Project Media Window: Marking clips already used ?

[John Rofrano]

[James Farnum] “First question: Is there a way to get Vegas 10 to mark the clips in the Project Media Window that have already been used in the project? (Thanks to this forum, I’m aware of the “use count” column in the “details” view, but this is not always accurate.) What I’m hoping for is something like an “X” on the THUMBNAILS of those clips already used. That would be a great time-saver in projects with a large number of clips.”

You can use Ctrl+A to select all of the clips on the timeline. Then right-click on any clip and select Select in Project Media list. This will highlight all of the clips being used in the project media.

BTW, I use the Use Count all the time and I have never found it to be inaccurate. In fact, I sort by the use count and scroll to the bottom to easily see what’s not being used.

[James Farnum] “Second question: When I double click on a thumbnail to open it in the trimmer, the file name is marked in dark grey — nearly the same color as the window background and very difficult to detect at a glance. I have tried changing my Windows XP properties for selected items to orange, but they still appear dark grey in Vegas. Any suggestions?”

In Vegas go to Options | Preferences | Display and Uncheck the option Use Vegas color scheme.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[James Farnum]

Thanks, John, for your fast and helpful response.

“You can use Ctrl+A to select all of the clips on the timeline. Then right-click on any clip and select Select in Project Media list. This will highlight all of the clips being used in the project media.”

That works like a charm. Thanks. Unfortunately, clicking on any unused file in the Project Media Window un-highlights the used files again. Is there any way to avoid this?

“BTW, I use the Use Count all the time and I have never found it to be inaccurate. In fact, I sort by the use count and scroll to the bottom to easily see what’s not being used.”

That’s another good tip. Maybe the reason I often get high use counts on clips I have only used once is that I set markers or regions in the Trimmer window? On one clip, though, I have a Use Count of 9, even though I did not mark it in the Trimmer Window. Strange.

“In Vegas go to Options | Preferences | Display and Uncheck the option Use Vegas color scheme.”

That does the trick too. The only thing is, it turns most of the applicatíon into a very light grey very much reminscent of earlier versions of Vegas. Is there any way to retain the dark grey background of Vegas 10 which is much easier on the eyes?

[John Rofrano]

[James Farnum] “That works like a charm. Thanks. Unfortunately, clicking on any unused file in the Project Media Window un-highlights the used files again. Is there any way to avoid this?”

No. There is no permanent marker. I would make a suggestion to Sony to add something to the thumbnail to indicate that the media is in use. Here is a link to their Product Suggestion page.

[James Farnum] “That’s another good tip. Maybe the reason I often get high use counts on clips I have only used once is that I set markers or regions in the Trimmer window? On one clip, though, I have a Use Count of 9, even though I did not mark it in the Trimmer Window. Strange. “

I don’t think the trimmer affects the use count. Don’t forget that placing a Video/Audio clip on the timeline results in a use count of 2. Once for the video event and once for the audio event. Maybe that’s the discrepancy you are seeing.

[James Farnum] “That does the trick too. The only thing is, it turns most of the applicatíon into a very light grey very much reminscent of earlier versions of Vegas. Is there any way to retain the dark grey background of Vegas 10 which is much easier on the eyes?”

No. You can use the Vegas scheme and not be able to change the colors, or you can use the Windows scheme and change any color you want. Those are the only options.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[James Farnum]

Thanks again for your speedy response, John. I guess there’s no such thing as a free lunch, so to speak, and, as with most programs, there are trade-offs about which we all have to decide individually. And thanks for the link.