How do you reconnect media in FCP X?

[Tim Dashwood]

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?

[Greg Lynch]

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.

[David Tamés]

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!

[Tim Dashwood]

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

[David Tamés]

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.

[David Tamés]

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.

[Simon Wood]

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.

[David Tamés]

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.

[Simon Wood]

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

[Brian Self]

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.

[Bill Davis]

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.

[Ian Skurrie]

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

[Bill Davis]

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.

[Bill Davis]

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.

[Gerald Webb]

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.