Backing up projects with digital audio

There are several ways to back up your projects in Music Creator. You can use per-project audio folders to keep all a project’s audio in its own folder, use the Consolidate Project Audio command to create a backup copy of all your project’s audio, or you can save a project as a bundle file (.cwb).

The following table lists several backup methods.

 

Table 168.  

Backup Method	Advantages
Per-project Audio Folders If you are using per-project audio folders you can create a copy of the project folder and its audio subfolder.	This method is an exact copy of your project, preserving all clips and pathname information.
Consolidate Project Audio If your project references audio from multiple folders, for example you have a library of loops that you share between several projects, you can gather all the audio for your project into a single folder using the Consolidate Project Audio command. The Consolidate Project Audio command copies every audio file your project references into a backup folder beneath the projects audio data folder. Creating a copy of all your project’s audio may take a lot of disk space.	Allows you to create a complete backup of all project audio even if the audio is in multiple locations. Creates a new folder which you can move or delete without fear of losing the original audio files.
Bundle Files A bundle file is a single file that contains all the information—except video—used in a project. A bundle file includes everything that is stored in a normal project file, plus all the digital audio that is used in the project.	Creates a single file for ease of portability.

To backup projects using per-project audio folders

Use this procedure to create a backup of a project that has its own project folder.

1.	Open the project you want to backup.

2.	Select Project > Audio Files.

The Project Files dialog box appears.

3.

In the Project Files dialog box, check the Path column to make sure that every audio file is stored in the project’s audio folder. If any files are stored in folders other than the project’s audio folder, you should use the Consolidate Project Audio command to move all audio to the project’s audio folder.

4.	Close the Project Files dialog box once you have confirmed that all audio files are in the project’s audio folder.

5.	Close the project.

6.	Using Windows Explorer, copy the project folder and its contents, including the project’s audio folder, to its backup location (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, another hard drive, network drive, etc.).

You have now created a copy of your project. It is a good idea to open the project once you have backed it up to confirm that all audio loads properly.

To create a backup using the Consolidate Project Audio command

Use this procedure to backup a project that has multiple audio folders:

1.	Open the project you want to backup.

2.	Select Utilities > Consolidate Project Audio.

3.	A message box appears listing the destination folder for your audio backup.

4.	Click OK to confirm.

5.	Using Windows Explorer, copy the project, the backup folder and all its contents, including the project’s audio folder, to its backup location (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, another hard drive, network drive, etc.).

Note: The Consolidate Project Audio command only copies the audio in your project, so make sure you copy the project (.cwp) along with the backup folder.

6.	Once you have copied the backup folder you can delete it to free up disk space.