Unitary Project - issue tracking

This page is to track the early issues with Unitary Project. Later we may start using Bugzilla.

Contents

1. UP-1 initial launch
2. UP-2 Save Project grayed-out
3. UP-3 Drag&Drop
4. UP-4 more on Save Project
5. UP-5 Amplify crashes
6. UP-6 Save location and name
7. UP-7 new project save name and location
8. UP-8] last-used location not remembered
9. UP-9 error opening empty project
10. UP-10 timing tests
11. UP-11 MIDI
12. UP-12 recent files list
13. UP-13 Move and Rename
14. UP-14 Recovery
15. UP-15 cannot update a project
16. UP-16 Nyquist EGATs crash
17. UP-17 Projects can be larger on UP-3.0.0
18. UP-18 Closing Audacity is slower with UP-3.0.0
19. UP-19 Easier opening and deleting
20. UP-20 Aliased Projects - Bugs 2188 & 2187
21. UP-21 Backup command
22. UP-22 Import .aup projects
23. UP-23 Macro commands: Save Copy and Save Project2
24. UP-24 Timer Record
25. UP-25 Test disk-space exhaustion
26. UP-26 Stress Tests
27. UP-27
28. UP-28
29. UP-29
30. UP-30

UP-01 - initial launch

initial launch message

On initial launch I got a message asking if I wanted to associate .aup3 files with Audacity to click on for launch.

I never normally see such a message with any new versions.

I don't get this on Mac Catalina

Leland says that this is expected behavior.

UP-02 - Save Project grayed-out

initial launch Save Project grayed-out on Win, Mac & Linux

Launched OK but when I went to Save the empty project (a practice we recommend) the Save Project was grayed-out and unavailable.

This is a regression on 2.4.2 and earlier.

Fixed on 03Jul20

UP-03 - Drag&Drop

Drag&Drop

I can't drag&drop a .aup3 file onto an open Audacity project window. From discussions with Leland I was expecting to be able to.

On Windows I can drag&drop an .aup3 file onto the Audacity app icon on my desktop and it launches - but I still can't drag&drop it onto an open Audacity project

• Drag&Drop of an .aup3 file onto an audacity.exe in Windows Explorer or a desktop shortcut icon for it
• Drag&Drop of an .aup3 file onto an open Audacity Window fails

On Mac I can't drag&drop onto either the Audacity icon in the apps bar or an open Audacity project

• Drag&Drop of an .aup3 file onto an Audacity app in Finder or the Audacity icon in the apps bar
• Drag&Drop of an .aup3 file onto an open Audacity Window fails

On Linux, drag & drop projects are not recognized.

UP-04 - more on Save Project

Once the initial Save As has been made - the for subsequent saves the Save Project is no longer grayed out and I can use it to save.

UP-05 - Amplify crashes

Amplify works on Mac

Amplify works on Linux

Amplify works on W10 - and still does with Audacity 3.0.0 e7fd679

UP-06 - Save location and name

I imported a file with drag&drop from my desktop, when I went to Save the Project I was offered

a) a very unsuitable location "Session Data" folder - should be last used save location or default location if first ever save

b) a rather oddly constructed name ...

had I done that with 2.4.2 it would have offered Niamh's.aup so I was expecting Niamh's.aup3

Windows - but the offered name is left blank, which I prefer. Initial location offered is ...\Documents\Audacity, plus the previously used location is remembered and re-used on next use, as previously in earlier Audacities.

Mac - Location offered id Documents - offered name is left blank.

BUT on Mac it's always Documents after relaunching Audacity. While Audacity remains open the last-used location is remembered, bur is lost when Audacity is closed. See UP-08 below.

Linux - Location offered id Documents - offered name is left blank.

UP-07 - new project save name and location

Saving a new project - odd name and location offered

This time made a short recording an went to save the project

a) I get offered a different inappropriate name - see image

with 2.4.2 this File Name field would be blank for the user to type

b) note that when I click the down arrow I get offered a duplicate of UP1.aup3

Windows

Mac

Linux

UP-08 - last-used location not remembered ?

If I Save a project to a folder location while I have Audacity open and do Save As - I get offered that location

But if I close and reopen Audacity the the offered location is "Session Data" again and not the last-used location from previous use of Audacity.

Windows: it's always Documents after relaunching Audacity. While Audacity remains open the last-used location is remembered, but is lost when Audacity is closed.

Mac it's always Documents after relaunching Audacity. While Audacity remains open the last-used location is remembered, but is lost when Audacity is closed.

Linux - it's always Documents after relaunching Audacity. While Audacity remains open the last-used location is remembered, but is lost when Audacity is closed.

UP-09 - error opening empty project

Mac

On Mac trying to open a saved with File > Open of an empty project results in a crash - with Audacity 3.0.0 e7fd679

On Mac opening an empty project causes an immediate crash - and the spinning beachball-of-death !

Bow works with Audacity 3.0.0 51b3b0f

Linux

Linux can open an empty project.

Windows

works properly on W10 with Audacity 3.0.0 e7fd679

UP-10 - timing tests

further X-platform testing

Some preliminary timing tests on W10 with Phas-1 build

UP-3.0.0 is a little slower than 2.4.2 right now 0 except for MP3 export which seems bang on the money.

Amplify takes more than double the time though.

Test file is a 3-hour stereo audio file

UP-3.0.0

1. Import 3-hour WAV 1:31
2. Amplify 3-hour audio 2:07
3. Export 3-hour WAV 2:16
4. Export as 3-hour MP3 4:36
5. Import 3-hour MP3 2:07

2.4.2

1. Import 3-hour WAV 0:50
2. Amplify 3-hour audio 0.50
3. Export 3-hour WAV 1:30
4. Export as 3-hour MP3 4:35
5. Import 3-hour MP3 1:12

UP-11 - MIDI

MIDI

On both W10 and macOS Catalina I can

• import MIDI files
• play MIDI tracks

UP-12 - recent files list

recent files list

On Mac the Recent Files list is a bit iffy (Steve said the same about Linux)

Also seems iffy on Windows

UP-13 - Move and Rename

Move and Rename

On W10 and mcOS Catalina I can:

• rename a .aup3 file
• move a .aup3 file to a different folder

and in both cases Audacity successfully opens it.

This is GREAT - as this is a tangle with old projects where losers could trip up and lose/damage their projects.

UP-14 - Recovery

Recovery

Testing with a simulated crash.

Windows

Recovery fails - I get a new empty unnamed project opened with no offer of recovery

But I can successfully reopen the project and it tells me its recovered to the last snapshot.

Is this the "new form or recovery" ?

• Peter 06Jul20: I'm thinking yes it is
  • Most users will realize that Audacity has crashed and can then just go and re-open their project (just as they would with Excel and Word). And for any user that just abandons a crashed project and comes back to it many months later and it will still tell 'em it's recovered to the last snapshot.

Mac

Recovery fails - I get a new empty unnamed project opened with no offer of recovery

If I try to re-open the project I get:
>Error Opening Project
>Unable to parse project information.

Linux

Recovery fails:

 > Unable to parse project information.

UP-15 - cannot update a project

Linux

cannot update a project on Linux

On Linux: Attempting to resave a project (to update the saved project) opens a file browser.

Continuing with the save from step to overwrite / update the project gives an assert.

Clicking "Continue" gives the error:
"Could not save project. Perhaps /home/steve/Desktop/test3-reset.aup3
is not writable or the disk is full.

so at present it is not possible to update a project.

Steve: Attempting to update a saved project leaves the project in a state that cannot be reopened. I can provide more details about this if required.

Windows

works properly with Audacity 3.0.0 e7fd679

Mac

On Mac I get an error message when I try to save an updated project - Audacity 3.0.0 e7fd679
Error Saving Projecty
Could not save project perhaps ... is not writable or the disk is full

If I save to a different name the save goes ahead. But I can't reopen it. With Phase-2 Audacity 3.0.0 e7fd679 I can now open the updated project with the different name.

With Audacity 3.0.0 51b3b0f this is still not working - it appears to re-save the changed project, but doesn't ...

• I get an error when I try to open it from Recent Files, it tells me it's been removed from the Recent Files list
• If I open it with File>Open it opens with the original project, with the changes

Worse now with 51b3b0f

there is now much more serious issue with saving a modified project than reported previously For this test have a Finder Window open as well as Audacity side-by-side

1) get some audio 2) File > Save Project > Save Project as say myproject.aup3 3) Observe 3 files appear: myproject.aup3, myproject-shm and myproject-wal 4) Amplify (makes the project "dirty") 5) File > Save Project > Save Project 6) Observe: in Audacity project appears to save - no errors 7) Observe: in Finder myproject.aup3 disappears - leaving myproject-shm and myproject-wal 8) Quit Audacity

Now if the user is just in Audacity and not looking at Finder they have no idea that they've lost their project.

Plus the -shm and -wal are left around as forever detritus (what do these files do by-the-way?).

This all works properly and cleanly on W10.

Leland 06Jul20: This should now be fixed. It should have been a problem on Linux as well. Peter 06Jul20: This definitely not fixed on Mac with Audacity 3.0.0 6c2cd20

• Simpler steps to reproduce
  1. Launch Audacity
  2. Save Project
  3. Cmd+V
  4. Observe: .aup3 project file disappears - but the -wal and -shm files are left behind (and are not removed on quitting Audacity)

Peter

UP-16 - Nyquist EGATs crash

With Phase-2 Audacity 3.0.0 e7fd679 these all now work. I'm guessing that the fix for Amplify crashing also cured all these.

Phase-1 On Windows and Mac most shipped Nyquist effects, generators, analyzers and tools crash Audacity.

The only three that work are

• Tremolo
• Vocoder
• Rhythm track

All above the line effects, generators and analyzers work

Linux - All effects and generators tried so far (including the above three) work correctly.

UP-17 - Projects can be larger on UP-3.0.0

Projects in UP-3.0.0 can be much larger than the equivalent project in 2.4.3

Projects are slightly larger as they develop on 3.0.0 than 2.4.2 - but on exiting Audacity 2.4.2 releases space whereas 3.0.0 does not. "Vacuuming" is what is needed, but when and with what trigger(s)

Leland 06Jul20: The project file should now be about normal after the project is closed. I'll probably want to add a progress dialog.

• Peter 06Jul20: Testing on W10 with Audacity 3.0.0 6c2cd20 confirms that Audacity now releases the not-needed bloat-space on Exit. But this has reverted to being slow again see UP-18

Peter 04Jul20: Saving a project withe 3.0.0 temporarily requires double the disk space as a temporary .bak of the project is created during the save only released when the Save completes. For large projects this could be a problem.

• Leland 06Jul20: Unfortunately, I don't see a way around this. There will always be at least two copies during the save. This is the same for 2.4.2 as well, it's just not as easy to see.

Windows

testing on Audacity 3.0.0 6c2cd20 - the bloat-space is released on exit from Audacity (it is slow though seeUP-18)

Mac

testing on Audacity 3.0.0 6c2cd20 - the bloat-space is released on exit from Audacity (it is much quicker than Windows)

Linux

behavior unknown with Audacity 3.0.0 6c2cd20

Re-test later

we will need to retest later as the UP development project progresses

UP-18 - Closing Audacity is slower with UP-3.0.0

Closing Audacity is slower with UP-3.0.0

A lot of journaling appears to be taking place as the project closes. And this is without "vacuuming" to release unused space see UP17.

This is very noticeable on larger projects (a one-hour mono chirp with a few effects is sufficient).

Peter 03Jul20: Leland made a fix and with Audacity 3.0.0 48287e9 closing Audacity is much quicker, almost instaneous for an already saved project.

Paul 05July20: I believe Leland's fix is not a permanent solution. It simply bypasses the deletion of unused sample blocks, that are still stored in undo states that are being abandoned when the project closes. They occupy space in the database, which is not now reclaimed (as of commit 33210ec8). I believe the proper solution will require the batching of the many deletions of blocks into a transaction. This item should be reopened.

• Peter 05July20: OK Paul so I remarked this as open again with "todo".

Testing on W10 with Audacity 3.0.0 6c2cd20 - this has reverted to being slow again.

Tests similarly on Mac with Audacity 3.0.0 6c2cd20 with the space being properly on Exit(I can't make the second Save as that is the bug that removes the .aup3 file)

But Exit or Quit on Mac is much faster than on W10 taking a mere 3-4 seconds cf. 20-plus seconds on W10 with the same project steps.

• Is this acceptably fast for a one-hour mono project ?

UP-19 - Easier opening and deleting

It's much easier to find projects for opening and for deleting them

I'm finding that just after a couple of days testing the UP is much easier to manage:

• Open: only one thing to look for, you don't get confused trying to "Open" the data folder
• Delete: also only one thing to look for - and on W10 at least the folders and files are always separated so tour aup could be a long way away from its data folder (which could lead to fumble-fingers trouble)

UP-20 - Aliased Projects

It is possible that some users may still have projects that are relying on aliased files - and note that ODL has been removed from 3.0.0

• P1 Bug #2188 ENH: No warning is given on project opening that the project is not self-contained and relies on aliased file(s
• P1 Bug #2187 - Silent crash (with no error message) when using a missing aliased audio file

James wrote by email: The current bug about it still applies. There are good chances we will fix the problem for 3.0.0.

1. would involve a silent copy-in. We would not need to alert the user.
2. would tell the user about the error.

They would not need to go back to 2.4.2 to correct the problem. There is though the possibility that the bug stays open (unless QA raise it to P1).

Peter replied: I am thus unsure what to do about these two bugs.

As we are going to have a major d/b transition it would be good if we could fix these for 3.0.0

But I'm suspecting that by now there may be very few aliased project - so maybe it's not worth a lot of effort. I'm very undecided right now - but I'm going to log them in this UP-issues page just to keep some focus on them.

UP-21 - Backup command

new Backup Project command

In 3.0.0 Save Compressed Copy of Project and Save Compressed Copy of Project

QA discussed the Backup Project issue and rapidly reached agreement.

1) QA likes the short form of the command File > Save Project > Backup Project

2) And QA agrees that there should be no overwrite of backup projects (or any other projects with the Backup command).

Accordingly the current error message used for the deprecated Save Lossless... and Save Compressed... can be used as-is:

As this was discussed openly on the devel mailing list and no-one else chipped-in, I think we are now good to go with this - so please (QA says) go ahead and implement this.

UP-22 Import .aup projects

We need an import utility for .aup projects from Audacity 2.4.2 and earlier.

See UP-20 Aliased Projects

UP-23 - Macro commands

• the new backup Macro command "Save Copy" offers a file with extension .aup and not .aup3
• the existing Macro command "Save Project2" offers a file with extension .aup and not .aup3
• The new backup Macro command "Save Copy" appears to effectively be a duplicate of "Save Project2"
  • Leland 07Jul20: it’s really not a duplicate (I had the feeling at first too). The difference is that once “Save Project2” writes out the new file, that file becomes the active one. With “Save Backup” the original file remains the active one.

UP-24 - Timer Record

Timer Record works fine.

Tested with Automatic save and Automatic Export

UP-25 - Test disk-space exhaustion

check that disk-space exhaustion error traps still work properly.

Paul indicates that this may have changed with SQLite 3.0.0 - so needs re-checking.

• Recording
• Save Project
• File Export

UP-26 Stress Tests

• Very long projects
• Multi-track projects with lots of tracks
• Simultaneous playback and recording
  • James requested: Can you do some testing of play-through record please Peter? The point there is that we are both reading and writing the database, so there might possibly (low probability) be new issues around lock files. It's unlikely, but let's find out. So for worst results, play back a mix of 4 stereo channels, and record stereo and at the highest sampling rate your card offers at the same time. If we're unlucky this might get SQLite in a twist. It might try to do things in big batches and lock us out for too long.
  • This worked fine on W10 with my Edirol UA-1EX