How much space do I need for my OnSong library?

How much space do I need for my OnSong library?

OnSong is designed to store content you import on you device. This allows OnSong to work in live scenarios when an Internet connection may not be present. Most of the time these files take up very little space. OnSong works best with text-based chord charts which are very small in size. A library of a thousand songs could only take up 1 megabyte. If you import word processing files or PDF files, these can be a little larger resulting in a library a few megabytes, or even a hundred megabytes in size. This would hardly be noticed by most and is a great tradeoff for having the content always ready to perform.

If you are planning to import Backing Tracks into OnSong, these can take up more size than song documents. We suggest that you import MP3, M4A, AAC, or other compressed file formats as they take up less space. If you import these sorts of Backing Tracks, your library could grow to a few hundred megabytes depending on how many songs you have in your library. If you use uncompressed audio, this number can be 10 times greater, pushing your OnSong library into the gigabytes.

Another type of file that can take up space are Background Media with videos taking up the most space, similar to uncompressed audio files. Background still images don't take up much space, similar to word processing or PDF files.

Any content imported into your OnSong library is including in an OnSong Backup. This can result in very large files. You can opt to omit media files such as Backing Tracks and Background Media from the backup file. To do this, go into the Utilities Menu by tapping on the gear icon and choose Settings. Tap on the Advanced option at the bottom and turn off the Backup Media Files switch. While this will make the backup file smaller, you will need to import any media files into OnSong again to reattach them to the media records.
    • Related Articles

    • Storage Space Increasing

      The size of the library is only a part of the data that could be used by the application. The app itself is about 50 MB which may be included in what is displayed. There are some cache files that are created and retained but they are usually small. ...
    • How do I backup my OnSong library to Dropbox?

      First, ensure that you are backing up your device to either iTunes or iCloud. We recommend iCloud since it backs up automatically and in the background. If your iPad is ever lost, damaged or stolen, you can sign into your Apple ID with a new iPad and ...
    • Is my OnSong using too much memory?

      OnSong runs on iOS devices which have both storage and system memory or RAM. If you're concerned about how much space OnSong takes up in storage, please read the How much space do I need for my OnSong library article. OnSong itself takes up about 50 ...
    • How do I make OnSong automatically backup my library?

      To enable automatic backups, you can set this up for OnSong by opening the Utilities Menu by tapping on the gear icon in the Menubar and choosing Backup. This will open the Backup Screen where you can configure OnSong for automatic backup. Export ...
    • How Do I Backup My OnSong Library to iTunes File Sharing?

      Thank you for using OnSong!  The easiest way to back up your OnSong library is to export a backup file. To do this, open the Share menu from the menubar by tapping on the box with an up-arrow icon. This is located directly next to the "Songs" button ...