Making Clips Offline
You can deliberately make clips in your project offline. This breaks the connection
between a clip in your project and its media file on disk by removing the file path in
the clip’s Source property. Since the file path in a clip’s Source property is shared
among affiliated clips, removing this file path makes all affiliated clips offline at the
same time. This is useful if you want to delete all of your media files in preparation for
recapturing at a higher data rate (for online editing).
In addition to breaking the connection between clips and media files, you can choose to
delete the media files or keep them on your scratch disk. This is useful if you want to
delete all of your media files in preparation for recapturing at a higher data rate, or simply
to get rid of media files you no longer need because you are refining your project.
This type of message
appears when you play
an offline clip.
Chapter 6
Reconnecting Clips and Offline Media
75
I
To make one or more files offline:
1
In the Browser or Timeline, select the clips or sequences you want to make offline.
2
Do one of the following:
 Choose Modify > Make Offline.
 Control-click a selected item and choose Make Offline from the shortcut menu.
3
Select an option in the Make Offline dialog, then click OK.
 Leave Them on the Disk: Select this option to disconnect clips from their media files
but leave the original media files on your disk. Clips are disconnected because the
file path in each clip’s Source property is cleared, so the clips no longer have a file
location to look for media files.
 Move Them to the Trash: Select this option to disconnect clips from their media files
and move the media files to the Trash. This is different from choosing to delete the
files because you must still empty the Trash to delete the files. This option lets you
consider whether you really want to permanently delete your media files (emptying
the Trash is not undoable). If you decide to keep the files, you must drag them out of
the Trash and use the Reconnect Media command, because the file path in each clip’s
Source property is cleared.
 Delete Them from the Disk: Select this option to disconnect clips from their media
and immediately delete the media files from the disk. This action is not undoable. If
you need the media files again, you have to recapture them.
4
If you choose to move or delete the files, a message tells you this action cannot be
undone. To continue, click OK.
Click an option.
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Part I
Media and Project Management
Reconnecting Clips to Media Files
Clips in your project don’t have to be offline for you to use the Reconnect Media
command. You can reconnect media files to clips in your project at any time, since all
you are doing is changing the file path stored in the clip’s Source property.
Reconnecting the links between clips and media files is the most obvious reason for
doing this, but there are other reasons to use the Reconnect Media command:
 To reconnect clips in your project to higher-resolution versions of the media files in
preparation for online editing
 To reconnect clips in your project to lower-resolution versions of the media files for
mobile editing, or to fit more media on a relatively small hard disk. This is usually
known as offline editing.
Note: The terms offline clip and offline editing are not related.
 To reconnect clips after you modify, move, or delete media files in the Finder and
return to Final Cut Pro