noob trying to figure out how to manage projects

[pglou]

First time on this forum and a total noob in terms of editing video. I am in the middle of 30-day free trial for VideoStudio 2020, trying to figure out whether to buy. I had old Super 8 movies digitized and am now editing them. I managed to create a few videos using trim and multi-trim, adding music, titles, even some slo mo effect in one video. So far so good. One major source of confusion is how to manage and/or save projects.
When I'm in Edit mode, I can create a new folder and give it a name, the add the appropriate videos and music to the library for that folder. When I hit save, I am prompted to give the folder a name and it's saved in the projects folder in My Documents on my computer (running Windows 10). But then things get confusing. I don't see a way to close the current folder and get a clean slate in either the library or the timeline to start a new project (unless I exit the program entirely). I don't want to delete the folders in VideoStudio if I can avoid it, because I may want to go back and tweak a project after it's done, so it would be nice to have the source files arranged in the library for that particular project.
Any information on this point would be appreciated.

[lata]

Hipglou
And welcome to the forums

The program is non destructive as such works with virtual clips / thumbnails representing the files on the hard drive.
Changing clips within the library or on the timelines does not change the files on the hard drive.

Projects
When we launch Video Studio we see the timelines, we are looking at a Project although not much going on at the moment.
We can add clips, video, images audio to the timelines to create our master pieces
To save the project we do File Save or Save As this creates a VSP file, (Video Studio Project)
We can choose any save location but does default to the MyProjects folder.
The VSP is a small file containing the details of our timelines and the edits we have done.
To open the same project we launch Video Studio – File Open Project- or notice the bottom of the list for the most recent projects, a list of 4.

Your Library
This is a place to hold our files, again virtual or thumbnails the library folders are not associated with any project
Any files can be placed here and indeed removed / deleted at any time
I do tend to create a new folder for each of my projects, that is the only association with a project a handy place to hold the clips.
Add , delete, remove your folders simply cleans up the library, it does not affect the way the project works
And one caution, If we select a clip within the library then hold Shift – Delete the clip will be removed from the library and we will be prompted to delete the file from the hard drive, but we do get the warning to do that.

Re-linking clips.
As mentioned Video Studio works with virtual clips, these are linked to the files on the hard drive
It is important not to move, change or rename the files on the hard drive, doing so will cause the program to loose their location causing a re-link request, of course we can re-link provided we can find the files new location.
So if you experience a re-link it is because the files on the HD have been moved.

[pglou]

Thanks for the quick reply. I understand that files in the library and timeline are virtual and that by working on them I'm not altering the underlying file on my hard drive. What's confusing, or let's just say non-intuitive, is that if I open an existing project in VideoStudio, it does not automatically open the folder and library of files used to create that project. I have to first open the project (VSP file), then find the corresponding folder and click on that. Are the folders stored on my hard drive somewhere? I only see a limited number of folders displayed in VideoStudio. Finally, once once a project is open (VSP file), it appears the only way to change to a new project is to exit the program and restart it. That seems inefficient, but I can live with that if there is no other solution.

[lata]

Hi
We can create new folders within the Media library (select the +ADD option) and give them a meaningful name, it should then be easy to locate folders, I only use the library for my existing work so have a limited number of folders.
The library folders are not automatically associated with any project and as such do not automatically show when we open a project, useful they may be they are not associated to a particular project,
yes the library clips do show a green tick where clips have been placed on the timelines which is useful.

We do not need to use the library for our project files, we can insert files straight to the timelines, right click the timeline for insert video/photo etc.
File – Insert Media Files to the Timeline is another option.

"Are the folders stored on the hard drive", No, not as such they are system files to hold the library details.
There are options to export the library Settings Library Manager, but that is the nearest we can get to viewing the library outside the program.

If you wish to locate any files on the hard drive, right click the file and choose Locate on Computer.

To open an existing project or start a new project go to the File menu for New Project or Open Project

To the bottom of the File menu you should see the 4 most recent projects, a quick launch option.

Double clicking the VSP from your hard drive will launch Video Studio and open the project but can have its issues where several versions of VS are installed, I recommend opening projects from the programs File menu..

[pglou]

OK, thanks Trevor. At least I now know what I can and cannot do. I have not used any other video editing programs, so it's hard for me to compare VideoStudio to anything else. The company that digitized my old Super 8 movies recommended VideoStudio, so that's how I got here. The price is not exorbitant, so I may end up buying it once the 30-day trial period expires. I appreciate that this forum exists and will try to familiarize myself with the information in other posts. - Philip

[canuck]

OK, thanks Trevor. At least I now know what I can and cannot do. I have not used any other video editing programs, so it's hard for me to compare VideoStudio to anything else. The company that digitized my old Super 8 movies recommended VideoStudio, so that's how I got here. The price is not exorbitant, so I may end up buying it once the 30-day trial period expires. I appreciate that this forum exists and will try to familiarize myself with the information in other posts. - Philip

It should be mentioned that the trial version hos some features crippled or missing from the full retail version