Why can't DP import/open MIDI files anymore unless lowercase

[mhschmieder]

I think I first noticed this problem a month or two ago, but wrote it off as I wasn't positive I had accessed the specific MIDI files before, but was unable to detect a lock on them.

This is time-sensitive; I need this to work this very second, but have to move on vs. losing productivity and will just have to find other sources for some jazz guitar fills as I'll get nothing done tonight if I try to resolve the problem, and am also convinced I won't succeed (based on previous attempts).

I have a gazillion MIDI pattern files from TWIDDLY.BITS that use upper-case ".MID" as the file extension instead of ".mid". As of some recent update to DP, these will no longer drag/drop or even directly open or load. Yet they are fine, not locked, and work in QuickTime etc.

If I rename one of them to ".mid", it can be dragged/dropped and opened/loaded in DP 9.

I'm unwilling to take the risk on botching up a Unix command-line attempt to batch rename all of my MIDI files that have upper-case extensions, so am wondering if anyone has run into this and found a solution in DP settings (I checked but found nothing).

[frankf]

If you're using OS X 10 or greater, you can try this:
http://osxdaily.com/2015/05/28/batch-re ... -x-finder/

I use Better Finder Rename
http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinde ... grade.html

Try them on a few files first. If all goes well, do the lot of them.


Frank Ferrucci

[bayswater]

What happens if you go to the Get Info page for one of them and change the default application for opening ".MID" files to DP?

[bayswater]

.. another thought - does this happen a lot? Did you format your drive using the "case-sensitive" option in DiskUtility?

[stubbsonic]

Just noticed a similar thing with .WAV vs .wav files.

My Zoom H2n always capitalizes it's file extensions: MP3, WAV, etc.

DP won't let me drag & drop .WAV files unless they are switched to .wav

Not a big deal, just thought I'd mention it. I'm tempted to write to Zoom and ask them to change it, as I don't have any other apps that produce extensions with caps. Perhaps that's an MS-DOS thing?

[Phil O]

Easy fix with Frank's suggestion. I use the finder batch thing a lot. Works great.

Phil

[mhschmieder]

Thanks for the great suggestions, and also for bringing up that the case sensitivity issue is not relegated just to MIDI files.

I might have tried one of those options a few years back. I can't remember how so many of the files ended up upper-case anymore.

Get Info can be interesting, and dangerous. If I am quickly auditioning a MIDI file, I do NOT want Digital Performer to auto-launch, but rather QuickTime (if anything). My lower-case ".mid" files were assigned to QT using Get Info, at one point. I will probably make sure once again tat upper-case ".MID" files are as well.

The batch utilities sound like the best route. Although I'm a software engineer, I don't DARE write my own command line scripts for stuff as important and hard to verify as audio production oriented files, as it would be too hard and time-consuming to verify the results.

With software development, it is fairly easy and quick to verify no side effects of incorrect command-line usage, or to back it out quickly. Much smaller number -- and types -- of files overall, and easy to check with many tools vs. requiring (in most cases) direct verification in actual real-world audio project contexts (and many files are orphaned and not used yet, and thus are hard to verify until it's too late to find an uncorrupted backup).

[philbrown]

Just noticed a similar thing with .WAV vs .wav files.

My Zoom H2n always capitalizes it's file extensions: MP3, WAV, etc.

DP won't let me drag & drop .WAV files unless they are switched to .wav

Not a big deal, just thought I'd mention it. I'm tempted to write to Zoom and ask them to change it, as I don't have any other apps that produce extensions with caps. Perhaps that's an MS-DOS thing?

I get large Zoom/WAV files every week and have never had a problem with DP8 drag and drop. Can't comment on DP9. Sorry for the off-topic, I just thought I'd address this side-issue.

[mhschmieder]

Not really off-topic. Seems the case-sensitivity issue with file extensions crept in with DP9. I too do not remember a problem with DP8.