Organize FCP effects

An Effects Preset is simply an XML file that describes all the effects and parameter settings used for the "set" of effects you applied to a clip. It also supplies the Category for Final Cut to place it in.

You can right click on any Effects Preset and Show in Finder to access it.

If you have a text editor that will handle TEXT ONLY (I recommend BBEdit or similar "HTML" editor, but in a "pinch" I think you can use TextEdit — just be careful), you can open the Effects Preset file and reset the "category" to whatever you want.

This is the structure of an Effects Preset from the beginning of the document to line 14:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>$archiver</key>
	<string>NSKeyedArchiver</string>
	<key>$objects</key>
	<array>
		<string>$null</string>
		<string>effect.video.filter</string>
		<string>Effects Presets - Titles</string>
		<dict>
			<key>$class</key>
			<dict>

(As far as I can tell, every EP starts out this way... with the exception of "Effects Presets - Titles" — that's a category I created for this EP.)

Where you see <string>Effects Presets - Titles</string> — on line 11 — that is the Category name for the EP. You can edit the <string> tag content there. If you don't see the category name at this beginning section, do a search for the category name. It will be in a simple <string></string> tag.

You CANNOT make changes to any tabs or whitespace in the structure of the file. You must respect the formatting.

After you make the Category change... on Line 11... you will need to restart Final Cut for the change to recognized.

I highly recommend that you BACK UP A COPY before you begin. If anything goes awry you can easily fix it by replacing the changed file with the backup. If (and when) you're confident about what you're doing, you probably can forego making the backups... I do.

HTH

Yeah - that looks like TextEdit... and I take it back — you can't use TextEdit for this.

Get the free version of BBEdit from the App Store. Read the "fine print" about free mode.

It is a *great* text editor.

An alternative method would be:

In FCP, apply an effects preset to any clip, then Save Effects Preset again and supply the exact same name for the preset you used previously and a new Category name. You will be asked if you want to Replace the previous version — okay it.

FCP will apply the new category name without restarting.

HTML is technically a subset of XML. TextEdit treats HTML as a different file format (extension .html).

The safest method is to simply apply the EPs you want to recategorize to any clip (that does not already have effects applied... unless you want to "enhance" the original EP) then Save Effects Preset with a new Category name. [No FCP restart necessary.]

If you'd rather work a little faster, then you'll need a text editor that can handle the specific formatting better than TextEdit. BBEdit is free (if you're careful not to make "in-app purchases") and is the app I use to edit Final Cut Pro and Motion files that use XML. [You still have to restart FCP using this method.]

I thought TextEdit could be used only because I remember other people mentioning using it... I should have tested it FIRST!!

Also, you linked me to "Work with HTML documents" at Apple Support. I tried changing the file extension to .html but it didn't make any difference. The HTML formatting didn't kick in until <!DOCTYPE> — the same as it was without changing the extension.

PS — do not use characters that are not allowed in folder names... like forward slashes! Apple can get away with it because they probably use "escape" sequences... I am not familiar enough with their exact formatting to relay that info.

If you have a text editor that will handle TEXT ONLY (I recommend BBEdit or similar "HTML" editor, but in a "pinch" I think you can use TextEdit — just be careful)

I wanted to edit the HTML with a text editor if possible, but I got a warning that the 'file format is incorrect'.

I thought I followed the steps on the Apple support page, but what am I doing wrong?😓 fox_m, what should I pay attention to?

⚫︎Working with HTML documents in TextEdit on Mac - Apple Support (Japan)

I thought TextEdit could be used only because I remember other people mentioning using it... I should have tested it FIRST!!

The preset files created by FCP cannot be edited with 'TextEdit', but Amazon's HTML code seems to be able to be edited without any problems. I found that there is a difference depending on the file format created. Thank you fox_m.

BBEdit is free (if you're careful not to make "in-app purchases")

When I tried editing the code with BBEdit, it was surprisingly easy.👍

Overwrite and save with the same name category + same name effect →I also understand how to change the preset file name. It is important to read the explanation of fox_m and actually try it.

Should I press 'Continue' after 30 days?

I opened one of the effects preset files, using TextMate.

It warns that it is a binary file, and shows an ASCII version of it.

I did not try making any changes, they may or may not work.

// !!! BINARY PROPERTY LIST WARNING !!!
//
// The pretty-printed property list below has been created
// from a binary version on disk and should not be saved as
// the ASCII format is a subset of the binary representation!
//

@LocaAlicia:

Yes — I believe so. If it asks for a purchase... just deny it.

[bloody forum software has been messing up a little when I hit "Post"...]

@Luis: I used TextWrangler for years before BBEdit came out. Both are Bare Bones Software apps [BBEdit is like "TextWrangler Pro" I guess].

If you can get TextMate to display the ASCII-only version of a file, AND it doesn't make changes to the binary portion, then it should be a worthwhile substitute.

Back up a Preset and try editing it. If it doesn't open in Final Cut, just restore the original and ... lesson learned. I don't think it will hurt FCP in any way to try.

Deleted.