You could
a) Click onto the eye symbol left of the sound track you want to mute - putting a red X instead of the eye.
This mutes ALL clips in that track - you may also produce these clips muted.
b) Select every clip you want to be muted, choose "unlink objects" from the context menu (mouse-right-click), highlight the sound track object alone (you will have to highlight anything else before) and remove the sound from the track. So you may keep individual tracks WITH sound, if desired, but you won't ever get the sound back.
c) Highlight every clip you want to be muted, position the timecode indicator to position 00:00:00 of the clip, open the Audio Mixing Room and set the volume lever of the respective "Audio" to zero. So you keep the option to get back sound, if desired.

Michael.

b) Select every clip you want to be muted, choose "separate objects" from the context menu (mouse-right-click), highlight the sound track object alone (you will have to highlight anything else before) and remove the sound from the track. So you may keep individual tracks WITH sound, if desired, but you won't ever get the sound back.

OR you could (same as "b" above I think):
1. Right click on a clip and choose "Unlink Objects"
2. Right click on the (now) separate audio portion and REMOVE it

This only removes the audio of the clip in the TIMELINE, not the LIBRARY

Fred,

Your solution is great. Thank you!

A new behavior I'm noticing between PD8 and PD9 is that when I save a video in PD9 where I have individually muted each clip, then reopen it, all the unmutes are now mutes. Your solution will solve this problem very easily and allow much to have some clips that aren't muted (retain the original sound.)

Much appreciated.

Quote: Fred,

Your solution is great. Thank you!

A new behavior I'm noticing between PD8 and PD9 is that when I save a video in PD9 where I have individually muted each clip, then reopen it, all the unmutes are now mutes. Your solution will solve this problem very easily and allow much to have some clips that aren't muted (retain the original sound.)

Much appreciated.

I'm having the same problem with PD9. I've muted several clips but when I save and reopen all the muted clips are unmuted. I did not have this problem in PD8. Very annoying. It should not be necessary to unlink the objects and then delete the audio for every single clip. What's the point of being able to mute a clip if the changes aren't saved?

This should be fixed, soon I hope.

I agree. It's nice there's a workaround, but there shouldn't need to be a workaround.

Just a guess on my part, but I don't think that "muting " a clip is intended to be a permanent action that is actually embedded in the project file so that action is remembered when reopening.

I think of muting as a temporary action to quickly silence a specific clip. As Mike pointed out the "eye" control on each track will control whether the entire track is audible. I have used this control when working with a project and placing TWO distinct audio tracks on the timeline...One Copyrighted and the other non-copyrighted. It is then a very simple task to upload a project to YouTube and silence the entire copyrighted audio track and then upload it to Youtube without copyright issues...but then later use that track and burn it to a Blu-Ray and give it to family. The "eye" control is a remembered action in the project file.

If you want to mute a specific clip so that it is remembered when reopening...just go to the Audio Room and lower the volume of the clip...it takes just a couple of seconds. But you can also use the "Unlink Objects" like Fred pointed out...an equally effective method.

I think that PD9 has changed in many ways in how things are done from PD8 and I have had to change the way I edit my projects...some of the changes I like and some I don't. But I have in some cases viewed the differences as not work arounds...but just a different way to do things within PD9. But the more we share our ideas , the easier it is to work with. I Love hearing all the different ways to do the same thing.

Hey just a couple of thoughts from the sea.

Regards,

Kevin
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Good point. I've also noticed some other differences between PD8 and PD9, some I liked, others not so much. But like you said, it just requires figuring out how to work with the new version. In time, we'll all probably forget how we used to do it in PD8 and be completely proficient in PD9.

Quote: Good point. I've also noticed some other differences between PD8 and PD9, some I liked, others not so much. But like you said, it just requires figuring out how to work with the new version. In time, we'll all probably forget how we used to do it in PD8 and be completely proficient in PD9.

I think initially that was a common observation in the PD9 forum. So many people migrated from PD8 into PD9 and "thought" that it was going to be the same in many respects. Many of the questions were phrased like "In PD8 it was done this way...why is PD9 not doing it the same way...is it broken?" I think these issues are still getting sorted out.

PD9 is still a bit confusing to me...The "clips and effects shifting thing" is still driving me crazy!! If you are not on your toes...clips can shift and can bugger up a project if you aren't careful!

But I am commited to learning PD9....maybe I should have said that PD9 is going to get me commited!! I still Love the software....I remember editing with multiple tape players...pausing and recording...I don't miss that a bit!

Kevin
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Quote: Just a guess on my part, but I don't think that "muting " a clip is intended to be a permanent action that is actually embedded in the project file so that action is remembered when reopening.
...
Kevin

Nevertheless I'd like to be the 'boss', who decides, which action is a permanent one and has to be saved in the project.
Imagine any text formatting, and your text editor decides that - e.g. - crossing out words is not a permanent format ("...otherwise you'd delete the words...") and does not save that format.
I still regard the option "mute clip" as an important feature which PD8 saved thoroughly, and which PD9 does not.
That's not a matter of 'being used to...', that's a matter of principle, whether I, the user, decides an action to be done, or CL decides, which actions of my editing are saved and which are ommited without comment.

Michael.

Nevertheless I'd like to be the 'boss', who decides, which action is a permanent one and has to be saved in the project.
Imagine any text formatting, and your text editor decides that - e.g. - crossing out words is not a permanent format ("...otherwise you'd delete the words...") and does not save that format.
I still regard the option "mute clip" as an important feature which PD8 saved thoroughly, and which PD9 does not.
That's not a matter of 'being used to...', that's a matter of principle, whether I, the user, decides an action to be done, or CL decides, which actions of my editing are saved and which are ommited without comment.

Michael.

I agree with you Michael...As I said I am only trying to offer an idea as to why it is different. I simply try to work within the limits of the rules that the software has provided me.

Honestly I don't think there is a decent explanation for how lots of the things happen in PD9.
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I agree with Michael. This is a very significant issue for me. I developed a series of 5 1-hour DVDs, each with hundreds of video clips. Many of the video clips were to be muted, some not. My editing time amounted to hundreds of hours.

When I open those files in PD9, all of the clips are un-muted -- OUCH. Yes, I made masters in PD8 before migrating to PD9, but PD9 has rendered much of my previous work useless unless I invest many more hours re-editing to lower the volume on hundreds of clips.

A muted clip should remain muted until I decide to un-mute it. Don't even offer the option if it is so volatile - there is little practical use of temporarily muting a clip. More importantly, when the software unpredictably makes such a dramatic change, there is a high risk of accidentally producing a finished product with unwanted audio material.

How do we get this message to Cyberlink?

Jeff

Quote: I agree with Michael. This is a very significant issue for me. I developed a series of 5 1-hour DVDs, each with hundreds of video clips. Many of the video clips were to be muted, some not. My editing time amounted to hundreds of hours.

When I open those files in PD9, all of the clips are un-muted -- OUCH. Yes, I made masters in PD8 before migrating to PD9, but PD9 has rendered much of my previous work useless unless I invest many more hours re-editing to lower the volume on hundreds of clips.

A muted clip should remain muted until I decide to un-mute it. Don't even offer the option if it is so volatile - there is little practical use of temporarily muting a clip. More importantly, when the software unpredictably makes such a dramatic change, there is a high risk of accidentally producing a finished product with unwanted audio material.

How do we get this message to Cyberlink?

Jeff

Cyberlink already has the information, it was reported months ago. Whether they choose to make any changes it is up to them. We have reported many issues while beta testing the product back in the Summer and many of the issues we felt were present and "should be fixed" have not been addressed yet. So I wouldn't hold your breath for a fix anytime soon. It's not as easy as..."Hey Cyberlink...can you change the way all the clips shift when you split and remove a section or simply shorten a clip by dragging it and everything shifts on all the timelines and I don't want it to...this isn't logical as a video editor the way it behaves?
We have gotten answers that explain how some of our observations in functionality like this.."It is by design and that is the way PD9 works".

I am not saying that I don't agree with you and Michael....I think pointing out these things is what a forum is all about...but patches are released and the same things don't work in many respects.

As a group we throw our desires, wishes and observations about PD9 over the fence hoping that someone will be listening and then correcting the problem. But in reality it is like peeing down a deep well.... but I genuinely feel that we as users of the software don't REALLY have much influence on anything. Cyberlink advertises so many wonderful things about PD that don't currently function properly. It is still a great program and I use it daily....But if you want the muting problem addressed right now...I don't think it is going to happen soon enough to meet your expectations. I am not trying to be a jerk and not be understanding to your problem...I am just being realistic to what has transpired over the last 8 months since we started beta testing.

Ok...time to go to the dentist!!hahaha!

Kevin
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Kevin, thanks for the history. Unfortunately it gives me a lot less confidence in CyberLink. I really liked PD7 and PD8, and became very proficient in them. Many of the things you describe are the things that had me pulling out my hair and after just a day of working with PD9 wanting to race out to the store and buy PD8 again. Still might. The performance features they claim for PD9 matter much less than usability. That's paramount. And to make thousands of customers learn new ways of doing things for no reason other than change make no sense. So far, I haven't seen any advantages, just disadvantages to the changes in working in the timeline interface in PD9. You do learn it, but does it actually make you more productive? I'm still trying to figure out insert and why I sometimes have to click it and other times the program lets me insert a clip or music segment without using insert.

Quote:
...
Cyberlink already has the information, it was reported months ago. Whether they choose to make any changes it is up to them. We have reported many issues while beta testing the product back in the Summer and many of the issues we felt were present and "should be fixed" have not been addressed yet. So I wouldn't hold your breath for a fix anytime soon. It's not as easy as..."Hey Cyberlink...can you change the way all the clips shift when you split and remove a section or simply shorten a clip by dragging it and everything shifts on all the timelines and I don't want it to...this isn't logical as a video editor the way it behaves?
We have gotten answers that explain how some of our observations in functionality like this.."It is by design and that is the way PD9 works".
...
Kevin

"It's not a bug - it's a feature" - I think, I've heard that already before somewhere else....
Only: In this case it relates to a program behaviour that explicitly has been changed between two major releases of the same product, which otherwise look as twins.
The practicability of PD obviously IS reduced by such "features" - for those of us, who have been faithful users of PD since earlier versions (for me - with the exception of v6 - since v5).
For me the question arises what good for a beta-testing is (and I also was a part-time member of that group), when sheer hypocrisy forbids to listen to customers' pleas.

Michael.

P.S.: I've returned to v8 to finish my begun projects, no sense to try it with v9 in this edition....

Dreadful!

This is rubbish and the work round a bodge. (Thanks for trying but a bodge non the less.)

Come on.