Using export filename tags and presets

You can use “tokens” to define filenames for exported audio files. Tokens allow you to use placeholder tags that automatically extract the corresponding information (such as the project name, artist, sample rate, bit depth, current date or time, etc.) from a project and adds it to the resulting filename.

For example, instead of manually typing the project name and date into the filename edit box, you can enter the following:

{projectname}_{d}

This will automatically use the project’s name and the current date. Each token is enclosed by curly brackets (aka braces), e.g. {d}.

Adding filename tags

To enter a tag, do one of the following:

Click the Build File Name Using Tags button to open the Tags panel, then click a tag. You can still type while this pop-up is showing, so you can mix literal characters with tags, or use backspace to correct any mistakes.

Type in the tags directly into the filename edit box. Be sure to enclose each token by curly brackets (aka braces), e.g. {d}. Tokens are case sensitive.

Tip: Use separator characters like space, dash or underscore if you wish to visually separate the tags.

Note: Most tags have a long token and a short token. For example, the project name token can be {projectname} or {P}. Each tag’s tooltip shows its full and abbreviated tokens. To always use abbreviated tokens when you click a tag, select Use Abbreviated Tokens in the filename tags panel. You can freely use either format.

Figure 480. Filename tags pop-up panel.

A preview of the first audio export filename is shown below the filename edit box.

To see all tokens that can be used to specify the filename, click the Build File Name Using Tags button to open the Tags pop-up panel. To add a tag, click a tag button, or manually type the tag in the filename edit box.

Below are some common tokens:

Project name = {projectname} or {P}

Name field in Notes Browser = {notesname} or {N}

Artist field in Notes Browser = {notesartist} or {A}

Sample rate = {samplerate} or {sr}

Bit depth = {bitdepth} or {bd}

Channel format = {channelformat} or {cf}

Track name = {trackname} or {T}

Track number = {tracknumber} or {t}

Date = {d}

Tempo = {tempo} or {b}

Meter / time signature = {meter} or {m}

Key = {key} or {k}

Task = {taskname} or {TN}

Press the Build File Name Using Tags button to display all available tokens.

Most tags have a long token and a short token. For example, the project name token can be {projectname} or {P}. Each tag’s tooltip shows its full and abbreviated tokens. To always use abbreviated tokens when you click a tag, select Use Abbreviated Tokens in the filename builder pop-up panel. You can freely use either format.

Tokens can be combined as in the examples below:

{notesartist}_{notesname}_{d}

{notesartist}_{notesname}_{samplerate}_{bitdepth}_{channelformat}_{d=Ymd}

You can combine tokens and regular text, as in the following example:

Client Name_{samplerate}Hz_{bitdepth}b_{channelformat}_{d=Ymd}

File name tokens

 

Note: Tokens are case sensitive.

 

Table 79. File name tokens  

Tag	Description	Example	Token	Abbreviated token
Project Properties:
Name	Project name	Sofia Jane - Living For Now	{projectname}	{P}
Tempo	Tempo at start of export	120.00bpm	{tempo}	{b}
Meter	Meter (time signature) at start of export	4-4	{meter}	{m}
Key	Key at start of export	C	{key}	{k}
Task	Name of the current export task	Drum stem	{taskname}	{TN}
Track/Clip Properties:
Track Idx	Track number (or bus number when exporting buses)	001	{tracknumber}	{t}
Track	Track name (or bus name when exporting buses)	Lead Vocals	{trackname}	{T}
Lane Idx	Take lane index	001	{laneindex}	{l}
Clip Idx	Clip index	001	{clipindex}	{c}
Clip	Clip name	Record 1	{clipname}	{C}
Synth	Source soft synth	Cakewalk TTS-1	{synthname}	{S}
Folder	Parent track folder	Drums	{trackfolder}	{F}
Project Notes Information:
Name	Name field in Notes Browser	First Last	{notesname}	{N}
Album	Album field in Notes Browser	Greatest Hits	{notesalbum}	{a}
Artist	Artist field in Notes Browser	BandLab	{notesartist}	{A}
Copyright	Copyright field in Notes Browser	(c) BandLab 2021	{copyright}	{cr}
Audio Export Information:
Selection	SelectionRange (HH.MM.SS.FF - HH.MM.SS.FF)	0.00.00.00-0.00.16.00	{selrange}	{s}
Duration	Duration (HH.MM.SS.FF)	0.00.16.00	{duration}	{du}
Start	Timestamp (start position on project timeline) (HH.MM.SS.FF)	0.00.04.26	{timestamp}	{ts}
Source	Source category (tracks, buses, mix, hardware outs, clips)	Clips	{sourcecat}	{sc}
MixPreset	Mix Recall preset/scene	Mix 1	{mixpreset}	{mx}
Arrangement	Arrangement name	Arrangement 1	{arrangement}	{ar}
Audio Export Properties:
Samples	Sample rate	48000	{samplerate}	{sr}
Bits	Bit depth	24	{bitdepth}	{bd}
Format	Channel format (mono, stereo, etc.)	Stereo	{channelformat}	{cf}
Stretch	Stretch method	Triangular	{stretchmethod}	{sm}
Type	File type	Elastique Pro	{filetype}	{ft}
Date/Time Presets:
YYYYMMDD	Same as {d=Y-m-d}	2021-09-30	{d1} or {d}	{d}
MMDDYYYY	Same as {d=m-d-Y}	2021-09-30 15.36	{d2}	{d2}
DDMMYYYY	Same as {d=d-m-Y}	2021-09-30 15.36.05	{d3} or {D}	{d3}
...	Build a custom date/time token Format: {d=datetokens}		See Valid tokens for datetokens for valid date/time tokens
Other Date/Time tokens:
Year-Month-Day Hour.Minute	{d=Y-m-d H.i}	2021-09-30 15.36	{dt}	{dt}
Year-Month-Day Hour.Minute.Second	{d=Y-m-d H.i.s}	2021-09-30 15.36.05	{dts}	{dts}
Day-Month-Year	{d=d-M-Y}	30-Sep-2021	{D}	{D}
Day-Month-Year Hour.Minute AM/PM	{d=d-M-Y g.iA}	30-Sep-2021 3.36PM	{DT}	{DT}
Separators:
Space	Space		n/a	n/a
_	Underscore	_	n/a	n/a
-	Dash	-	n/a	n/a
,	Comma	,	n/a	n/a
;	Semicolon	;	n/a	n/a

Using custom date and time tags

In addition the default YYYYMMDD, MMDDYYYY, and DDMMYYYY date tags, you can add a custom date/time format to the filename.

To build a custom date/time format:

1.	Click the Build File Name Using Tags button to open the Tags panel, then click the Build Custom Date/Time Format button to open the Build Date/Time panel.

2.	Click the desired date/time tags. A preview of the date/time format is show at the top of the Build Date/Time panel.

3.	Click Insert.

The custom date/time format is added to the filename.

 

Tip: If you use date/time tokens, it’s a good idea to specify dates in the order year, month, day so that when exported files are displayed in alphabetical order they will also be in chronological order.

Valid tokens for datetokens

 

Note: Date tokens use the following format: {d=datetokens}. For example: {d=Ymd}.

 

Table 80. File name tokens  

Tag	Description	Example	Token
Day:
01..31	Day of month	01	d
DDD	Abbreviated day (Mon, Tue, Wed, etc.)	Mon	D
1..31	Day of the month without leading zeros	1	j
Day	Full day name	Monday	l (lower case L)
1..7	Week day (Monday based)	1	N
0..365	Number of day in year	247	z
Week/Month:
1..53	Week of the year (ISO 8601 Monday based)	51	W
Month	Full name of month (January, February, etc.)	August	F
01..12	Month number	08	m
1..12	Month number without leading zeros	8	n
MMM	Abbreviated month (Jan, Feb, etc.)	Aug	M
Year:
YYYY	4 digit year	2021	Y
YY	2 digit year	21	y
Time:
00..23	24 hour format of hour	07	H
0.23	24 hour format of hour without leading zeros		G
01..12	12 hour format of hour		h
1..12	12 hour format of hour without leading zeros		g
am/pm	Lower case am/pm	pm	a
AM/PM	Upper case AM/PM	PM	A
Minutes	Minutes with leading zeros (00–59)	07	i
Seconds	Seconds with leading zeros (00–59)	07	s
Separators:
Space	Space		n/a
_	Underscore	_	n/a
-	Dash	-	n/a
,	Comma	,	n/a
;	Semicolon	;	n/a

Saving filename presets

Filename presets let you save and recall custom filename formats in any project.

To save the current export filename as a preset:

1.	Click the Build File Name Using Tags button to open the filename tag panel.

2.	Type a name in the Presets combobox.

3.	Click the Create Preset button .

To delete the selected preset, click the Delete Preset button .

Tip: By using filename tokens to define a naming scheme and saving the filename format as a preset, you can reuse the presets in any project without having to manually type a filename.

 

See:

Exporting audio

Exporting to Wave format

Exporting to Windows Media format

Exporting to MP3

Exporting tracks

Exporting clips

Exporting

Creating a project preview file

You can preview projects from the Quick Start screen if you have exported a designated preview file. The preview file may be any supported audio file type (Wave, BWF, MP3, FLAC, OGG, or WaveEX), and can be the entire project or a specific time range.

To create a project preview file:

1.	Open an existing project. Ensure that the project has been saved at least once with the new version of Sonar in order to use required metadata.

2.	If you only want the preview to contain a specific time range, select the desired time range.

3.	Go to File > Export > Audio to open the Export Audio dialog box.

4.	Under File Type, select Wave, Broadcast Wave, MP3, FLAC, OGG, or WAVEX.

5.	Under Channel Format, select Stereo, Mono or Follow Source.

6.	Under Source Category, select Entire Mix.

7.	Under Mix and Render, select Include Project Preview to export a preview file.

8.	Click Export.

The preview file is exported to the project’s \Audio folder.

 

Note: The first export of a project will automatically create a preview file irrespective of the Include Project Preview option.

To preview a recent project:

1.	Go to File > Quick Start Screen to open the Quick Start screen, then select Local Projects.

2.	Click the preview button on a project’s image. A preview button only appears if the project has a designated preview file

 

See:

Exporting