still contains the original project😉 Edited February 2, 2023 by polanoid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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