Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

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buckman
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Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by buckman » Thu Mar 16, 2023 12:06 pm

Just recorded a lot of live vocals, directly into Ableton as part of various projects.

So there were a lot of unused vocals and, mistakes, which I deleted from showing in the arrangement view.

How do I get rid of these takes/unused deleted recordings forever and permanently, to free up space?
I've 'collect all and saved' but want to permanently delete the unused, unshowing recordings that I do not need, easily in Ableton itself? 

Tarekith
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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by Tarekith » Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:42 pm

Save your Live project to a new location on your computer, then do Collect all and save. Only the files used in the project will be copied to the new location.
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cids
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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by cids » Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:29 am

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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by Tarekith » Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:06 pm

The downside of this method in newer versions of Live is that now Live automatically makes back ups of your projects as you work. If any of those back ups contain audio files you’re no longer using, they won’t be shown as unused in the manage files dialogue.
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cids
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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by cids » Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:15 pm

Are you sure that statement is correct as the backup folder only contains Ableton project files, no audio files
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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by Tarekith » Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:05 pm

Sorry, let me rephrase. If any of those back up projects reference audio files you're not using in your current project, they won't be marked as unused.
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RobrechtV
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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by RobrechtV » Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:29 pm

Tarekith wrote:
Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:05 pm
Sorry, let me rephrase. If any of those back up projects reference audio files you're not using in your current project, they won't be marked as unused.
This is correct, and a similar problem with the old "Show Unused Files" method arose with the introduction of take lanes. Even hidden take lanes still count as a "use" of the respective recordings, and unfortunately (last time I checked) there is no quick and easy way to discard unused takes in a track. Cleaning them up manually can be cumbersome, especially after some complicated comping. Even collect all and save to a new location won't help, I think, since those take lanes will just come along.

The result is that audio files will now rarely show up as "unused", even if they're not part of the actual song arrangement. They'll always be in use somewhere, either in a backup of the project or in a hidden take lane, making it much harder to keep things organized and clean. I wish Ableton would add a way to deal with this to the file manager.

(On the other hand: automatic project backups can be a lifesaver at times when you least expect it, so it would seem wise to keep their associated audio files on hand as well. Say you accidentally deleted a track and saved the project, then cleaned up all the unused recordings before you noticed: in that case a backup of the project won't do you much good if that track is full of missing samples.)

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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by Tarekith » Fri Mar 17, 2023 7:58 pm

This is the main reason I recommend just saving the project to a new location if you want to clean things up. Much faster at the moment, hopefully there will be some improvements to this area in the future.
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Angstrom
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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by Angstrom » Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:20 pm

Tarekith wrote:
Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:06 pm
The downside of this method in newer versions of Live is that now Live automatically makes back ups of your projects as you work. If any of those back ups contain audio files you’re no longer using, they won’t be shown as unused in the manage files dialogue.
Yep, and if anyone works like me where my projects are "saved as", through reflex and my files in a /project look like the worlds most basic version control, like this:

/my project/
- my new song 001.als
- my new song 002.als
- my new song 003 breakbeat version 001.als
- my new song 003 breakbeat version 002 .als
- my new song 004.als
- my new song 005 Final.als
- my new song 005 Final - drums fixed 001.als
- my new song 005 Final - drums fixed 002.als
.... etc

for each of those variations there will be 5 versions in /backup.

so, 40 .als files in /backup, all referencing audio takes that I fumbled.

cids
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Re: Simple Question : Permanent delete unused audio

Post by cids » Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:50 am

Tarekith wrote:
Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:05 pm
Sorry, let me rephrase. If any of those back up projects reference audio files you're not using in your current project, they won't be marked as unused.
Thanks for the clarification, good to know!
Mac Studio M2 Max and MacBook Pro M1

Genelec M030; Live 11.3.x and Live 12; macOS Sonoma

UAD Apollo Twin

Ableton Push 2

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