Toggle source/timeline does not work as expected in premiere production across projects

[Guest]

I started working in productions instead of single projects.

So I put all my raw footage and the full sequences with raw footage in one project and the edit in another project - all in the same production. 

Usually I work with shortcuts very fast, especially "toggle source/timeline" to go back and forth from source to timeland and paste into timeline very quickly.

But no when source footage and edit sequence are in different projects the "toggle source/timeline" button leads me to the project window instead of back to the source when I have edited some footage in. I tried to open the source in a seperate source-timeline instead and use toggle "timeline" shortcut, but its the same. To I loose the ability to quickly switch between source and timeline via shortcut when I work in productions across multiple projects?

[Ben Insler]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for reaching out!

I've tested this a bit on my end to try and find the culprit, but first, just confirming, when you say toggle source/timeline, you mean Toggle Source/Program Monitor Focus, correct?  Just want to make sure you're trying to switch between the Source and Program monitors, and not two separate source and destination sequences both open in the Timeline panel.  Toggle Source/Program... does, essentially, switch between Source and Timeline since you can continue to cut things into the Timeline from the Source Monitor to the Program Monitor, but there technically is a distinction so I just want to be sure I'm undersanding your workflow correctly.

Assuming the above is correct, I found on my end that this behavior only seem to happen when the Insert or overwrite sequences as nests or individual clips setting in the timeline is set to nests (the left-most toggle underneath your Timeline timecode display).  When I load a stringout sequence from a media project into the Source Monitor, and cut a section of that source sequence into an edit timeline (from a different project) as a nest, the Project Panel gets activated as a result.  What's happening is that Premiere Pro needs to duplicate the stringout sequence into the edit sequence project once you cut the nest into the edit sequence; Premiere Pro doesn't reference nested sequence across projects in a production, so it duplicates the stringout sequence in the edit project in order to use it in the edit sequence.  In creating this new item in the project, the Project Panel is activating to notify you of the new item creation.  After the first nest is inserted into the edit timeline, all subsequence insert/overwrites will reference the existing duplicate nest (as long as the original stringout sequence in the media project remains unchanged/identical to the new duplicate), and insert/overwrite edits will toggle betwen source/timeline as expected without activating the Project Panel.

Is the behavior above what you're also experiencing?

If so, are you intending to be working with nests in your edit sequence?  If not, make sure you set Insert and Overwrite Sequences... to individual clips before cutting with sequences loaded inot the source monitor.  You should not see any Project Panel activation when performing edit that use individual clips.

If you are actually intending to work with nests in your edit, just a few other things to note:

• I currently have my Toggle Source/Program Monitor Focus mapped to the C button on my keyboard.  Even after the Project Panel becomes selected, I am able to press C to toggle back and forth between Source and Program monitors. This behavior should be true for you as well. Pressing this keyboard shortcut with the Project Panel active will first switch focus back from the Project Panel to the last active monitor.
• You may want to consider turning on the Set focus on the Timeline when performing Insert/Overwrite edits option in your Timeline Preferences, if it is not on already.  This will always activate the Timeline Panel after you perform an edit from the Source Monitor, and in my testing appears to override the Project Panel activation you're experiencing.  This may make your toggling between Source and Program Monitors more predictable in these cases where nest duplicates need to be created.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hello @Deleted User,

Thanks for making a bug report and the info you provided so far.

Please file bug reports in this format so the team can reproduce your issue: How do I write a bug report?

Please also answer @Ben Insler's questions for best results with your issue.

I hope we can help you with this soon.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Guest]

Thanks a lot for your help and sorry for my late reply!

I didnt get a notification of your answer in the forum via email, I hope I will get notified now.

Yes, I am just switching between source and program monitor.

I would ideally like to stay in the source window for my edits and switch ocasionally, as I use it a lot when preparing the first draft edit, so I am editing lots of footage to my timeline.

As toggling between source and program monitor didnt work for me I opened the source window as a timeline my edit and the source on top of each other and tried the shortcut to toggle timelines - but same issue here.

I will investigate further now and come back to you very soon.

I never work with nested sequences, as they have caused lots of issues in the past - so the reason must be something else.

[Guest]

Hi @Ben Insler, as I have a new project now, I am trying to find out how to replicate the error. It surely has nothing to do with nested clips, they are disabled at all times. But it happens randomly that "Toggle Source/Program Monitor Focus" switches to another panel instead of the source or program monitor. I thought maybe its the Text window with the transcript or the window of my "Edit" project or the window of my "source footage" project. But I still cannot predict when it switches. Sometimes restarting premiere or closing and opening the projects helps for some time, then after some time it falls back.. I dont really know whats the cause yet..  

[Guest]

@Ben Insler The problem does not seem mainly the toggle button, sorry for the confusion. The problem mostly shows up if:
1. I have loaded a timeline with all my source footage in the source window, not individual clips.

2. The edit-timeline and the source timeline are in different projects in my production.

3. the project-window of the source project with the source timeline is open.

4. I do an insert from my source timeline to the edit project timeline.

Then sometimes after every insert (shorctut v on my keyboard as I am coming from avid, maybe thats not the default), the highlight switches to the project window instead of staying on the source monitor so I can continue my work. But I had some issues with the toggle button as well, will keep you updated.

[Ben Insler]

Is the issue repeatable with undo?  When you encounter the behavior:

• if you undo (ctrl/cmd + Z) after the window focus incorrectly chances, click in the source monitor to activate it, and then redo (ctrl/cmd + shift + Z) the previous edit action.
• if you undo (ctrl/cmd + Z) after the window focus incorrectly changes, click in the source montior to activate it, and then re-press your Insert hotkey (V).

If the behavior repeats in the undo/redo process, that can hopefully give us an avenue to start identifying and troubleshooting the issue.

NOTE:  In Productions, sometimes undo actuallyrequires multiple presses when crossing projects since each projects has its own undo queue.  For example, when you move a sequence from one project to another, you actually have to press undo twice to fully reverse the action (since the projects are separate with two seaparte undo queues, you actually have to undo both the create sequence in project B action and the delete sequence in project A action.  The same may be true in the prevous example where I described the creation of the nest duplicate).  When testing the undo/redo above, make sure any change in the projects/interface is completely reverted/redone.  

Outside of that, if you can catch and screencapture the behavior so that we can witness what his happening in the entire interface of Premiere Pro, that would be helpful too.

[Guest]

Sorr for my late reply, for some reason I dont get notifications for answers although the box under my post for notifications is ticked when I publish..

I am working on a new project now and I can undo and have the same behaviour.

[Guest]

@Ben Insler @Kevin-Monahan How can I send you the video of the screen capture. I tried to send a wetransfer link via PN and post it here, but it does not seem to work..

[Guest]

@Kevin-MonahanI just posted the full bug report, but cannot see it in the forum, how it will appear soon.

[Ben Insler]

You can send the wetransfer link directly to me.

[Guest]

Thanks, I have sent it.