Very new to WaveLab 8.5 here, though I have a lot of experience with other mastering software like Peak Pro and Sound Forge. I’m on a Mac, running Yosemite, OS 10.10.1.
So, here’s the problem. I wanted to start working with a file, which was an .mp4 and I wanted to save it as an .aif.
Here’s the destination: Path.tiff (70.6 KB)
And I immediately got the following: Error.tiff (108 KB)
And in fact this happens no matter where I try to save on this particular drive, which is a 2TB drive I use for recordings and sample libraries. It can’t be a question of permissions, as I’m the sole user of this computer and I log in as an administrator. I can save to other drives, but I really shouldn’t have to, and I’d prefer to keep everything on this drive, rather than having to work on another drive and then drag the folder over.
When I searched for “enter valid path”, I found a couple of threads in which the common key was that there were spaces at the end of folder names somewhere in the path. This is not the case here. Anyone have any suggestions for me?
This error message comes from WaveLab that finds an unvalid character in the path. This is not about file permission.
From your picture, I can’t see a problem. But there is maybe a hidden character somewhere. Please investigate in this direction, try another folder name, on the same drive.
Son of a gun… I changed the drive name from Recordings & Sounds, etc. to just Recordings and Sounds, and it worked.
At first blush, I would have thought that it was the & that was messing WaveLab up, but you know what? I have a USB drive called Documents & Images Backup that is exactly what its name says; each night I have Carbon Copy Cloner back up docs and pictures to that drive. And I tested WL last night (and just now) and it saved to that drive immediately.
Anyway, at least that works now. I’ll just have to change the Recordings drive’s name in CCC so that nightly backups will still work correctly.
I know tis is an old thread but I just solved this issue on my end. One of the folders simply had a blank space at the end of the name. I removed that and everything works fine saving now. Come on Steinberg, this is an amateur bug that apparently has been around for a very long time.
I have VO recorded in Nuendo. I select a region I Nuendo and export that part of the VO.
In the export settings, I will typically have it open the file in Wavelb Pro so I can properly truncate it etc.
After editing the sample, I press “Command S” to save it and would get an error that it’s not a valid path.
The weird part of that is that, I had just saved that sample to that exact location by exporting it from Nuendo, which is of course a Steinberg product.
The issue that Wavelab was having, which I FINALLY found, was that the parent folder on the external drive where I was re-saving an edited file that already resided in that location, had a space after the name. That’s it.
The sample folder was 4 or more levels deep, nested within that folder.
After removing that space in the folder’s name, I don’t have that problem.
By looking at this thread, it’s been around for years and nobody has bothered to fix it right? very frustrating and disappointing.
I’ve noticed this for years but I never considered it a bug. Ending a file name or folder name with a bank space can be an issue downstream in many applications and situations.
I consider it a good thing when WaveLab informs me that a pathname has an illegal or potentially problematic character in it, or accidentally ends with a blank space so I can clean it up.
Really? That is man interesting perspective.
My feeling is that it shouldn’t be so finicky. AND, if WaveLab has an issue, tell the user WHAT the issue is , so at least, it can be resolved. Don’t just stop working. That’s just lazy programming and poor usability.
Nuendo doesn’t have a problem with it, which of course is another product by the same company.
None of my other applications have an issue with it either. I create graphics files, spreadsheets, text documents and save within that folder. No issues at all. Only WaveLab Pro.
I’d call that a bug for WaveLab. If your users are having issues with it, fix it or change it.
I do agree that WaveLab could do a better job of saying exactly what the issue is, but also think that file or folder names with a blank space could be argued as sloppy too.
This is likely a reason why WaveLab doesn’t allow ending a file or path with a blank space. Maybe it’s an outdated reason or a Windows specific reason but there is a reason. That’s why I don’t consider a bug, since WaveLab recognizes it as an issue or potential issue.
Maybe WaveLab can be updated to not be sensitive to ending a folder or file name with a blank space but I consider it more of a strict protocol rather than an ignored bug.
I’m a bit confused. You mentioned having a folder with an empty space at the end. Are you suggesting that WaveLab is responsible for this issue?
Folders with trailing spaces are not allowed on Windows. For the sake of cross-platform compatibility, WaveLab also prohibits saving to a path that includes such a folder when used on a Mac. Is this the issue you’re concerned about? If so, it’s not a bug in WaveLab; rather, it’s a deliberate design choice.
PG1, No Wavelab is not responsible for the issue, I am. Sloppy typing, working too fast, my dog at my homework… all of those excuses, but it happens.
What Wavelab is responsible for is not being able to understand that path, while at least 4 other app don’t have an issue with. That is what really made it confusing. I trashed Wavelabs prefs at least twice.
I wasted a lot of time first trying to find out what was wrong, searching forums, and then, moving the folder to the desktop to do my work, then copying it back in afterwards. Then, trying again to find the problem.
On the contrary, WaveLab understands it, hence rejects it.
But I agree that the user should be notified about this. The fault of WaveLab is to not do that.
I just wanted to add to this thread which helped me trouble shoot a problem.
Wavelab was giving me the same error trying to save to a folder with a space at the beginning of the folder name. This is a bummer for me because I use this format all the time to make certain folders go to the top alphabetically. And it’s never been a problem with other apps. I hope this can be fixed some day.
This is forbidden under Windows. I know you are on Mac, but for compatibility reasons, WaveLab prevents that.
I mean, you might have someday to send your files to someone using Windows, and this person could become in trouble with your files.