Project File Never Saved

I worked on a project all morning, saving as I went along, and when I was ready to export a QuickTime movie, I duplicated the Sequence so I'd have a backup.
Sequence 2 was blank with no edits in it.
I went back to Sequence 1 and it was also now empty.
I tried to revert, and went to all the Autosave copies, but all of them were blank with nothing in the timeline.
So although I was pressing command S all morning and my project had a file name in the Browser window. no project file on my disk was ever saved and all my edits were lost.

Not sure what happened, but you might try this...
Open a desktop finder window and type 'Final Cut Pro Project File' in the search bar.
Then click the 'plus' button next to the Save button. There are two bars to the left side...change the 'Kind' to "Last Opened" and the 'Any Date' to "Today"
This should show any FCP project files opened today, which you might try opening most recent or close to recent to see if you can find a project that has your good sequence in it. (I'm thinking somehow you were working a sequence from a different project somehow...if not, you may be stuck)
You could try that search fucntion with '.fcp', but if your extensions are hidden, it won't show up in the Finder search.
K

Similar Messages

Why can't I open a FCE project file that I have saved? (It now says ZERO kb

Hello...
I have just started working on a project in Final Cut Express - I render, save, and close out of FCE - but, when I go back to FCE, the project I was working on does not open.
Why can't I open a project file that I have saved?
Here was my process in a nutshell:
~ When I opened FCE, I went the System Preferences and set the Scratch Disks to a folder on my external hard drive.
~Then, I went to File - New Project - worked on the project for a while (including creating bins, importing images and video, and creating a sequence.
~I saved the project file to the same folder that I set my Scratch Disks to.
as often throughout this process.)
~When I was done, I saved again andd closed FCE.
~Then, soon after, I opened FCE again and my project did not open automatically.
~So, I clicked File - Open Recent - browsed to and chose the project file name and FCE gave me a "Unable to open file" message.
~When I check to see if the project file actually saved to my external hard drive, the name appears, but it says the file size is ZERO kb.
I have done this twice with the same unfortunate result. What am I doing wrong? I have worked on FCE on this same computer before, setting the Scratch Disks the same way, and I did not have this problem.
Please help. Thank you so much for your feedback.
...Rae

Are you sure you are trying to open the project file you actually saved ?
Try using Spotlight to search for your project file name. I might be wrong, but I guess you try to open an empty copy while your real project file (what you saved) is somewhere else in either your startup disk (Documents folder ?) or the external drive. If so do not use Open Recent in FCE but simply double click the "real" project file.
Piero

How do I revert to replaced audio files being saved with the project file, *not* with the original audio files?

In the latest release, when you send an audio clip to Audition, the newly created audio clip - which was previously saved in the same folder as the project file - is saved next to the original audio file.
Makes sense, but for reasons to boring to go into, it's a major headache for my workflow, because it means combing through folders to find the files, instead of having them all in once place.
So how to I turn this off and revert to those files being saved next to the project file?

Hey Steve,
You'll want to connect your phone to your computer and sync it in iTunes. You can read more about it here:
iOS: Syncing your data with iTunes
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1386
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Have a good one,
Delgadoh

Unable to open project file

Hello!
I'm in desperate need of a miracle here. I've already read over other solutions to this problem, but perhaps someone can come up with something I haven't. I'm using Final Cut Pro 7.0.3, and I finished a project last month that took a lot of editing work. After the project finished, I cleaned up my folders as usual, copying over all the media and the FCP project file over to my network external hard drive. I then made the horrific mistake of deleting my autosave files. Little did I know I'd want to access the project later, and instead of opening and having to reconnect my media, it just comes up with the error of "unable to open project file".
I've tried copying the project file I saved in November back to my local computer and opening it. I tried dismounting the network external hard drive and opening my local project file. I tried adding a .fcp to the end of the file's name. And I downloaded Pro Maintenance Tools in a hope that it could fix the corrupted file, it said it was fixed, but I still can't seem to open it. All my other FCP files are opening just fine.
I'm also interested if anyone knows whether my deleting everything FCP created except for the project file might be why it crashed?
Thank you in advance to anyone who even reads this hoping they can help.

Sorry, I'm out of ideas. Perhaps someone else with greater tech skills will chime in on this and be able to suggest a solution. Deleting or changing the location of the files you mentioned earlier in the thread can certainly complicate and add time to a new edit but should not have caused the problem you've encountered in getting the project file to open.
Good luck.
Russ

How to restore a song from the "Project File Backups"

Help! I recorded onto an external harddrive, then copied all the project folders to a different drive. Now, I can't find the project files, but I can find the "Project File Backups" in the Project Folders. I suspect the original project files were saved separately from these folders on the original hard drive, but that is long gone, so I am hoping some one can tell me how to recreate the project from the files in the "Project File Backups" folder.
ANOTHER CLUE: Stranger still, I can't find any of my logic song files using FILE>OPEN, SPOTLIGHT, nor FINDER- Only those that still populate the "open recent" list.
Any ideas? Thanks friends!

Hi there
Your Project File Backups are simply the previous Project files you've saved. These files are essentially the strip settings, layouts, midi, and pointers to the audio files of your Project.
If you have trashed the audio files then your are outta luck. This is why you should Consolidate (File-->Project-->Consolidate) all of your projects into one Project Folder on your HD. That way all of your Audio files as well as your sample files and UltraBeat files remain consolidated within a Project Folder. You can then Copy that entire Project folder to another location and have all of the respective files for that Project.
Sorry for your loss.
Regards,
bb

AE CC 2014 error 33 § 7! Project file is broken. (iMac)

Hello there,
I have the following problem:
I did a film with lots of text animation in After Effects CC 2014 (the newest version).
For different versions of that film in different languages I took my origin german project file and saved it as a different project with a different name.
I did my modifications for like 30 min and then I started with the next project in the next language. I was doing that the hole day. In the end of my workprocess I wanted to export all of my films.
So now when I open my projects, it says that the file is broken: Error 33 § 7.
Even the Auto-Save-Files are broken. I can't open any of these projects except the german file. Everything I did, is lost and I have to do it again.
I've allready reinstalled the suite but it's always the same. Is there a way I can still open them? What is the source for that error?
Here are some technical details:
iMac 27" 2009
OSX 10.9.5
3,06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
8 GB RAM 1067 MHz
ATI Radeon HD 4670 256 MB
I would be pleased for more help.
Greetings.

Nobody can tell you anything without knowing the specifics. For starters, verify the integrity of your storage drive! Other than that this could be anything from font errors to specific issues using special characters in the text to more generic stuff like the cache getting tainted....
Mylenium

HELP! Opening INTEL MacPro project file on G5 Quad " General Error " ??

Im desparate !
I need to online an edit to digibeta on a quad G5 - problem is the offline edit was done on a MAC pro Intel & the capture scratch is on an ext lacie.
When I open up the same project file on the G5 quad - im getting " GENRAL ERROR " ??
Is there an issue with Intel project files opening on G5's?
I should ( in theory ) be able to hook up my ext lacie to the G5 & load in the project file I saved from the Intel & the edit should open as it did on the intel - right ? unless im missing something ?
I have all the same plugins on both macs - both are up to date in OS's & FCP's Versions - please help - I need to online this for Monday when the client is picking up the digibeta.
My setup at the studio is G5 quad with all the cards ( blackmagic etc drivers ) installed & hooked up to the server plus digibeta deck are all ready to go but the edit was done in another location on an Intel mac pro - it would be a nightmare to try & get an intel over to the studio & swap over all the cards etc at this late stage ... any info would be much appreciated.
Cheers
G5 quad & mac pro 2.66 dual core intel xeon Mac OS X (10.4.8)
mac pro 2.66 dual core intel xeon Mac OS X (10.4.8)
mac pro 2.66 dual core intel xeon Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Sorry - on the G5 setup the same capture scratch with all the media is on the server.
Basically - The edit was started on the G5 & the offline dv pal media was on the server capture scratch. We then copied the same capture scratch & all necessary folders to a lacie drive so we could finish off the edit on the intel mac pro.
The project loaded up fine on the mac pro - we finished the edit & saved the project file.
The project file was then sent to the studio & we were hoping it would load up fine & just link back to the same media in the capture scratch on the server.
all off the media is offline dv pal - at this stage - I want to eventually load up the edit as it did on the intel - then online to the digibeta tapes ( but Im not worried about the online just yet - as I need to get the offline edit opened at the very least. I tell you you'd be stopping a heart attack if you shed some light on at least opening the project on the G5 as it did on the Intel.
mac pro 2.66 dual core intel xeon Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Finalcut pro project file

Here's a question:
I am currently working on a project in FCP 7. All my project files are stored on external drives. After finishing yesterday. I closed the project file and saved it as usual. Today i tried to open the project file that I had been working in the day before, alas it won't open, it won't open in autosave as well, hmmmm. All the older project files open up even from the same drive, If I open an old project file and save as new it opens up. The current one is the only that won't open just the beach ball and bang it quits, could this one project file be corrupted?
Thanks,
Stuart

[FCP Maintenance Pack|http://www.digitalrebellion.com/fcs_maintenance.htm] has a Project Repair utility and comes in a fully functional 15 day trial version.
If it does what you want, the full version is worth every penny.

Problem Delivering Project Files to Client

Anytime I back up my project files for this particular DVD it cannot be opened on another computer. I've burned the project file, all media, all menu graphics, and the .txt files for the subtitles on to a DVD. When another computer besides the one the DVD was authored on tries to open the project it gets stuck on "Loading Tracks."
What could this be?
Every so often I am also unable to open the file, and I think its getting corrupted somehow. Please help.
EDIT: I realize I forgot to delete the PAR and MPEG folders that DVD SP creates and also burned those onto the client's DVD. Would this contribute to them not being able to open it?

Thanks for replying Aldershot. I am running OS 10.4.3, DVD SP 4.0.2 with 2.5 GB RAM on a Dual 2.0 G5. The project has been saved on external firewire (with ~15 GB free) as well as a duplicate on the system drive (~85 GB free). None of them open after I save it and quit. During save I get the beach ball, but eventually it comes back to normal and I can use the app as normal.
I have read that there may be an issue with the ObjectDataB file (found within the project package Contents folder). See the link below for a description of this diagnosis.
http://www.dmnforums.com/cgi-bin/readwholethread.fcgi?forum=astarte_dvd&post=041 004175700.htm&toppostid=3523
Here's some more info if you think it will help you diagnose. I got a project file and associated media on a data DVD-R to start with. Moved everything to my External drive and made numerous changes to the project file. Saved a copy with a new file name. There are 2 tracks (one 6 mins, the other 30 mins), and they each have 16 subtitle tracks. This is honestly where I think the problem lies, but I don't understand why DVDSP can't handle that many tracks. I notice it takes longer to save as I progressively import the subtitles.
If I may work with you over e-mail it would be great. Check soon.... Thanks again!

Project file won't open. I just get the spinning loading symbol but it never opens.

I am working on a school project video. The app was working great for about a week. Now when i click on the play button of my project file, i get the spinning loading symbol and the video never play or opens. If I right click on the project file in the left side column, sometimes it will play, but i cannot open it to work on it. I have already tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Didn't help. Thanks.

Probably corrupted project file. Do you have a saved or auto-saved version of the project on disc somewhere?
Neil

Saving project file error

Whenever i add a video peephole effect to a clip or a still-photo and then try to save the project, I get the "saving project" window with the "saving project file" timer thing (?) continuously indictating it is trying to save, but it never stops. I end up having to force-close Imovie without saving any changes??

If your PowerBook is that new, then I would imagine that you do have the proper card.
To find out, click on the little Blue  in the upper left hand corner of the desktop. Then click on "About This Mac". Then "More Info..."
The System profiler will open and you then click on "Graphics/Display"
It will look something like this:
iMac:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1024 x 768
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported <---
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported <----
:)Sue

Unable to open project file. even though I just saved it.

Hi,
I just started back to work on a little FCE 2 video project after a couple of months. When I went to load the file, it said "Unable to open project file". I thought, "hmmm, I'm a beginner, maybe I'm not opening the right file." So, I made a new project with a clip and save it. Then I tried to reopen it. No go. Same message.
So, something is wrong but I can't figure it out.
My preferences are set to save the file on an external hd. The file icon shows up but says that the FCE project file has 0KB. How can that be?
I look using spotlight for the file, thinking maybe the file was saved elsewhere. It doesn't show up.
Sorry if this subject has been treated before. I searched the forum and didn't find a problem that matched my circumstances. One that was close.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Doug

Thanks for your reply Kyriakos.
Yep, I've tried the files in the AutoSave Vault and still Unable to Open Project File.
Also tried deleting the FCE preference and cache file, fixing permissions and doing a save as instead of a straight save, as outlined in the article below:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/good_apps_gonebad.html
It only has worked on one project which is the only file that opens now.
It's driving me nuts! I'm going to start doing some major jobs soon and can't have this happen. Maybe I'll try to reinstall FCE then if no luck it's time for a refund.
Would upgrading from FCE 1 to HD have anything to do with it?
Have you had any luck, Doug?
Pat

After the recent update on my Ipad Mini. It crashes frequently. The latest is that during saving, it crashed. Now I can't open my project file. It says, Not a valid Adobe Photoshop Touch file. What happened?!!

After the recent update on my Ipad Mini. It crashes frequently. The latest is that during saving, it crashed. Now I can't open my project file. It says, Not a valid Adobe Photoshop Touch file. What happened?!!

Sufficient free storage.... tried the reboot and install... Just received an iOS update I'll install tonight and do another reboot...see what happens. Going to have to start saving double..

Why are iDVD saved project files so large if the media is not archived with it?

I now understand the difference (I think) between a saved project and an archived project, but I would expect my saved project files to be smaller in size. Are there really some hidden media files that it still can access (or that I can find)?

I now understand the difference (I think) between a saved project and an archived project, but I would expect my saved project files to be smaller in size. Are there really some hidden media files that it still can access (or that I can find)?

Project Files & Saving

There is often confusion between Saving a Project and Exporting/Sharing a Video from that Project.
Let’s look at what a Project file is. In PrE, this is a .PREL file. In PrPro, it’s a .PRPROJ file. These are just XML database files, that define the Project, show where the media used in that Project was located the last time that you had the NLE (Non Linear Editor) program and that Project, open. Then, there are instructions as to what one has done to those media Assets. There is no media, of any sort included in it.
If you open it up in WordPad, or an XML editor, it looks something like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<PremiereData Version="3">
<Project ObjectRef="1"/>
<Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="20">
<IsProjectVideoTemplate>false</IsProjectVideoTemplate>
<VideoPreviewCompileSettings ObjectRef="108"/>
<NextID>1000000</NextID>
<NextSequenceID>2</NextSequenceID>
<CustomCompileSettings ObjectRef="103"/>
<StillCompileSettings ObjectRef="93"/>
<MovieCompileSettings ObjectRef="88"/>
<ProjectSettings ObjectRef="77"/>
<RootProjectItem ObjectRef="2"/>
<AudioCompileSettings ObjectRef="98"/>
<Node Version="1">
<Properties Version="1">
<MZ.NextSequenceIndex>2</MZ.NextSequenceIndex>
<Media.View.Normal>1</Media.View.Normal>
<ColumnListContents.Version>3</ColumnListContents.Version>
<Project.Sort.Direction>0</Project.Sort.Direction>
<Project.Sort.ColumnIndex>0</Project.Sort.ColumnIndex>
<Project.Sort.Type>0</Project.Sort.Type>
<Project.ListView.Thumbnail.Size>1</Project.ListView.Thumbnail.Size>
<Project.ListView.Thumbnail.State>true</Project.ListView.Thumbnail.State>
<Project.ContentView.LastViewed>1</Project.ContentView.LastViewed>
<Columns.List Version="3">
<Columns Version="1">
Note: in the actual Project file, there will be much indentation, that does not show up above.
There is much, much more, but this should give you an idea. You cannot "play" this file with any media player. Remember, there is zero media in it, only links to that media. Also, there are only two programs that can do anything but allow one to edit the various text lines in a Project file. PrPro can open both types, .PREL’s and.PRPROJ’s, with a few exceptions. PrE can ONLY open .PREL files and will give you an error that "this Project was created in PrPro. Use that program to open this Project." There are no exceptions to this, though who knows if PrE 8 will be able to open .PRPROJ files?
Now that we know there is no media in these files, what good are they? Well, they contain links to the location of the media and also instructions on what one has done to that media. They are the instructions for PrE and PrPro, with descriptions of all edits. They are the working tools of both of these NLE programs. They also must be set up, before one can do anything else in these programs.
As one works with the Project, they will want to Save their Project files, or any edits will be lost. There are basically three ways to this, plus one additional variation.
First, there is Save. It records all operations and instructions to the previously created Project file, overwriting the previous version. I do this often and usually use Ctrl+s for this purpose.
Next, we have Save_As. This does a Save, but with two variations: it allows one to set a new name, or location for this Project file. I use this and increment the Project file’s name, as I go. This does NOT overwrite the existing Project file, but writes another one, with the name, or location that the user assigns. The second part of this, and quite important, is that not only does it Save with the new name/location, but it keeps this new Project open in the NLE. You are now working on the new version, and not the original. To me, this is especially useful, if I want to leave the original version untouched, in case I need to go back to it at some date. After a day of editing, or after some big changes, I’ll make sure to do this, so I have the original, plus this newly edited version. By incrementing by 1, I know that if I am working with [Project Name]_05, it came after [Project Name]_04, so it is newer.
Then, we have Save_As_a_Copy. How does this differ from Save_As? The biggest difference is that it does not overwrite the original, allows one to change, or increment, the file name/location, but it does NOT stay open in the program. You are still working with the original version, and this Save_As_a_Copy version is tucked away, in case you need it at some time. I use this, when I just want a record and a backup of that moment for possible later use. It’s more of a "snapshot" of how things were at that moment.
Last is the "variation" that I mentioned. This is AutoSave. Depending on one’s Preferences, these will be stored in the AutoSave folder in the Project’s hierarchy. By default, one will have five of these and they will reflect that they are AutoSave files. Note: one must do a first Save in an editing session to start AutoSave, which will make an AutoSave copy at the time interval set in Preferences. Also, Premiere is pretty smart. It will NOT just AutoSave every 5 mins (or whatever time interval is set in Preferences), unless some work has been done. This is a good thing, as AutoSave will overwrite the previous files in that folder. If you go to lunch, if it did not keep track of edits being done, one would end up with 5 exactly identical copies of the same file in AutoSave. This would not be that useful.*
Now, because it does overwrite your previous AutoSave files, you need to pay close attention, should you ever need to use an AutoSave Project file. By default, there will be five files, _001, _002, _003, _004 and _005. However, because of that overwriting (basically FIFO), you need to change the View in Windows Explorer to Details, and sort by Date/Time, to make sure that you are getting the latest version. Remember, _003 could well be newer than _005. Watch out for this, and do the Sort on Date/Time to be sure.
Hope that this helps one distinguish between Project files and Video FROM that Project, plus give some tips on Save, Save_As, Save_As_a_Copy and also AutoSave.
Hunt
* It has come to my attention that as of PrPro CS3, things have changed with Auto-Save. One does not need to do an initial Save to start Auto-Save, but if left Open, though no editing is being done, the Auto-Save will keep on overwriting the files at the set interval, say every 5 mins.. What this means is that if you leave a Project Open for 25 mins., have the number of Auto-Saves at the default of 5 and the default of every 5 mins., you will have 5 copies of the same Project file. I do not know what Adobe was thinking here, as Auto-Save should not be active, if no editing is being done. I often have a Project Open, but am working in PS, AI, or Encore, so there is no editing being done in PrPro, but there soon will be. I do not want all previous Auto-Saves being overwritten with the same exact file. With PrPro CS3 or higher, I strongly recommend that one does a lot more Save_As and Save_As_a_Copy, than in previous editions, or they might be in for a rude surprise, if they went to lunch, or just left the Project Open for a half-hour.

There is a special use for the Save, Save_As and Save_As_a_Copy, that might not be readily apparent. As we have discussed how the three differ, I will only cover this use, and the user can then choose which works for them.
Often, an editor will work on a large Project, but need to break out segments of that Project into separate "mini Projects." The easiest way to do this is to make sure that a Save has been done for the full, large Project. Then, just Delete anything not needed in the new mini Project. This could be Clips on the Timeline, Assets in the Project Panel, or Sequences (in PrPro only). When done, just choose Save_As, or Save_As_a_Copy. If more "versions" of that large Project are needed, Open the original, repeat the Deletions, and then do the appropriate Save_As, with another name, or into another location.
Remember, all forms of Save are for the entire Project, and not just elements of it, unless you remove all unnecessary elements.
Hunt

Project File Never Saved

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