MLT as Clip files don't update the duration

When importing by using the feature “Open MLT XML As Clip”, and then making changes to that original MLT, it seems to reflect those changes in the current/combined project (if you close and reopen it). This is what I expected to happen.

However, the duration of the MLT clip does not update - in either the playlist item or timeline.

I ended up nearly missing this. I made a short addition in the middle of my original MLT, which showed up in the combined project. But I later realised the end of the clip had been truncated as a result.

So either the combined project should not pull through any changes to the original MLT or, ideally, it should also update the duration.

Windows 10

Shotcut version 21.01.29

There is no claim that you can make playlist or track items automatically elastic, and there are no plans to add that. It is bad behavior if something on a track suddenly changes the start time of everything that follows it on the track or playlist. The exception to that can be the magnetic timeline design of Final Cut Pro X, but that is not Shotcut’s. What is definitely a bug is that the new, longer duration of the nested project is not understood and not available through trimming.

Thanks for responding so quick.

I’ve only been using Shotcut for a week (and it’s my first video editing software), so I may not know what I’m talking about. However, logically I would say the following:

I think what is happening is bad behaviour.

Without me doing anything but opening my project, the MLT clip in my project’s timeline automatically updated to reflect the changes I made in the MLT clip’s project. But without it also automatically shifting the timeline to accommodate the new addition, I was left with a clip that ended up truncated.

So, to me, it should either do nothing to the MLT clip on the timeline - the safe option - or it should update both the contents of the clip and shift the timeline accordingly. In my project the latter is actually the desired behaviour - so perhaps it could be an option.

I can’t imagine a scenario where anyone would want the current behaviour - where it updates the contents of the track but not the duration. You will always be left with a clip that’s either truncated or, if you remove something from your MLT project’s timeline, now has blank space.

Sorry if it seems like I’m moaning – I really appreciate the work that has gone into this free software (I wouldn’t have even ventured in video editing if I had to pay upfront for software).