Hi, this issue is a bit complex, I will do my best to give clear instructions on how to reproduce it.
Basically, when a file is in the Pool, and we import, via Drag and Drop, a different file that has the same name and originates from the same folder, it doesn’t show any warning message and automatically reuses the one that is already in the Pool. This happens naturally when doing the following :
After doing an Audio Mixdown with the “Always Overwrite” option selected, dragging the new overwritten file from the Mixdown folder and dropping it onto a track will still paste the old file.
Reproduction sequence : (Long)
- Have something that can be rendered (either an Audio Event or a VST instrument),
- Set the Locators over a few bars,
- Open the Audio Mixdown dialog,
- Set a file name of your choice,
- Set the Conflicts setting to Always Overwrite,
- Set the After Export setting to Create Audio Track,
- Press Export,
- The Import Options Dialog appears, choose Copy File to Project Folder and press OK.
→ Result : The file is added to the project.
- Move the Locators to a different place so that the rendered audio is different,
- Open the Audio Mixdown dialog again,
- Press Export,
- When asked to create a new version, press New,
- The Import Options Dialog appears, choose Copy File to Project Folder and press OK.
→ Result : The new audio file is added to the project.
- Open the Mixdown folder where the file is,
- Drag and drop the file into the project.
→ Result : The audio Event is directly added and is the same as the first one.
- Now go to File > Import > Audio File,
- Select the file and press Open,
- A dialog appears, saying the media is already in the Pool.
→ Choosing New : The new file is correctly added.
→ Choosing Reuse : The old file remains.
If you want to save yourself the hassle of the long repro sequence, you can also reproduce it in fewer steps using another method, but nevertheless the most relevant remains the long one because it happens naturally when using the features specific to Cubase. This one, however, is less likely to happen in reality :
Reproduction sequence : (Short)
- Create two folders (anywhere on your drive, name them File 1 and File 2),
- Put a different audio file in each of the folders,
- Rename the files and put the same name on both,
- Drag File 1 into Cubase,
- The Import Options Dialog appears, choose Copy File to Project Folder and press OK.
→ File 1 is added as an Audio Event - In File 1 folder, replace File 1 with File 2,
- Drag File 2 into Cubase,
→ Result : The added Audio Event is still File 1 !
You can do the same experiment by leaving the two files in their respective folder (without replacing), and you’ll see that they will be correctly added to the project, and the Pool will add a number to the file name so they are differentiated.
So the issue is that when using Drag and Drop, it does not care about the file names and automatically uses the Reuse option. Since there is a file name conflict, the expected behavior is that it shows up the warning message, same as when importing the files manually with the Import window, or when using Mixdown with Always Overwrite setting. It is just that little pop-up that is missing.
Note that this behavior only occurs when the files originally have the same path, and when the original file is already in the Pool. If the files both have a different path however, it automatically uses the “New” option instead, even though the file name is the same.
Some would say this is kind of the expected behavior, because Cubase actually thinks that it really is the same file, so it simply creates an new Event out of the one that is already in the Pool. But then why is there a warning message when using manual import, and not with drag and drop ? Just add this warning message to drag and drop and the problem is solved.
