rosindabow

Q: move Logic content to external drive using Symbolic Link

I am trying to do something that should be easy but Apple has made terribly difficult to do.  I want to remove all of the Logic content including Apple Loops, to an external hard drive.  I have tried making Aliases but each and every time I reopen Logic, it says that I need to download essential content ... plus I have seen many post on the web stating that this does not work  Everyone talks about using symbolic links.  SO - that is what I tried next.  I downloaded a free app, Symlink, ad tried to do it the way it was explained but so far, no luck.  Is there a simple, step by step method out there with instructions that anyone (and I do mean ANYONE) can follow?  Once we get into Terminal I get a bit nervous ...

Apple - you need to change this.  Everyone is switching to small and fast SSD drives that cannot hold a ton of content.  We have no room for all of these samples.  Every other sample library makes it easy to put their samples on external hard drives - yours does not.  Why???

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

rosindabow

Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR23 FB

Posted on Jan 27, 2016 3:22 PM

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Q: move Logic content to external drive using Symbolic Link

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  • by The Art Of Sound,

    The Art Of Sound The Art Of Sound Jan 27, 2016 3:55 PM in response to rosindabow
    Level 6 (12,107 points)
    Jan 27, 2016 3:55 PM in response to rosindabow

    1) Apple isn't here....

     

    Why doesn't Apple answer the questions that we ask about Logic Pro?

     

    2) Symlinks and Logic Pro....

     

    Make sure you have a full working backup of your system drive before doing anything, so if you go wrong you can quickly and easily roll back and restore from that backup...

     

    Thanks to Fernand....

     

    I had trouble with the symlinker app. It's much better to create symbolic links from the command line. A symbolic Link is like an "alias" or a "shortcut" except that it works at a deeper level in the OS, so it totally fools applications into thinking it's a folder.

     

    There are GarageBand and Logic folders in /Library/Application Support on your boot drive that you will want be redirected to your desired target drive. You do this by creating symbolic links that redirect any read or write by apps to more spacious locations on what we'll call your target drive. Logic will thus go to your target drive to use loops etc, and when it downloads loops etc from Apple it will store them there. A symbolic link can make your target drive look like part of your boot drive.

     

    In my case I have a big spacious drive called BIG where I have a top level folder called /Library, where I've built an Application Support folder into which I've copied the Logic and the GarageBand folders from the boot drive's /Library/Application Support folder. So let's look at how we make this location on BIG replace the one on the overly crowded boot drive.

     

    Start by finding these folders in /Library/Application Support on your boot drive.

     

    After copying them to your target drive, rename the original folders on the boot drive to GarageBand.NOT and Logic.NOT. This is temporary. That way if something goes wrong you can delete any symlinks and name the folder back by removing the .NOT at the end of the name, and it will be like before. Ok so far? Later we'll delete these extras.

     

    Then the symlinks will be built on the boot drive using these two command lines (you will be asked your password). Note that the syntax lists the "target" of the symlink followed by its location, i.e. the "source".

     

    sudo ln -s "/Volumes/BIG/Library/Application Support/Logic” “/Library/Application Support/Logic"

     

    sudo ln -s "/Volumes/BIG/Library/Application Support/GarageBand” “/Library/Application Support/GarageBand"

     

    In /Library/Application Support you will now see the 2 symlinks. They look like folders with a little arrow, and if you navigate through them with the finder you will land in the content on the BIG drive.

     

    So far so good? In /Library/Audio you will find an Apple Loops folder. Make an Apple Loops folder in your target drive's /Library/Audio folder and copy the Apple Loops folder there. Then repeat the symlinking by using the following command:

     

    sudo ln -s "/Volumes/BIG/Library/Audio/Apple Loops” “/Library/Audio/Apple Loops”

     

     

     

    If you are tight on space, and why else would you do this, delete the original folders on the boot drive after backing them up and checking that everything works.

     

    Once you set up the symbolic links, additional downloads will go to the target drive automatically. You can pick when to set up the symlinks, and when to delete the files off the boot drive.

     

     

  • by rosindabow,

    rosindabow rosindabow Jan 27, 2016 7:23 PM in response to The Art Of Sound
    Level 1 (125 points)
    Jan 27, 2016 7:23 PM in response to The Art Of Sound

    I've done exactly as you laid it out and unfortunately, it did not work.  It is still asking to download essential sounds.  I have turned off the computer and restarted it - still the same.  I can see the SymLink inside my home drive: Library/Application Support/Logic >Logic Pro Samples.  By the way, I have my Logic Samples stored in a Volume called Bay2A/Logic Pro Samples > anthem all the sample libraries reside inside that including:

    • Alchemy Samples
    • Channels Strip Settings
    • Drummer
    • EXS Factory Samples
    • Logic Pro X Demosongs
    • Patches
    • Plug-In Settings
    • Project Templates
    • Sampler Instruments
    • Smart Controls
    • Smart Map
    • Ultrabeat Samples

    Then I followed your exact instructions with Apple Loops; also stored on the same external hard drive; Bay2A/Apple Loops/Apple.  There is a problem here that I can see.  When I click inside home Library it has 2 items: an Apple Folder and an Apple Loops alias.  When I click on the Apple folder I see all the Apple instruments including Jam Packs.  However when I click on the second folder that is an alias and is called Apple Loops, I get another sub-folder with the exact same two folders from the first level,  and if keep clicking that Apple Loops Alias, it goes on creating the sam folder with the same subfolders ... endlessly.  Not sure what is going on here ...

  • by rosindabow,

    rosindabow rosindabow Jan 27, 2016 10:41 PM in response to rosindabow
    Level 1 (125 points)
    Jan 27, 2016 10:41 PM in response to rosindabow

    I figured the endless loop out.  I had at some point created an alias that I forgot to delete.  Once I deleted that, no more nesting.  Other than that - still at a standstill.

  • by Hugh Kremer,

    Hugh Kremer Hugh Kremer Mar 11, 2016 8:54 AM in response to The Art Of Sound
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Mar 11, 2016 8:54 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

    Greetings, I used SymbolicLinker to create the symbolic links. Seemed fine, as the boot drive Logic folder is about 4k and the external drive Logic folder is 13G. But when I download new content it goes to the boot drive. Should it go to the external drive? Thanks

  • by taichijunction,

    taichijunction taichijunction Jul 21, 2016 12:08 PM in response to The Art Of Sound
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 21, 2016 12:08 PM in response to The Art Of Sound

    Sorry I don't get this...

     

    Can you please provide more details?

  • by EcoGreg,

    EcoGreg EcoGreg Jul 22, 2016 3:24 PM in response to rosindabow
    Level 3 (507 points)
    Jul 22, 2016 3:24 PM in response to rosindabow

    For everyone who wants to store samples/loops and additional content on external drive, I think the instructions posted by Art of Sound above are the way to go.

    I store all of these files on a fast SD card to able to use the USB3 ports for my interface and other devices. Works fine, fast enough, updates and indexing fine. You can of course use a drive instead, but this occupies a USB or TB port.

    Use Symlinks. Do not use Alias, you will have issues!

     

    If you want to use the app SymbolicLinker instead of Terminal, be advised the old version 2.0.3 does not work properly for Yosemite and newer. I just found out that there is a new just released version available on Github, version 2.1. I have not tried it, nor have I downloaded it to examine the code, so I do not endorse it. Use at your own risk.

    Here is link… https://github.com/nickzman/symboliclinker/releases

    This is supposed to work for all latest OS's including the soon to be released Sierra.

     

    Please do not use MacUpdate or any of the other download conglomerate sites for any software downloads as most of these install some nasty adware onto your computers. Only download from App Store or trusted Developer's site.

     

    Please be sure to "Send Feedback to Apple" to request that Apple makes it easy to install this content externally in LPX. All the code they need to do this as a preference is available in the underlying OS frameworks. If enough requests come in, then hopefully they will add the code in a future update.

     

    Hope this helps, Greg