Add media
ArenaDirector plays media from a library, which you build by adding folders. ArenaDirector indexes those folders and picks up changes in them, but it never copies or moves your files.
Open the Library view. The Folders list is at the top of the sidebar.
Add a folder
- Select + next to Folders.
- Type a Name for the folder, for example
Sound effects. - Use Browse… to set the Path. If Name is empty, the folder's name fills it.
- Select Add and check.
The folder appears in the list, and the check starts immediately in the background. While it runs, the row shows Checking….
If the library has no folders, the table shows No media yet with + Add folder.
For the file types ArenaDirector indexes, see Media formats.
Folder rows
Each row shows the folder name, the number of files and one state line:
| State line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Checked Oct 18, 09:12 | The last check finished at this time. |
| Checking… | A check is running. |
| Never checked | The folder has never been indexed. |
| Not connected | The path does not exist right now, for example because the drive is unplugged. |
| No path on this computer | The folder has no path on this computer. |
The last two states also show a warning icon. All media at the top of the list shows every folder together. Select a folder to show only its files.
Keep the index current
Right-click a folder, or select ⋯ on its row, to open the folder menu.
- Check now indexes that folder again.
- The refresh icon next to Folders checks all folders for changes.
ArenaDirector does not watch your folders for changes while it runs. If a folder changes while the app is closed, ArenaDirector finds the change at the next start or the next check. It does test each folder path every few seconds, so an unplugged drive shows Not connected while the app runs.
A folder is not connected
If you select a folder that is not connected, a banner above the table says so and shows how many files cannot play. The table dims that folder's files.
- Check again tests the path again and checks the folder if the drive is back.
- Change path… sets a new path for the folder.
If your media is on a drive with a different mount path at each event, use Change path… in the folder menu or on the banner, then Save path. The folder keeps its cues, tags and history, which removing it and adding it again would not.
Show a folder in Finder
Show in Finder in the folder menu opens the folder. On Windows it is Show in Explorer.
Remove a folder
Remove… in the folder menu removes the folder and all its entries, with their cues and tags, from the library after you confirm. The files on disk do not change.
Add one file quickly
Drag a file onto a hot button. ArenaDirector adds it to the library and analyzes it immediately instead of putting it in the background queue. See Build a hot button.
The playback block still applies: if media is playing to an output, the app adds the file but the analysis waits.