I accidentally had "Copy Files to Final Cut Events Folder" checkmarked when I first started playing with FCP X yesterday and I filled my internal hard drive. So I trashed the copies from the Events Folder but now I can't find a "reconnect" or "relink" command to restore linking to the original source media in the project.

Anyone else figured this out?

Hi Tim,
What I did was import my files with the "Copy Files" check-box and it seemed to work find. Just go to the import menu under the File menu and choose files.

This is a tricky one. So far my experimentation has shown me that if you manage to reconstitute the original data files, FCP X will "reconnect" with them, but if any of the metadata changes, it will not "reconnect" to the file, even though it's got the same file name and in the same place as the original. It seems like the link to media files is brittle at this point, and there is no apparent way to reconnect, at least not one that I've found in the documentation so far. Can anyone shed more light on this?

Here's the experiment I did:

Create Event with media and a Project.
Copy media files to back up.
Delete original media files.
RED BOXES
Quit FCP X
Copy original media files from back up drive to media drive.
Relaunch FCP X
FCP X finds the media that was missing before.
Change QuickTime metadata in the source file
RED BOXES ARE BACK.

Hmmm... it's very fragile!

I've basically come to the conclusion that there is simply no reconnect function in FCP X.

That's right, no ability to "relink media." One thing that does work based on my experimentation is if you delete media files and recover them from backup, Final Cut Pro X will find them. If that does not work, sometimes reimporting the media into the same Event will cause the clips to "relink" but not always. And if you change anything about the metadata in a QuickTime media file, Final Cut Pro X no longer links to it. While the end-user architecture of the media management is much improved, this inability to relink media is a show stopper. I will continue to experiment and get to know the program, but if I can't relink media from a backup, it's a non starter. That said, I'm an optimist and I hope Apple adds a "relink media" function.

One more thing: this is a really serious issue. Through further experiments I've been able to break links by doing simple things like change the name of the disk volume, and when I renamed it back and quit and relaunched final cut x, still it would not reconnect the media. This is quite brittle, and makes all the relinking hell of the old ways seen charming, at least with the old ways we could relink our media and keep working.

I would have been a much happier camper this week if Apple had called this a beta and not announced that Final Cut Studio was dead in the water with no transition path. Oh well. I've had a lot of fun testing this product, it has a lot going for it, but brittle media management scares the ------- out of me.

To reconnect media try this:

1) Go to your project library
2) Go to your Properties dialog (upper right panel) and click the Modify Event References button

That seems to be working for people elsewhere.

Simon, I tried using the "Modify Event References" Button and it did not work for me. I've been able to reproduce this more than once with different projects and events. I seen to have a knack for figuring how to break things.

How about if you re-import the footage - will it create a duplicate or link back to the original?

What worked for me was going back to my external drive where I keep all my fcpx files and video, which is why this error happens I think, and drag the file over on top of the missing file in the timeline, I dont have to drop it though, it makes the connection right there.

One of the many differences in how FCP-X works relative to FCP legacy, is that the fundamental relational database that FCP-X is now based upon requires a pretty rigid file location structure.

This means that "re-linking" is a functionally obsolete term in FCP-X.

Moving or renaming ANY file will make it invisible to FCP-X since the program's database will no longer find the file in the location it's expecting. Databases can't locate files unless their directory structure is consistent. Simple as that. With the old "flat file" structure of FCP-legacy - it was trivial to re-link the simple path to a clip. Now, in the relational world, there's a virtual "spiders web" of possible paths to every asset - so what you're thinking of as "traditional re-linking" becomes WAY to complex to implement.

You simply can't treat data such as clips in FCP-X the same way you did in FCP legacy, moving and storing them wherever you want and simply "re-linking" to re-establish the clips connection to the timeline in it's new location.

Instead of viewing this as a problem, I personally see this as an interface improvement. Not only can you sort, sift and view ALL assets including clips, soundbytes, titles, etc - in amazingly flexible ways, you can also make them appear and disapear at will - something FCP-legacy simply couldn't do.

Since the program displays ALL currently active projects by default, "hide by renaming" is a simple and functional way to limit the files the interface displays when you launch the program. You're essentially returning a "no data" in a query for data expected to be in a particular location in the relational database structure. Restoring the original file names makes the files "re-appear" in the interface - since the database query once again leads to the data the program expects to find there.

Another good example of the way people who expect X to work like legacy are often disappointed at every turn.

This is VERY different software. And unless you stretch your thinking to understand those differences, FCP-X can be a very frustrating experience.

FWIW.

Does this mean that if you need to change a graphic for example in photoshop that you can't reconnect the file?

It sounds like what you want to do is actually "dynamic linking." Where you put an asset in your program and as you need to refresh that asset, the program simply goes out and looks for the new specified asset and automatically inserts it in place of the old one.

I haven't gotten to working with linked assets in my learning curve yet, but considering the time Apple put into the database foundation of the new build, i'd guess that if the program doesn't do it right now, it's one of the features that will come sooner rather than later.

After all, a still somewhat more a "vertical" as opposed to "horizontal" asset in timeline terms.
Which fits FCP-X's new more vertical relationship orientations well.

It sounds like what you want to do is actually "dynamic linking." Where you put an asset in your program and as you need to refresh that asset, the program simply goes out and looks for the new specified asset and automatically inserts it in place of the old one.

I haven't gotten to working with linked assets in my learning curve yet, but considering the time Apple put into the database foundation of the new build, i'd guess that if the program doesn't do it right now, it's one of the features that will come sooner rather than later.

After all, a still is somewhat more a "vertical" as opposed to "horizontal" asset in timeline terms.
Which fits FCP-X's new more vertical "clip connections" relationship orientations well, since once a still is placed (and particularly if titles, other clips, layouts, or whatever are linked to it), every move you make with the original clip will bring ALL linked items related to it along for the ride.

Sorry if there is an obvious answer to this and I missed it.
You have a project bound for DVD, say, 5 x 20min sequences ( my son is editing this job in Final Cut Pro X on his iMac).
He ran off the first drafts and gave them to me to grade and do some clean up with Neat Video ( Im on PC).
We just automatically assumed he could get the cleaned up CC'd versions back and just replace them in the bin........
You can do this cant you?
Wouldnt it be the same procedure if using proxies?
If anyone can help it would be much appreciated.

This means that "re-linking" is a functionally obsolete term in FCP-X.


The fact is in the business sh** happens. Sometimes a drive dies, sometimes you capture to the wrong location and need to move it, sometimes you need to move a project to a different edit system. Sometimes projects span multiple drives. If FCP X can't deal with these common realities of the business, then why would we buy it?

It doesn't really make sense that if you have the exact file you need, you can't reconnect it just because it has moved location. If it has the same data, FCP X can reconnect to it. It would not be hard for FCP X to do a checksum on a file and identify as identical to the one it is looking for regardless of path or metadata. It chooses not to be able to do it.

This also says nothing of the fact that there is simply no way to have all media created online all the time. FCP X has no way of dealing with offline media. This is a huge problem.

Does this mean that if you need to change a graphic for example in photoshop that you can't reconnect the file?

I've fully tested in 10.0.1 that PSD's that have been used in FCPX are updated. I right-clicked to reveal in the Finder and it directed me to my Events folder. I double-clicked it, changed the type in Photoshop and then saved. I reopened FCPX and my PSD had new text on it. No reconnect errors at all.

Sorry if there is an obvious answer to this and I missed it.
You have a project bound for DVD, say, 5 x 20min sequences ( my son is editing this job in Final Cut Pro X on his iMac).
He ran off the first drafts and gave them to me to grade and do some clean up with Neat Video ( Im on PC).
We just automatically assumed he could get the cleaned up CC'd versions back and just replace them in the bin........
You can do this cant you?
Wouldnt it be the same procedure if using proxies?
If anyone can help it would be much appreciated.


I think this is something that previous round-tripping in FCP7 and Color led us to assume. And that's that color correcting can happen during an edit. Round tripping is messy in reality. Sure it gives the appearance of other peers working on a project, but there has to be a final part of a stage in the pipeline. I would think grading happens after the edit. If that's the case, exporting XML from FCPX into Resolve to grade wouldn't require the film to come back into FCPX again. Wouldn't it go from Resolve to another app? Compressor? Or if it came back into FCPX, it would merely be for merging the final cut (graded) with the mastered audio to send to Compressor. Surely there would be no more editing after the grade. Right?

I would send your color corrector sections, or scenes or the whole project—exported as a ProRes mov (or whatever high-quality format you need). Then send it back to him as a movie file and he can add any further effects, etc.

I think the new free Resolve (the one updated for FCPX fcpxml import) will be the best way to grade.