Changing file location, rerouting default storage for PD365?

mariamar123

Newbie Joined: Sep 27, 2022 18:53 Messages: 10 Offline

Solved by

Feb 07, 2023 14:52

Hi community,

It's a good thing to keep in mind that every problem has a solution. I'm discovering that every solution also has a problem! LOL!

I got PD365 (subscription) and it began to fail because my laptop did not have enough space. I got an external drive and linked it to dropbox (as my last external drived crashed and took lots with it).

I moved all existing videos to the external drive so that they would be backed up by dropbox.

But I was in a hurry and did not know how to change the default file storage that PD365 creates when we are making the videos. So I left it where it was.

Now I have two challenges:

The videos I moved to the external drive show up as "empty" --meaning PPD can't find the media in them. What can I do in the easiest, most simple way to relink videos and images?

2. I need to change the default location of PD365 and/or where it stores its default media during editing. Otherwise, I'll be out of space in the laptop pretty soon again. BUT it makes me nervous to place the software itself in the external drive. I don't want it to go the way my files went when my last external drive crashed.

So how can I have the software and keep the files together both during editing and afterwards? What should and shouldn't I moved to the external drive?

So, again, I need to keep files together both for the ones I already moved and the ones I'm editing now.

Also, I'm in the middle of a launch and I have no extra time, so it's got to be easily and quickly done.

Miracles, anyone?):

Thanks a lot!
Maria Mar

tomasc

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 25, 2011 12:33 Messages: 6464 Offline

Feb 07, 2023 20:37

You did not state whether you are using a laptop with limited storage or a desktop that can have an extra internal drive for storage. Add an extra large hard drive or ssd for data and move the My Documents and other users folder to it. You can do it properly by researching how to do it in Windows.

This is the way it is on my deskyop pc's.

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Feb 07, 2023 22:14

Quote 1.The videos I moved to the external drive show up as "empty" --meaning PPD can't find the media in them. What can I do in the easiest, most simple way to relink videos and images?

That's very simple. If you're sure that the current location is where you always want to store your raw clips, simply connect the external drive, make sure it has a drive letter set (like E:\), then open up a project in PD.

When the message box appears telling you it can't find the first missing file, use the Browse button then navigate to the new folder and click Open. PD will find and load the first video there, and it should automatically find all the other project videos there as well. If any of them are in a different folder, you'll have to use the Browse button again when prompted.

As long as you don't move the clips again, PD will always be able to find them. That's why you want to be sure they're in the best location before reopening the project.

Quote 2. I need to change the default location of PD365 and/or where it stores its default media during editing. Otherwise, I'll be out of space in the laptop pretty soon again. BUT it makes me nervous to place the software itself in the external drive. I don't want it to go the way my files went when my last external drive crashed.[/olist]

So how can I have the software and keep the files together both during editing and afterwards? What should and shouldn't I moved to the external drive?

There's no reason to move the installed software, and putting it on an external drive isn't a good idea for many reasons. If you really want to save your internal drive space, uninstall any of the content packs that you've already installed and then change the Installation Path location from the CL App Manager's gear icon. When you install them again, they'll go onto the external drive (which obvioulsy would need to be connected whenever you run PD).

The "default location" is anything you want it to be. You can easily specify a folder on your external drive, and you might as well set the import folder to the same drive while you're at it.

Each setting is found on the Preferences | File menu, and if you set that as soon as you load an existing project you'll overwrite the old values and will ensure that all teh temporary files and folders will end up on teh external drive and won't clutter your internal one.

Also PD doesn't generate much in the way of temporary files unless you're using shadow files, and all temporary files are deleted 30 days after they've last been used so I don't think you have to worry too much about any that might still be on your internal drive.