Can I relink multiple converted offline clips in PP all at once?

[jkpel]

OK this is a follow up to a previous problem with PP crashing 1-2 minutes after start up.

Seems that with my .DV clips all being offline, the only way I can reconnect to them in my project is to upgrade from the 2018 version to the new 2021 version, which I’ve done.

Next I have to use Handbrake to convert all the .DV clips to .MOV clips. Then relink all the offline timeline .DV clips to these .MOV files.

Only thing is is that this will take ages doing this 1 by 1 clip by clip. 

Is there a way to do this in a batch ‘relink all’ type of fast instant way that can link multiple clips all at once, do them all in one go automatically? Or do several clips at once, if not a great deal of them in one go?

When I start my PP project I do NOT get a window saying that these .DV clips are offline and need relinking. All I get are red clips on my timeline. When I go to each clip and get the link/relink option I can find that 1 file using ‘LOCATE’ but I don’t see any button or option that says “relink all files in this folder’ etc. or anything that allows me to create some multiple clips relink.

I know that FCP used to do this, but in my experience of using PP I don’t remember it having this capability.

If anyone can help me on this I would be very appreciative, I really can’t believe PP would leave me to just doing over 1000 clips 1 by 1 here, so many thanks for anyone that can help.

[Ali Jaber]

In the project's panel's search field write "offline", all the offline clips will be listed, select all and right-click choosing link media. The locate dialogue box will be shown, but anyway, you have to locate files 1 by 1 because the names are not identical

[jkpel]

Yeah I'm beginning to think that this is the only way. Is there no other alternative or crude method allowing me to link several clips at once? 

[Ali Jaber]

It looks like you need someone with some scripting skills. If you right-click an offline file and choose: "Edit Offline",  you can change the extension of the file in the "File Name" field from .DV into .MOV.

So: you need a script that change that field in all those offline files, it looks like a simple task (I suppose) for anyone who does scripting..

[chrisw44157881]

premiere used to re-link automatically if they were the exact same filename, just in another folder (like offline editing). I dunno if having a .dv extension would block the process. hopefully premiere's sourcecode has updated to read metadata and not extentions. you'd just batch rename all your .mov to .dv and click on first one and the rest auto-link.

as for going the other direction, you'd have to export an XML and edit it in with an XML parser. find, replace all.

[jkpel]

Thanks. I don't know the steps of doing it with XML and a XML parser though, what's the process in doing that?

[chrisw44157881]

geany is a free XML parser. the XML files will look like :

export a FCP compatible XML

<pathurl>file://localhost/C%3a/Users//Skin%20Colour.mov<

then, just click-search-replace all the filename extensions like .dv to .mov.