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Using Save As... versus Save A Copy As... [SOLVED]


lifebohemia

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I've been trying to understand when I should use Save As versus Save A Copy As. I checked the manual, but I'm still confused. Here's what the manual says:

 

File > Save As: The next time you save using the straight Save (Command-S) command, the new filename and path are used. If you use this command to save your project to a new location (outside the current project folder) and select the Include Assets checkbox, the new project folder will contain all audio files used in the “old” project’s Arrange area.

 

File > Save a Copy As: The next time you save with the straight Save (Command-S) command, the existing filename and path continue to be used. The copy is a replica of the existing project, stored in a different location. It does not update the file save path. Save a Copy As is ideal for archiving and moving data.

My interpretation is that when you do Save As, a new replica of the file you are working on is created and kept open in the window while the original is closed.

 

For Save A Copy As, the original file is kept open but a copy of the original is put in another location and closed. Does that sound correct?

 

So what would be the strategy for using one over the other? Thanks.

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In both cases you work in an original project with its original name/location, and you create a new copy at a new name/location.

 

After File > Save As, the new project file (new name/location) is the one that stays in RAM, open in front of you.

 

After File > Save a Copy As, the original project file (original name/location) is the one that stays in RAM, open in front of you.

 

My interpretation is that when you do Save As, a new replica of the file you are working on is created and kept open in the window while the original is closed.

Not exactly: nothing is ever closed, per se. Keep in mind what a save operation really is: you are copying the file you're working on in RAM to your hard drive. Here, in both cases the file you're working on a project in RAM, and in both cases that project stays open, only in one case it takes on a new name/location, in the other it does not.

 

It's important to understand that nothing gets closed, however, because when closing a project you typically either save it or are prompted to save it. Not in this case, though. An example:

 

- Open a new empty project.

- Save As "Song Z".

- Work on Song Z for 3 hours.

- Save a Copy As "Song A".

 

"Song Z" is still in RAM and open in front of you, but it was only saved once, 3 hours ago. All 3 hours of work were saved under the name Song A - but Song Z on the hard drive is still an empty project - until you save it again.

 

Hope that helps.

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  • 3 years later...
I don't know if this thread is dead but what about if I want to include audio files in the save?

That shouldn't make any difference.

 

In save a copy as that choice is grayed out for me. Is there an advanced setting I'm missing that I haven't unlocked

Nothing you're missing, I'm not sure why those choices are grayed out in the Export dialog.

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To make sure we're on the same page. Not export per se (under File) but yes export box that comes up when I choose save a copy as. Here is a screen shot. On my laptop it is checked but grayed, on my desktop it is grayed like the screen shot but unchecked.

1406014578_ScreenShot2016-02-04at3_56_44PM.png.946e90775fdb942169765503e4ef8e8a.png

Screen shot of the save a copy as

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To make sure we're on the same page. Not export per se (under File) but yes export box that comes up when I choose save a copy as. Here is a screen shot. On my laptop it is checked but grayed, on my desktop it is grayed like the screen shot but unchecked.

Yes that's what I understood the first time, and I was talking about the Export dialog box that comes up when you Save a Copy As. Not sure why Logic behaves like that. To be honest I pretty much never "Save A Copy As" (in any app). And in Logic, I always save projects as folders (not packages).

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Okay. Also, I only use Save a copy as if I want a duplicate of my current project, as a back up. I then can stay working in the project. I also use Save as but for versions and experiments. Why Folder over Project? Project opens it back as a Project. How do you use Folder differently. For simply access to files? Edited by jetjaguar
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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...
I notice that not all files in the audio files folder are copied, only those that are in the project audio browser. Also, the bounces folder (which has audio in it) is not copied. Is this the expected behavior?

 

Correct. All visible files on the main page are included. Even the muted ones.

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I also notice that even with copy audio files unchecked they are still copied.

 

This is hard to test if you have some projects stored on your internal HD. Logic still remembers where things are if you don't switch drives or computers.

But go to another computer with Logic and try to open that project without having checked audio files. They will be missing.

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