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Purge Unused Samples

Automatically finds audio files that are not referenced anywhere and either removes them or moved them into a user-selected directory.

It comes in two flavour:

ToolWhat it scansOpens from
Purge Project SamplesThis project's own directoryProjects Tools tab
Purge Audio Pool SamplesThe Set's shared AUDIO/ pool, optionally every project's own directory tooAudio Pool's Tools tab

What Counts as "Unused"​

An audio file is unused when no sample slot references it in any way:

  • No machine assignment on any track.
  • No p-lock (sample-lock) on any step.
  • No sample slot even has it loaded
    • Clear unused sample slot assignments option can be enabled to additionaly clear slots assignements which are never actually triggered - along with handling the then un-used audio files.

With Purge Audio Pool Samples, audio files located in Audio Pool are considered unused when no project of the Set reference them in any way.

Workflow​

  1. Select Purge Project Samples or Purge Audio Pool Samples from the Tools tab's operation dropdown.
  2. The scan runs automatically and the Status panel shows the count of unused audio files like:
    • "3 unused audio files - of 128 scanned"
    • A green 0 means everything is referenced
  3. Click the status button to open a preview list of said files
  4. Configure the options described below, then click Execute.
  5. Review the planned changes (mandatory for Delete files) and click Apply Changes.

Configuration Options​

Include all projects of set (Purge Audio Pool Samples only)​

When enabled, every project of the Set is also scanned - in addition of the shared Set AUDIO/ pool.

The unused count and preview list combines pool and per-project results together.

Clear unused sample slot assignments​

When enabled, slots that have a file loaded but are never triggered by any machine assignment or p-lock have their assignment cleared as part of the clean up - freeing their file for removal too. The preview count updates live to include files that would become unused once those slots are cleared.

On Purge Audio Pool Samples, this option (as well as Exclude backups/ directory below) only appears if Include all projects of set is checked, since clearing slots happens at projects level.

Clearing a slot in one of the included projects can also free a pool file if that slot was the file's only reference anywhere in the Set.

info

Clearing a slot assignment backs up the affected project's project.work first, under that project's backups/ directory. See Quick Start for details.

Exclude backups/ directory​

Keeps the backups/ directory located in Projects out of the scan.

Delete or Move files to folder​

  • Delete files: Sends every unused file (and therefore empty directory) to OS Trash Bin - recoverable there until emptied.
  • Move files to folder: Moves every unused file (and therefore empty directory) into a destination folder (either default or user-selected one), grouped by origin.

Review before applying changes​

Displays the review table before anything is done.

  • When Delete files option is selected, this step is mandatory - deleting always requires review.
  • With Move files to folder, it's on by default but can be turned off, in which case files are processed immediately without a review step.

Default Move Destination​

Default destination directory of Move operation will be first found out of:

  1. Downloads directory
  2. Desktop directory
  3. Home directory
  4. Set root directory
  5. Project's directory

The first candidate that actually exists on disk is used as default destination.

A different directory can be selected freely by user using the "Browse..." button.

Directory Collapsing​

When every audio file inside a folder (recursively) is unused, the whole folder is removed or moved as a single unit instead of being left empty:

  • When that happens, all non-audio files inside are swept along with it
  • All affected files will be listed in preview and review lists

Moving Files: Folder Layout​

When moved, files will land under:

<destination>/Unused Audio/<origin>/<relative path from that origin's root>
  • <origin> is the project name the file came from, or Audio Pool
  • The relative path inside the origin is preserved:
    • File at AUDIO/kits/808/kick.wav
    • moves to <destination>/Unused Audio/Audio Pool/kits/808/kick.wav

See also​