… for Apple Final Cut Pro X
Tip #406: What’s the Best Way to Backup a Project?
Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com
There are two options to backup a project. Which is best?
One of the big benefits of Final Cut Pro X is its ability to instantly save whenever you do something. Which is fine, most of the time. But, what if you want to make a protection copy of just a single project? Now you have two options:
- Duplicate Project.
- Duplicate Project as Snapshot.
Which do you use? Duplicate Project as Snapshot. (To view this menu, Control-click the Project image or name in the Browser.)
These each create an identical protection copy until you are using multicam or compound clips. When you duplicate a project as a snapshot, Final Cut Pro embeds copies of compound or multicam “parent” clips in the duplicate, so any changes to other instances of those clips do not affect the duplicate.
If you work on projects that contain compound clips and multicam clips, you can use the Duplicate Project as Snapshot command to create a self-contained backup version of a project that includes referenced compound clips or multicam “parent” clips. Changes you make to other instances of the compound clips or multicam clips do not affect the versions in the duplicate, so your project is protected from accidental changes.