Your projects on every computer

A project in Outro can be on every computer you sign in on. Sign in to your Outro account on a second computer and the projects you made on the first are in the list there, with their tasks, notes, phase, group, color and log. Change something on one computer and the other shows it. If a computer is offline, its changes wait and join the rest when it's back.

Outro moves what you write in a project: its tasks, notes and log. It doesn't move the files in the project's folder. Those stay on the computer they're on, and you ask another of your computers for them when you want them. Get files from your other computers covers that.

This is separate from sharing a project with another person. A project is on your computers whether or not anyone else is in it.

Projects stay in step on every Plan. Getting files from another computer is part of the Creator and Pro Plans.

What goes on every computer

Outro uploads these to Outro Cloud, the online service your account signs in to, so every computer shows them:

• The project's name, BPM and key.
• The lists and statuses, and the tasks with their subtasks, comments and tags.
• The names of the files attached to tasks. The files stay where they are.
• The notes, with their tags and pins.
• Your genre, DAW, color, phase and group for the project. Phases and groups go by name. If a computer has no phase or group with that name, Outro makes one.
• The sessions in your log.
• Reference tracks you saved as a link or a name you typed.
• The main bounce, when it's a track you uploaded on Feedback.

Feedback is already in Outro Cloud under your account, so it's on every computer too.

These stay on the computer they're on:

• The project's folder link and every file in the folder: audio, project files, stems and samples.
• Where a file sits on your drive, and the plugins installed on the computer.
• Reference track audio files, and a main bounce that's a file in your folder.
• Goals, templates and your other settings.
• The Demo Project.

In a shared project, your genre, DAW, color, phase, group and log are still yours alone. Your other computers show them. Collaborators don't.

Synced and Not synced

A project that's saved to Outro Cloud and shown on your computers is Synced. A project that isn't saved there lives only on the computer that holds it, and is Not synced. Outro says which in three places:

• The Overview line under the project's title. It names the computers, the one you're on first, for example "Synced to Studio PC and Laptop." While a computer is still downloading the project, it reads "Synced to Studio PC. Downloading to Laptop." A project that isn't synced reads "Not synced. Only on Studio PC." The line is there for every project, and when you're signed in, a Computers link beside it opens Settings on Computers.
• Project settings, under On your computers.
• Settings, on Computers, which counts your projects by state for each of your computers.

A project is Not synced when:

• You turned Sync this project off for it.
• It stayed on a computer after you signed out. Keep your projects after you sign out covers that.
• It's too large for Outro Cloud.
• It's the Demo Project. The Overview line says "Not synced. Demo projects never upload."

A shared project is always synced.

Turn it on

The first time Outro opens with you signed in, a window asks Put your projects on every computer. It says what goes up: each project's tasks, notes, Phase, Group, color and log. It says what stays on the computer: audio, project files, folder paths and plugins. It says Demo projects never upload, and that nothing uploads until you press Got it. It also says you can stop syncing any project, and a last line says "Update Outro on your other computers. Older builds don't show these projects."

The window has two buttons:

• Got it puts every project on every computer. Outro uploads the projects one at a time, and a row says Uploading until its project is up.
• Choose projects lets you pick. Untick a project to leave it unsynced. Each row says Uploads or Stays here, and a line counts them, such as "3 of 9 will upload". Select all and Select none tick or untick every project. Back returns to the first page, and Got it finishes.

A few things to know:

• The window waits until the sign-in screen, the Walkthrough, any Terms window and Settings are out of the way.
• It asks once on each computer for each account. A second computer asks again.
• Choose projects lists only projects that could upload. The Demo Project, projects too large for Outro Cloud, snapshots and projects already on every computer, such as shared projects, aren't in it. The window says they never upload.
• If you closed the window, Computers in Settings has the same choice. A note at the top reads "Your projects are not on your other computers." with Got it and Choose projects.
• Projects you make later go on every computer on their own. If you're offline when you make one, it uploads when you're back.

Sign in on another computer

1. Install Outro on the other computer. Download Outro and Install it in Getting started have the steps.
2. Sign in to the same account. Sign in to your Outro account has the steps.

Within about a minute, All projects lists every project, each with its phase, group and color. Then each project's board downloads in the background, two at a time, the one you worked on most recently first. A project you open goes to the front.

Until a board arrives, its row says Downloading. Tasks, Notes and Files show "Downloading Night Drive" with "Tasks and notes appear when they arrive. Projects you open move to the front." and a count such as "3 of 9 projects". The count is projects, not tasks.

The project's folder isn't linked on the new computer, because Outro doesn't copy your files. Link the folder there so Files shows what's in it. Link your DAW project folder covers linking.

The new computer shows Put your projects on every computer too. Click Got it there so the projects you make on that computer go on your other computers as well.

Update Outro on every computer. Older builds don't show these projects. Updates covers updating.

If a project is already in Outro Cloud

If you copy Outro's data from one computer to another instead of signing in, the same project can exist in both places, changed in both. Outro never merges the two. It adds the copied project as its own, named with the name of the computer you're on, such as "Night Drive (from Laptop)", and the project from Outro Cloud comes in under its own name. A strip says Made a copy and that Feedback stays with the original. Click Got it to clear it.

See where your projects stand

On All projects, a mark shows what's moving or what's unusual:

• Uploading: the project's first upload is running.
• Downloading: the project is listed here and its board is still arriving.
• Too large: the project is over Outro Cloud's limits, so it isn't synced. Too large has the numbers.

A project that isn't synced has no mark of its own. The Overview line and Project settings say so. Synced and Not synced shows where to look.

A project you share with other people also has a Shared chip, and a read-only copy has a Snapshot chip. A project only you are in has neither.

At the right of the transport bar, a readout says where your projects stand across your computers. A 6px dot and the words:

The readout Not synced is about your projects before you press Got it. The mark Not synced yet on a task or a note is about one change that hasn't uploaded, not about a project.

Click the readout to open Settings on Computers. A window narrower than 1000 pixels hides the readout, and Computers in Settings still counts your projects.

The toolbar over an open project has its own readout: Synced, Syncing, Offline or Not signed in, with how many changes haven't uploaded. Live changes in Shared Projects covers it.

Changes show on your other computers

While a project is open and Outro is in front, a change from another computer arrives within a few seconds. A project you don't have open updates about once a minute. New projects, and changes to a project's phase, group, color or log, show up within about a minute.

If two computers change different things, both changes stay. If they change the same field of a task, the last change wins. A note saved on two computers opens the comparison panel. When both computers changed the same note shows it.

Work offline

In a project only you are in, you can keep working without a connection, and edit as well as add. Outro applies each change on the computer at once and sends it when you're back.

• A strip under the transport bar says "You're offline. Changes are saved here and upload when you're back." Try again checks for a connection now.
• Each change is marked Not synced yet until it goes up, and the readout counts them: Offline · 2 not synced yet.
• When you're back online, Outro sends your changes first, in the order you made them. Then it reads what changed on your other computers.
• Outro merges field by field. A task you ticked on one computer and renamed on another keeps both changes.
• Feedback needs a connection. It isn't saved for later.

When both computers changed the same thing

If two computers changed the same field before either one uploaded, Outro uses the newer change and says so. A strip under the transport bar reads Used the newer change. It says what changed and shows both values, the one Outro used and the one it replaced, so nothing is replaced without you seeing it. For example, it says two of your computers renamed a task, and which name Outro used.

When several fields were in conflict, the strip says how many things changed, lists up to three of them by name with both values, and says how many more.

Click Got it to clear a strip. At most three show at once, and the rest wait their turn.

A note you deleted offline that was changed on another computer meanwhile is not deleted. A strip says it was changed on another computer.

When both computers changed the same note

If you saved a note on one computer and on another before either was uploaded, the note opens the comparison panel. It reads This note changed on another computer and asks you to choose which version to use. Your version and the other one sit side by side, each marked with when it was edited, and the panel has three choices:

• Use the version from the computer you're on. It's saved over the other one.
• Use the other computer's version. The version you made here is discarded.
• Keep both uses the other computer's version in the note and saves yours as a new note named like "Verse ideas (your version)".

Outro Cloud doesn't say which of your computers saved the other version, so the panel says "the other computer" and doesn't name it. It's the same panel as in a shared project. Notes in a shared project covers the rest.

If Outro Cloud stops accepting this computer's sign-in, your changes wait the same way and go up after you sign in again. Sign in again covers it.

In a project you share with other people, offline works differently: you can add things but not change what's already there. Work offline in Shared Projects covers it.

Sync this project

Sync this project is on for every project that can sync. Turn it off for a project you want on one computer only. The project then isn't synced: your other computers get a read-only snapshot, and Outro Cloud removes your own details for it.

1. Open the project and click the gear in the toolbar to open Project settings.
2. Under On your computers, turn off Sync this project.
3. Click Stop syncing to confirm. The window is titled "Stop syncing Night Drive?" and says your other computers get a read-only snapshot of the project as it is now, which you can delete there, and that you can turn Sync this project back on to bring the project back.

You can also hover the project's row on All projects, click the three dots at the end and choose Stop syncing. It asks the same question.

What happens next:

• The computer you turned it off on keeps the project, and you can edit it. The Overview line reads "Not synced. Only on Studio PC." Project settings says Not synced and offers to turn Sync this project on again.
• Each of your other computers turns the project into a read-only snapshot, a copy you can look at but can't change. A strip under the transport bar says "Not synced on Studio PC. This is a read-only Snapshot. Turn on Sync this project there to bring the project back." Delete snapshot removes it from that computer. Snapshots covers them.
• Outro Cloud removes your own details for the project: genre, DAW, color, phase, group, log and reference links. The computer you turned it off on still has them. If you turn Sync this project on again, Outro uploads them again.
• To bring the project back, turn the switch on, or choose Sync this project in the project's row menu on All projects. Your other computers turn the snapshot back into the live project.

When the switch can't be used, Project settings says why in its place:

• A shared project: "Shared projects are always synced."
• The Demo Project: "Demo projects are never synced."
• A project that's too large: "Too large for Outro Cloud. It isn't synced."
• You're offline: "Go online to change this."
• The project's first upload is running: "This project is uploading. Try again when it finishes."
• You're signed out: "Sign in to sync this project."

Too large

Outro Cloud has limits on one project's size: 5,000 tasks, 1,000 notes, 256 KB in one note and 8 MB of notes in all. A project over any of them isn't synced. Its row says Too large, a strip says Too large for Outro Cloud with the project's name, and your other projects are not affected.

Delete a project

Delete project… is in Project settings under Danger zone, and in the row menu on All projects. For a synced project only you are in, it asks Delete from every computer?: "This permanently deletes “Night Drive” from Outro Cloud and from every computer you sign in on. Files on your drive are not touched. This can't be undone." Type the project's name and click Delete from every computer.

The dialog adds that if another computer has changes that haven't uploaded, it keeps them in a snapshot. That computer's strip says the project was deleted on another computer and that the changes are still in its read-only snapshot. Your other computers drop the project from their lists.

For a project that isn't synced, the window reads Delete this project? and deletes it from the computer you're on. A shared project has Delete for everyone. Delete for everyone covers it.

The Computers tab

Open Settings and click Computers, between Preferences and Phases. Signed out, it asks you to sign in to sync your projects. Signed in, it has these parts:

• This computer holds Computer name, filled in with the computer's own name. Type another and click Save name. A name is 1 to 64 characters. "Only you see computer names. Collaborators never do." The same name shows under Signed-in devices on your account page at getoutro.app.
• Your computers lists every computer signed in to your account, the one you're on marked. Each row has its system, Windows, Mac or Linux, and when it was last used: Active now, "12 min ago", "3 h ago" or "2 days ago". Remove a computer on the web opens your account page.
• Projects on each computer lists your computers, the one you're on first, with a count under each name, such as "4 synced · 2 not synced · 1 downloading", leaving out any count that is zero and adding "Snapshots" when the computer has some. Show projects opens that computer's projects with their state, and a filter narrows them to Synced, Not synced, Downloading or Snapshot. Hide projects closes the list. A Not synced project shows only on the computer that holds it, and Demo projects aren't listed.
• Signing out has the Keep my projects after I sign out switch. Keep your projects after you sign out covers it.
• Files from your other computers says what Outro lists about your files and when they move. Get files from your other computers covers it.

To take a computer off your account when you can't get to it, open your account on getoutro.app, find it under Signed-in devices and click Revoke. Its file list and any files it was sending or waiting for go with it. Your computers in Account & updates has the steps.

Keep your projects after you sign out

By default, signing out takes your synced projects off the computer. Projects that aren't synced stay. Outro removes a project only after Outro Cloud has just confirmed it holds that project, and it comes back when you sign in to the same account. Keep my projects after I sign out changes that: your projects stay on the computer.

There are two places to choose it:

• Settings, on Computers, under Signing out. It's a switch, off by default, and it applies to the computer you're on. Its hint says "Signing out removes your synced projects. Turn on to keep them." and, when it's on, "Your projects stay after you sign out, as Not synced. Shared projects become read-only Snapshots."
• The sign-out window, as a checkbox with the same words, for that sign-out only: "Just for this sign-out. Change the default in Settings, Computers." It starts from the switch.

With the choice on, when you sign out:

• Every project stays on the computer, editable and Not synced. The window says "Your project stays here, editable and no longer synced." or, for several, "Your 12 projects stay here, editable and no longer synced."
• A shared project becomes a read-only snapshot, with your own details for it still in it: genre, DAW, color, phase, group, progress and log. The window says "Midnight Tape, shared with others, stays here as a read-only Snapshot." Several are counted: "3 shared projects stay here as read-only Snapshots."
• Changes that hadn't uploaded stay in the project here and never reach Outro Cloud.
• Nothing is deleted from Outro Cloud.

If you're offline, nothing is removed either way, and the window says "Outro can't reach Outro Cloud, so Studio PC stays signed in there until you remove it at getoutro.app."

Sign in again as the same account

When you sign in again as the same account, your cloud projects come down as usual, and each project that stayed on the computer joins your account again. If a project with the same name is already in Outro Cloud, Outro adds yours as a copy named "Night Drive (before sign-out)". It never merges the two. A project with no match goes up under its own name.

One strip under the transport bar says Made 12 copies, or Made a copy for one. It says Outro Cloud already has these projects, so your copies were added next to them, named like "Paper Cranes (before sign-out)", and that Feedback stays with the originals. Click Got it to clear it.

Sign in as a different account

The Put your projects on every computer window opens as it does for any new account. When projects from the old account are on the computer, it adds a line saying how many stay here and aren't synced until you choose them, with the old account's email. Choose projects lists them as Stays here and starts them unticked. Tick one and press Got it to upload it to the new account. Nothing from the old account uploads until you do.

What Collaborators see

In a project you share, your computers count as one person. Collaborators see one row for you, whichever of your computers have the files, and never see a computer's name. Computer names are for you only.

In Compare folders, you can see which of your computers has a file. Nobody else can. Your computers in Compare shows how. A Transfer someone sends you can be downloaded on each of your computers. Receive files covers that.

Get files from your other computers

Outro lists the files in a project's folder on each of your computers, by name, size and fingerprint. When another computer has files this one doesn't, Missing here says so, and Get files asks that computer to send them. It sends them on its own while Outro is running and signed in there. Files only arrive: nothing on the computer that gets them is deleted. Get files from your other computers in Files has the steps.