Hi everyone,
 
I have a project and associated audio files from another engineer that I'm hoping you can help me with.
 
The project has a number of submix tracks which seem to be bounced from original recordings with plugin effects included. The original tracks from which these submixes were made seem to have been deleted (or I can't view them? Is there maybe a hidden tracks feature in SONAR? Forgive my ignorance, I usually work in Logic). However, when I go to Project > Audio Files, I see the original recordings there as "*project name*, *track name*, Rec (*SONAR-assigned take number*).wav"
 
What I'm trying to do is restore these original recordings at their original timestamps so I can reprint the tracks without effects. I suspect that timestamp data is somewhere within the project file, since they still show up as associated audio files in the Project Files window (accessed by Project > Audio Files). However, when I drop these files in via the Browser, they show an "Original Time" in the Clip Properties pane of wherever I drop them (as I would expect from unassociated audio). Is there maybe a way other than the Browser to access these files that would include the timestamp info that presumably was a part of the project file at one point?
 
Thanks in advance for any help. Obviously I'm not familiar with the software, so maybe it's an easy fix, but I'm not finding the SONAR documentation that easy to navigate.
 
— Jay
 
SONAR Artist 22.4.0 Build 27 [2016.04]
Windows 10 Home

Hi, and welcome to this forum.
"H" is the shortcut for track manager. Your tracks might be hidden there.
Hope it helps.
All the best.

If you are using a global audio folder then perhaps the files are ther.
This will be set in Preferences. Press 'P' and look under Files for Folder Locations

If you are using Per Project Folders then you will have a folder named after the name of the song and inside will be the project.cwp file and an Audio folder which will contain all he projects associated files.

Again look in Preferences > Folder Locations for the location of the Project folders.

Hi Ken,
 
Thanks for the input. The Track Manager, however, unfortunately shows all tracks as visible in this project. It was worth a shot, though, and now at least I know the original tracks have been deleted. Any chance that the timestamp info exists somewhere for the audio files, however, since they still seem to be associated with the project? They're unfortunately not in broadcast wave format.
 
Thanks,
Jay

Hi Mike,
 
I think this doesn't address my issue directly, but thank you for the reply. I have all the audio files of the recordings, but not their SMPTE positions. I realize that if they were unassociated audio and I imported them into the Track View window via the Browser, they would just take an "Original Time" position of wherever I drop them, which is how these files are behaving now. My hope is that there's some way to get the project file to recognize at what SMPTE position these audio files were originally recorded, since it seems that this is the project in which they originated, and they still show up as associated audio in Project > Audio Files. Maybe that's a wild goose chase and it's just "line up the waveforms as best you can" at this point, but obviously if there's a way to get them to automatically return to original time, that would be best.
 
Interestingly, though, when I follow your directions and look at project file locations, the folder showing in the preferences pane is different from the audio locations shown by bringing up Project > Audio Files. This is because I have the imported project and associated audio on a separate drive partition from where the "Cakewalk Projects" folder lives — again, though, I don't think that's an issue here. The audio currently in the Track View all plays just fine.
 
Thanks,
Jay

.wav files can have a time stamp if they are originally saved as broadcast waves.

So why don't you save each track to a new file making sure to save its time stamp.

Just use save as, making sure to use Per prrogect audio files. You should end up with a folder full of audio files that have their time stamp according to their relative project position.

Hi Mike,
 
Thanks again for the reply. The files I'm trying to find a timestamp for are not currently in the track view, but rather have been deleted from track view by a previous engineer after he bounced them to some submix tracks that have effects on them. Their tracks no longer exist, so I can't save them to new files with timestamps. I'm hoping to restore the audio files to their original positions, because my (maybe unrealistic) assumption is that that information exists within the project file, since this is the project file into which these audio files were originally recorded.
 
— Jay

Once an audio file is rendered say through an fx, the original file is overwritten and no longer exists, this will include any and all other edits up to a point.

When you edit an audio track within Sonar, the unrlying audio isn't changed, the edit info is stored in the Sonar project file.

When you save a project using save ss, all those edits are rendered to new audio files.

If i have it wrong then using the export audio function certainly will create new audio files by applying project edits to the existing audio.

mudgel
Once an audio file is rendered say through an fx, the original file is overwritten and no longer exists, this will include any and all other edits up to a point. 

When you save a project using save ss, all those edits are rendered to new audio files.

That's not right, actually. As soon as you bounce, freeze or otherwise render edits/FX, a new audio file is written immediately and a new clip is created referencing the new file. Whether or not the original clip goes away depends on whether the audio is bounced to a new track or rendered in place, but the original audio file never gets overwritten in any case.
 
In this case, it sounds like everything was bounced to new tracks, and then the original clips were deleted, leaving the original audio files 'orphaned'. Orphaned audio files will continue to exist in the project audio folder until deliberately deleted via Windows Explorer, Clean Audio Folder, CWAF Tool or by Save As to a new location.
 
It seems the OP has a copy of the project with no clean-up having been done, so the orphaned files are still in the audio folder. Unfortunately, the start time and any un-rendered edits are stored with the clip that references the audio file. If the clip is deleted, that info is gone once the project is saved and closed, and cannot be recovered.
 
The only real solution would be to get a copy of the project that was saved with the original clips still in place.

I stand corrected. Thanks Dave. Got myself well and truly muddled there. I've been up all night working on my insomnia. Glad you came in there so the OP didn't remain misinformed.