Specifications

Chapter 16: DigiBase 293
If a volume or folder has not been indexed, it is in-
dexed automatically the first time it is opened in a
DigiBase browser. Volumes or folders containing
a lot of media files can take a long time to index.
For this reason, you may want to manually index
specific volumes or files prior to starting a project
to help expedite workflow.
Indexing while Browsing
The first time you open a Volume browser for a
volume or folder that has never been indexed,
Pro Tools automatically begins to fill the database
for that level of the volume. Files and folders ap-
pear in the browser Items List, along with metadata
in the columns for each item. Indexing continues
until you either close the browser, or until that
folder is completely indexed.
The next time you open that browser, metadata for
items that have already been indexed is visible im-
mediately. If the browser or folder was closed be-
fore indexing was complete, or if the contents of
the folder have changed since the last time it was
browsed, Pro Tools automatically updates the da-
tabase the next time it is opened. This way, the da-
tabase is always up to date for the folder you are
browsing. (View the Task Manager to see current
activity.)
Indexing while Browsing saves time because it
only fills the database for items on the level of the
volume that you are currently browsing. For exam-
ple, if you are browsing the root level of the vol-
ume, it indexes only the folders and files on the
root level. If you open a folder, Pro Tools indexes
just the items in that folder. As a result, a database
is only indexed for the parts of the volume that you
have browsed. However, searches are faster and
more complete when a volume is already com-
pletely indexed.
Manual Indexing
Manual indexing fills in all missing data, and up-
dates changed data for selected folders and all of
their sub-folders.
To update the index for a folder and all sub-folders:
1 Select the item in a DigiBase browser Items
List.
2 Choose Update Database for Selected from the
Browser menu.
To update the index for an entire volume:
1 Select the volume to update in the Workspace
browser.
2 Choose Update Database for Selected from the
Browser menu.
Last Indexed Date Display
The Last Indexed column shows the date that the
index for that folder and all of its sub-folders was
updated. Keep in mind that individual sub-folders
may have been updated more recently.
Automatic Updating for Pro Tools Actions
Whenever Pro Tools adds, deletes, or modifies a
file on a volume or in a session, the appropriate da-
tabase is immediately updated to reflect the
change.
Changes that are made with Windows
Explorer or the Mac Finder (such as
copying or moving files) are not tracked
by Pro Tools and are only indexed if the
necessary folder is browsed or if a
manual index is performed.