Why is my “mixdown” overwriting my project.sng file?

1

First: Windows 10, Ntrack ver: 9.1.8 Build 6951

Here are my steps:

  1. Launch Ntrack
  2. File | New
  3. File | Import audio file (c:\Rehearsals\Recording.mp3)

Now I want to save my project & sng file
3. File | Save as | “c:\Rehearsals\Practice-1.sng” [Save]

I restart Ntrack to see if my Project is there.
4. File Exit
5. Launch Ntrack. It automatically brings up my “Practice-1” project. This is good!

Next I want to cut out a large chunk of the recording and save it as “Song-1”
6. I edit the file
7. File | Mixdown : mixdown to “c:\Rehearsals\Practic-1\Exported Audio\Song-1.mp3” [Save]
8. (I check that the file has been created and it has.)

Next I open the Project and repeat the process to edit the second song
9. File | Open | “c:\Rehearsals\Practice-1.sng” [Open]
****** It opens the file I just mixed down not the entire night recording. This is bad.

Thoughts?

2

Harrison,

n-Track always saves when you close a song, exit the app, or open another song (even if you open the same current song). You can simply use the Undo command to get back to the previous state (it works even after restarting the app and/or reloading a song) before you edited it.
Another way is to reload a previous snapshot of the song (n-Track always creates a snapshot when it auto-saves a .sng) in the Snapshots subfolder of the song folder.
Auto saving might require some adjustment in your workflow if you’re used to manually saving, but it has the great benefit of freeing one from having to manually save, or answering prompts to save or not save, and the undo plus snapshots features make it very difficult to inadvertently loose your work.

Flavio.

3

Flavio,

Can you please make the autosave feature optional?

I have been using n-track off and on for the last 20 years or so. I originally purchased it because it was the most affordable and easy-to-use option for my rather modest needs. Over time you have added a tremendous number of capabilities and features - 99% of which are great. I just recently upgraded to version 10. I am not a fan of the autosave feature - it is not great. First and foremost it doesn’t comply with general Windows app protocol, so it is completely unintuitive - as Harrison discovered. For me personally, it does not work at all for my general workflow.

I recently started using n-track to provide backing tracks for a live performance. The next day when I looked at all of my files the date-modified field had been updated for every file. Now I have no idea when I actually made a change to that file. That creates problems for managing backups and keeping my desktop and laptop in sync. I can’t be bothered to worry about restoring old versions during (or even after every performance) for 40-50 files.

I recognize it can be beneficial, but it’s not always a desirable option/feature. Can you please make the autosave feature optional, with a toggle switch? At a minimum, don’t save the file if no changes have been made.

Thanks,
Ray

4

Ray,

thanks for the comments. Sng files shouldn’t be saved if no modification was made. That said we’ll add an option to disable auto-save when exiting or closing the song.

Flavio.

5

Also note that you can close the song with “Close without saving” from the File menu.

Flavio.

6

Thanks Flavio! I look forward to having the option.

If I load a song, then drag and drop a new song on top of it (without making any changes - just playing it) the original song is automatically saved. At least it appears to be because the DateModified field gets updated.

I did notice the Close Without Saving option. That is good to have. I use that when I’m home working on tracks. But when I’m gigging, I want to be able to drag and drop songs quickly without a lot of keystrokes or mouse clicks.

Thanks again for addressing my concern!

Ray