FCPX viewer briefly shows image not on timeline

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Level 1

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FCPX viewer briefly shows image not on timeline

I am running FCPX 11.1.1 on a MacBook Pro. I have done quite a few short movies over the years and know FCPX fairly well, although I am certainly no expert. I have a 20 minute film, and in one of the clips near the very end I will see an image in the viewing screen, but it is not visible in the timeline. It only appears for a microsecond. It is at the very end of an image clip. It is barely noticeable yet it annoys me. I found the image in my downloads and completely took the image off FCPX and put it in the trash, but it is still there. I tried rendering the entire project again to no avail. I did read or someone suggested 'delete rendered files', but I was a little hesitant to do that. Just looking for suggestions. First time I have had this. Thanks.

Posted on Feb 19, 2026 10:27 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

dcmoser Author

Level 1

19 points

Feb 20, 2026 6:26 AM in response to BenB

Thanks to all. I deleted rendered files, but it was still there. So I went to Ben's suggestion and zoomed to that spot on the timeline and voila, I could then see the file. I simply deleted it and all is good now. Duh! Don't know why I did not think of that. Thanks to everyone on this form.

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Answer 2

Feb 19, 2026 11:24 PM in response to dcmoser

Deleting render files is totally innocuous and a very good suggestion.

Render files, like optimized media, and proxy media, are generated files, and can be generated again, if the need arises.

Also: are you sure that said image is not there? One sure way to check is to search for it in the Timeline Index.

You say you "completely took the image off FCPX" - but you should be aware that removing a clip from the browser only actually deletes it from the library if it is not being used anywhere.

Another course of action: in the affected project, Select All (command-A), Copy (command-C); make a NEW project, and Paste (command-V). Check if the strange clip appears in the new project.

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Answer 3

BenB

Level 6

13,698 points

Feb 20, 2026 4:03 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Occasionally an edit gets made that leaves 1-2 frames of the original clip at the end of a new clip. Go to that spot, zoom in as much as possible. Searching the Timeline Index should reveal it, also.

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Answer 4

Feb 22, 2026 10:30 AM in response to dcmoser

Every once in a while when I add a clip to the end of a timeline using the "W" key, the video is inserted in a way that allows a single frame of the preceding clip to remain at the end of the timeline. It does this even though I KNOW that the insertion point is at the very end of the timeline. Makes for an annoying flash frame situation, just as you described.

I've run into this many times over the years with FCP X, 11, and the bug is still there in FCP 12.

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FCPX viewer briefly shows image not on timeline

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