File Management Tips for Organized Pro Tools Sessions

Outline:
00:00 - Intro
02:09 - Finder File Management
10:13 - Session File Management
24:32 - Closing Thoughts

Whether or not you're already in the habit of working remotely, it's important to have solid file management practices.

It's not the most exciting topic, but it is important! Being consistent on every project with where files are located, and where Pro Tools is looking for them, will help your sessions to run more smoothly and make your deliverables efficient and reliable.

We asked sound artist Matt Yocum (Pet Sematary, The Cloverfield Paradox) to break down some of his go-to file management techniques to achieve an optimal workflow from home and demystify how Pro Tools uses files in a session.

In the long run, file management it will save you time (money), and help your reputation working with others – you don't want to be embarrassed showing your work with missing links or files. And sometimes you have to re-open a project years later, so having an organized folder structure is crucial.

[pranaykhara]

bring more tutorials from Matt please!

[pascalleboeuf]

Helpful directions to consolidate audio folder (without using "save copy in") to get linked files in one place!

[RapperBC]

@1:13 OK, after screaming at Pro Tools for many, many hours, here and now, in 2023, after the utter insanity of trying to open sessions created in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011...

... "a year or two later" is putting a badly-needed smile on my face. Thanks.
And yep, I'm gonna say it, as a 51-year-old engineer: "NEVER had these problems with good ol' 2-inch 16-track analog tape." (Yes, I'm quite aware of all the advantages of modern digital recording, but dammit there sure are drawbacks. Call me a Greybeard all you like... 🤘😃)

[rogocomposer]

Super super super useful, thank you!!!

[chipistickman]

Is that a channel strip on top of your edit window? never seen it before!

[tiagolorena]

When merging different sessions (dialogue, fx, background and music) into a single mix session, do you copy the media in or do you link them and later move them to a single folder?

[Paul-vqzh]

Useful thanks. Does Matt know why sometimes Protools creates a copy of a file or a clip that it will rename by itself in a strange way ? For example : will become : ElctrChll_HldyIS
That makes impossible the relink, except if I force the relink file by file. I don't know if it is a bug or an option, but it is a misery to do when you have 100 files to relink...