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Logic Project files and Dropbox


DorianW

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Hi there, I was wondering if I could pick the collective brain? Do any of you use Logic Pro with the online storage platform DropBox?

 

It appears, and I'm far from a computer expert, that DropBox cannot accept a Logic Project File in it's natural state. All the files associated wioth the project are uploaded no problem, but the actual Logic project file... DropBox can't deal with it.

 

The platform sees it as a "Container", and shreds it into what can only be described as an unusable and absurd hellscape of folders.

 

I've tried several things, saving as Projects as folders (my preferred method for accessibility and similarity to other programs) as well as Pacakage, abnd the same thing happens when I upload the project to DropBox. I tried using iCloud and of course, being Apple owned, no problem. But I want to use Dropbox.

 

The workaround has been to zip each Song Project folder and upload the Zip. That works fine, but it's awfully annoying. It's only for backing up, but still, it would be nice to have Logic Projects uploaded to Dropbox in their normal and accessible state, much like on my computers and HD's.

 

Sorry for the long post, but it's seriously frustrating! Any help will be appreciated and rewarded with cute Cat photos.

 

Thanks folks!

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The platform sees it as a "Container", and shreds it into what can only be described as an unusable and absurd hellscape of folders.

This describes my own experience with Logic projects on Dropbox quite accurately.

 

FWIW, Logic Project 'files' are, on the computer level, in fact folders, and these do contain other folders and files (do a ctrl-click on a project and select 'Show Package Contents' to see for yourself, but watch your step).

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DorianW said:
but it's awfully annoying.

Sad to see what Dropbox has become - it was once a great, awesome, simple thing that was designed nicely and just_worked.

Now it's an invasive, bloaty, nagging, ugly b2b tool...

If it's for backup, you could always have a regularly scheduled tool to run, say, nightly and zip up copies of your projects and copy them to your Dropbox folder automatically....

But yes, native Mac filesystem things like packages don't generally work on services that aren't tuned for the Mac filesystem. Zipping is the most secure way of dealing with them in the main.

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  • 1 year later...

Really important thread thanks on a question I needed an answer.

Is there a Logic Pro X friendly alternative to Dropbox?  I am very attached to using Logic with Folders ( as opposed to Package) because it makes it easy to search and retrieve individual files from different projects.

At the moment I only have one ( bought in 2016) Macbook Pro and am thinking of buying  Mac Mini to remain at a permanent workstation at home.

Then when I travel take the MPB Pro but for the entire Logic Folder of Projects  to be constantly centrally updated on a cloud and available on both machines.

Or - is the only  option to have everything  Logic on a separate backed up SSD and carry it round as a peripheral?

Will appreciate suggestions and solutions

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  • 1 month later...

Depending on the project I use various services such as iCloud drive, Google drive, WeTransfer, or FTP servers. I recommend you first control-click the project folder and choose "Compress" then upload the resulting .zip file to one of those services to share the project. 

19 minutes ago, orangefridge said:

It seems apple are also forcing these services away from external drives which is nuts.

Which services? As far as saving Logic Pro projects, Apple isn't forcing anything? 

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  • 6 months later...

Any suggestion in good alternatives for Dropbox? We are in a similar situation that some of you: Running the same session in a separate computers. Sometimes even separate cities and different people, so moving the session around with a hard drive is not an option.

Also compressing/decompressing isn't a valid workaround since we exchange the session several times a day.

 

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I use my own FTP servers for sharing files with clients, but there are other services out there, like Google drive or iCloud drive. Once you've shared the entire project folder, if there are no new audio files (if all you're doing is MIDI sequencing and mixing) then all you need to share is the project file. 

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11 hours ago, David Nahmani said:

use my own FTP servers for sharing files with clients, but there are other services out there, like Google drive or iCloud drive.

Similar scenario. Internal (studio/home) stuff is on a shared server.
With clients, use Google Drive....although this tends to be mixes/stems, rather than DAW projects.

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I have recently been obliged by Apple to upgrade iCloud as I reached the  200Gb limit that has lasted me for years ( photos, email, voice memos essentials etc   to 2TB  and quadruple the monthly cost to £8.99 a month)  I find it outrageous that there is no tariff in between because not in a million years would I use 2TB .. unless - I cancel my years long 2TB Dropbox subscription.

I then decided to start saving big files on iCloud Drive since I was forced to pay for such a huge amount, and making space on  my 2016 500Gb Hard disk  MacBook Pro. 

Sharing Logic Projects via Dropbox works fine ( as per above comments) if the Project is saved as a compressed Package

All this to ask here whether Logic Projects unzipped/ uncompressed can be shared with a link from iCloud? 

And this may be a strange question but.. how reliable is iCloud if you put a project up there ( Cloud only) and then re- download it:

a) back to your own computer?

b) via a link to another person's computer?

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On 1/1/2024 at 12:07 PM, David Nahmani said:

I use my own FTP servers for sharing files with clients, but there are other services out there, like Google drive or iCloud drive. Once you've shared the entire project folder, if there are no new audio files (if all you're doing is MIDI sequencing and mixing) then all you need to share is the project file. 

Thanks for the answer. I'm not sure which workaround may work for me. I use Logic Pro and generate files in several computers (the studio, my laptop and the theater computer). 

I need to install Dropbox (or alternative) in every theater computer I am working in each moment (it changes each 1 or 2 months, depending on the project).

My experience with Google Drive was not good, specially if I needed to work offline. Never tried with iCloud.

My workflow with Dropbox was good since the files were all local in the computer, and syncing to the cloud at the same time (without me to notice and having to do anything). This is necessary for other people in the studio to work when I'm done in the theater, and also for having backup updated all the time.

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FWIW I’m having no issues using Dropbox and using it to collaborate with my bandmates. Just stay away from its web interface whenever possible. You will also not have the folder vs package/bundle problem then.

Edited by polanoid
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22 minutes ago, David Nahmani said:

I don't favor the workflow you described. I prefer to always work with local copies, and upload them when I'm ready to share them. 

I understand you don't like it, but it isn't something I can choose. Files and sessions are generated during the rehersals, everyday. It's a back and forth creative process most of the time, involving sometimes several people with several computers.

Working with drobpox synced has saved me from loosing hours of work done in rehersals when a computer disc died. It also saved me once a machine was stolen in a launch pause on the theater.

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