Greetings !
 
I'm thinking of changing DAW to sonar and I'm looking at ways to transfer projects.
 
From what I can see it is going to be a painful process as there isnt a generic DAW file format.
 
OMF only exports audio (without FX as well..... tried freezing the audio tracks prior to export but no FX on tracks..... could be my inexperience)
 
.mid files do what they say on the tin but essentially for note data only so virtuall instruments have to be reassigned and then  ...etc etc
 
This kind of links in with a previous post of 'When is a song finished' but my question is this
 
1. Is there a complete way of transferring projects between DAWS

Unfortunately there's no easy way.
I don't know what DAW you're using now, but I'm sure there's a way to freeze/bounce the tracks with effects.
If you export as Broadcast Wav, the files get a time stamp which positions them correctly in the new project (I've been told).

The ususal process, as Kalle says above, is to bounce or render each tracks w/ whatever effects you want to keep.  Be sure and do it to the entire track timeline from 0 (Broadcast files are stamped w/ the absolute time).  Save all the entire tracks in a separate folder.  Then you can open each entire audio track in SONAR from zero and they will all line up.  You can also pull in the original tracks if you decide to redo any effects w/ SONAR's (Producer has a very nice collection of effects - you don't really need anything else although most of us have some 3rd party favorites).
 
It is a lot of work but if you work out a system it will go pretty painless - just the time involved.
 
@

The easiest way is to use your old DAW for everything you recorded previously and your new DAW for everything you record now.
 
There is no way to transfer project so they keep the envelopes, effects and every other setting you have. Every DAW is different so there is no way to do it. the same goes fro every other kind of professional program, so its nothing unusual
 
CJ

I agree with CJ. Keep 'em both installed if you want to continue to work on older projects mixed in another DAW. For any that you are determined to rework in Sonar, there is only the long way of importing the audio and trying to recreate the mix. On the plus side, presumably you would only be doing this if you are not happy with what you have, so you wouldn't want to re-create it exactly as it was anyway, so other than time, you've nothing to lose really.

Some Good points there Paulo...... 
 
If transferring was a simple matter I might do it for my older projects but no matter which way I look at it there seems to be a fair bit of time needed to get back to a near 'Finished' situation

Also from what I've seem the OMF file format essentially just appears to be similar to doing an audio mixdown with each instrument going to a different track
 
Should there be any reference to any plugins used in the original in the OMF so when its loaded into another daw it can either go and find it (if installed) or tell you it's missing ?
 

Yah there's no universal project format between DAWs. Like, at all. OMF files will help with audio, but yup, you'd pretty much have to rebuild the project...in which case the original advice of keeping both DAWs around so you still open up old projects is the best way. 
 
It's not dissimilar even within the same DAW. I still open some old projects in SONAR 8.5 or X3-32 bit just because that's the version the original project was created in. But new work gets created in the latest and greatest.
 

Has anyone had any luck with exporting Broadcast Wav Files and bringing them into Sonar? Or vice-versa?

Anderton
Has anyone had any luck with exporting Broadcast Wav Files and bringing them into Sonar? Or vice-versa?

Yea, i do it allot and the project line up, just like they where in the other DAW
 
CJ