Keeping Project Folders Organized in REAPER

[@MaximumZargon]

As much as I love Reaper, some default behaviours are unfathomable. The folder organisation that Kenny describes here should be default. I can't see any reason that it isn't.

[@bncprado]

Totally agreed. I understand they're trying to let Reaper totally customisable, but this should be the default for sure.

[@comiturhan]

I couldn't agree more, lest people lose their files in the first place.

[@dublinguitarquartet5745]

WORD!

[@hr2186]

My biggest gripe as well. Please fix this!

[@pablocruzdrums]

Exactly!, I love Reaper, but I just can't understand why some options like this, are not by Default

[@FretboardToAsh]

Every single time I have a question about Reaper I find two things. The first being, 'can it do this?' And the answer is always yes. And the subsequent one, 'how do I get Reaper to do that?' And the answer is on this channel, every single time.

[@LimewaterMusic]

seriously, every single time lol

[@justinthomas1971]

Facts brother man 🎉

[@DeanLancasterMusic]

Kenny, your videos are invaluable. Thanks for creating them and helping us novices

[@altura63]

Your tutorials are so valuable to me! A million thanks for sharing them!

[@REAPERMania]

Thanks

[@gabrielblumm]

I'd never be able to learn Reaper if if wasn't for these tutorials, plus they're a pleasure to watch -- so well laid out and organized...

[@jthomaskay]

Amen

[@socialmeaslesinpartnership1252]

Amen.

[@LeonvanBokhorst]

With every one of your tutorials I fall deeper and deeper in love with this amazing DAW. 😍

[@Mtaalas]

I want to warn against having only single backup file. I've had instances where the file was corrupted and then you lose all the backups. I use separate backup files just to fight against the possibility of having a corrupted backup. I wish REAPER allowed you to have separate folder for "manual" backups as you can have for auto backups...

[@fmj4138]

I had several days of utter frustration trying to work out what you shared in a clear easy to follow 11 minute video. You rock - I'm a follower!

[@haroldpalmer3245]

Thank you Kenny for your response. I appreciate all that you do for all of us.

[@gabzito240p]

legendary tutorials, thank you sir

[@lauramelaniemusic9183]

My very first job a zillion years ago was secretarial and involved a lot of file management. File organization can be a beautiful thing and what you suggest is logical and clean. Thanks again for another perfect video!

[@igoraleshin9275]

I have a question: according to my preferences, every time I move an audio file, reaper makes a copy in the project's folder. BUT it also (somehow) creates a folder "Peaks" in the original folder of the file (the folder is empty), and so my computer is full of empty Peaks folders. How can I solve this problem without cancelling the creation of 'Peaks' folder into my project's folder? And thank you for this video!

[@BLMeredith87]

Thanks for this Kenny, when I was a Reaper newbie I found myself saving everything very messily now I'm overwhelmed with a bombsite, time to dedicate some time digging them all out and reorganising!

[@Christa-Das-music]

You are a dear music making companion Kenny bro. Thank you from the heart. May God bless you and those you love.

[@REAPERMania]

Thank you. :)

[@anthonybuckner202]

I don't know how to thank you enough. Your videos have helped me immensely

[@rpgaleksy]

Lovely, this is going to make a huge change in my production and mixing workflow as I'm prone to keep dated backups for all music related stuff so project folders tended to end up incredibly messy. Now everything is tidy and satisfying, thank you Kenny!

[@michael-wurzinger]

Thank you Mr. Gioia! Your teaching-style is excellent!!

[@KingstenHD]

I just about had a meltdown because hours of work seemingly was gone because of moving some stuff. I should have watched this video when I first started using Reaper. Reaper 7 just came out and as far as I can tell a few things have changed location. (I'm new to Reaper though less that a month) so it might be time to do an updated version of this. However I believe I was able to find everything by searching a bit for it. I want to say Thank you so much for this video. I am no longer stressed trying to find my stuff in the folder and it is already way better. You got yourself a sub. You're appreciated! Thank you!

[@ErnestoPossiSpanishVoiceOver]

This video is great because it will help me organize all my VO projects and not find a mess every time I look for something!

[@robotjack2193]

Man, you make the most actually useful videos that I have found on Reaper. You focus on practical stuff and most other videos just don't. Thanks a lot!

[@kmohlal4876]

Your videos are simply amazing and you really know how to get to the point quickly and accurately and with much fineness! Thank you for helping us to navigate these new waters and for getting the most out of reaper. You should put on online classes as I would line up for that! Thanks again

[@zicmanislord]

I used Reaper for 3 years and I didn't know how to do that. Thank you, Kenny! :)

[@robynjustrobyn1014]

Gold dust!! Thank you so much.

[@mikenzich]

as usual, very clear and helpful explanation - thank you.

[@anantwashere]

Respect from India. You're the best, bro. Thank you so much for your valuable lessons.

[@cyberman195]

Hi Kenny... your videos are great!!! ... however now that I'm working with Reaper 7 this file organization vid is a little long in the tooth. Granted the principles are virtually the same but the layout of the backup section in preferences has changed since three years ago. I would love it if you could revisit file organization... going through the setup with the newish Reaper 7 preferences window. Also would be great if you could spend some time walking us through how autosave works behind the scenes. I've seen Reaper Forum posts from folks such as IDDOD indicating that if you don't specify a file path for autosave it won't put the timestamped saves where you might expect. With Reaper 7 I currently have a situation where auto save will put several backups in the autosave folder (3 mins apart) then it just stops providing new saves... even when changes are made to a project. An in depth explainer on exactly how autosave is supposed to work would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all you do for the Reaper community!

[@amplifiedemotions]

Absolutely love your videos Kenny, and this one especially!! However, is there some way to tidy up up existing projects that have been previously saved without the “audio” folders and “peak” folders features turned on? I can’t seem to figure that out. :)

[@IainFrame]

Do a Save As, with the new settings, into a different folder, then delete the original?

[@jimbeaux4988]

Great stuff. I've watched this 2 or 3 times setting up my prefs. I'll add one. Change the default render path so all your renders go into a separate sub folder like "renders" or something.

[@SeanLaMontagne]

good advice

[@midiman5045]

I was doing some of it but you really helped me with the stuff I needed to do more. Thanks again Kenny your videos are a great help to me any many people.

[@dnjss]

Thank you so much Kenny for your short and very structural learning videos! You are a teacher from God!

[@melissadsings]

omg! You just made my life so much easier!! I now have my peaks in a separate file so its easier to hunt down my takes to send to my producer!! Thank you Kenny, all the best

[@pablocruzdrums]

You are the most clear reaper mentor! thanks a lot!!!!!!

[@coreymelanson2906]

Kenny you prob do the best Christopher Walken immatation ever,...but seriously I cant thank you enough for all your awesome awesome posts,and I take back the Walken joke,...Kenny ,your great. Much appreciate everything man. Thank you

[@JazzInvaders66]

Kenny, Your videos are really top-notch!!!!!!

[@JD..........]

This was excellent, thank you.

[@wongsanggar]

This is really useful for newcomers to REAPER. I just wonder why its default setting is just so bad although there are better ways offered. For certain times, Bravo Kenny! YOU ROCKS!!!

[@MrFLAVIUS12]

". I just wonder why its default setting is just so bad although there are better ways offered. " Me too...

[@SXTransmission]

I agree. Why would anyone want the messy defaults?

[@nagy-one4212]

Best Reaper Content...Thanks Kenny.

[@matcarpes]

This video is a must and I always search for it to send to new Reaper users

[@brainiceland]

I can't tell you how helpful this video was!

[@travisalstrand4237]

You've yet again saved me from losing my mind. Thanks!

[@zenithholistichealing5139]

I love your videos dude. so clear. to the point. well thought out. perfection.

[@kailiomuziek]

Man this was pure gold!

[@PaulWalkerMuso]

Brilliant man, just starting to get my head around Reaper after many years on a port-a-studio. Your tutorials and concise and invaluable. Oh, and I live your accent :)

[@simoncullen7799]

fabulous clear tutorials many many thanks.

[@lordviewer7305]

I can't believe how awesome Reaper is.

[@burning_KFC]

As always writing a comment to support the channel

[@crysswoodrow9316]

Great video, the only issue I had was the last step. Clicking on 'Save as default project setting' (in File > Project Settings) didn't save the sub folders. I ended up getting it to work by using File > Project Templates > Save project as template

[@jakedooom]

Thank you. You answered my most pressing problem in the first few seconds of your video. I solved that an then decided to watch the rest ...

[@TheFreaks72]

When we are on Preferences > General > Path > Store all peak caches (.reapeaks) in alternate path: ; All the files from all the projects are stored in the chosen folder, or only the ones from the project that we're dealing with?

[@eponn5648]

Your tutorials are the best

[@ricardoposada211]

Que información tan valiosa amigo Kenny ... Mil gracias

[@Xav1ez]

Brilliant video and tips Kenny, I'll be using all of them!

[@RobertoMilano]

Awesome video! Thank you Kenny!

[@aidenmarshall6478]

Kenny is the man

[@TheXenonman]

I changed over to a new computer one this video is must have thanks for the excellent info you are the best resource for reaper ...

[@matholiver1]

Sensacional!!! Kenny, seus vídeos são excelentes! Greetings from Brazil!!!

[@RodrigoBustamante]

Thanks for all your videos. They are SO good!

[@deepearthchoir7192]

Thanks! You explained that crystal clear. I was confused before.

[@fabiojorge3160]

mate, that is the exact content I was looking for.. cheers

[@clydesight]

It's been a while since you made this video, and I hope you still check your comments because I want to send you a great big THANK YOU! This is great! I am subscribed!

[@bartonmusic1]

Thanks so much Kenny. Very helpful. As others have mentioned, some of these settings should be default!

[@IainFrame]

Fantastic video man. I'm using all of these settings from now on!

[@DjangoFlaherty]

I prefer having my peaks in a dedicated folder, otherwise anything you drag into a project before saving gets a peak file next to it, whether in your downloads folder, your sample/loop libraries, or a client's USB stick. It can get cluttered quickly.

[@francoisBonin-phils]

Your tutorials are awsome , thank you...

[@iliketrains3495]

The moving files into subdirectory cool is super useful, but I can't find the option to put the peaks in a subfolder. Has this been moved since this video came out?

[@mamandapanda185]

I thought it had, but just had the wrong "Media" section. It's not under "appearance." "Media" has it's own heading in Reaper preferences.

[@Bigwoody95826]

Awesome tutorial as usual. i check this video often to make sure I am organized-:) Maybe a stupid question but is it always useful or worth it to use auto save? Thanks

[@markfuller8047]

Thank you. Really helpful for a newbie.

[@АртемийГрачев-п7г]

Hello, I tried to do as you described in the video and saw the following - when organizing a separate folder peak files, it is done at any listening samples even in the media browser creates a separate folder for them and already in the folder where you listened. It turns out that it will still be on a separate folder in each folder with sample and it becomes the accumulation of debris. And you can ask the developers to make it possible to transfer samples or copies of them to the project folder, not only when you select save as. Thank you and thank you separately for your labor.

[@thealexasterphe1138]

Bro, you're a legend 🙏

[@Stenfeldt111]

This video is a MUST WATCH for anyone starting out using Reaper. I cant believe theses settings are default, i love Reaper and all but Reaper makes files VERY cluttered if you dont know these File Oranization settings i tell you! After many years of using reaper :D

[@mksounds]

It is not updated. Preferences and Project Setting are different right now. Would you updated?

[@demidarkhart2613]

Your videos are so helpful thank you man

[@haroldpalmer3245]

Thanks Kenny.

[@jamesboukas8009]

This was extremely helpful thank you!

[@INDIETUNZRecords]

Thanks Kenny!

[@davefk]

Thanks Kenny, that was really useful info, that will change the way I work with Reaper. I don't' suppose there is a way to automatically put time stamped backups, into a folder in the project home folder?

[@Dang...]

So valuable, THANKS!!!

[@crancarenotafish]

Thanks so much for your hard work. Question to anyone: How to make this to happen in every project as default? The audio file for example I saved as default per your explanation but is not happening.Thanks

[@TheStefanGuitar]

thx that was what I was looking for to get started !

[@marcelopenido-harpa8908]

Great video, as always. Thank you very much!

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

Is there a way to default select the "Create Sub directory when saving" thing rather than trying to remember to click it every time? Because I'm going to occasionally forget and then have a mess of files strewn about.

[@mamandapanda185]

Hi! Did you ever figure that out?

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

@@mamandapanda185 I'm afraid no, you just have to remember to do it every time.

[@fabiocarissimi6519]

Hi, thanks for this video, very useful! I use your setup from day one, and every day i move to another computer i'll go back to this video not to miss any step. Do you know if there is any option to automatically insert some infos when saving a project? I'd like to have a default name that includes todays date, like "yyyy-mm-dd - untitled", so that you only have to type the name, if necessary. with all those things set it would be a blast :)

[@miguelbarella1173]

Great tutorial (as always) but I have a little issue: if the audio file already exist and I import it Reaper creates the Peak folder in the same folder the file originally is. Is there a workaround for it?

[@EmoryBlake4Music]

I'm confused about keeping my samples organized. I drag them over from my external but I can't figure out how to keep those samples saved within subfolders for any particular song. any advice?

[@MarkeyBlenda]

I'm new to Reaper thanks for this vid, it has been very informative

[@alanjamesh.zamorano1677]

I should've know about this two years ago lol. I have such a huge mess of projects with hundreds of retakes and tracks. Oh, man 😂

[@musicalsam1]

Thanks! The only think that isn't working for me is that the Auto-Backup folder doesn't automatically get created for new projects.

[@whitneyhodges4395]

This is awesome. Thank you!

[@socratesson4320]

Why on Earth reaper creates and saves to a double folder instead of the folder we create?

[@lukeluhrs9333]

Thanks Kenny,it's very useful for me.

[@twoeyesproductions4353]

Thanks Kenny! Do you have a video for organizing existing projects in Reaper? I understand how this will help going forward but is there anything specific to cleaning up what's already there without messing up my projects? Much appreciated!

[@TheJakePoole]

I could be wrong, because I haven't tried it yet, but he said doing a "Save As" will "copy" everything to a new folder. So I'd say go through all of your projects and do the "Save As" steps, and it should create a copy with everything you originally had in that project, then you can probably delete the originals. Before deleting the originals though, I would test that everything worked by moving the original folder to another place, such as your desktop, so the file paths don't match, and go through your projects and make sure they're loading correctly from the new files/file paths.

[@twoeyesproductions4353]

@@TheJakePoole thanks Jake! Will investigate....

[@TheJakePoole]

@@twoeyesproductions4353 Can confirm now, it works. Just double check before deleting. Like I said, move the old files to make sure Reaper is reading the new files and isn't still pulling from the old ones still.

[@Ian-gw2vx]

All very well but how do you make the Audio folder creation universal for all projects, not just new ?

[@OliverHeuschele]

awesome hints...thanks a lot. I learn everyday new things in reaper :-)

[@SergeFlashMan]

Backup versions doesn't work if you choose "Prompt to save on new project" and when Reaper not open. You must start Reaper, save project and then open backup file and choose version.

[@cynical2207]

Thanks, Kenny! Is there any way to keep this 'Create subdirectory for project' option checked permanently? Or maybe it's just doesn't make a sense?

[@Mtaalas]

It _should_ stay on permanently after you've set it for any single project... At least it does with my Windows 7 installation of reaper.

[@mikefurbee8425]

Yeah, the technique to save audio in a separate file is a great idea, unfortunately the save as default setting does not work. This is a bug in Reaper. It seems to remember when you open a new a new project, but when you actually do a new save as, it leaves all the audio files separate without being grouped under a folder and when you go back to project settings the Media tab shows that field empty.

[@DavidEsp1]

I found for REAPER 6.25 (Mac) that any defaults-changes got saved "properly" only when the current project was saved. If you exit without saving that, even if it contains nothing, then the defaults get lost. Hope that helps.

[@Johncowk]

Very good video, many thanks

[@startyme6164]

how to fix plugins in Reaper wave plugins????

[@143Chippy143]

Thanks, Great Tip ! But.... Why cant I see any midi files I have in my project ? where are they ?

[@nilla003]

When I did "save as" I wound up with a folder and all the media still visible. What did I do wrong?

[@АртемийГрачев-п7г]

Hello, and you can specify where to save the system tracks when an organization like in your video? And can be whether do that would they in a separate folder persisted project? And one more request, can ask the developers the ability to delete a file from a system disk directly from the media explorer, with the same combination of keys as on Windows or Mac? This would be very handy when listening and sorting libraries with one shot, samples, loops, etc. Thanks And thank you for your videos