Q: Saving projects to external hard drive - clean install
I am having issues with my MBP's internal hard drive and need to do a clean install of everything. (It's looking like my time machine backup is flawed as well - restoring from backup carried forward the problems.) So I'm in the process of creating my own backup of everything by moving my data to an external hard drive manually. I use Logic Pro X and I want to save the projects I recorded. I simply want to move them to the external drive, clean install everything and bring the projects back in. So I'm thinking reinstalling Logic Pro X will put everything (loops, instruments, etc) back where the projects expect them to be. So all I have to do is move the projects back to where they belong. But I am not that familiar with Logic's files. Could someone please just tell me what to move? I'm pretty sure my installation was all done the default way so things should be where one would expect. Thanks!
MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)
If you are going to manually backup the files on your MacBook Pro, I'll include some information for the Logic Pro X application and projects as well as some other key data to copy to an external drive.
Here is how to back up the Logic Pro X application itself:
When updating to Logic Pro X via the Mac App Store, the latest version will replace the current version you have installed. As a best practice, before updating (or troubleshooting) Logic Pro X, you should save a copy of the currently installed version as a backup by following these steps.
Create a new folder in the Applications folder. Name the folder with the name and version of the application (for example, “Logic Pro X 10.0.6"). To check the version of Logic Pro X you have, open the application and choose Logic Pro X > About Logic Pro X.
Select the Logic Pro X application in the Applications folder. Choose File > Compress “Logic Pro X." It may take a few minutes to compress.
Move the resulting “Logic Pro.zip" file into the folder you created in step 1.
Now you can move the folder containing the zip file to your preferred location for storing your backup. For example, you could copy it to an external backup drive.
Important: It is recommended that you complete any active projects before updating to a new version of Logic Pro.
Last Modified:
The Logic Pro X User Guide explains some options for saving your projects, including saving them to a different location:
When you save a project in Logic Pro, your recordings and all the changes you make are saved with the project.
Logic Pro auto-saves your work so that you don’t lose important changes if the application quits unexpectedly. Logic Pro shows a dialog when you reopen the project, asking if you want to use the auto-saved version. If you choose not to, Logic Pro opens the last manually saved version of the project.
When Show Advanced Tools is selected in the Advanced preferences pane, you can save a project as a package, or save it as a project folder that contains the project file, along with subfolders for assets and other files used in the project (including audio files, impulse responses, sample instruments, samples, and Ultrabeat samples).
When you save a project as a project folder, the project (package) is saved in the project folder, and the asset types selected in the Save or Save As dialog are saved to the corresponding subfolders in the project folder.
When you save a project, you can choose whether to copy audio files and other assets in the project or reference them in another location. Saving assets in the project makes it safer to move or copy the project without losing the connection to these files. You can change these settings later by choosing File > Project Settings > Assets. For more information, see Manage project assets.
You can also save a project as a template, and use the template to create new projects. Saving templates makes it easier to create projects with frequently used instruments or Mixer configurations, or video or surround projects, for example. Screensets can be customized for each template, or you can copy them between templates using the various Import Settings commands. For more information, see Import data and settings from other projects.
Hide
Save the current project
Choose File > Save.
The first time you save a new project, the Save dialog appears. In the Save dialog, you can type a name choose the location to save the project.
Hide
Save the project with a different name or location
Choose File > Save As.
In the Save As dialog, enter a new name for the project.
Do one of the following:
To save the project as a file (package) containing project assets: select the Organize my project as: Package button.
To save the project as a folder containing subfolders for project assets: select the Organize my project as: Folder button.
Select the type of assets to copy to the project, the click Save.
When you choose Save a Copy as, copies of all your recordings are saved in the project copy. You can use the Save a Copy As option for archiving and moving data.
Hide
Save a project as a template
Choose File > Save As Template (or use the corresponding key command), then enter a name.
In the Project Chooser, click My Templates to view and access templates you have created.
You can organize your templates in folders with the Create Folder button in the Save As Template dialog. When all your user templates are placed in subfolders, the subfolder names are shown below the factory collections.
Tip: You can add descriptive text to your templates by adding a comment to the project file in the Finder. The Templates dialog displays the icon assigned to a template file, making it easy to change if you wish. For more information on how to add a comment to a file, or change the icon of a file, see Mac Help.
Hide
Revert to the last saved version of a project
If you decide you don’t want to keep your latest edits to a project, you can revert to the last saved version of the project.
Choose File > Revert to (or use the corresponding key command), then choose the last saved version (at the top of the list).
If you can’t back up your entire Mac, back up the files listed below, which are used by apps to hold user data or preferences.
The tilde (~) indicates the name of your home folder, which is the same as your user name. (For example, if your user name is Anna, your home folder is named anna.)
Note: The Library folder is hidden. To open it, in the Finder, hold down the Option key, then choose Go > Library.
Data file
Location
Your documents
~/Documents and ~/Desktop
Mail data and settings
~/Library/Mail/V2
iTunes data and settings
~/Music/iTunes/
iPhoto data and settings
~/Pictures/iPhoto Library/
Contacts data and settings
~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook
Calendar data and settings
~/Library/Calendars/
Safari data and settings
~/Library/Safari/
Fonts
~/Library/Fonts/
Keychain data and settings
~/Library/Keychains/
Stickies
~/Library/StickiesDatabase
Other preferences
~/Library/Preferences/
Apps not from Apple may store user data in different locations. For more information, check the documentation that came with your app.
If you moved app data, such as your iTunes or iPhoto library, make sure to also back up that data.
Last Modified: May 8, 2014
Hope that helps ...
- Judy
by Pancenter,
Pancenter
Feb 9, 2015 11:07 AM
in response to Paul Oldewurtel
The Default folder used to be in Users/YourName/Music/Logic
You can get there from here:
In the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder from the menu.
Type ~/Music in the "Go to the folder" field. Type exactly as written ~/Music is you copy and paste make sure there's no spaces on either side.
Press the Go button.
You should see a Logic Folder.
Check and see if your projects are in there.
You can also type ~/ in the Go field to get to the root of the User folder.
If all you projects are in the Logic folder you can copy that to an external drive. Or copy the whole Music folder (if you have some Garageband Projects as well).