Media Management - "Move" option disappeared in 16.2.3

With the latest 16.2.3 update, the "move" feature of the Media Management panel has disappeared. I have used this a lot in the past for archiving projects as soon as they are complete, and it's been perfect for my use-case. Now all I get is Copy and Transcode. The manual still shows "Move" should be there, and I can't find anything in the release notes or announcements about this feature being disabled.

I've tried this with several different projects - some large, some quite small. I've poked around as much as I can in the Media Management panel. I've tried it from the Media, Cut, and Edit tabs. It always behaves the same.

I'm on OS X 10.15.5.
2017 MacBook Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB ssd

Is anyone else seeing this? Am I just doing something dumb?

[Peter Chamberlain]

Can you review the 'Export Project Archive' option in the project manager as the old Move has an issue that's non trivial to change so we are reviewing it.

Thanks, Peter. That's the kind of info that no user could possibly even guess at.

Can you review the 'Export Project Archive' option in the project manager as the old Move has an issue that's non trivial to change so we are reviewing it.

Thank you very much Peter - glad to know it's not just me. I just looked at the 'Export Project Archive' option in Project Manager, and it's an alternative way to archive a project for sure. It's probably not going to quite fit my workflow, as I prefer to just move all the media for a project to a massive long-term storage location, but still keep the project available in the Project Manager. It appears when you export a project archive you'll later need to re-import that project if you wish to make any edits, etc.

For now I'm using the Copy option in Media Management, and manually deleting the clips from the original location myself. If it turns out that Move is gone for good, I may switch to Export Project Archive instead.

Thanks!

Please don't let Move be gone from the Media Manager!

That's how I am clearing my media from my drive!!

Thank you!

I'm with Gabi on this one.

Whilst export project archive seems to work, the ability to move and trim unused media seemed like a really good, flexible way to tidy up a finished project and clear drive space.

If we have to use 'export project archive', how does this help to tidy up and trim the media, or does it just archive everything that's there (regardless of when it's used)?

The manual implies that it takes all the media files (including unused ones).

What would be the suggested workflow, when a project has been completed and finished, to trim out all the unused media and take a backup so that (if required) the video can be restored and re-rendered or edited again if required?

This might be the case for my client projects, for example, where I want to take their (or my own) video off my macbook pro (which is rapidly filling), but I need to be able to reliably store it and rebuild it.

Trimming off unused media is an important part of the step which the 'move' option did really well.

Thanks

Jason

I'm with Gabi on this one.

Whilst export project archive seems to work, the ability to move and trim unused media seemed like a really good, flexible way to tidy up a finished project and clear drive space.

If we have to use 'export project archive', how does this help to tidy up and trim the media, or does it just archive everything that's there (regardless of when it's used)?

The manual implies that it takes all the media files (including unused ones).

What would be the suggested workflow, when a project has been completed and finished, to trim out all the unused media and take a backup so that (if required) the video can be restored and re-rendered or edited again if required?

This might be the case for my client projects, for example, where I want to take their (or my own) video off my macbook pro (which is rapidly filling), but I need to be able to reliably store it and rebuild it.

Trimming off unused media is an important part of the step which the 'move' option did really well.

Thanks

Jason

While I was glad to see a slight performance improvement in today's 16.2.4 version I was sad to see that the Move option wasn't added back to the Media management panel.

Just out of curiosity. How do you handle bulk-clearing up clips that you don't need anymore in your project to clear up space.
Perhaps the way I was doing it before (recommended by a Resolve developer), is not an orthodox way of doing it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Just out of curiosity. How do you handle bulk-clearing up clips that you don't need anymore in your project to clear up space.
Perhaps the way I was doing it before (recommended by a Resolve developer), is not an orthodox way of doing it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

I'd also like to hear any hints and tips. The big loss from having the 'move' option go away is the loss of the ability to trim the media one has used in a project to the optimum disk space size, as well as removing automatically any unused media.

I'd be really keen to understand good practices and also to understand from BlackMagic why this option was removed and if it's going to be rebuilt into a future release (and when).

It's really useful for efficient project management and optimisation of one's system, where the option of going out and buying a load of additional drives is not an appealing prospect.

Thanks

Jason

If I didn't dream it I could swear my other post had a reply from a developer saying that the Move tab had some issues so that's why they removed it.
For the life of me I couldn't find that message anymore.

If a developer is reading this please share your thoughts behind the reason for removing the Move.

Thanks!
Gabi

Any suggestions on how to navigate deleting unused clips in a given project now that the "Move" is gone from the media management tab?

Curious of workaround workflows.

Thank you!
Gabi

Any suggestions on how to navigate deleting unused clips in a given project now that the "Move" is gone from the media management tab?

Curious of workaround workflows.

Thank you!
Gabi

that's a "me too" from me as well on Gabi's question.

This is a really important part of resource management and the 'move' option saved a bucketload of disk space by efficiently rationalising files and removing unused media. I haven't found a work around option that doesn't involve spending significant additional manual time, and that still leaves the issue of efficient trimming of the used media, which doesn't seem possible without it.

An update on what the development plan for this is, and suggested alternatives, would be greatly appreciated BlackMagic.

Many thanks

Jason

Please don't let Move be gone from the Media Manager!

That's how I am clearing my media from my drive!!

Thank you!

+1!!!!

Just figured this is missing...so annoying.

Hello Davinci team

It's been six months now since this issue was raised. Can we please have some kind of update on what's happening with this feature, as a number of users have said it was a valuable piece of functionality that's been withdrawn.

Is this going to be returned to a release and when might we expect this?

Thanks

Jason

Thanks for bringing this up again.

This is a straight forward function that makes common sense to have it from all angles in managing our media, and there wasn't any real reason stated for the removal.

It is even in the manual, page 763.

Please, if any of BlackMagic devs are reading this.

thank you,
Gabi

I need urgently the "move" option, please Black Magic bring it back.

Maybe it was considered dangerous, since you'd delete the original sources, and BM wanted to leave the responsibility to you?
And then, newer MacOS versions would ask you to allow such manipulations of files by a program.

Maybe it was considered dangerous, since you'd delete the original sources, and BM wanted to leave the responsibility to you?
And then, newer MacOS versions would ask you to allow such manipulations of files by a program.

That's one perspective, although "leaving the responsibility to you" is hard when (a) the underlying structure of the file storage is not clear enough that it's easy to delete parts of the raw data sources without making a mistake and (b) that wouldn't cover trimmed media.

I'd say it's more likely to result in an error by having users poking about in the data storage, than to let the program organise what media is trimmed and deleted. The argument about responsibility is taken when the user hits "yes, trim this project" for the second time having been told to take a backup in the warning dialogues a couple of times.

This is a useful facility that saved users hours of time and a lot of disk space once projects have been finished and many of us would like to see it back.

I use another mac product, ActivePresenter for online learning systems and this does exactly this function still. "Shrink project" trims all the input media and recordings to the content used, so when I've finished a piece of work, I can take my project file size down from GB to MB by removing all the content no longer needed.

That's not feasible to do without damaging something by poking around in application storage file structures and temp directories that it's hard for users to get their head around.

I've always been scared of that option, so I never used it.

The copy option crashes a ton.

What happens when resolve crashes in the middle of a move operation?

The idea of trimming all my media clips to just the used portions has been baking in my head for a while now as my HDD crosses 50% of used capacity. I didn't realize it was going to be so complicated until I read this thread. I mistakenly thought the archive would only carry over the trimmed clips - whoopsie!

+1 for a feature request to shrink a project - it would ideally have to be an additional option to the facility of keeping a normal archive with all the original media. Ideal feature for cold-storage to Cloud facilities as well as for sharing with others using lower capacity portable media like thumb drives or USB SSDs.

The idea of trimming all my media clips to just the used portions has been baking in my head for a while now as my HDD crosses 50% of used capacity. I didn't realize it was going to be so complicated until I read this thread. I mistakenly thought the archive would only carry over the trimmed clips - whoopsie!

+1 for a feature request to shrink a project - it would ideally have to be an additional option to the facility of keeping a normal archive with all the original media. Ideal feature for cold-storage to Cloud facilities as well as for sharing with others using lower capacity portable media like thumb drives or USB SSDs.

In my case this it's always a 2 step process.

1. You shrink after your conform and do all the finishing with the shrunk media.
2. When done you archive (or copy) this shrunken project's media for posterity.

In my case, if I did it the way you suggest, it would add an extra step of verification. Because I can't afford to trust an automated final shrink without verifying that every thing reconnects fine, including for example things like mattes or any other media that might be accidentally ignored in the process.

That's why for me it's better doing the shrink up front. Because it's the media you're going to be working with and reviewing day in and day out. If something went offline, you'll be able to catch it collaterally in this process.

That sounds like a very considerate process.

In my case this it's always a 2 step process.

1. You shrink after your conform and do all the finishing with the shrunk media.
2. When done you archive (or copy) this shrunken project's media for posterity.

In my case, if I did it the way you suggest, it would add an extra step of verification. Because I can't afford to trust an automated final shrink without verifying that every thing reconnects fine, including for example things like mattes or any other media that might be accidentally ignored in the process.

That's why for me it's better doing the shrink up front. Because it's the media you're going to be working with and reviewing day in and day out. If something went offline, you'll be able to catch it collaterally in this process.

Good point - How do you shrink media in DR? Are you doing it manually?

The "Copy and Trim" function is still there.

The "Copy and Trim" function is still there.

Do you mean the "Copy only used media files" option under Media Management?

No, copy and trim, one line further down.

The trim option might not be available for all codecs.

What type of file do you have?

H.264 gopro files. I see the option in Media Management - I'll experiment with it.

Thanks!

You will find that most clips will get a tad longer since they are extended to the next I-frame.
But in and out will be preserved.

I have upgraded to version 16.2.7, but the "Move" option is still missing. I was forced to downgrade to version 16.2.2 again. I really miss such option in my workflow, dear Blackmagic.

The "Copy and Trim" function is still there.

I just tried this in an attempt to backup my latest projects. The source folder size reduced from +14GB to 7.5GB - so far so good. Then I relinked all media clips in bin to the new Trimmed location folder and now I get several "Media Offline" holes in the timeline. Manually relinking individual clips has no effect. Its there (the clip exists in the trimmed location) but the timeline has holes all over the place. I also saw a message that said "25 out of 55 clips could not be found" ... not sure why this happened and cant be fixed after an extended search.

This looks like a problem in internal data-structure pointers - I can reveal in media storage (showing the new trimmed location after relinking) and playback the clip fine in media tab. Just the thumbnail is "offline" and so it is in the timeline ... hence it doesn't play in the timeline although I can play it in the media tab ...

For Studio production quality software to behave like this .. well I am stumped!

I agree, MOVE should be returned.
Maybe it is possible to hide the activation deeper in settings for safety reasons, but let it to use it

Maybe it's a format specific problem, I have reduced R3D stuff without a hitch.
One very important point, though: if you use several short takes from one source file, you must have subclips for those.

Maybe it's a format specific problem, I have reduced R3D stuff without a hitch.
One very important point, though: if you use several short takes from one source file, you must have subclips for those.

This may be it - I do have may short takes - But why is it so? I guess maybe perhaps DVRS is only maintaining one pointer reference per clip - to the main clip and not multiple individual offset pointers into a single clip .. just guessing from decades old memory of my programming efforts.

Edit: Trying to create subclips from the Edit timeline from source viewer done!

I come from FCPX and after quite a while I started enjoying its file management so much. Im struggling real hard to get into DRs methods. It seems its aimed at big facilities with endless storage space, and not for quick turn arounds on the move, although the Cut Page suggests other wise.
I have although tried to maintain FCPX workflow for my files when using DR; keeping a single projects files all under one folder; (original media, optimized, proxy, cache and stills etc etc, while the project files are backed up and stored locally). So now that I need to move a project from one disk to another I simply move the whole folder. Or I could have copied "used media + trimmed it down" in Media Management and then just deleted the whole folder it was copied from. As I have just done while reading this thread.

Reading all these comments convinces me FCPX in fact did something right in having the user choose to "leave clips in place" or "copy to library" when importing as well as keeping all rendered/cached media inside a Library folder. I made a habit of creating a separate Library for each project. And FCPX can have several Libraries open simultaneously to access files and copy them between projects if needed.

I still dig FCPX file handling!!! And the way its all laid out in one screen as opposed to DR that feels claustrophobic on one monitor (but this is besides the point)

Using DR my preferred way makes me have to make several folders in the settings for every new project which takes a bit of time, but worth it in the end as it now is saving me head- and butt aches when tidying up, freeing up space and backing up finished projects.

I feel great about this having been beaten over the fingers so many times in forums for mentioning FCP X doing something allot better than DR. I am although transferring to DR and there are reasons for that too. Although I am starting to hate my self for wanting more and more of their gadgets. Their PR strategy is working so ******* well, getting away with being a hungry capitalistic monster. Blackmagic the capitalist monster in disguise. I mean the CEO is so cute and down to earth. Yeah right.

Anyways!!! I am also hoping DR will entertain us with resurrecting the move/trim feature.

The "Copy and Trim" option has worked for me to reduce and shrink the source media by up to half in voiume for ex: 11GB reduces to 7.6GB (YMMV depending on amount of source footage rejects in your work). So I no longer miss the Move option. I much prefer to manually oversee the new target folder creation (incl. right-click properties check size and compare) and deletion of Original folder as a matter of reassurance.

How many of you are willing to blindly hit a Move button and not check anything afterwards? The delete is just one additional keystroke away...

I did this for two projects after completing them and I was glad the original folder was not deleted when I encountered the missing media offline errors - I could go back and verify that the source footage existed in both and it was just a matter of creating sub-clips for each cut in the timeline to prevent these errors. The Move option would have left me frustrated and exasperated with a sense of panic!

You definitely need subclips for a successful Trim if you use more than one part of a longer source clip.

Maybe it's a format specific problem, I have reduced R3D stuff without a hitch.
One very important point, though: if you use several short takes from one source file, you must have subclips for those.

I managed the first successful "copy and trim" for my latest project without a single media offline error in the first shot - thanks to this advice (I proactively created subclips everytime I used the blade on the timeline). With the Trim operation - I had selected "relink clips" so it automatically switched to the new location.

However I am perplexed by one thing - the Original was +10GB and the trimmed folder was <5GB, yet even after the relink when I exported the project archive the .dra file was +10GB. WTH??!!

The project has only one timeline FWIW and I opted to select only the timeline to copy & trim. How can this happen?

Just tried to delete red flagged clips and refigured that the move option was missing – how are we supposed to clear unnecessary space? it needs to be done from within resolve if you don't want to have a ton of hand work...any workaround as of yet?

Just tried to delete red flagged clips and refigured that the move option was missing – how are we supposed to clear unnecessary space? it needs to be done from within resolve if you don't want to have a ton of hand work...any workaround as of yet?

+1 I have the same problem. It´s very frustrating...

Resolve Team - please bring this back.
The MEDIA MANAGEMENT MOVE option is huge on the Studio Side of things, or at least for shows with heavy vfx.
The ability to "MOVE" assets away from a FINISHER ( other Various Talent) due to updates, errors, etc is extremely critical.

If anything add this back in on the API side of things so we can utilize this fantastic tool once again!

We still have versions 16.2.2 installed on various stations, just so we access/continue to use this awesome option. We know at some point we will not be able due to an OS update or Security reasons.

Bumping this for visibility—managing multiple shows with frequent updates, the Delete + Move tool was incredibly useful and efficient. It made total sense when it was added, and its removal has been a noticeable step backward for those of us managing fast-paced editorial workflows.

While I understand concerns about potential misuse, removing a powerful function because some used it recklessly penalizes professionals who used it correctly and responsibly. At the very least, this feature should be restored in the paid Studio version of Resolve. If needed, it could be relocated to a dedicated tab or placed behind a settings toggle for added safety.

This tool saved real time on high-pressure projects—allowing us to immediately offline outdated elements and deliver newly updated VFX or practical shots without delay. It helped us avoid human error, eliminated unnecessary pickups, and ensured we could deliver a complete and accurate package quickly.

Please reconsider bringing this functionality back—it’s a critical part of an efficient fast paced Production pipelines and should remain available to those who know how to use it properly.

+1

+1