reorganize projects using Save As

[videovillageidiot]

since the restore of my computer i thought it would be a great opportunity to organize my projects. i didn't know the rule of "each project in its own folder" when i started using premiere. now i want to try to make up for that with existing projects. it's a little puzzling.

prior to the restore of my machine i had saved all projects from the C drive to an external drive. most existed in the documents/adobe/premiere elements/4.0 folder. within that folder were many individual projects. recent projects had been created in their own folder within the 4.0 folder.

when i began to use the restored machine, i opened an existing project on the external drive and, once i located all the missing media (which was now stored on external drive instead of the C drive and also on another external drive) the project opened. then i did a "Save As" and put the project in a new folder on the external drive (not in the saved 4.0 folder where i had found the original).

what i found was...
the new project folder included folders for preview files, encoded files and cache files. it also included a text document with the name of the project and a project file. i expected this. BUT what i also found was that folders for preview files, encoded files and cache files in the 4.0 folder had also been modified, along with the text document. i hadn't expected that since i had NOT saved the project in the 4.0 folder.

i did the same thing with 2 other projects and had some different results...all that was created in the new location was the project file and a folder for encoded files; in the original saved location, the folder for preview files, encoded files and cache files were modified as well as the text document.

i hope this isn't too confusing. can someone please explain what is happening before i proceed? my hope was to keep all my old projects separate from now on.

thanks so much!!!

[Bobby]

Save As only applies to where the actual, single project file (.prel) goes. All the rest can be controlled by setup options - Edit / Preferences / Scratch Disks.

But your input files (.avi, etc.) are where you put them, and Save As will not either save or change that - actually the input files never get modified anyhow.

Save As is really only useful to save your .prel file with a different name - useful as backup or to create versions. If for example if I am working on project XYZ, I will save as XYZ-1, XYZ-2 ets. to retain different versions.

[videovillageidiot]

i think i need to calrify. what i was trying to determine was,
1) are some of these folders in the original project updated when i simply open the original project? even if i ultimately save the prel file elsewhere using "save as"?

2) do i need to maintain the "link" between the updated folders for the old project and the "saved as" project?

3) if i get rid of the updated files in the old location does that adversely affect the "saved as" project? or does premiere create these files as needed in the new project?

it defeats the purpose of trying to place projects in their own folder if i need to retain the old one; then stuff is scattered around in two places.

i hope this makes more clear what i was trying to ask. note: locating the missing media was not a problem.

THANKS ALL!!

[Steve Grisetti]

If you're really just trying to separate all of your projects and their media into separate folders, the best solution might be to use the Project Archiver. This will make duplicates of all the media from each project you archive and save it all in one place, maintaining the links and updating the catalog in your Organizer. Then you can delete your original files (Ideally, using the Organizer so that it can update its catalog as you do).

This may seem like you're doing a lot of copying and deleting -- but it sure beats chasing down all your media, one clip at a time, and then re-linking to each clip after you move it.

[Peru]

If you're really just trying to separate all of your projects and their media into separate folders, the best solution might be to use the Project Archiver. This will make duplicates of all the media fom each project you archive and save it all in one place, maintaining the links and updating the catalog in your Organizer.

Won't this only save the trimmed clips, not the unedited media? That would not allow you to "retrieve" the part of the media that has been trimmed as part of the editing process.

I know it works this way in version 3.

[Steve Grisetti]

The Project Archiver gives you the option of saving only the clips actually used on your timeline or all of the clips in your project's media panel.