Projects & Files

A NeonDAW project is one .neon file that carries everything: tracks, takes, samples and plugin settings. This chapter covers creating, opening, saving and closing projects.

Create a new project

Choose File > New Project or press ⌘N.

One project is open at a time. A new project replaces the current session, so if you have unsaved changes, NeonDAW asks before it clears the deck.

A fresh project starts the same way as first launch: TRACK 1 plus the chord pad, ready to play. See Getting Started.

Open a project

Three ways in:

• Choose File > Open or press ⌘O and pick a .neon file.
• Double-click a .neon file in Finder.
• Drop a .neon file on the NeonDAW icon.

Opening replaces the current session, so unsaved changes prompt a confirmation first.

Open Recent

File > Open Recent lists your last ten projects, newest first. Pick one to jump straight back in, or choose Clear Menu to empty the list.

If a listed project has been moved or deleted, NeonDAW tells you and drops it from the list.

Save and Save As

Press ⌘S to save. The first save asks for a name and a location, starting in your projects folder.

An amber dot next to the project name in the transport bar means there are unsaved changes. Save, and the dot goes away.

Renaming a project

Press ⇧⌘S (File > Save As) and give the project a new name. The session follows the new file from then on. The old file stays where it was, so Save As is also how you keep versions.

What a .neon file contains

A .neon project is a package: a folder that Finder shows as a single file. Everything the project needs lives inside it:

• The arrangement: tracks, clips, notes, automation, tempo and loop settings.
• Every audio take you recorded and every movie on a video track.
• Samples you imported for the drum machine.
• The mix, and the saved state of every instrument and effect, third-party plugins included.

Because it is all one file, a project can be copied, backed up or moved to another Mac and it opens complete.

Opening at launch

With Open the last project turned on in Settings > General, NeonDAW starts in the project you last saved or opened, like every DAW.

Hold ⇧ while the app launches to skip that once. Handy on the rare day a project refuses to load.

If nothing opens, or the setting is off, you land in the starter session instead.

Your projects folder

Pick a home for your projects in Settings > General > PROJECTS. It is where Save and Open start out. Projects can still live anywhere you like.

If you never pick one, your first save sets it.

Closing and quitting

The window's red close button, or ⌘W, closes the project, not just the window. Unsaved changes bring up a confirmation first. Click the Dock icon afterwards and NeonDAW comes back with a fresh session.

Quitting works the standard Mac way: unsaved changes get the Save, Don't Save or Cancel prompt.