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File management

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florisdejonge

13 Apr, 2022 06:08 PM

Hi all,

This might be a somewhat mundane question, but I'd like to know what's the best way to reorder my Nodebox files and folders? I've got dozens of files in a folder structure which has grown quite organically, but I'm losing track of what I've done when, where and how.

Therefore I'd like to restructure them, but a lot of files point to code libraries and when moved or renamed will result in an error message when opened. And these only seem to work again when the path to the library is restored.

I am considering opening these files, removing the libraries, move them, open them again and get the error message that a certain library can't be found and relink them. But this seems a somewhat indirect and tedious approach, and I am wondering whether a better solution is possible.

Kind regards,
Floris de Jonge

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by john on 13 Apr, 2022 09:22 PM

   

   Floris,

   Here is what I do to avoid the library relinking problem...

   Whenever I have a Nodebox project that requires an external library I always put it inside its own folder, option-drag COPIES of the library file(s) from the Cartan Node Library folder (or wherever) and then link to those local copies instead of the original.

   This way every project with dependencies always has those dependencies as local files within its own folder. I can then move that folder around at will and nothing ever breaks.

   For the stuff I post on Instagram, I always use one folder for each project whether I am using libraries or not. That way I can also place other dependencies (like CSV files) and output (like MP4s produced by the project) inside that same folder. I always have one folder per project, each one self-contained.

   The larger problem of information management for hundreds of projects (I probably have well north of 500), naming them and grouping them into parent folders so that I can find them later, is difficult and subjective - each person must find his or her own way.

   One trick I have: if ever I have a hard time locating a particular project, I remember my first guess as to what the file name might be and where it might be located. Then, when I finally find it, I rename its project folder to whatever my first guess was and place it where I initially thought it would be. Since I am a creature of habit, the next time I hunt for it I will probably make the same assumptions and find it right away.

   Hope that helps!

   John

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2. 2 Posted by florisdejonge on 14 Apr, 2022 07:34 PM

   

   Thanks for your reply John. That would mean you have a lots of copies of the libraries, correct? What I did is that I made one folder with all the code libraries next to folders of categories with folders of projects. But now, when I would change the path of the file, I would get the error message. I recall I've shared files on the forum accidentally without the proper libraries and you were able to fix it and reupload the file. How do you go about this?

   Floris

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3. Support Staff 3 Posted by john on 14 Apr, 2022 09:37 PM

   

   Yes, it does mean I have lots of copies of the library files. But this is not an issue; they are tiny and I almost never need to update them. Just set and forget and all those broken dependency hassles are gone forever.

   When you or someone else on the forum posts an ndbx file without a linked library, the ndbx file will not open. To fix it, I have to open the ndbx file in a text editor and modify it by hand. The easiest way to do that is to simply remove the line(s) which refer to the link(s). Fortunately, these are always located at the top of the file, so they are easy to find.

   I can then simply put the ndbx file in a folder, drag in new copies of whatever library files are needed, launch the ndbx file, and relink those local copies from within Nodebox. It only takes a minute.

   John

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4. 4 Posted by florisdejonge on 16 Apr, 2022 06:01 PM

   

   Thanks John. That's what I was looking for. Now I can reorder files and folders without having to be afraid to corrupt a file.

   Floris

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