Where does text live?

Report · Jul 06, 2021

As a sometime self-taught hobbyist, I learned in earlier versions to make text by right clicking in the Project pane and selecting New Item -> Text (or something similar I forget). Then after formatting, the text would appear in the Project panel where I could easily sort it into a Text folder, and I could drag and drop it where I wanted it in the Timeline.

As I'm sure you all know, now text isn’t available in the New Item menu. Apparently PP CC forces us to create text by selecting the text tool and clicking in the Program Monitor. Then once formatted, it doesn’t seem to exist anywhere else except on the Timeline. Where does it live?

Now I can’t sort text into a Text folder, and I can’t duplicate a previous extensively formatted text block and easily change only the words and drag it into the Timeline where I want.

How to go back to the old way where I can organize each text block as a separate item in a Text folder in the Project panel? (And why did Adobe need to change that?)

Report · Jul 06, 2021

you can drag the text clip from the timeline to your project... and organize to your hearts content.

Report · Jul 06, 2021

I can grab the text in the timeline but the cursor turns to the "not allowed/strike-through" hand-grabber once it leaves the timeline pane.

Report · Jul 06, 2021

you're right (sorry about that) but you can copy and paste into another timeline and save that timeline and you can save your text as a preset and you can explore the essential graphics window (which I've never bothered with - I use photoshop to create any complex title). If you control click on the title in the timeline you can export as a motion graphics template (which again I haven't explored). Probably otherways as well...

Report · Jul 06, 2021

Ok thanks. But I'm not getting from this where text lives now - in a bunch of timelines?

I want a text folder with just text "items" in it.

Report · Jul 06, 2021

Graphics created in Premiere's newer graphics system (Essential Graphics) do not live in the Project panel as an item. They live in each sequence, as you mentioned. I guess I would ask what would be the primary purpose of you keeping the text items in your project panel?

If your goal is to recall a certain formatting text, I would suggest saving a Text Style (which is done from the Essential Graphics panel). When you save a text style, that is added to your project panel - although more importantly, you can select that style from the style dropdown in any other graphics for that project, which lets you recall a saved text style.

If your goal is to recall specific graphic configurations beyond just text, you can save graphics as Motion Graphic Templates (MOGRTs) which would live in your Library panel for quick recall. AE created MOGRTs are also supported.

I guess for what it's worth, Legacy Titles can still be made (File > New > Legacy Title) which will create a Legacy Title clip in your project panel, but you will be forced to use the older Legacy Titler system, and that IS going to be leaving Premiere Pro in the near future, so I wouldn't get attatched to it.

Report · Jul 06, 2021

Ok thanks. I like the legacy titles.

One advantage to the previous method is if I have some text that I use multiple times here and there in the timeline, I know exactly how to find it quickly in my Text folder. Scrolling through a large timeline with lots of channels to find it would be a pain.

Obviously I don't know all the angles and the "right way" to do things, but I'm not seeing any advantage to eliminating a "home" for text that's always been so handy.

Report · Jul 07, 2021

well it seems unlikely to me that adobe is going to reverse course at this point... but can't hurt to put in a feature request... (can't remember how to do this, but a quick search here fill find the link). I always try to put my titles on the highest video track so it's very simple to find a title. You can also control click on a title in the timeline and "rename" and give the title clip a unique name and then quickly find it in the timeline by doing a search. Probably lots of other ways to make this easier...

Report · Jul 07, 2021

and another advantage to putting your titles on the highest track is that delivery specs (something you may not need to deal with) often require outputting a clean title-less version so that distributors can create alternate language versions (not to mention that lower thirds often change down the road as peoples jobs change).

Report · Jul 07, 2021

Well yes putting things on lower tracks tends to make them less visible =0P

Thanks for taking the time to answer.

When developers make changes like this, it seems more likely that some product manager is justifying their salary rather than representing an actual improvement customers want and need.

Report · Jul 07, 2021

It sounds like you want your Graphics to be Source Graphics.

After using the Type Tool to create a Type Object inside of a Graphic, choose Graphics > Upgrade to Source Graphic while the Graphic is still selected in the Timeline. These were called Master Graphics in prior versions of Premiere Pro. It's important to note that any changes made to the text, style, or contents in an instance of a Source Graphic get reflected in all other instances of the Source Graphic. I may be repeatig some information already covered in the support thread, but I didn't see anything differenciating Graphic and Source Graphic so I thought I'd chime in.

Avoid the Legacy Title option. It's going away eventually. Whilte Legacy Title source footage is still supported, they will eventually be orphaned in future versions of Premiere Pro.

Report · Jul 07, 2021

there ya go. great post Warren. just one question. do the source graphics behave the same as nests: if you duplicate from the project/bin, you can make changes to the duplicate without the changes being reflected in the original?

Report · Jul 07, 2021

just tested duplicating a source graphic in the project/bin window and it does seem to behave the same as a nest; changes made to the original are not reflected in the duplicate and vice versa.

Report · Jul 07, 2021

If you make a duplicate of a Source Graphic in the Project/Bin, it's a new Master Clip.

Report · Jul 07, 2021

I second Warren's comment to avoid Legacy at this time. As they've now "given" us the tool to convert parts of Titles to mogrts/graphics, I would suspect the 2022 version may not have the Legacy Titler at all.

The comments so far have totally skipped how you save graphics/text items now. It ain't rocket science, and it's been in every tutorial and such for several years.

Any text you've created is it's own item on the timeline, right? You are supposed to be controlling those between the Essential Graphics Panel (EGP) and the Effects Control Panel (ECP). However, the organizational tools are in the EGP ... and mgrenadier avoiding the EGP means he's missing how to organize the blame things.

They are stored either in CC Libraries or on a local disk in a folder. And organized/searched/accessed via the EGP Browse panel.

CC LIbraries allows you of course to access them from any machine you sign in on ... and to share with anyone else permitted to access that Library. It's an excellent way to distribute to a team or a company's departments, for example.

Local Folders means they're stored on a drive in a folder you specify.

Either way, you again organize/search/utilize them via the EGP.

Yea, I wish we could use a bin ... but ah well, tons of us have requested that, and they finally say they are looking at that option.

Neil