Utility to Cleanup those Unused Audition Media Files!

Like others on this and other forums I have experienced the frustration of chewing up disk space as well as wondering exactly which files belong in the session that I have just finished mixing.

We all know the benefits of using Adobe Audition® but one drawback is the numerous files which can be created during a recording session. It is cumbersome to identify the unused files and this can result in large amounts of wasted disk space (I just saved 14gb using this application).

While we all experience similar problems in this regard sometimes the requirements of the solution are understandably not exactly the same.

This is why myself and another have taken a little time away from recording to develop a solution that certainly meets our needs and hopefully the needs of others on this forum.

The utility we have developed identifies and assists in the management of unused files from your AA3, AA2, AA1.5 and Cool Edit Pro 2.0 sessions.
It identifies and optionally moves these files to another location for easy deletion or backup.
The application has been tested on a wide range of session files and while not exhaustive it was found that in all cases tested the utility identified both the files used within the session as well as all other files not in the session that were located in the session file folder as well as the '_Recorded' folder if it existed.

Version 1.02 now caters for network and cdrom drives and now, for added safety, MediaSweeper tries to put the unused 'deleted' files in the Recycle Bin and then physically delete them after moving them to the location of your choice.

It has been tested on both XP2 and Vista.

The application is free to download and use and all feedback is welcomed.

http://www.suitespotstudios.com/MediaSweeper.htm

While MediaSweeper is still available from the site above - the preferred site to download from is

http://www.mediasweeper.com.au

In answer to a few requests I have now updated this file management utility to cater for multiple session files in the same folder
Version 2.00 of MediaSweeper© is now available to be downloaded for free from http://www.suitespotstudios.com/MediaSweeper.htm

As in previous versions it caters for (just about) all audio files not just wav files so you should really be able to cleanup those audio (and video) files with this utility.

I didn't realised that this feature would be useful to me as well but I just saved over 700mb in just one folder 

MediaSweeper version 3.0 is now available for free download. 

http://www.suitespotstudios.com/MediaSweeper.htm

You can now create a custom list of file specifications that will be excluded from being moved out of your project folder.

If you always create a 'lyrics.doc', or a 'songname mix.wav' or 'notes.txt' or anything else you might use then you can setup file specs like *.doc, lyrics.doc, * mix.wav, * master.wav or Notes*, etc etc.

In this way you can quickly select a session file select all unused files to move and be confident that the specific files for the session which you normally create outside of the session are excluded from being moved and then accidentally deleted.

I have found this a very productive addition to the application.

Version 3.10 has just been uploaded and is now available for download.

This version makes the creation of a sub-folder (with the same name as the session file) a user selectable option.

This should be the final version unless I get some brainwave or someone has some really useful suggestions or improvements.

Thanks to all of you who have downloaded and offered constructive and encouraging comments.

There is a new version (v3.20) of MediaSweeper now available.

I doubt if anyone else has had this situation but all my testing indicated that AA always referred to a sub folder called "session file name_Recorded".  I thought I had everything covered but there is at least one circumstance where this is not the case.

This one took me a while to work out.

If you import a file into a session and you change the view to 'details' AA will bring the path in in lowercase - go figure!

I was cleaning up a couple of sessions with this app and not only did I :-
1. free up 1.7gb for one session file (it was a recording of a 5 piece band with lots of takes)
2. discovered that I had accidentally saved 3 files into another sessions folder
3. discovered this obscure AA (or XP) anomaly.

MediaSweeper now deals with this situation

PS I will only post this in the AA3 area 

Several hundred AA users have downloaded MediaSweeper and yet I have had only a handful of comments (though all positive).

I suspect that the lack of comments is because anyone offering feedback may feel obliged to make a donation.  You are not obliged and quite frankly the feedback is worth more than any donation.

So if someone doesn't feel like commenting in this forum then to assist I have set up an anonymous comment area at www.suitespotstudios.com/MediaSweeper.htm so AA users can let me know if they have found MediaSweeper useful or not, if it could be improved, what was I thinking, etc, etc.

This application was written primarily for my needs (which it certainly suits) and if it can help someone else through awareness or more importantly improvement then I believe that is a good thing.

I suspect that the lack of comments is because anyone offering feedback may feel obliged to make a donation.  You are not obliged and quite frankly the feedback is worth more than any donation.

Whilst it would be very nice to think that people felt obliged to make donations to sites like yours or this one, in reality I don't think they do. I think it's the case that most people simply don't feel obliged to comment at all if something actually does what they want it to. If, on the other hand it doesn't, or almost  does, then they are far more likely to say something about it, regardless of any sense of obligation.

Here, we've never made any link between being able comment and making donations. I only ever mention them publically when we actually need the funds in order to keep going - as we have recently. But if you look at the recent donations and where they've come from, and compare this to the number of contributors, you won't find any real correlation at all.

So if people want to provide feedback, there are now three places for it - your site, here and on the Adobe forums, and if people feel that they have anything to say, however insignificant they feel that it might be, then they should do so, without let or hindrance.

But, I haven't seen any comments recently on the Adobe forum either, and they don't have a 'donate' button. So I really don't think that's it.

OTOH, have you thought about removing the bit on your home page that says "I can't guarantee it, but  donating may also help your karma"? Maybe people don't want their karma messed with?

I just looked at the hit counter on the 'donations' page in Forum Announcements. I know that this gets hit by bots, etc, but I can tell you that the number of donators as a percentage of page hits is way, way below 1%, and it's also way below 1% of the forum membership too. Yes, most of the donators contribute to the forum in other ways, but I definitely can't correlate this with posts or comments.

I locked the thread about the effects migration tool, but left an open invitation for people to PM me about any difficulties with it, and I haven't had a single PM about this at all - nobody saying 'thanks for hosting it', 'why doesn't it...?' or anything. And that's been downloaded 59 times. It can't be just because it's me, either - I get PMs about just about everything else without any hesitation on anybody's part, regardless of their feelings about anything other than what they're on about!

Most people just don't comment, it would seem.

most people simply don't feel obliged to comment at all if something actually does what they want it to

I didn't think about it that way but your probably right and that's a good thing.

OTOH, have you thought about removing the bit on your home page that says "I can't guarantee it, but  donating may also help your karma"?

Done

Thanks for all that SteveG

most people simply don't feel obliged to comment at all if something actually does what they want it to

I didn't think about it that way but your probably right and that's a good thing.

Which is the same as, "no news is good news".  You've probably created a very helpful product and everyone is satisfied.

I feel I have to make a comment, I came here looking for a setting and this was the first thread I saw, about to give it a run. Just spent a few hours cleaning a few years of sessions, have a few more sessions to go. I'm using Adobe Audition 3.0 BTW.

You've probably created a very helpful product and everyone is satisfied

Thanks for support Cal.  I take it you sorted out your Windows 2000 situation ?
http://audiomastersforum.net/amforum/index.php/topic,6828.msg65812.html#msg65812

Just spent a few hours cleaning a few years of sessions, have a few more sessions to go

I've done that before and you really need to be careful.  The biggest trap is when you have either accidentally saved a file from one session into a folder of another session or you have accidentally deleted a file from a session.

This app will allow you to see exactly what belongs in the session and where it should be.  Not only will it deal with multiple session files in the same folder but by moving them you can check all your session files and their contents and bring back a file before actually deleting the unused ones. 

Sing out if you get stuck.

It has helped me I hope it helps you.

You've probably created a very helpful product and everyone is satisfied

Thanks for support Cal.  I take it you sorted out your Windows 2000 situation ?
http://audiomastersforum.net/amforum/index.php/topic,6828.msg65812.html#msg65812

Well, actually...... I've let it go a bit.  I'll try to take another look at it.

Being a lazy b*gger, I have gone years without cleaning up my old sessions, I just bough more harddisk
However, in a burst of energy I downloaded your utility and started work. And all went (goes) fine. The program does what it says without fuss and complication and with a minimum of thought from the user (a premium consideration!)

Very good work