Batch converting

trallhatt wrote on 1/16/2022, 6:53 PM

When using "add folder" in batch processing, why on earth doesn't it understand sub folders and just adds all the audio files that can be found in them??

Let's say you have 500 sub folders with thousands of samples that you want to process (so a common scenario for us who works with audio/sample libraries). Am i supposed to copy all the files to one main folder, then spend hours fixing the folder structures again?

Who doesn't use folders? Batch converting is a process you want to use when you have perhaps hundreds or many thousands of files to process and it's tedious to do manually. A scenario where all those thousands of files will be in one folder is highly unlikely.

Also, if you add a folder, it doesn't remember that specific location, so for the next folder (folder 499 of 500) you have to yet again browse to that location, so tons of tedious work to do it that way.

Normalisation seriously needs a keyb shortcut too, it's like the program just hates its users and wants the experience to be tedious and slow, and it's not like i'm the first one to ask for that function...

Comments

SP. wrote on 1/16/2022, 8:44 PM

@trallhatt In my experience the batch processing is somewhat broken. I used it to convert hundreds of files and it got slower and slower with each file. The first files got processed really fast but after 500 files it was unbearably slow so i cancelled the process. It's maybe caused by some incorrectly programmed nested loops?

I don't know if this is caused by my computer specifications or if somebody else gets these problems, too. But if you want to process hundreds of folders with many thousands of files and encounter the same problem, you will likely wait forever for it to finish.

Now I just process about 100 files at maximum. I don't need the batch processing often, so it doesn't really matter for me.

trallhatt wrote on 1/17/2022, 5:57 AM

I've used it and it was fine (for processing many files that are in one folder), this was years ago. It doesn't seem like they're the least interested in updating it because it was the same (MANY) years ago when i tried it. Same with keyboard shortcuts.. i mean which professional program doesn't offer you keyboard shortcuts for things you might do many hundreds if not thousands of times. No, i'll start looking for another Editor, it's ridiculous how they update SF each year but the most basic functions are completely ignored.

trallhatt wrote on 1/17/2022, 7:28 AM

I found Wavosaur. It handles sub folders with ease. The batch processing page is really well done (way better than in SF), i understood it within seconds and didn't need to read any manual or watch a YT video to know where to start.

It's a free program.

 

rraud wrote on 1/17/2022, 1:36 PM

The new batch tool has been a 'work in progress' for sure.
In most cases, I would think most folks only want the files in the selected folder. An option would be nice, or even the ability to select multiple folders at once. Contact Magix and request the option be added. infoservice@magix.net

Otherwise, the custom keyboard commands editor in the 'Options' menu still works. For multiple processes, use the Script tool, Toolbar and key shortcuts can be added to them too.

trallhatt wrote on 1/17/2022, 5:05 PM

For multisamples (which has been a standard since ages for sampling) you obviously don't have all hundreds or even thousands of files in one folder, that will get very messy and hard to separate one patch from the other. So no, i think most people who wants to process many files do no have all those files in one folder. batch processing is really only interesting to most people if you've gonna process a ton of files.

I'll check out the keyb command editor, i've not tried that. thanks.

Edit: and while Waveosaur has the tools and can easily trim and normalise it also ruins meta-data in the new .wav so it's useless since i need the original meta-data.

Edit 2: the best option is adobe audition.. really great program i have to say, much better than SF. adobe is not something i otherwise think of when it comes to sound. you just hit "record favorite" and do whatever to the sound, then you can apply this whole recording to the batch process, so you can do super detailed work and it will replicate it all on all files.