Ableton/Live/UG/05 Managing Files and Sets/05 Live Projects
- A Live Project is a folder for the files of one piece of music: its Set versions, recordings, imported samples, and the clips and presets that belong to it. The File Manager manages it.
- Saving a Set under a new name or location creates a new Project folder unless you save into an existing Project. The manual's example: saving "Tango" to the Desktop creates "Tango Project" with Tango.als and Samples/Recorded.
- Saving a new version with Save As into the same folder keeps both Sets in one Project sharing its samples. An unrelated new Set saved elsewhere gets its own Project.
- Opening any Set in a Project opens the Project, shown in the window's title bar.
- A Set saved out of a Project into a new one still points at the old Project's samples until you collect external files.
- Subfolders are fine; use the File Manager to update references after moving files. Moving files in Finder or Explorer can break things Live can't prevent.
- Sets from older major versions can't be overwritten; Live asks for Save As, which puts them in a Project.
- New presets go into the current Project by default. To use them across Projects, drag them to another folder or the User Library, or drag the device's title bar onto a folder in the sidebar.
- Collect Files on Export decides whether samples in the preset are copied.
- With a Set from the Project open, File → Manage Files → Manage Project shows the Project's contents and tools to locate missing files, collect external files, list unused files, and pack the Project as a Pack.