FCP X: Why Files Won’t Relink

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Larry

A reader recently asked:

I sometimes have to use low-res footage from a stock library in an initial edit [in Final Cut Pro X]. When I then need to replace the footage with the hi-res footage I cannot use File > Relink Media as the low-res is generally .MP4 and the hi-res is .MOV and FCP X does not let me replace footage with a different file format despite both clips being the same length.

I then have to replace the footage ‘from start’ and then re-trim on a clip-by-clip basis, which is very time-consuming.

I’ve run into this problem myself and decided to find out more. Here’s what I learned.

Final Cut Pro X doesn’t care about changing the file formats, but, rather, matching timecode and number of audio channels. The files can use different codecs and frame size and still relink.

What Apple is concerned about is to make sure that people don’t relink to the wrong files by accident, which can create a serious headache to undo.

Keep in mind that if you are creating proxy files manually, most compression presets assume that you are only creating stereo audio. If you change the number of audio channels in the proxy, when compared to the source media, your files won’t relink. It is very easy to overlook this change when you are in a hurry to compress media.

As always, let me know if your experience is different.

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32 Responses to FCP X: Why Files Won’t Relink

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Tommy Brown says:

August 14, 2018 at 2:06 am

Hi Larry.

I came across this comment by chance but did ask you a simliar thing on YouTube but is there any way to force a re-link of media even with a different file extension. I know the media is the exact but the extensions are different?

Thanks.
Larry says:

August 14, 2018 at 8:07 am

Tommy:

FCP X SHOULD relink with different extensions, but not if the media specs are different. If it doesn’t, contact Apple support to get this on their radar.

Larry
paul says:

November 12, 2018 at 4:31 am

Dear Larry,

Big fan of your courses, bought one 🙂

I have a similar issue. I created proxy media on import with a low res version of the main source file. Did all my edits. I detached the audio from the main source.

Would that – for fcpx – be equal to ‘changing’ the audio channels? And if so, should I then ditch the audio from the high-res file first for re-link to work? What would you do?

I hope I am clear in how I describe my problem.

Best wishes,
Paul
Larry says:

November 12, 2018 at 8:32 am

Paul:

If you imported the media with audio, then detached it in the timeline, you should be fine simply relinking to your high-res media. Or, even easier, if you use FCP X to create the proxies, just switch between Proxy and Original/Optimized media in the View menu in the top right corner of the Viewer.

Larry
Lorne Ould says:

January 27, 2019 at 11:33 am

Hi Larry,
I have moved content from one drive to another, the exact same files, they do not link ?, Any Idea why.
Lorne.
Larry Jordan says:

January 27, 2019 at 12:24 pm

Lorne:

They will unlink because your hard disks have different names.

You should be able to relink them using the “Relink” menu. If they don’t, it’s time to call Apple Support.

Larry
Swapnil Bhartiya says:

February 2, 2019 at 8:58 am

I recently worked on a very complicated documentary with 100s of shots. Now when I want to make some changes, the music track is missing. I can’t relink , I can’t replace and FCPX is NOT giving any option to fix it. Since the audio track was trimmed and cut to beats its painful to FIX the project. Any solution?
Larry says:

February 2, 2019 at 9:39 am

Swapnil:

Ouch! I’m not sure what you mean by “missing.” If the audio file was erased using the Finder, there’s not a lot you can do.

Give me some more details.

Larry
Swapnil Bhartiya says:

February 2, 2019 at 1:10 pm

I had music in the music directory. I created a project…then opened it next day, the music files shows red. I tried to relink from the Music folder get this error:
“The original file and new file have no shared media range.

Relinked files must have the same media type and similar audio channels as the original files, and must be long enough to cover all the clips that reference the files.”

It’s the same file.
Larry says:

February 2, 2019 at 1:18 pm

Swapnil:

The “Music Directory” is your iTunes folder. See if you can copy that file to the desktop – or anywhere outside iTunes. See if you can relink to it again.

Was the original music file attached to video in any way? Audio has no timecode, all it uses for timing is the sample rate.

If moving the file doesn’t work, you’ll need to contact Apple Support. FCP X should relink to the same file – my only thinking is that something made one of those files different.

Larry