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Stop Backups from slowing down editing experience.

This isn't a question so much as it is a suggestion for future builds of this software.


I'm currently crippled by backups taking place over any actions I try to take on the timeline. I'll hit space bar to play or scrub the timeline and it's seriously delayed and unresponsive.


I see processing happening in the background tasks UI element (aka that percent "odometer") in center of screen. I see that they're backups taking place.


Backups are great. I don't necessarily want to turn them off. I just want them to stop interfering with the flow of my work. I know I can turn them off, I'd rather not but I often do so just to be able to get back to work.


Perhaps a good solution would be for Final Cut X to ask me, just before I shut down the program, if it can run needed backups.


I don't know. But I know I'm frustrated with backups. Please consider a solution.


Thanks!

Brandon

Final Cut Pro X, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Oct 8, 2015 7:16 AM

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Posted on Oct 8, 2015 7:36 AM

To get a feature request or report a bug to Apple, please use the Provide Final Cut Pro Feedback link in the Final Cut Pro menu/


I doubt the automatic back up process is the cause, but it may the symptom of something else going on. Try turning off Background Rendering in Preferences and from the File menu, delete the project's render files.


Russ

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Question marked as Best reply

Oct 8, 2015 7:36 AM in response to SIUE

To get a feature request or report a bug to Apple, please use the Provide Final Cut Pro Feedback link in the Final Cut Pro menu/


I doubt the automatic back up process is the cause, but it may the symptom of something else going on. Try turning off Background Rendering in Preferences and from the File menu, delete the project's render files.


Russ

Oct 8, 2015 8:01 AM in response to Russ H

Beat me to it, Russ.

SIUE, you don't say that you have Background Tasks open to be sure it's Backup that is bogging you system down, you're just looking at the odometer, and that is used to show lots of stuff: importing, transcoding, analysis, rendering, sharing, media management.

Library backups are usually quite small because they're just the database, no media is duplicated. I doubt they are causing your system to bog down but, if you're sure that's the cause, it's likely to be the location you've chosen for the backups, not them files themselves. But you can safely delete backups for all of your older projects. Even though they're tiny files, if you've got hundreds of them, they add up.

Oct 8, 2015 8:26 AM in response to SIUE

This is why I assume it's backups causing the lag:

User uploaded file


I toggle the triangle open to see some other project is being backed up and a project file flickers briefly up here every couple of seconds.

I followed your instructions, Russ, and restarted Final Cut X to be safe. I still have this backup issue occurring.

I assume I'll have to delete the render files of all other projects' events currently queued up in my libraries list to see a difference. I could eventually try this but I don't have time to go through all the libraries and delete render files. So, I can't make a clear assessment there. Thanks for your reply!

Oct 8, 2015 11:02 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Hey Tom,


I usually have 15-18 libraries open.


A quick run down of projects I still have open:

500gb, 100gb, 130gb, 126gb, 180gb, 54gb, 14gb, 3gb, 38gb, 133gb...

Most fall in to this range of file size. 500gb is the exception.


To give you an idea of ow I'm usually working with FCPX:

I work at a university where lots of different clients projects are being developed at any given time. I also pull a lot of footage from other events/projects in different libraries. So, for instance a "School of Engineering" project would likely require footage from a "student life" library, the "Campus shots" library, and I'd probably need to pull in footage from a past event as well

Oct 8, 2015 11:33 AM in response to SIUE

See post below about how backups do not impact our operations. The main libraries may be 50—500 gigs each but how big are the backups? Most of ours are under 20MB, some approach 30MB, and the individual files within the backups are only a few KB, although there can be thousands of these tiny things. So, even if you have 20—100GB libraries open, you're only backing up 20—30MB files and that's not very much traffic.


Wolsky may know how and why FCPX decides to run a backup but I think the only way a user can prevent a backup is to stop them all or close the library.


Looking through the Help files for FCPX, I do not see a reference to a control or a pref setting that disables the auto-backups. Looks to me like it's always on:




Restore a library from automatic backups

Final Cut Pro makes automatic library backups at regular intervals. Backups include the database portion of libraries only, not the media files. Backups are saved with the time and date in the filename.

By default, Final Cut Pro saves backups to the Final Cut Pro Backups folder in the Movies folder, but you can change the backup location using the Library Properties inspector. For more information, see Manage storage locations.

Final Cut Pro automatically deletes library backups that are more than several days old.


Restore from a library backup

  1. In the Libraries list, select the library User uploaded file you want to restore.
  2. Choose File > Open Library > From Backup.
  3. In the “Restore from” pop-up menu, choose a backup from a specific time and date, or click Other and navigate to a different backup file to open.The backup is added as a library in the Libraries list.


Note: The backups are standard Final Cut Pro library files, so you can also open them by double-clicking them in the Finder. For more information, see Managing libraries overview.

Stop Backups from slowing down editing experience.

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