How do I delete tabs in Final Cut Express?

Question

Final Cut Express 4:  I know I can't delete whole projects; what I'm worried about is doing a bunch of short projects and having the tabs that show the titles of each project become so many I can't even use the program.  If I do 5 short videos and have 5 tabs designating them, what happens when I get to 20?  Or are they temporary files and will disappear soon?  Thanx in advance.

Answer 1

You can delete entire projects, but it isn't a 'one button' method.  When you start and save a new project in FCE, FCE will create several files and folders.  First is the project file which will be saved wherever you decided to save it with the name you give it.  Next, when you bring footage into a project using Log & Capture or Log & Transfer, FCE will create a folder for those files inside the Capture/Scratch folder - the sub-folder will bear the same name as the project.  And then when you render anything in that project, FCE will create a sub-folder inside the Render Files folder and the Audio Render Files folder - both will also bear the same name as the project.  FCE will also create folders for that project in the Autosave Vault folder.  To delete a project completely, navigate those files/folders and delete them and your project will no longer exist, nor will any media or renders associated with it.
Here's a typical set up:
Macintosh HD/
     Users/
          Projects/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Project
               Smith Documentary
Media Drive/
     Final Cut Express Documents/
           Audio Renders/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Demo
               Smith Documentary
          Autosave Vault/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Demo
               Smith Documentary
          Capture Scratch/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Demo
               Smith Documentary
          Render Files/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Demo
               Smith Documentary
To delete the project named "Jones Demo" navigate to where those files are stored and delete the folders named "Jones Demo" then empty the trash; the project and all of its associated media will be gone.  The only files that FCE might create for that project that are not stored inside a folder bearing the project's name are the Waveform Cache files - I usually delete the contents of that folder when ever I'm finished with a project.
Personally, I keep all of my project files just in case I ever need to go back to a project.  Project files are relatively small so hard drive space isn't really an issue.
As for the issue of having too many projects open at one time, that's a simple user error.  All you need to do before opening a new or another existing project is to close the project you were working on.  So if I were working on the "ABC Music Video" project and wanted to work on the "Smith Documentary" project for a while, I'd close the "ABC Music Video" Project, then open the "Smith Documentary" project.
-DH