Cubase Track Archives

A Track Archive is Cubase's own way of exporting a project's track structure — a file holding the folder layout, every track's settings, the MIDI routing, and any expression maps attached to tracks. DawForge treats an imported archive as a faithful, locked reference: the structure is frozen exactly as it was in Cubase, and you layer a thin set of notes on top. This page explains what's kept, what's locked, and how to update it.

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What gets captured at import

DawForge keeps the parts of the archive it actually uses:

• Folder tree — the full hierarchy as it was in Cubase, including nested folders.
• Tracks — for each one: its name, its type (MIDI, Instrument, Folder, or Audio), the folder it sits in, and where its MIDI is routed.
• Embedded expression maps — any expression map attached to a track is brought in exactly as it was and stored with the template. These are the copies Flow plays from.

Anything else (audio, plugin settings, automation) isn't stored. That keeps templates quick to open.

What's frozen, what's editable

After import, the template has two halves:

• Frozen (until you re-import):
  • The folder layout and track list.
  • Each track's type, its folder, and its MIDI routing.
  • The embedded expression maps — they're exact copies of what was in the archive.
• Editable:
  • The template's name.
  • Each track's library links — the knowledge-base patches that drive Flow's articulation grid.
  • Each track's tags — for searching and organising.

DawForge won't let you restructure an imported template, by design: an import is a snapshot of one specific Cubase export, and quietly editing it would let it drift away from the real project. To change the structure, you re-export from Cubase and re-import.

Why the freeze

Flow drives Cubase by track name. If an imported template's track names or folders could change after import, the Cubase-side presets (which are tied to the names as they were when you installed them) would silently stop working. Freezing the structure keeps the two sides in step — change Cubase, re-export, re-import, re-install the presets.

Downloading a template

To get a Cubase-ready Track Archive file back out of DawForge, open the template and click Download. DawForge rebuilds the file from what it stored and hands it to you as a download. It reflects the frozen structure (folders, tracks, embedded maps) plus any notes you've added (library links, tags).

Daily download cap: Solo-plan users can download 1 template per day. Chamber and Orchestra are unlimited. If you hit the cap, you can add more for 0.5 credits each from /settings/usage.

Re-importing

To update a template after changing the Cubase project:

1. Make the change in Cubase (rename a track, restructure folders, swap an expression map).
2. Export a fresh Track Archive (File → Export → Selected Tracks).
3. In DawForge, open the template and click Re-import.
4. A comparison view appears with three columns:
   • Kept — tracks whose names exist in both the old and new archive (your notes are preserved).
   • Added — tracks in the new archive that weren't there before (no notes yet).
   • Removed — tracks that are gone from the new archive (their notes are dropped).
5. Confirm. The template is replaced in one step — same template, new structure.
6. Re-install the Cubase presets from the Flow page — they're tied to the track names as they were before, so any renamed track won't respond until you refresh them.

Per-track notes

Adding library links and tags is covered in Annotating tracks. The short version: link each track to one or more knowledge-base patches so Flow knows what articulations to show, and add tags so you can search across templates.

"Promote to library" on embedded maps

Each embedded map shows a Promote to library action. This copies the map into your personal map library, where you can edit it like any map you authored yourself. Flow keeps playing from the embedded copy — the promoted one is a separate, editable copy.

Verify it worked

The template appears under /templates, its folder tree matches your Cubase project, and opening it in Flow shows the same track list in the left rail.

Common pitfalls

• Re-importing a renamed track loses its notes — DawForge matches by name. Rename the track and re-link its patch and tags on the new name.
• Trying to restructure an imported template — you can't. Edit the notes (name, links, tags), or re-import to change the structure.
• Presets out of sync after re-import — re-install them from the Flow page.

Reference

• Annotating tracks.
• Build a template — the alternative, editable-everywhere path.