iLife '04: The Missing Manual

“Save as Archive”

As noted in the box on page 485, a GarageBand document isn’t much of a document at all. It’s actually a Mac OS X package, a folder disguised to work like a document icon.

As long as you use only the built-in Apple loops in your composition, you can freely exchange your GarageBand “document” with any agents, producers, or groupies who also have GarageBand. They’ll be able to open the project and hear it exactly the way you did. After all, your composition is made exclusively of:

• Built-in Apple Loops, the same ones your audience also has on their Macs.

• Vocal lines and other Real Instrument recordings that you made, which are embedded inside the GarageBand package icon. (They’re stored as AIFF files there.)

But what about other loops? What about Jam Pack loops, or loops you’ve made yourself, or loops bought from other companies?

Your audience does not have these on hand. They will not hear your masterpiece as it exists on your Mac.

The solution is the File → Save as Archive command. It creates what looks like a standard GarageBand document icon—but inside, it actually stores copies of all the loops you’ve used in your piece.

Needless to say, the resulting file takes up a lot more disk space than a regular GarageBand document. In fact, it can be huge. But at least it’s self-contained and ready for glitch-free distribution.