Hi there,
let’s say i import a .wav named “drums.wav” into cubase by dragging it from the explorer or the filetree. Then i delete drums.wav from the arrangement.
Then i import an updated version of drums.wav into cubase. What happens to me is that the old version from the pool is used and not overwritten by the new one.
Is there a way to make this happen automatically or do i have to clean up the pool? I’m sure it’s possible but i can’t find it.
Thanks!!
Hi,
How exactly do you import the file, please?
Does the Path of the file point to the new version in the Pool window, please?
Following cause I use the same workflow when mastering.
My solution is to remove it from the mediapool… but maybe there’s a better way.
this is by dragging and dropping from the windows explorer, or by importing it from the filelist in the right dock.
the path and the file are the same, and are factually overwritten. opening it in any other software will reflect that.
only cubase will still refer to the old version.
i did find this thread Replace audio file in pool - #9 by dragon17 where i think the same thing is discussed.
apart from someone trying to argue that we do not need this functionality (although every other daw has it implemented), there’s also some possible helpful advice here (holding shift+ctrl while importing on top of the old version).
but this is only if the old version is still in the arrangement. i’m talking about when it’s deleted from the arrangement (for that time being), which happens quite a lot when you’re importing stems for mastering or collaborate or use different daws simultaneously.
for one thing it’s a hassle to remember which files are overwritten and no longer used and delete them from the pool manually before importing an update.
i mean, why can’t importing an audio file just be showing… the actual audio file? anyone can show me what i’m missing here? : )
Hold shift while dragging the file onto the event in Cubase.
Files are not handled the way you describe in Cubase – that’s to say, importing a file with a given name does not replace an existing file with the same name. Plus these observations should be made:
What files are listed in the pool after you do the second import?
What are your settings regarding the files being copied or not to the audio folder?
hi steve, thanks for your answer.
What files are listed in the pool after you do the second import?
no extra file is shown in the pool. the old file and specs of that old file are shown.
i would expect it to overwrite (it does not, unless dragged on the old file with shift i know now) or at least add another mediafile.
What are your settings regarding the files being copied or not to the audio folder?
i’m sure others there are well argumented reasons for this behavior but i’m thinking if the old version needs to be retained in the pool (which i can see is useful in some cases), out of curiosity why not promote the newly imported file to be the ‘current’ version and the demote the old version to drums(1)?
by the way, in Reaper for instance, you cannot overwrite a file that’s active in the arrangement. once you remove it from the arrangement though, you can, and the updated file will be reflected if you drag it back in from anywhere.
just to make clear what i was looking for.
But Cubase does exactly this, but with a Cubase workflow.
In that case, the file was not actually imported.
This is a bit of a cliffhanger. Can you give a hint?
In that case, the file was not actually imported.
Surely the first time i drag and dropped it, it was imported. Why wouldn’t it a second time?
yes, that’s why i’m quoting and replying to sections of your post. but i think you know that.
In that case, the file was not actually imported.
let me rephrase my reply then: how to re-import a file that has the same name?
But Cubase does exactly this, but with a Cubase workflow.
it might to do something like this in a way so far still unrevealed, but it surely does not do “exactly” that.
Importing a new audio file does not overwrite any files, ever, in the pool, as far as I know. New files are created, and they are renamed.
Here is how it works:
If you drag a file onto the project from anywhere on your machine, be it the Windows Explorer, or the file browser in Cubase, the file is imported, and is displayed in the list in the pool.
If hold down a modifier key, as suggested in the other topic you linked, the replacement is made in the Project View. And
if you drag it directly on top of the Pool you should be asked if you want to create a new version of the same-named file.
That’s all there is to it. Can you please just test this, so it’s preceisely clear?
If that is not what happens, there’s something wrong, and it will be reported, or clarified.
Yes, this is how it works as expected.
Everytime i import a new version will be created in the pool. That’s all good.
My issue, which i’ve been trying to explain but i guess not well enough, is when that file is changed.
If say drums1.wav in the location d:\project1 is overwritten with a new version, then deleted from the arrangement - and i drag d:\project1\drums1.wav back into the project, the old drums1.wav will be shown and no new version is made in the pool.
Written down this sounds like an obscure task but it happened to me quite a lot already working with mixing stems that changed a bit during the process.
I understand you are talking about a same-named file.
And I have given you the way to deal with it.
- If hold down a modifier key, as suggested in the other topic you linked, the replacement is made in the Project View.
this is only when there’s a actual clip to drag onto, right? Not when it’s deleted. Which is what happens to me a lot.
- if you drag it directly on top of the Pool you should be asked if you want to create a new version of the same-named file.
Dragging onto the pool and from there drag into the project view, it is then.
Feels like it should be simpler than that. But maybe in the end it’s safer against accidental overwrites or something… 
It can be, if you change your workflow. Leave the clip on the timeline. But I don’t know why or how you need to do this.
There is a lot of things at play here I think.
First, you mention “the right bay”. To me that sounds like what you’re really talking about is the Media bay. Which shows up as a tab in the right bay or you can open it up full size by pressing F5. That’s a very different thing that the Pool. The Mediabay is more of a library even though it can also show you files in your project. The Pool is a better place to look at what is in use in your project. You get there by pressing Ctrl P. Yeah I know, it’s a bit confusing with similar names and sometimes overlapping functionality. But I always use only the pool when I’m working on files specifically in the current project.
When you drag and drop using the Pool window or press the import button and you select a file with the same name. Cubase/Nuendo should ask you what you want to do. Replace the current file or create a new one and it will append the name. It typically also asks then if you want to copy the audio file into the project’s audio folder. I typically say yes unless I specifically want to reuse that same file for multiple projects where I may update it and I want all the projects using it also updated.
And there is the second point, when you bring audio into Cubase it should ask if you want to copy it into the project’s audio folder. Once you do that, if you change the file in the original location, Cubase isn’t looking at the file location where you dragged it in from. It’s looking at the copy it made. Unless of course you uncheck the box to make a copy.
The Pool window will show you all the files in use in the project and it can show you the file path to each so it’s easy to see if you’re using the file located in the project’s audio folder or somewhere else on your hard drive(s).
Hope that makes sense and helps.
