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Media

Media files (audio, video, images) stay on your computer. Samba stores paths to those files in the project - preferably relative paths under the project Media/ folder.

This keeps shows portable across machines that share the same folder layout (for example via Dropbox), and it matches how cloud projects work: structure syncs; bytes do not.

Section titled “Recommended workflow”
  1. File -> Save Project so the project folder and Media/ exist
  2. Add media with Add -> Add Audio file, Add Video file, or Add Image file, or drop files onto a track / empty area
  3. Prefer files that already live under Media/, or let Samba copy them there when prompted

Typical layout:

MyShow/
  MyShow.samba
  Media/
    Opening/
      bed.wav
    Act 2/
      film.mp4

Timeline with media

Layer types

Section titled “Layer types”
Add menu / action Layer kind
Add Audio file Audio layer
Add Video file Video layer
Add Image file Image layer
Camera Layer Live camera input layer

Tracks can hold multiple layers. See Tracks and layers.

File outside Media

Section titled “File outside Media”

If you add a file that is not under the project Media/ folder, Samba asks:

Choice Meaning
Copy to Media (recommended) Copies into Media/<track name>/ so peers and other machines can use the same relative path
Keep original path Keeps an absolute path; often works only on this PC
Cancel Do not add the file

For cloud shows and shared Dropbox folders, Copy to Media is the safe default.

Missing files

Section titled “Missing files”

If a clip path is not found:

  • The clip shows a red tint and the label Missing
  • If the file is a Dropbox placeholder that is still downloading, Samba can show Waiting for Dropbox instead
  • Cues still run - missing media does not remove markers from the show
  • Put the file back at the same relative Media/ path, wait for Dropbox to finish, or relink in Media Manager

Collect all media files

Section titled “Collect all media files”

File -> Collect all media files copies used media into the project Media folder so the show package is self-contained for handoff or backup.

Use this before you zip a show folder or move it to another drive when some clips still pointed outside Media/.

Cloud and shared folders

Section titled “Cloud and shared folders”

On a cloud project:

  • Everyone keeps media locally (Dropbox, shared drive, or mirrored folder tree)
  • Samba never uploads audio or video bytes to the cloud server
  • Matching relative paths (Media/Track name/file.wav) keep Missing counts low

See Cloud projects and Collaboration.

Section titled “Related”