Jack Russell
I smell home cookin!
Can anyone walk me through how to back-up the data for song in N-track? I know that songs are saved as .sgw files, but how?
T
TimOBrien
New member
Personally, I force the entire song and takes into one folder by setting the Preferences>OptionsTab>"ask for names of wave files to be recorded". Put everything in one folder and then when you want to back it up, just burn it to a CD-R with Nero or whatever comes with your CDburner.
But a lot of people use the built-in song collector:
File>Save As Packed Song File
Right from the Help file (always read the Help file...):
n-Track Studio normally saves projects into .sng files. .sng files contain only the structure of the song, not the audio data which is kept in separate .wav files (you can find more info in File types topic).
Saving a project as a packed song (using the .sgw extension) allows you to save all of the song data, including the audio data, into a single big file. This can be useful for transferring songs for example by email or for archiving them to CDs.
The .sgw format is not suited for “everyday” saving of projects as n-Track will always need the .sng + .wav set of files to allow you to work (i.e. edit, playback and record) on the song, so each time you load a .sgw the program will extract from it the tracks’ wave files and will let you save the song’s .sng file.
The audio data stored into .sgw file can be either uncompressed (producing a perfect copy of the song) or compressed using Ogg Vorbis compression. When compressing the file size drops significantly at the cost of loosing some information on the audio data with a consequent slight decay in sound quality (the amount of which can be selected using the compression slider in the Save .sgw file dialog box).
But a lot of people use the built-in song collector:
File>Save As Packed Song File
Right from the Help file (always read the Help file...):
n-Track Studio normally saves projects into .sng files. .sng files contain only the structure of the song, not the audio data which is kept in separate .wav files (you can find more info in File types topic).
Saving a project as a packed song (using the .sgw extension) allows you to save all of the song data, including the audio data, into a single big file. This can be useful for transferring songs for example by email or for archiving them to CDs.
The .sgw format is not suited for “everyday” saving of projects as n-Track will always need the .sng + .wav set of files to allow you to work (i.e. edit, playback and record) on the song, so each time you load a .sgw the program will extract from it the tracks’ wave files and will let you save the song’s .sng file.
The audio data stored into .sgw file can be either uncompressed (producing a perfect copy of the song) or compressed using Ogg Vorbis compression. When compressing the file size drops significantly at the cost of loosing some information on the audio data with a consequent slight decay in sound quality (the amount of which can be selected using the compression slider in the Save .sgw file dialog box).
Jack Russell
I smell home cookin!
Thanks very much.
Can you please elborate on what you said here,
"The .sgw format is not suited for “everyday” saving of projects as n-Track will always need the .sng + .wav set of files to allow you to work (i.e. edit, playback and record) on the song, so each time you load a .sgw the program will extract from it the tracks’ wave files and will let you save the song’s .sng file."
com again??
Can you please elborate on what you said here,
"The .sgw format is not suited for “everyday” saving of projects as n-Track will always need the .sng + .wav set of files to allow you to work (i.e. edit, playback and record) on the song, so each time you load a .sgw the program will extract from it the tracks’ wave files and will let you save the song’s .sng file."
com again??
C
crankz1
...
The .sgw format packs the .sng and .wav files based on the compression ratio you set. These are good for backup/archival purposes of projects you are done with at the moment, allowing you to remove the original .wav files from the hard drive to free up space if needed. Notice I said remove and not delete. It's always a good idea to backup the raw .wav's to CD or something, just in case.
What Tim was saying is that if you always save in the .sgw format as opposed to the .sng format, n-Track will need to un-pack those file to a location of your choice prior to being able to work with them.
On current projects, it's best to just save the project as a .sng, as the .wav's are already in the directory that you specify under Preferences > Paths > Working Directory. Then periodically make backup saves, in the .sgw format, to a safe place in the event of a computer mishap.
So, yeah ... in response to your initial question, just as Tim stated ....
File > Save As Packed Song File ..... select your location for the save, name it and click Save.
You will then be presented with the compression ratio window, in which you will use the slider to adjust how much data compression you wish to use.
Personally, I set the slider all the way to the right. No compression. Of course, depending on the number of tracks in the project, this can end up being a rather large sized file. That's when a DVD burner comes in handy.
What Tim was saying is that if you always save in the .sgw format as opposed to the .sng format, n-Track will need to un-pack those file to a location of your choice prior to being able to work with them.
On current projects, it's best to just save the project as a .sng, as the .wav's are already in the directory that you specify under Preferences > Paths > Working Directory. Then periodically make backup saves, in the .sgw format, to a safe place in the event of a computer mishap.
So, yeah ... in response to your initial question, just as Tim stated ....
File > Save As Packed Song File ..... select your location for the save, name it and click Save.
You will then be presented with the compression ratio window, in which you will use the slider to adjust how much data compression you wish to use.
Personally, I set the slider all the way to the right. No compression. Of course, depending on the number of tracks in the project, this can end up being a rather large sized file. That's when a DVD burner comes in handy.
