Moving existing Projects to a Different Folder

[48SPOKES]

Hello, I have been using Shotcut for about 12 months now and just joined the forum …I know, I do like to struggle, anyway, I have just upgraded my laptop with an SSD hard drive and more RAM and it is now running a lot faster now. I have been working, with Shotcut Projects folder and all of the associated media files on a separate 2TB HDD for reasons of storage. However, I would now like to work entirely on the SSD and then move my completed work to the 2TB HDD.

Question 1…Can I do this easily?
Question 2…Can other more experienced/Super User please advise me on the best folder structure and house keeping disciplines so I can adopt and use them.

Thank you in advance of your replies.
Kind regards Paul

[Elusien]

I’m not the best person to reply to your query about the best folder structure. I’m a bit messy myself. But one thing I would definitely recommend is to set up a way of working that regularly saves your project file and backs up your work on a regular basis (daily in my case). For more detailed advice on this see:

How not to lose project files and data - Best Practices

From time to time we get queries on the forum like: My project file has somehow become corrupted, what can I do? Shotcut just crashed and my project is now screwed up, what can I do? etc… Depending on the state of the project file (XXX.mlt) you may be able to recover it by editing that file. It is after all just a text (XML) file. Before even attempting to do this always make a copy of the file in case you trash it completely while editing. If you cannot recover the project file then the nex…

[48SPOKES]

Hi and thank you for sharing this knowledge. I do understand the importance of backing up my files so I believe I have things covered from that perspective.
I am more interested in improving the editing performance of my 8 year old laptop which I have just upgraded. It is running quicker but Shotcut appears to not show any real improvement. This I attribute to the fact that, although Shotcut is now running off my faster SSD, with 16GB of RAM, I am still using my external hard drive for the storage of all my media, video, stills and audio. So as I’m editing, Shotcut is having to go to the external hard drive to fetch and process changes to my media which is connected via a USB2 port, so relative slow transfer rates compared to if it was all in the internal SSD.

I imagine that there should/could be an ideal/industry standard, for the best generic file structure, that would aid faster editing and efficient back up storage. So, if adopted by any new user from the onset, then they would have a better experience.
I guess I am talking about operating best practice.

Having said all that, I spent the last 20 years in ad around IT before I retired and I know we all have different systems and ways of backing up our files. But I am relatively new to video editing so I am expecting a different set of best practices to apply.

I will continue to play around with the configuration of my own system to see if I can get it running better.

Another dilemma I have is, I am making videos and uploading them to the YouTube platform. So that is my completed work. However, I’m still retaining everything I have previously done and I am beginning to ask myself why?

Thank you again for your help.

Kind regards Paul

[Elusien]

There are different options for file-structure. You can have different folder for different projects, but the main thing I would advise that you follow the advice given here:

Project Management

Introduction Shotcut does not provide very much in the way of project management at this time. Rather, you are required to manage many aspects of this. There are a few things you should know: Shotcut saves to a project file in a text format called MLT XML. (Technical detail on that format can be found here.) The project file does not contain any of your media. Rather, it only links to your media files by file system path and name. There are 3 different kinds of projects: Clip If you put a…

P.S. relatve filenames makes it easier to move projects from one disk/SSD/folder/directory/etc… to another.

[48SPOKES]

Hi, and thank you for a very thorough reply. I have always used the project folder default method of creating a new project. So, as I have now tried to move that project from my remote hard drive to my new “on board” SSD hard drive to make processing faster, I am constantly met with the same missing file issue whenever I attempt to open the project to work on it. I can find the missing folder and get the project to open and it will save without issue too. However, the next time I come to work on the same project, or the “last Saved” project, now called “Repaired.mlt” I am still getting the same missing file issue I had before.

Now I have read your previous reply, I am thinking it has something to do with Absolute vs Relative project creation?

Kind regards Paul

[shotcut]

When you make a project folder, Shotcut does not copy or move your media assets that included in the project into that folder for you. It creates the folder to facilitate you to do that in your file manager. But also it uses the project folder whenever it needs to generate an external companion file such as a stabilization data or animation instead of prompting you for the file name.

[48SPOKES]

Thank you, I am now managing to work better with the folder now. the more I use it the more it makes sense.

Kind regards Paul