Would there be any disadvantages or potential problems in routing your projects' audio files to subfolders within the main "Audio" folder?
 
That is, having the audio save within:
C:\Cakewalk Projects\Audio\Project Name
 
Instead of:
C:\Cakewalk Projects\Project Name\Audio
 
I'm just thinking that this method might make things even tidier than the standard per-project folder routing, in that all of your audio files would be held within one main folder (while still being organized into their own per-project subfolders), and all of your project files would be right there in C:\Cakewalk Projects ready to open with one clicking action.
 
Does anyone see anything risky or problematic with this approach?

Hopefully you have a backup plan to another drive, because if and when your C:\ system drive fails, projects may be hard to recover. I've always though the best advice was to keep the project files on some sort of data drive.
 
The only other issue with doing it this way as you suggest is that you are bypassing the Cakewalk per-project feature by doing this. If you ever need to streamline the audio files in a project, and you "save as" to another folder, there will always remain some remnants of the un-used audio files in that other folder, and it will be harder to manage which audio files are in use or not ?
 
If you don't use the pre-project feature, doesn't Sonar automatically put all new audio files in a folder something like C:\Cakewalk Projects\Audio ?

It would make archiving the entire project more difficult.  You would also end up with a Projects directory full of many different files, especially if you save as a lot.
 
Do you open files from the windows browser instead of inside Sonar?

That's what I do - I also (at the expense of slightly more tedious archiving, as noted) put audio on one drive and the cwp on another. At least then if a drive dies, I have half the data available to reconstruct the project (not that that excuses anyone from doing backups!).

To me that's a dumb idea. I am always moving projects and albums between computers and back up drives. That method would be a sure fire way of disconnecting data. 
Keep the audio in the project containment folder. 
That way you can move, copy, back up that song. 
Each project in a folder with everything that is to do with that project. 
I not only keep the CWP and audio files, I keep other files like lyrics, MP3's, rough recordings from handy recorder  and a midi file as well. A midi file is super important because it can be used by any daw now and in the future. It also can represent a lot of your work on certain songs. 

Cactus Music
To me that's a dumb idea. I am always moving projects and albums between computers and back up drives. That method would be a sure fire way of disconnecting data. 
Keep the audio in the project containment folder. 
That way you can move, copy, back up that song. 
Each project in a folder with everything that is to do with that project. 

 
I completely agree. I often copy projects back and forth between 3 computers via a flash drive or portable HDD. One project per folder is certainly the best system.

noynekker
The only other issue with doing it this way as you suggest is that you are bypassing the Cakewalk per-project feature by doing this.

 
Not entirely. The audio files would still be saved in per-project folders, just in a directory other than the default.
 
 

noynekker
If you don't use the pre-project feature, doesn't Sonar automatically put all new audio files in a folder something like C:\Cakewalk Projects\Audio ?

 
Yes. But again, I wouldn't be abandoning the per-project functionality, just re-routing the location of the folder. I've already tested it with a dummy project, and newly recorded audio goes right into the project's specified audio folder, regardless of its new location. (That's why we have the option to specify the target folder, no?)
 
 

dwardzala
It would make archiving the entire project more difficult.

 
Only in the sense that I'd have to gather the project files and project audio from two different folders instead of one. (Or...?)
 
 

dwardzala
You would also end up with a Projects directory full of many different files, especially if you save as a lot.

 
This is a very good point, one I hadn't considered, and probably the leading argument against doing this method. It would leave me with a bunch of auto-saves and file versions in the main Cakewalk Projects folder, wouldn't it? Hmmm...
 
 

dwardzala
Do you open files from the windows browser instead of inside Sonar?

 
I use both. If I've already got Sonar open, I'll use it. But if I haven't opened it yet and want to get right into a specific project, I may use Win Explorer.
 
 

Cactus Music
To me that's a dumb idea.

 
Hey, I'm just brainstorming here. Cut me some slack
 
 
My main drive for considering doing it this way was for appearance and streamlining. Rather than having a few Sonar folders ("Audio", "Audio Data", "Picture Cache") mixed in with a bunch of other folders with song names (as the standard per-project method would create), having JUST the project files with their icons lending a visual queue to make them more discernable from the CW folders seems more attractive to me. And the fact that (if using Win Explorer) you could open them with one clicking action rather than having to navigate through another folder first would also be convenient.
 
But if, as a consequence, this way of doing things would also leave me with a bunch of auto-saves and versioning files from different projects all mixed together, then I would concede that the idea begins to lose some of its luster.
 

This is actually exactly how I have my audio folder setup. It does make keeping the folder clean by doing the "Save As" trick a little more complicated, but to me it just seems so obvious to do it that way. I keep my project files on another drive anyway but being able to scroll through all the project files in one directory and all the audio files for those projects in another just works better for me.
 

KPerry
That's what I do - I also (at the expense of slightly more tedious archiving, as noted) put audio on one drive and the cwp on another. At least then if a drive dies, I have half the data available to reconstruct the project (not that that excuses anyone from doing backups!).

At the same time you are doubling the risk of hard drive failure, so you don't really gain anything.
 
As you say, making regular backups is the only way to be sure.
 
It would take a VERY compelling argument to get me to move away from Per Project folders

Bristol_Jonesey

KPerry
That's what I do - I also (at the expense of slightly more tedious archiving, as noted) put audio on one drive and the cwp on another. At least then if a drive dies, I have half the data available to reconstruct the project (not that that excuses anyone from doing backups!).

At the same time you are doubling the risk of hard drive failure, so you don't really gain anything.
 
As you say, making regular backups is the only way to be sure.
 
It would take a VERY compelling argument to get me to move away from Per Project folders

Hello.
Forgive my ignorance, but please explain; How would keeping cwp's and audio on separate drives
increase the potential of hard drive failure?
 
Mel