Quote: Very frustrated. I consistently save my project indepently with an ascending letter of the alphabet. This morning I opened my latest project K and saw that 6 of the trimmed videos were there within in the timeline, but I could only see a black box and 0,0,0 on the timeline for each of them. No video was associated with the trimmed video box on the timeline.

I went back and reset all the videos within the timeline and consistently saved them again. PD8 crashed on me after saving as Project U. When I reopened the project, the same thing occurred with the videos I already fixed before and now some of the ones I recently updated. How frustrating.

What's the resolution to my issue?

The reason of the black videos on the timeline is because, Powerdirector can not find the original videos.

If you moved or deleted the original videos you get the black place holders.

You can make the original videos available in the original location then look for a Autosaved PDS file before you re-saved you current messed up PDS file.

Default location for Powerdirector 8 is:
C:\Documents and Settings\Carl\Application Data\CyberLink\PowerDirector\8.0\AutoSave

They are in a hidden folder, you may have to change the settings in Windows Explorer folder options to see the files.

Or if you are saving using the alphabet, open a earlier letter before you lost the videos.

You must make the original videos available in the original location.
This is the reason for the recommendation for creating a folder for video editing on your internal hard drive.
Do not move or remove until you have finished.

To save the finished project, Export (Pack materials) and save on an external drive.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

I appreciate the responses thus far and wish it was that simple. None of my videos have been moved which is why this is so frustrating. I have been producing home videos for the last 8 years and I have only seen this occur with PD 8. This is my first time to ask about it in the PD community because I am trying to finish up a wedding video for a friend. I have tolerated it during the past year.

Quote: I appreciate the responses thus far and wish it was that simple. None of my videos have been moved which is why this is so frustrating. I have been producing home videos for the last 8 years and I have only seen this occur with PD 8. This is my first time to ask about it in the PD community because I am trying to finish up a wedding video for a friend. I have tolerated it during the past year.

What happens if you try the Sample files?

Have you upgraded your PD8? Last Build is 3022.

http://www.cyberlink.com/downloads/support/powerdirector/patches_en_US.html

You are talking about something I have never seen, except in the case of moving or deleting the original files.

How about a uninstall then re-install PD8, maybe something got corrupted in the program.
I am guessing here because I have nothing to go on.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

My PD8 vers. is 3022. I would assume that PD10 has significant upgrades that may enhance my editing experience. Have you upgraded to PD 10?

I guess updating to PD 10 would be the best option here. using the latest build would help a lot here.

Customer Support Response
2019/10/01 11:37
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for contacting CyberLink Technical Support.
We understand that you are having concern about the blank output when loading a previous projects on the PowerDirector 18. We are more than willing to assist you.
With reference to your query, we would like to inform you that you have to collect and store all of your PiP objects, effects, audio, templates and any files related to your created project that you use in one folder. So your PowerDirector software can locate and load the certain clips to your project.
Once you manage the folder with a file name and saved all that you use in your project, kindly follow the steps below to load your complete project and check again your previous projects condition:

<p style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">1. Go to the PowerDirector preference window.
2. Click the gear icon.
3. Select file in the menu.
4. Click browse at the export folder.
5. Then choose the folder that contains the project pack material with your project file name.
6. It will load all the clips in your project to your timeline.

Now that I bought PD 365 I get nothing but black boxes when ever I tried to "save as" I too have been working on a wedding video for the last 6 months and this empty black sections where my video files were on the time line used to be are just empty black boxes now. I have just found out from CyberLink support, that this means your project where you last "save as" is now gone Forever, Start Again . You now have to start from scratch. I lost everythinjg and it is unretrievable. When I complained to cyberlink support they sent me a video link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAOnn8g0C_o You will all be shocked when you watch this video. You can no longer use just the save-as button if you want to save a project to work on at a later date. Now you have to create temporary file folders, (they don't say where, and put in All the files representing not only all the Vids and pictures you have so far put on the time line but also a file for every single editing function you have used in the project, like transitions, pips, titles, everything. WOW where did this suddenly come from. When I asked Cyberlink, they gave me a link to a tutorial, which is not mentioned or made available in any of the cyberlink tutorial videos that I have seeen, and I have seen them all .) Please watch it. You will be shocked. One of the sentences on this video says, "If you want to save a project, and expect to get it back as you left it to continue to work on it, now you have to create a temp folder for every project and put not only the vids and picture you have used in the project but also a temp file which represent every thing else you have put in it like transition files ,Pips, titles etc. all the pack products you get with Power director 18 or 365.. please watch this video link. You will alll be shocked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAOnn8g0C_o

reply from support.
Dear Kevin,
<p style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">Thank you for contacting CyberLink Technical Support.
</p><p style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">We understand that you are having concern about the blank output when loading a previous projects on the PowerDirector 18. We are more than willing to assist you. With reference to your query, we would like to inform you that you have to collect and store all of your PiP objects, effects, audio, templates and any files related to your created project that you use in one folder. So your PowerDirector software can locate and load the certain clips to your project. Once you manage the folder with a file name and saved all that you use in your project, kindly follow the steps below to load your complete project and check again your previous projects condition:

</p><p style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p>

The "save project As" is the correct one on the file menu.

Save as does not save the entire project.

The reason you get black boxes for your files in the project is because Powerdirector does know where the videos are stored on your computer.

If you used videos from a USB drive, then that drive must be present. That is why you create a temporary working folder on your hard drive and copy all of the files you need in your project to that folder. Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Thanx for your reply.
Yes I have (for the last 10 years,) used "save project as" and never used "save project."
What has changed if you read the quote from the Cyberlink Tec's reply in my first letter "you now have to collect and store all of your PiP objects files, effects files, transition files, snap shots files, title files audio files, templates and any files related to your created project, in a new temporary file folder" not a copy of all of the templates that comes with the PD 18 product, but you have to somehow find and copy the actual particular type of transition or title or pip file that you actually used in your project, not the full set that comes with the software.
And now we have another direction to follow to "save projects as" in the file menu of the latest version of PD 18 or 365, and that is called packed project materials and batch produce.
I have never seen these last two "file" menu items in earlier versions of PDirector. and they are also now one of the requirements you use to "save project as:" in PD 18 and 365. If you have seen packed project materials and batch produce. file menu commands, in earlier versions of PD, I must have missed them and yet I still had no problems with Save Project As." I have never seen them before or used them before and was still able to to save all my projects and retrieve them at a later date successfully without them.. Or I am just going crazy and these commands have always been there in the file menu when I previously used PD 8 PD13 versions.
I am seeing this for the first time on the new Cyberlink 365 Package. I did not need to use these new file menu commands in the past when "saving projects as"so how come it is now a neccessity. KG

keving2 - I am not sure why you posted on a 7 year old thread concerning PD10. You never stated what were the initial issues you have with PD18 and why you contacted Cyberlink support. You only posted the Cyberlink response so I can only assume you are having the same problem as the OP seven years ago. You blast support because you know more and don't beleive them for whatever reason.

This tutorial might help about what may be related to the Cyberlink response: https://youtu.be/ulGlBzFQi2s . You never stated what is the problem you told Cyberlink support.

Black boxes can happen when one has more than one external drive as the drive letter can change depending which drive was previously connected. Can you tell us the drive letter it was saved to the last time and what that particular drive letter is at present...

Quote Now that I bought PD 365 I get nothing but black boxes when ever I tried to "save as" I too have been working on a wedding video for the last 6 months and this empty black sections where my video files were on the time line used to be are just empty black boxes now. I have just found out from CyberLink support, that this means your project where you last "save as" is now gone Forever, ........................

Hi,

I am unclear as to what exactly has happened. You seem to have 2 issues now you have upgraded to PDR18:
Missing assets for your project
a problem with the Save as function.

It would have been better to have started a new topic, rather than post into such an old thread as you may get more help from members.

Because I am unclear as to what exactly the main issue is, I would suggest that you outline exactly what has happened so that members can gain a clear understanding and therefore offer more specific help. At the moment, we are presented with something that we only have part of the story and we enter into to middle of the process.

Black boxes: on the timeline in an existing project almost invariably mean that the original .pds file (which has the necessary file locations held within it) cannot find those files. This is usually because the user has inadvertently moved,deleted or changed the file address - most often it happens with removeable external drives having their original drive letter changed, perhaps in the background without the knowledge of the user, due to some change in their system.
If this is not the cause, then some more troubleshooting is required, and the solution is likely to be more complex.

Save as: I am sorry but I cannot get it clear as to exactly what the issue is - I have no other reports of the Save as function being an issue and I cannot understand where you assert that it doesn't work correctly.

I have a suspicion that you are confusing the Save as and Pack Project functions and purposes but, until you can confirm that, I (and other members) would be guessing.

It would be ideal if you started a new topic in the PDR18 forum, where you can fully outline the precise nature of the issue you need help with.

Thank you,
PowerDirector Moderator

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do

Quote Very frustrated. I consistently save my project indepently with an ascending letter of the alphabet. This morning I opened my latest project K and saw that 6 of the trimmed videos were there within in the timeline, but I could only see a black box and 0,0,0 on the timeline for each of them. No video was associated with the trimmed video box on the timeline.

I went back and reset all the videos within the timeline and consistently saved them again. PD8 crashed on me after saving as Project U. When I reopened the project, the same thing occurred with the videos I already fixed before and now some of the ones I recently updated. How frustrating.

What's the resolution to my issue?

Sorry to all the members who have told me I was in an old forum and not the latest. So I hope this is the right one. I have been using several versions of Power Director since PD 8. I am now on PD 365 which is where my problem started. Every time I "save a project as", and when I go and retrieve it a week later to continue to work on the editing, all the MP4's and most templates like transitions, pips and plugins have now gone missing from my library and timeline. Where the MP4's used to be on my timeline is now just a black blank section where my file used to be. (Hopefully you can see a jpeg. screen shot of this which I have tried to attach to this document.) The MP4's also disappear from the library as well. It's strange when things like jpeg's and Snap Shots, even titles are saved OK and come back on my library and timeline where I left them when Iater I use the "saved project as" command, and then returned to editing 1 week later.
I keep emphasising that I use the "Save AS Project" command in the file menu rather than the "save project" command as, I have been told and it is strongly emphasised on the tutorial video I want you all to watch, using the latter "save project" command will no longer work and is now the wrong command to use. (If it is true, why is this command still in the File Menu.) I make sure I use the "save project as " command from the file menu when saving all my projects' I "save project as" all my projects to the same C:/ Drive on my PC where I have my WIN 10 Pro and Cyberlink 365 programs and templates located, and all on my C:/ drive inside the PD365 folder in C:/ Drive Programs or C:/ Drive Programs 18.
I never use an external hard drive or another different internal Hard Drive ( "SSD" ) which I have in my PC. I load the PD 365 collection program onto my C drive. All my personal Jpegs, snap shots and MP4's that I am planning to use in the project are stored and transferred from my USERS PICTURES folder in the same C:/ Drive. All the templates, titles, transitions, PIPs and plug ins etcI have my PD 365 set to save every ten minutes, as it is set up to do when it comes out of the box. I don't change any of the suggested or pre-installed "save project as" locations that come in the "preference menu" when ever I start work on a new project or continue to work on an old project which I have previously saved. Everything mentioned above is on my C drive where my Windows 10 is also installed and I always use and never change the Cyberlink default locations for "saving projects as" are all on the same C:/ Drive and all the transitions, particles, plug ins, titles etc. are all from the 365 file in my C:/Drive as well.
When I transferred this problem to Cyberlink customer support, I mentioned two new file menu commands which were not on the older versions of PD that I used to use, but have suddenly appeared on the new PD 365 package and I assume on the latest PD 18 program. These new commands refer to "saving projects as" things like "Batch products," "Packed or packaged materials," and a couple of new ones for saving "packaged materials" or batch projects into Cyberlink Cloud e.tc.
When I first pointed the above out to the Tech support rep, he confirmed that Cyberlink have not yet come out with a tutorial on the different ways you must now "save projects as" in the new PD 365 subscription set which is already well over 1 year old. He gave me a link to a tutorial that an amature non Cyberlink person has made, and that video will shock you if you listen to it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAOnn8g0C_o This tutorial seems to be about new instructions on how to save projects.
I have never done it the way it is recommended in this tutorial video. So if the original way of just pressing "Save as project" will no longer work and you will get the empty black sections in your timeline when you go to retrieve that project at a later time, why were we not informed by Cyberlink. If after watching this tutorial, please tell me that this is indeed a new process that Cyberlink have not informed us about or made a tutorial about. Or am I just going crazy?
I believe this video link is the one and only tutorial video on YOUTube relating specifically to this new issue of saving PD 365 (PD1 projects. It basically says, things have changed with the new 365 version, you can no longer save projects by just pressing the the "save project as" button," like I have always done in the past without problems. He goes on to say specifically that this is no longer enough to save your project. You now have to manually create a new temporary file folder, (he does not say where to save it,) where every individual template, transition, title, PIP, Plug in individual type file etc, that you have used in the project, have now to be copied and saved on the C drive where the Cyberlink Program can see and get access to them.

I don't know who told you you can't/shouldn't use the save project command, you can and I use it all the time.

The save as is only required if you wish to change name and/or location.

Pack Project has been in the program for a number of iterations and is used to move projects to another computer as it means that everything included in that project is available, including all photos and videos. (moving just the pds file would result in exactly the effect you are reporting, as PwD would not be able to find the files to recreate the project).

Batch produce allows you to apply the same effect to a number of clips in one go. It's not something I have ever used, but I can see the benefit. Again this command has been there for some time.

I believe that the Pack Project Materials and upload to CyberLink Cloud is new but it only does the same as Pack Project above with the added online destination.

As for the video, I have seen it before and it's very useful, however; the process outlined is, just a suggestion and the video is from 2012.

This doesn't help with your issue, I'm sorry to say. I agree with others, you get the result that you are seeing if the program can't find your source clips. Remember, importing the video clips and photos does not move them into the program, PwD has to know where they are, so if they get deleted or moved you will get your issue.

If you're not moving, deleting or renaming the files outside of the program, then something strange is happening that needs investigating. It might be useful for you to write down your workflow so that we can see if there is anything that you could do differently.

Hi,

I think this issue is likely to become confusing and unclear, because we seem to be talking about apples and oranges to some degree.

I will lock the topic and will take up the issue with keving2 by PM, I think it will allow a better resolution.


@keving2 - Please check your PM inbox.

Cheers
PDM

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do