I don't get it? Why can't you save Project Files in Audition?

[Guest]

I want to Import files, work on them, save the project, and work on them later... Not just save as an audio file. This seems really stupid. Can someone please help. And how can I be the only person that can't figure this out. I Googled it and can't find anything. Adobe products suck to learn, there is nowhere to help learn them. Like I'm supposed to be born with this knowledge or something. Also where can I learn Adobe products without having to haphazardly Google random questions continuously?

[Paul_Ferguson]

Not sure if I understand what you're trying to do, but when you import stuff into a session in CS6, the way to get it included in the session folder is File>Export.  If I'm not mistaken, using Save or Save As saves the session information only, and leaves the imported files wherever they were before you imported them.

Where can you learn this stuff?  Well, here for instance - this forum is really good.  I think there's a third party CS6 training video too - I think it costs about $80 or something.  There's stuff on lynda.com too.  And of course helpx.adobe.com/audition/topics is the standard intro to all things Audition.  Two are free, two cost.  You choose.

[SuiteSpot]

I assume you are refering to an Audition 'project' (actually referred to as a 'session') and not importing a 'project' from Premiere.

So if that is correct then the way to do that is to switch to the Multitrack view (rather than the Edit View)

Press the number "0" for MT and "9" for Edit (or use the menu)

In MT view you can import or record your audio and then save it as a session/project to work on again later

If I have misunderstood then let me know

[Ron_Day · Accepted solution]

Hey Ryan,

I think a new feature we added in Audition CS6 should help you with this workflow. While Audition does not support an official project format at this time, we do have a way to ensure that any files open when a session is saved will be retained when the session is re-opened.

Go to Preferences > Multitrack and enable the option for "Reference all open audio and video files when saving sessions".

Normally when you save a session (.sesx file), we only retain references to the files you actually added to the multitrack enviornment (this has been the case for all previous versions of Audition and Cool Edit in the past).

With this new option turned on, we will also retain references to ANY audio or video file you have open in the Files panel - even if you have not added it to the multitrack yet.

I hope that helps!

--Ron

[Guest]

I recorded a voiceover and I'm pretty sure I lost all of it. It wasn't that much but it was a good deal of work.  I hit command S to save the project and when I re-opened the project all of the audio clips were gone.  I thought saving the project would include the audio files.  Is this not the case?

[ryclark]

Were you working in Waveform view or Multitrack view? In Multitrack the audio files are saved as you record them into the project session folder which Audition asks you for when you start a new project. It is slightly different in Waveform view where the audio is only stored as a temporary file until you do a Save file or preferably Save As when it will ask you for a file name.

There is no way that you can close an Audition session without it asking you to save unsaved or altered files. If you have saved them previously and they aren't altered then Audition won't ask again. So your .wav audio files must be somewhere on one of your drives.

[Pat Michaels]

"Preferences"? Where the hell is preferences? LOL. I'm on the page and can't find it.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

This thread is 10 years old...

In the current version, Preferences is at the bottom of the Edit menu.

[MMCC Forensic]

This does not suffice. It saves the Multitrack session data, but what we and I’m pretty sure many others need is the ability to save a project involving a single audio file and the current status of any and all non-destructive actions (Effects Rack, just for starters) performed on it.

Apple’s SoundTrack Pro has been able to do this since Day One (.stap files, SoundTrack Audio Project). Heck, even the freeware open-source Audacity can do it (.aup, Audacity Audio Project)!

After six major versions under the name “Audition” and Adobe’s ownership, not to mention its days as Cool Edit Pro, why the heck can Audition not do such an extremely basic thing, even in the latest Auditon CC!? Please add this. I recommend “.aap” (Audition Audio Project)  or “.aaap” (Adobe Audition Audio Project) to avoid conflicts with Audacity.

To add some more functionality that Apple’s Final Cut Studio has had all along, such .aaap files should also be able to be imported directly as clips into a Premiere Pro timeline. When rendering, Premiere Pro would call on Audition in the background (without launching the user interface if Audition is closed at the time) to actually render the audio in its current state. This way, if the project file is further edited (including non-destructive effects parameters, ordering, enabling / disabling, etc.) then the .aaap is re-saved without having to export any audio, then the Premiere Pro timelines that reference it will automatically be updated as well the next time they render (and those clips would be flagged as needing rendering). This is a very efficient workflow.

Frankly, the lack of this should be considered a showstopper for the use of Adobe software in any kind of A/V production. The fact that it went this long without being done gives me reason to question the use of Adobe software at all, with the possible exception of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat. It tells me that at least some of your development teams just aren’t thinking right.

In fact, speaking of those more basic apps, imagine if there were no .psd/.psb or .ai or .indd file formats. Imagine if you could only save from Photoshop to .png or .jpg or .tiff or whatever, or from Illustrator to .wmf/emf or .pct (PICT) or .dwg or even .eps (without saving AI editing data) or whatever, or from InDesign to .pdf or other prepress formats. Imagine if you could not keep your Smart Layers and Smart Filter settings in Photoshop files, etc. This is basically the situation that Audition has been in for six major versions now (again, not to mention its Cool Edit Pro days).

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

MMCC Forensic wrote:

This does not suffice. It saves the Multitrack session data, but what we and I’m pretty sure many others need is the ability to save a project involving a single audio file and the current status of any and all non-destructive actions (Effects Rack, just for starters) performed on it.

Work done in Waveform view is essentially destructive, so I don't understand what you're on about at all. If you want to save the contents and settings of the effects rack, save them as a preset.

If you want to do a non-destructive project using a single file, then use Multitrack. That's the way it's designed. Multitrack is non-destructive, Waveform is destructive.

[Bob_Howes]

Like Steve, I'm not sure quite what you're having problems with but wonder if you have a misconception.

Just because it's called Multitrack, it doesn't mean you can't have a project (except it's called a session, .sesx file extension) with only a single track in it.  Once you save the session you have all the various settings for effects, levels, etc. etc. saved in the one spot and...if you've clicked the option...it automatically saves your source audio along with the session too.

Or, if there's a reason you MUST work in Waveform mode and do destructive edits then simply using "Save As" and adding a version number to your file would do it as well--though I can't see why you'd work this way.

Are we missing something in your work flow?

[mapsnmad]

That helps. Thanks.

I'm adding my voice to those calling for some kind of project file format. It would just be convenient. The project file should save bins (folders) that I've sorted my files into. It should let me save an Effects Rack before applying it, so I can make changes tomorrow and re-export a different mix.

That said, I'm getting a lot done this week in Audition and I'm really loving the selection tools and the ability to edit sound in the spectral view. Great for removing noises.

[paulgolden]

I agree that media management in Audition is perplexing at best.  The fact that you have to enable an obscure check mark in prefs for "Reference all open audio and video files when saving sessions" is highly non-intuitive compared to the way 99% of all A/V editing programs work.  Every other program saves any media links that you bring into the bin until the next session.  I really don't care semantically whether its called a session, a project or a jimmy-jam, most people expect their files to be there when they get back. There's no good reason to not do that, as far as I can tell.

While we're on the subject, here are a couple of media management issues I have:

1) Why is there no search function in the Media Browser, only in the File tab?  If you have a gazillion sound effects on multiple hard drives, its highly inefficient to manually search for them one at a time or to exit to some other program like Bridge (don't get me started on why that's a bad idea). 

2) Once you've culled your media and placed in the Files area, why are there no Folders or ability to tag media in order to put things in order?  Premiere has it, so does After Effects.  Why is Audition's file tab a big dumping ground?

[Paul_Ferguson]

paulgolden wrote:

I agree that media management in Audition is perplexing at best.  The fact that you have to enable an obscure check mark in prefs for "Reference all open audio and video files when saving sessions" is highly non-intuitive compared to the way 99% of all A/V editing programs work.

I find it no more perplexing than Reaper, for instance.  Also, the setting in Preferences that you're complaining about is a default setting, yes?  How non-intuitive is a default setting?

[paulgolden]

Actually, it's NOT a default setting. You must find it and enable it. Again, I don't understand the purpose of this function. Why would  you want media that you've bothered to add to your media pool disappear when you shut down?  This runs counter to every editorial workflow I've ever used and it's not comparable to functionality in other Adobe programs, even.

[Paul_Ferguson]

It's been enabled in my Audition for as long as I can remember.

[paulgolden]

Maybe so, but the factory default is off.  Besides, this is a program that's part of a media suite including Premiere, After Effects, Flash etc. , not a stand-alone app like Reaper, so it needs to function similarly to the other Adobe apps, not to mention like other DAWs like ProTools & Logic. I still don't know why anyone would want this functionality, anyway....

[SuiteSpot]

Actually it has been the default setting since Cool Edit days and that has to be 14+ years

The reason it has been the default is because the option never existed until recent versions of Audition

I realise that you don't understand why anyone would want that but the trouble is I too can't understand why anyone would load a heap of unused audio into their session - so I guess that is why there is an option

[ryclark]

We all have different ways of working. It doesn't bother me that Audition does automatically save everything into a Project folder since I always do a lot of house keeping when starting a project and gather all my wanted files into one place anyway. Any additional files will be added as I go along. Also any new audio recorded in the Multitrack view will be automatically saved in the Session folder anyway.

Remember that Audition (Cool Edit) is a fairly recent addition to Adobe's portfolio and has spent a lot of it's life as a standalone audio editor before Adobe adopted it. Lots of us have been using it since the early days and are quite happy with the way it works.

As it comes from quite a different stable than most of Adobe's other software it hasn't yet fully caught up with Adobe's house style despite a considerable amount of work to integrate it.

[paulgolden]

The reason you'd want unused items to live in your media bin is that Rome wasn't built in a day. I would imagine that many people bring media in advance of use for parts of the project yet to be deployed. On a film edit, you don't always use every piece of media you bring in because there usually an organizational period before you start working. I haven't lived with with Cool Edit's esoteric peculiarities, so I guess I'm somewhat in the dark.  But most programs don't purge user choices automatically. How would you like the Finder to do that?  If you told me there was some file/performance overhead reason, I might understand, but to me, it's a little like Mom coming into your room, throwing away your comics and saying "Oh, Honey, you weren't reading those anyway..."

[SuiteSpot]

You might imagine that but I run a recording studio and have no need for unused parts/takes and I certainly don't bring in any media prior to recording

Now as to wether the option to retain unused files should default to the way it has been for users who have been with the application since day one or the exact opposite is not for me to say but I'm sure either way Adobe won't please everyone

Now as to Adobe 'purging user choices automatically' well if the option wasn't ticked, then.....

[Bob_Howes]

I don't think there's a right or wrong on this one.  Whichever way I have that tick box selected it tends to be wrong for what I'm doing.

Probably about 50% of what I do is short form stuff (sound effects etc.) made up from files I already have stored and the last thing I want Audition to do is to keep an extra copy of the raw materials in a project file.  The other 50% is long form stuff where I'm doing original recordings  and, unlike SuiteSpot, I like to keep every single thing I record, even if (on the surface) it seems completely useless.  Many's the time a half a word or phrase from an otherwise horrible take has saved my bacon.

So...basically I'm happy to decide case by case whether I want Audition to save everything or not.

[SuiteSpot]

I know that you know Bob that nothing is ever deleted (unless you use MediaSweeper and specifically delete the unused files using Explorer, etal) so for me unused takes don't have to be retained in the session file

Sure there has been the odd time I've had to rummage around the cutting room floor looking for some saving part of a take and if (yes, yet another option ) 'use embedded timecode when inserting clips into Multitrack' is ticked then the clip goes back exactly where in time it came from

There certainly are options to suit everyone's needs - one just has to familiarise themselves with them and use them to enhance their particular workflow

[Bob_Howes]

True.  I should have said "keep everything in the session file because I'm too lazy to go hunting in Explorer when I could be drinking wine".

A very big +1 to your last sentence about there being enough options to suit everyone's needs.

...now, if we could just sort out round tripping with Premiere Pro I'd be happy.  I must have been a naughty boy lately because, even though I supposedly retired from video stuff 8 years ago, I've been doing more and more video work lately and getting more frustrated by the Premiere/Audition workflow.  But that's another story.

[ryclark]

I avoid that problem by using a completely different non-Adobe video NLE. So any audio post done in Audition makes me think about what I am doing and what audio or video guide track I need to export and then reimport into the video NLE.