A project consists of different types of objects that are organized in a hierarchic folder structure similar to a file system. At the top of the hierarchy is the project object itself and this is where you initially start out in the Podium project window.

The objects in a project can be grouped into two categories:

• Arrangements, sounds, note sequences and curve sequences are objects that have a timeline. A project can contain any number of these objects, so you can choose to work with a collection of arrangements within a single project.

• Device mappings, device definitions, presets and parameters are objects that define your audio and MIDI interfaces, mixer busses, external devices and software plugins. You use these device objects to interact with the devices in the arrangement editor.

In addition to these objects, you also have the folder object. When a project is created using the Create New Project page, the device objects are grouped into a set of default folders. You can create additional folders, to for example sort your plugins into categories. Plugin folders will be presented as submenus when you open plugin selector menus in the editors.

Any type of object can act as a folder. For example, any sounds and sequences you create while working in an arrangement editor will be inserted in the project as child objects of the arrangement object.

The project start page presents an overview of the objects in the project. The start page menus can be used to manage the project contents and device setup. The objects can also be browsed and edited directly using the project browser. Use caution and keep a backup of your project if you intend to edit the objects directly. Messing with the device objects can cause the devices not to respond as expected in arrangements.

The Project Properties dialog is opened by selecting Project Properties in the Project menu or by clicking the ... button in the project info panel on the project start page.

• Project name: As long as the project is not yet saved to file, you can change the project name in this edit field. Once the project is saved, the project name will automatically be set to the saved filename. Renaming the project file will thus change the project name. The project name is shown on the project page tab at the top of the project window.

• File path: If the project has been saved, this field shows the full file path of the project file.

• Project window image file: If an image file is specified, it will be painted as wallpaper on the project page. If the image is smaller than the page, it will be tiled to fill the entire page. Use the ... button to open a file dialog for selecting an image file. You can also drag & drop image files from Windows Explorer onto the Podium project window to set the wallpaper image.

• Track timeline image file: If an image file is specified, it will be painted as wallpaper on the tracks timeline area in arrangement editors.

• Track image opacity: A value lower than 100% will draw the image blended with the timeline fill color of the current color setup.

• Dye track image with timeline fill color: This option combined with the opacity setting can help tone down the image and make it blend in with your current Podium color setup.

The specified image files are stored as file references in the project file. If the image files are located in the folder or a subfolder of where the project file is saved, the image file references are stored with a file path relative to the project folder. This ensures that the image files still can be loaded with the project if you later on move or rename the project folder.

A project is saved to a single file with the filename extension .pod. Each sound object in the project is saved to a separate sound file. The project file only stores the file path to the sound file.

Use the Project menu to open and save projects. You work on one project at a time in Podium, so opening a project will close the currently loaded project. The Save Project command will only save the project file and not any sound files. Use the Save All Changes command to save both the project file and any modified sounds. To save a single sound, use the File menu in the sound editor.

When you create a new project, the project file will not be created until you save the project for the first time. Podium will create a project folder with the same name as the project. This project folder is created in the New projects folder as specified in Preferences. The project file will be saved inside the project folder. Any sounds you have created in the project will be saved in the project folder as well. The sound files will be saved in subfolders according to their folder placement in the project. For example, sounds recorded in an arrangement will be saved in a subfolder with the same name as the arrangement.

The project info panel on the start page shows the full file path for the project. The info panel below the contents panel shows the full file path of the sound object that is currently selected in the list.

Project templates can be used for two purposes:

• You can select a project template in the Project option selector menu on the Create New Project page. Selecting a template will hide the options for plugins and arrangements, as they are already configured in the template. As an example, you could have templates for studio recording, live recording, mastering, rock, orchestral, etc.

• You can change the plugin setup in an existing project with the Load Plugin Setup from Template submenu of the Devices menu on the project start page. As an example, you could have templates where the plugins are sorted by plugin developer or by plugin category.

When you have created a project that you want to use as a project template, you save the template with the Save Project as Template command in the Project Templates submenu of the Project menu. This will open the New Project Template dialog where you can enter a name for the template.

The project template file is saved in the Project template library folder as specified in Preferences. If a template file already exists with the name you entered, Podium will ask you if you want to overwrite it.

You can organize your template files by using the Explore Templates Folder command. This will open a Windows Explorer. Here you can rename or delete template files, or organize the files into subfolders. Template subfolders are shown as submenus when you open a menu that lists the project templates. Use the Update Templates List command after you have made changes to the files in the templates folder.