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<spanid=toc-menutitle="Table of Contents"><iclass="fas fa-list-alt fa-fw"></i></span><olclass=linksitemscopeitemtype=http://schema.org/BreadcrumbList><metaitemprop=itemListOrdercontent="Descending"><liitemscopeitemtype=https://schema.org/ListItemitemprop=itemListElement><metaitemprop=positioncontent="3"><aitemprop=itemhref=/ardour-tutorial/en/><spanitemprop=name>Home</span></a> ></li><liitemscopeitemtype=https://schema.org/ListItemitemprop=itemListElement><metaitemprop=positioncontent="2"><aitemprop=itemhref=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/><spanitemprop=name>Saving sessions</span></a> ></li><liitemscopeitemtype=https://schema.org/ListItemitemprop=itemListElement><metaitemprop=positioncontent="1"><aitemprop=itemhref=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/saving-a-session/aria-disabled=true><spanitemprop=name>Saving a session</span></a></li></ol></div><divclass="default-animation progress"><divclass=wrapper><navid=TableOfContents><ul><li><ahref=#ardour-file-and-folder-format>Ardour File and Folder Format</a></li><li><ahref=#moving-a-session-to-another-computer-or-disk>Moving a Session to Another Computer or Disk</a></li><li><ahref=#continuing>Continuing</a></li></ul></nav></div></div></div></nav><mainid=body-innerclass=highlightable><divclass=flex-block-wrapper><divid=head-tags></div><article><h1>Saving a session</h1><p>There are a number of ways to save Sessions in Ardour, so that each session
(or <strong>Command+S</strong> on a Mac) every few minutes.</p><divclass="box notices tip"><divclass=box-label><iclass="fas fa-lightbulb fa-fw"></i> Tip</div><divclass=box-content><p>Avoid using any characters other than letters and numbers when naming your
folders or files that belong to the session.</p></div></div><h2id=ardour-file-and-folder-format>Ardour File and Folder Format</h2><p>The contents of a typical session’s folder on your hard drive might look
something like this:</p><figure><imgsrc=en/Ardour4_Session_Folder_Structure.pngalt="Ardour Folder"></figure><p>A bit of information about some of the components inside that folder:</p><ul><li>The name of this session is <em>my_session</em>.</li><li>The main session file is called <code>my_session.ardour</code>. The session file is
periodically backed up by Ardour with a <code>.bak</code> extension.</li><li>The <code>.history</code> file keeps a record of changes you have made during your
session, and is also periodically backed up.</li><li>The <code>interchange</code> folder contains the actual audio data of all the regions
used in your session.</li><li>The <code>export</code> folder is where exported files are saved by default.</li></ul><p>If double-clicking on the session file does not launch Ardour, use the standard
<em>Session Setup</em> dialog.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-session-setup-dialog.pngalt="Ardour Opening"></figure><h2id=moving-a-session-to-another-computer-or-disk>Moving a Session to Another Computer or Disk</h2><p>If you need to move your Ardour session to another computer, or if you would
just the <code>*.ardour</code> file.</p><divclass="box notices warning"><divclass=box-label><iclass="fas fa-exclamation-triangle fa-fw"></i> Warning</div><divclass=box-content><p>When copying an Ardour folder to another computer or drive, do not manually
session’s folder. If you don’t have snapshots in your session, you can also use
the <code>Session > Archive...</code> command. This will create a single ZIP file
containing the project file and all audio data transcoded to lossless FLAC
files. Please note that an archive will <em>not</em> contain snapshot, only the current
state of the session will be preserved.</p><h2id=continuing>Continuing</h2><p>Saving an entire allows you to open it again at a later time. However, if you
<scriptsrc=/ardour-tutorial/js/search.js?1652723066></script></div><divid=homelinksclass=default-animation><ul><li><aclass=paddinghref=/ardour-tutorial/en/><iclass="fas fa-home"></i> Home</a></li></ul></div><divid=content-wrapperclass=highlightable><ulclass=topics><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/title=Introductionclass=dd-item><inputtype=checkboxid=section-9278c07c1c4f7473c66529d5a0c6e688class=toggle><labelfor=section-9278c07c1c4f7473c66529d5a0c6e688></label><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/><b>1. </b>Introduction</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/conventions/title=Conventionsclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/conventions/>Conventions</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/what-is-digital-audio/title="What is digital audio?"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/what-is-digital-audio/>What is digital audio?</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/title="Getting started"class=dd-item><inputtype=checkboxid=section-6ba418844f4e8ce868bfa62d1bf5b9b1class=toggle><labelfor=section-6ba418844f4e8ce868bfa62d1bf5b9b1></label><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/><b>2. </b>Getting started</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/starting-ardour/title="Starting Ardour"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/starting-ardour/>Starting Ardour</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/title="Overview of the Interface"class="dd-item alwaysopen"><inputtype=checkboxid=section-65fa48091b8ede8e5c409cc42ad6af14class=togglechecked><labelfor=section-65fa48091b8ede8e5c409cc42ad6af14></label><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/>Overview of the Interface</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/editor-window/title="Editor window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/editor-window/>Editor window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/mixer-window/title="Mixer window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/mixer-window/>Mixer window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/recorder-window/title="Recorder window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/recorder-window/>Recorder window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/cue-window/title="Cue window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/cue-window/>Cue window</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/creating-tracks-and-busses/title="Creating tracks and busses"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/creating-tracks-and-busses/>Creating tracks and busses</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/importing-audio/title="Importing audio"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/importing-audio/>Importing audio</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/setting-up-the-timeline/title="Setting up the timeline"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/setting-up-the-timeline/>Setting up the timeline</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/title=Recordingclass=dd-item><inputtype=checkboxid=section-f34c0a5099ecaf52ba2ddf859ecf8564class=toggle><labelfor=section-f34c0a5099ecaf52ba2ddf859ecf8564></label><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/><b>3. </b>Recording</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/recording-audio/title="Recording audio"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/recording-audio/>Recording audio</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/understanding-routing/title="Understanding routing"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording