Projects open up empty

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Bob Kovacs

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Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 3:47 pm

I have been working on a project for three days, and am sure that I saved it using CTRL-S (using Win 11). I have Resolve Studio v. 18.1.2. I have had Live Save enabled, which is done by default in Resolve 18. Now when I open the project in Resolve, the timeline is blank -- nothing at all on it. The thumbnail for the project in Project Manager shows the project, and I can scroll through the project on the thumbnail. However, there is nothing in the timeline. I have rebooted the computer and reloaded Resolve several times -- no change.

How do I fix this? How do I get my project onto the timeline?
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Jim Simon

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 3:49 pm

Were you perhaps working in a Multicam or Compound clip that were opened in a timeline, but which are not actually timelines?
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John Paines

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 4:05 pm

Since you have live-save enabled, you can try restoring an earlier version -- one preceding the time/date when the timeline allegedly disappeared. Right click the project icon and select "Project Backups" and select a likely backup, based on the date/time it was saved.

But before restoring an earlier version, you might want to backup the current project version (the one with the empty timeline), just in case user error is at issue here.
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Bob Kovacs

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 4:24 pm

Jim Simon wrote:Were you perhaps working in a Multicam or Compound clip that were opened in a timeline, but which are not actually timelines?

The problem started when I converted multiple clips (titles and background graphics) into a compound clip. I realized that I did not want the compound clip, so I hit CTRL-Z to undo. It did not ondo the compound clip into separate clips, so I went up to Edit > Undo. That restored the separate clips. I then saved the project, since it looked normal. My problem with the disappearing timeline started after that.

Is there a way to recover?
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Jim Simon

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 4:25 pm

OK.

Do you actually have any timelines showing in the bins?
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Bob Kovacs

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 4:28 pm

John Paines wrote:Since you have live-save enabled, you can try restoring an earlier version -- one preceding the time/date when the timeline allegedly disappeared. Right click the project icon and select "Project Backups" and select a likely backup, based on the date/time it was saved.

I wouldn't rule out user error, but... the window that comes up when I call up "Project Backups" is empty. There are no likely backups to select.
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John Paines

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 4:32 pm

You might want to search the live-save folder -- wherever you put it -- to see what's in it (if anything). The files will take the form of "project.db xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" where the x is a time/date stamp.

If you find those files, you can restore them manually if the system won't do it. But look for them first.
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Jim Simon

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 4:34 pm

John Paines wrote:live-save folder
???

You mean Project Backups?
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Bob Kovacs

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 4:37 pm

Jim Simon wrote:Do you actually have any timelines showing in the bins?

If I understand what you are asking, the only timeline in the bin (Master bin) is called "Timeline 2". It is empty... when I double-click it, I get an empty timeline.
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Jim Simon

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 4:43 pm

OK.

Is that the timeline you were working in? Or is it possible you were working in Timeline 1 and accidentally deleted that?
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Bob Kovacs

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 5:02 pm

Jim Simon wrote:Is that the timeline you were working in? Or is it possible you were working in Timeline 1 and accidentally deleted that?

I was working on a project that had a name (Almost Spies - Episode 101), and the timeline/file should have been named that. All I see now in the bin is Timeline 2. I do have thumbnails that are correctly named, and these thumbnails let me scroll through the video in the thumbnail. But they open up empty.

I have searched my hard drive for backup files but can't find any. When I go to C:\Users\[username]\Videos, there is no folder called Resolve Project Backups.

Thanks for the help, by the way... I sincerely appreciate it.
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Jim Simon

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 5:17 pm

Bob Kovacs wrote: the timeline/file should have been named that.
It doesn't quite work that way. Timelines default to Timeline 1, Timeline 2, etc. Doesn't matter what the Project name is. To get a specific timeline name, you have to do that manually.

That you don't have a Timeline 1 is what sparked my last question.
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Bob Kovacs

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 6:19 pm

Jim Simon wrote:
Bob Kovacs wrote: the timeline/file should have been named that.
It doesn't quite work that way. Timelines default to Timeline 1, Timeline 2, etc. Doesn't matter what the Project name is. To get a specific timeline name, you have to do that manually.

That you don't have a Timeline 1 is what sparked my last question.

I dunno -- all I know is that my project seems to be gone, and I can't find any backup file or old version. Just poof... gone.

It was just a couple days' work, and some of that time was spent learning new techniques that I now don't have to re-learn. Pretty annoying, though.

In general, Resolve 18.1.2 seems pretty buggy. It frequently loses connection to my files and gives me the dreaded red "content can't be found" (or whatever) on the timeline. When that happens, I close the program and re-open it, and it works. But this time, the whole timeline vanished into the ether.
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Bob Kovacs

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 6:39 pm

Resolve problem resolved. In my Master bin, I had a "Timeline 2". I deleted it and my original timeline appeared -- intact. I was just ready to start re-editing!
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Jim Simon

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 7:09 pm

You got ghosts! :o
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Andy Mees

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 9:50 pm

Bob, sounds like all is good now ... but just in case, and for future peace of mind a) go to your User Preferences > Project Save and Load, and make sure you have enabled Project backups, and b) at the end of every edit session, consider exporting a copy of your current working project as a standalone project file (a 'DRP'). It's never a bad idea to have safety copies.
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Bob Kovacs

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Jan 27, 2023 10:55 pm

Andy Mees wrote:Bob, sounds like all is good now ... but just in case, and for future peace of mind a) go to your User Preferences > Project Save and Load, and make sure you have enabled Project backups, and b) at the end of every edit session, consider exporting a copy of your current working project as a standalone project file (a 'DRP'). It's never a bad idea to have safety copies.

Yes, my wife gave me the same talk... I will be sure to do that.
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larrytheo

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Feb 23, 2024 12:22 am

I am using Resolve 17 and am having this problem, too. I opened Resolve today and my timeline is totally empty. It is definitely the correct timeline and it still has the name that I gave it, but there is nothing on it.

I am audio guy, not a video guy, but I've been working with Resolve for several months and I am functional with it, if not proficient. That being the case, of course I was too stupid to know about the project backup features and enable them.

So where the hell did my timeline go?
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larrytheo

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostFri Feb 23, 2024 12:25 am

OK, this is classic. I just submitted a reply about how I, too, am experiencing an empty timeline in Resolve 17. Now I don't see that post. Maybe it just hasn't been posted yet.

In any event, I said that I did not have any backup features, but it turns out that I DID have Live Save enabled. Will that help me recover?
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larrytheo

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Re: Projects open up empty

PostTue Feb 27, 2024 8:13 am

Decided just to recreate the timeline...AFTER switching on Project Backups, of course!

Now I know a little more about Resolve.

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