Maybe you didn't wait long enough? The icon becomes green after PD has finished creating the shadow file. With many long clips that can take a while. A long while.

Hatti Win 10 64, i7-4790k, 32GB Ram, 256 GB SSD, SATA 2TB, SATA 4TB, NVidia GTX1080 8GB, LG 34" 4K Wide, AOC 24" 1080

No, it's not that. The yellow icon only flashes up for a split second. In PDR 15 I see the yellow icon until it changes to green. I tried with a smallish file which in PDR 15 takes about 20 seconds to generate the shadow files. PDR 16 just doesnt create them

Just to be sure: you have, in the general preferences, selected the "enable shadow files for high res videos" option?

Hi Peter -

At first I wrote: "They don't happen to be .MOV files, do they? There was an issue with earlier builds geenerating shadow files from .MOV clips. If so, installing the 2503 beta patch should fix it. If that's not it, could you post the details of camera/file type etc. That might help track it down."

Then I read your first post where you stated that you had the 2503 beta patch installed. DOH!

Sorry about that. Anyway, if you can provide details of camera & video properties it wil help get closer to a solution.

Cheers - Tony
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Quote Hi Peter -

At first I wrote: "They don't happen to be .MOV files, do they? There was an issue with earlier builds geenerating shadow files from .MOV clips. If so, installing the 2503 beta patch should fix it. If that's not it, could you post the details of camera/file type etc. That might help track it down."

Then I read your first post where you stated that you had the 2503 beta patch installed. DOH!

Sorry about that. Anyway, if you can provide details of camera & video properties it wil help get closer to a solution.

Cheers - Tony

Tony - you mention issues with .MOV files - was it the longer time they take to create shadow files or something else? I have just done a couple of project sourced with .MOV files and they seem to take well over twice as long to create shadows, but they eventually do. I just assume its because they are about twice the size of the .mts files I usually use.

Alan.

I have this problem with all files including the samples so it doesn't seem to be file specific. Are there any logs I could look at or a debug mode?

Quote I have this problem with all files including the samples so it doesn't seem to be file specific. Are there any logs I could look at or a debug mode?

Wow Peter! That's serious. I don't have a clue (a) what might be causing that or (b) what to do about it.

I can't replicate what you've described here, but about 24 hours ago (on my tinpot laptop not usually used for editing) I imported 3 4K files - 2x .MOV from Canon 5DMkIV & 1x Samsung Galaxy Notebook - and I'm stil waiting for the shadow files to generate. It's just sitting there. When I check Task Manager, it looks like it's working - just achieving nothing.

Maybe try submitting a Tech Support ticket? There really is some underlying issue there, it seems.

Cheers - Tony
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Quote: Tony - you mention issues with .MOV files - was it the longer time they take to create shadow files or something else? I have just done a couple of project sourced with .MOV files and they seem to take well over twice as long to create shadows, but they eventually do. I just assume its because they are about twice the size of the .mts files I usually use.

The issue was more to do not working than taking too long, such as this thread. The other .MOV issue was alpha channel related.

You're right about some .MOV files taking a long time to generate... but it's not consistent. e.g. a 4K clip from Canon 5D MkIV takes almost 3x the clip duration to generate a shadow file (1:3), but a 4K clip from DJI P3 does it in the samme time (1:1)

MP4s, in general, even 4K with high VBR, generate shadow files much faster - between 1:1 & 2:1 - e.g. 1 minute UHD clip from Sony X1000V generates the shadow file in under 30 sec.

Cheers - Tony
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Same here. I upgraded to 16 and have yet to have a single shadow file generated. I've checked to make sure I have it enabled. I'm using MP4 videos from a Sony FDR-AX33. The files I'm currently working on have supposedly been generating the shadow files for more than 24 hours now.

Hi Pandemonium -

Just did a quick test here using clips from the AX33. Shadow files were generated pretty quickly, though the clips were all <1min.

Screenshot attached showing Shadoweditfiles folder & PDR16 interface.

It might be a good idea to post the DxDiag for your PC.

Cheers - Tony
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Quote Hi Pandemonium -

Just did a quick test here using clips from the AX33. Shadow files were generated pretty quickly, though the clips were all <1min.

Screenshot attached showing Shadoweditfiles folder & PDR16 interface.

It might be a good idea to post the DxDiag for your PC.

Cheers - Tony

Thank you. Is this what you're asking for? Sorry, I'm a total newb at this. Also, sometimes the files I'm processing are upwards of an hour long. However, PD15 processed the shadow files no problem.

Thanks for the DxDiag. I can't see anything that looks like a problem, but I'm not too sharp about that stuff.

When I saw it was a laptop, I recalled my own laptop attempting to generate shadow files from .MOV clips. After 2 days, it hadn't made any progress so I gave up.

I just ran the same AX33 clips through PDR16 on my laptop, which is a fair bit lower than yours in specs. The shadow files generated successfully, even though it took about 30 minutes (compared to only a couple on my desktop PC).

A screenshot is attached showing the generated shadow files & PDR16 interface. Also attaching my laptop's DxDiag to help you feel better about yours!

I can only think that the 1hr+ clips you're using might be the holdup. Have you tried with shorter clips?

Cheers - Tony
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Quote Thanks for the DxDiag. I can't see anything that looks like a problem, but I'm not too sharp about that stuff.

When I saw it was a laptop, I recalled my own laptop attempting to generate shadow files from .MOV clips. After 2 days, it hadn't made any progress so I gave up.

I just ran the same AX33 clips through PDR16 on my laptop, which is a fair bit lower than yours in specs. The shadow files generated successfully, even though it took about 30 minutes (compared to only a couple on my desktop PC).

A screenshot is attached showing the generated shadow files & PDR16 interface. Also attaching my laptop's DxDiag to help you feel better about yours!

I can only think that the 1hr+ clips you're using might be the holdup. Have you tried with shorter clips?

Cheers - Tony

Thanks! Yes, actually today I put in a clip that was maybe 45 seconds long. The shadow file never generated. But, like I said, the exact same files generated no problem in PD15. It's only since I upgraded to 16 in the last month that it's not happening.

Anyway, thanks for your help!

PeterSue,

You're not alone, I have the same issue, and posted it here. Was told it was my problem and that nobody else could reproduce it.

Shadow files in PD16 definitely broken for many of us when it never used ot be a problem in previous versions.

Shadow files, hidden folder.
Preferences, File, Export Folder
In my case and perhaps others, if it is not in your default location.
When updating PD, you need to reconfigure it.
If you do not, you will not have access to the old files.
From the update, Export Folder has returned to its default location. C: \ Users \ .......
If this is the case the files have not been deleted continues in the same place. XEON-E5-2680 v4 / Mem. 16GB DDR4
M.2 NVME 512Gb / 2-SSD Sata3 1TB
AMD RX570 / Display Philips 272V8
Windows 11_64Pro / PD22/365

Quote Shadow files, hidden folder.
Preferences, File, Export Folder
In my case and perhaps others, if it is not in your default location.
When updating PD, you need to reconfigure it.
If you do not, you will not have access to the old files.
From the update, Export Folder has returned to its default location. C: \ Users \ .......
If this is the case the files have not been deleted continues in the same place.

The problem is not that the files are hidden - it's that the files aren't being generated at all. PD let's you know if it's created them with indicators in the app itself. It's not even doing that, even though shadow is turned on in settings.

The bottom line is that once you add videos to the library, you must let PD create all shadow files before you start adding them to your timeline or it breaks the shadow file generation process and it never resumes. Also, do not close the project before all shadow files have been created, it will not resume creating them when you open the project back up.

This is one area where Corel's VideoStudio product really puts PD to shame - their shadow file management is absolutely outstanding.

Quote
The problem is not that the files are hidden - it's that the files aren't being generated at all. PD let's you know if it's created them with indicators in the app itself. It's not even doing that, even though shadow is turned on in settings.

The bottom line is that once you add videos to the library, you must let PD create all shadow files before you start adding them to your timeline or it breaks the shadow file generation process and it never resumes. Also, do not close the project before all shadow files have been created, it will not resume creating them when you open the project back up.

This is one area where Corel's VideoStudio product really puts PD to shame - their shadow file management is absolutely outstanding.

Just to check, I did a quick test here.
I added 41 .MTS fullhd files to the library, letting it create shadow from 0 to 16, then dragged all to the timeline.
I saved project in 36, shadow file.
I closed and reopened PD16 I returned to the project
The shadow process has been completed.

One suggestion change the File, Export Folder, to another HD or partition, here I did it, to facilitate access to temporary files

Currently I do not use shadow file with PD16 I can edit direct in fullHD (60i) goes well, 60P still hurts a bit, for this I divide project into parts. XEON-E5-2680 v4 / Mem. 16GB DDR4
M.2 NVME 512Gb / 2-SSD Sata3 1TB
AMD RX570 / Display Philips 272V8
Windows 11_64Pro / PD22/365