Enormous Cache files

[OldyButGoody]

I back up my hard disk drive every night using CCC (Carbon copy cloner) by cloning the partition I’m booted into. I’ve been using Mixpad daily. Not saving files, but listening to them. The files are 172 MB 128kbps MP3 that import as .wav files into Mixpad.

I’ve been noticing every day the image clone is becoming larger and larger. I looked at the~/library/cache directory. There is a file in there called Default Project mpdp.Project Data.

Today the file was a whopping 180GB!

What on earth can possibly be taking up 180GB in a cache file?

Can this file be trimmed down to size somehow? It can’t just be deleted. I found that out the hard way. After deleting and opening Mixpad, It doesn’t play through the internal Mac speakers any more and there is no option for selecting it in preferences.

HELLLPPPP!

[Fred28]

The only way to do that is to go to PREFERENCES > AUDIO Tab > At the bottom to you should see a Delete Unused Cache Files Now, click on that and make sure to set the dropdown on top to Delete everything on Exit.

 

[OldyButGoody]

Fred: thanks for your quick response.

Under preferences, there is no audio tab. And I can't find what you are describing under any of the other preference tabs.

Preference tabs I'm seeing: Deneral-Metronome-Messages-Mouse-Project-MIDI Controller-Clips

Mixed 7.15 Mac OS X 10.15.7

[OldyButGoody]

Found a work-around for this issue. First of all, Default Project.mpdp.ProjectData is a directory, not a file. Whenever an audio file is opened in Mixpad, 4 files are generated in this directory the first time the file is opened: (number starting at 0 and incrementing by one for each opened file).aud, .audioinfo, .grf and Recover.mpdp-recover. The last recover file (I believe) is used if there is a crash while working in the application for recovery purposes so as not to lose all work up to that point. The recover file disappears when Mixpad is closed regularly. Subsequent opening of the same audio file uses the .aud, .audioinfo and .grf files generated originally, if they are present and the original audio file opened has not been changed.

 

I think the only files that need to be kept are whatever files are associated with whatever is currently being worked on in an open Mixpad session. The other files can be deleted.

 

In my particular case, I was listening to files that are three hours long. I like to use Mixpad because I can recognize talking, commercials, public service announcements, weather reports etc. and skip over them. Generally, I listen to about an hour of each different show at a time. So to mark my place in the file without changing or saving it, I modify the original file name with @HH_MM_SS_DDD. That way I can re-open the file later, add a bookmark, click on the bookmark and play from that point on. The problem with that is Mixpad sees the file as a new file because of the different file name, and generates 4 new files every time I re-open the file. Once I’m finished listening to each three hour file, I delete it.

 

It might be better for me to use some other program besides Mixpad for what I’m doing, I’m not sure. Maybe WavePad, which I also have, though not sure it would be any better.

Edited April 27, 2021 by OldyButGoody
clarification

[Fred28]

You are correct, I send you information for WavePad, my bad.  Thank you for the information you shared and you are correct that is the way Mixpad behaves, and yes every time you change the name MixPad will see it as a new file and therefore it will keep creating the files you mentioned again and again every time you change the name.