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File management for files listed in File References


k6ccc

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Part of this is specifically directed to Matt, and part to the community at large.

For those of you that use SuperStar, what are you doing for file management of files that are listed in File References from one year to the next?  First let me describe my file management.  For each year, there has in the past been a directory under Sequences for each holiday - i.e., Christmas 2017, Halloween 2017, Christmas 2018, etc.  With the advent of S5 and the multitude of .avi files from SuperStar, I have a directory under each holiday for each song - i.e. Christmas 2020\A Mad Russian Christmas, Christmas 2020\All I want is you, Christmas 2020\Carol of the Bells, etc.  Normally the first edit of the new year will result in the .loredit file being saved in the new year's directory structure.  I end up with A LOT of .avi files.  Since the .avi files can be updated - which replaces the file with a new file, but does not delete the old file, many of the .avi files are no longer needed.  Moving to a new year seems to be a golden opportunity to clean up the .avi files.  Fortunately, the Menu > Sequence > File References command will list the files that are actually being used.  The problem is that the list is NOT sorted, so trying to relate the files in the File References command to a Windows directory listing, so I can tell which ones need to be copied to the new year directory structure is a royal pain.  For example, for my God Bless America song, according to Windows, there are 193 .avi files, and according to the File References command, there are 161 .avi files in use.  Without them being sorted, it is a nightmare to determine which ones need to be moved to the new directory structure.  And yes, after copying the .avi files, i am using the "Change Directory" command to tell the new sequence file to use the referenced files in the new directory.  So what are you guys doing?

This part is directed to Matt.  Can you at the very least sort (presumably alphabetically) the files names listed in the File References listing?  Part two.  It would be even better if there were a command that would copy only the used files to the new directory.  Or is there a better solution?

 

Edited by k6ccc
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Well, I came up with a work around that after doing it a bunch of times, takes about two and a half minutes per song (plus the time for Sequencer to load each song).  Short version is to use the copy command in File References, then paste that into Excel and massage it a bit, then paste one column into Notepad and save that as a batch file.  Execute the batch file and only the needed .avi files are copied to the new year's directory.  It would be much easier if the Sequencer would do this automatically!

It looks like a lot of steps, but I am giving lots of detail.  Obviously the years referenced refer to when I typed this.  If you are reading this in later years, adjust accordingly.  Here is the detailed procedure.:

Open 2020 version of sequence in Sequencer.
Wait a while as it loads.
Open File References:  Menu > Sequence > File References
Select the "Select All" checkbox, then the "Copy" button.
Open a new blank document in Excel.
Select cell B1 and Paste [CTRL-V]
Expand the B column so it is wide enough to display all the text.
Select cell C1 and type:  Copy "
   (note that there must be a space between copy and the quotation mark).
Select cell D1 and type:  " "[the name of the 2021 directory]"
   For example:  " "L:\Sequences\Christmas 2021\Carol of the Bells"
   (again, there must be a space between the two quotation marks).
Expand the D column so it is wide enough to display all the text.
Select cell E1, and type:  =CONCATENATE(C1,B1,D1)
As soon as you hit return, cell E1 will become a long copy command such as:
Copy "L:\Sequences\Christmas 2020\Carol of the Bells\SS_20201206145111_161d016d393e4a33923ad0bba02b1b52.avi" "L:\Sequences\Christmas 2021\Carol of the Bells"
Select cells C1 - E1 and Copy [CTRL-C]
Select cells C2 through as far down as there is text in the B column and Paste [CTRL-V]
You should now have a long copy command in the E column for all rows that have a filename in the B column.
Select the entire E column and Copy [CTRL-C]
Select the A column and Paste Special with Values as the paste type.
   VERY IMPORTANT - MUST be values only - DO NOT simply Paste.
Open a new blank document in NotePad.
In Excel, Select the entire A column and Copy [CTRL-C].
In NotePad, Paste [CTRL-V].
You should now have all your copy commands in NotePad.
Suggest that you make the screen wide enough that it does not word Wrap.
Make sure the commands look right.
IMPORTANT:  If you have non-avi files (for example an image file that was used with Motion effects), you may not want to move it.  If you want to continue to use the original location, delete the line with the copy command for that file.
Add a new line at the end with the word:  Pause
Menu > File > Save As
Change the Save as type to All files
Type desired filename with .bat as the extension
   For example:  Carol.bat
Open Windows Explorer and make sure the 2021 directory exist - create it if does not.
In Windows Explorer navigate to the directory where you saved the .bat file.
Double click on the .bat file.
   A Windows Command window should open with your copy commands executing rapidly.
As each copy command is executed, it should say "1 file(s) copied."
After all the copy commands have finished, you should have a "Press and key to continue" prompt (that was the reason for the Pause at the end).
Select the command window so it is the active window.
BEFORE you press any key, look to make sure that there is the "1 file(s) copied." response rather than some error message.  If there is an error message, make sure you understand what it is telling you, so you can correct your commands.  You can scroll up if needed using the scroll bar.
Press any key to exit the command window.
Back in Sequencer, close the File References window (without making any changes).
Menu > File > Save As to save the sequence file in the new 2021 directory.
  Note:  I use a new filename so it is obvious that it is the 2021 version.
Menu > Sequence > File References to open the File References again.
Select the "Select All" checkbox and then the "Change Directory" button.
In the "Browse For Folder" popup, just click OK.
   That will change the directory to the same directory that the sequence file is saved in.
Close the File References.
Optional:  Open File References again just to make sure the changes took and no files are listed as Missing.
Save the sequence again.

Personal preferences.  I like to have another Windows Explorer window open on the 2021 folder so I can see the files copied and also the sequence file when you save it.  Yes, having multiple monitors makes this easier...

 

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Thanks Jim for the detailed instructions and feedback.

One way to handle this would be to convert File > Save As to a submenu with 2 items on it: 1) Sequence 2) Sequence and External Files. If you choose "Sequence and External Files" then all file references for motion and SuperStar effects get copied to the destination as well. This should handle your case where each song is in a separate folder, as well as where all songs share the same folder.

What do you think?

Matt

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19 minutes ago, MattBrown said:

One way to handle this would be to convert File > Save As to a submenu with 2 items on it: 1) Sequence 2) Sequence and External Files. If you choose "Sequence and External Files"

That would be an easy way to handle it.

Thanks Matt - in advance!

 

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