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Backups for Final Cut Pro Quick Start

When you first launch Backups for Final Cut Pro, it will lead you through the steps for creating your first Backup Definition. Or click on the “New” button.

• Screen 1: Select a drive or folder containing FCP X libraries you wish to backup. To drill down to a folder or subfolder, double-click on a volume or folder named in the list. If using a pre-10.1 (10.0–10.0.9) version of Final Cut Pro X just select a volume, do not drill down to a folder. Click Use.
  
• Screen 2: Select a folder where you'd like Backups for Final Cut Pro to save the archive of the volume or folder you’ve just selected. You may backup several volumes/folders to the same backup folder. Use New Folder the first time to create a folder to keep your archives..
  
  
  Click Use.
  
• Screen 3: The options dialog gives you control over how much to back up and how often. Specify a title you'd like for your backup definition and possibly a backup interval, if you like timed backups.
  
• If backing up the boot (“Macintosh HD”) drive, you can specify to backup the Movies folder of your logged in ID, or the top level of the drive itself.
  
  Select the Movies folder if you want to back up your global Motion Templates folder. (Local Motion Templates stored in an FCP X 10.3+ library are always backed up.)
• If backing up other volumes or folders, you can specify to do a nested search of subfolders—looking for FCP X libraries.
  
• Backing up just Events and Projects is a good place to start. Learn about other help options by mousing over the icons or see the help section on Options to learn more. Click Estimate Backup Size…. It will show you the number of FCP X libraries it found as well as give you an estimate of the amount that will be backed up.
  
• Advanced users may select particular libraries to back up. We recommend you only use Filters once you become more familiar with the product.
  
• If you are happy with the backup size, click OK. Otherwise, adjust the backup options in the General tab first.
• You’ve now created a backup definition. You will see it in the list of backup definitions.
  
  Mouse over buttons and icons to see popup descriptions of what they do. If you have many Backup Definitions defined, you may hide the ones marked inactive (‘Active’ is unchecked) by checking the ‘Hide definitions marked “inactive”’ checkbox.
• You may define additional Backup Definitions for other drives on your system.

Timed backups will run automatically only if Backups for Final Cut Pro is launched. It does not have to be the top window on your desktop.

• Make sure Backups for Final Cut Pro is running in order for it to run backups. (Hint: Right click on the the Backups for Final Cut Pro icon in the dock and select Options->Open at Login.)
• Timed backups will run automatically.
• On right side of the Menu Bar, you’ll see an optional icon. You may click on it to see what Backups for Final Cut Pro is doing, even if it is hidden.
• Timed and manual backups may be triggered at any time by clicking on the button on a backup definition or selecting a definition in the Run or menus.
• If a description is needed for a snapshot, as specified by the definition’s options, Backups for Final Cut Pro will present a dialog asking for a description. Type in a description or leave it blank. Click OK. Clicking Cancel Backup will cancel this operation, not just indicate you don’t want a description.
  
• A spinning progress indicator will show that Backups for Final Cut Pro is working.
  

  If you attempt to quit Backups for Final Cut Pro or hit escape while an operation is preceding, you will be asked if you wish stop the backup. No snapshot will be saved if you do.

• If the backup is manually triggered, it will present a dialog when complete, showing how many files it copied and how much it backed up. If silent, the progress indicator will just disappear when Backups for Final Cut Pro finishes.
  
  If you wish, click on the film clip, icon in the window to see a list of snapshots. Click on the “Log” button on an individual snapshot to see a list of file changes a snapshot recorded.
• If something went wrong, you will be told what the problem was and Backups for Final Cut Pro’s action.

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What can Backups for Final Cut Pro Do?

• Provide more control and options than the built in library backups feature of Final Cut Pro X 10.1+. You control how often. You control what volumes and libraries to back up.
• Periodically or manually backs up all your Final Cut Pro X Projects, Events, and Libraries as incremental snapshots. (It does not back up external media outside of libraries.)
• Consolidates all your Final Cut Pro X data in one place for easy backup and archiving to additional devices.
• It gives you control. You can control how much to backup. You can control what to restore.
• Lets you restore everything from a given snapshot or selected folders, libraries, projects, or events.
• Forgot where you put a Project, Event of Library? The new Archive Search feature helps you find it.
• Forgot why you made a backup? Add a description to each snapshot describing why you made it. Very handy!
• You can back up just the project and event files themselves or add Media, Shared and Transcoded Items, or FCP X's own Backup folders as well.
• Backs up and restores saved Motion projects in your Movies/Motion Templates folder as well as those saved in 10.3+ libraries.
• Ignores Render and Analysis files. These are automatically regenerated by FCP X.
• Lets you move folders, projects or events across drives. You can designate what drive or folder to restore to.
• Lets you see a list of all your backup snapshots and how much was backed up. You can delete old snapshots.
• You control backing up Backups for Final Cut Pro’s archives to other media.
• A log is kept of everything Backups for Final Cut Pro does.
• “Safe” snapshots. Only completed snapshots are retained. Available disk space is checked before the backup begins.
• “Safe” restores. If to a local drive, replaced files are placed in the Trash—they are never deleted. If a failure occurs during a restore, the previous files are put back in place.*
• Continually adding new features.

*The Restore process can not recover from the target drive failing or going offline, although you may repeat a restore after the drive is returned to service.

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What are the Elements of Backups for Final Cut Pro?

These are various things Backups for Final Cut Pro deals with.

Name	Description...
Archive	A file containing a series of snapshots of the Final Cut Pro X Libraries, Projects and Events off a given volume or folder. There are separate archives for each volume and/or folder. By default, it is given the name: “FCP Backups of volume-name.fcpbackups” for a volume and “FCP Backups of subfolder-name for a folder-name in volume-name.fcpbackups” if backing up a folder is specified. It may use a different name under certain circumstances. See Backup Options in Setting it up and running it.
Snapshot	A record of the Final Cut Pro X Projects and Events at a given point in time, held in an Archive. New and changed files are stored in a snapshot plus a record of files deleted. A snapshot may have a description.
Backup Definition	This defines a backup operation to be performed by Backups for Final Cut Pro. Running a backup definition creates a snapshot of the Final Cut Pro X 10.0+ libraries, and/or Final Cut Events and Final Cut Projects folders on a given drive or folder at a specified location. Each backup definition is listed in the main window of Backups for Final Cut Pro. Backup operations may be triggered manually, or automatically by Backups for Final Cut Pro at timed intervals. Click on the icon in the window to change a backup definition’s options. Select File->New backup definition... in the menus to create a new backup definition.
Final Cut X libraries	This is a bundle where Final Cut Pro X, 10.1+ versions, keep events, projects, and some media, etc. Bundles are special folders that appear as a single file to a user, but are actually folders containing subfolders and files. FCP X gives each library an .fcpbundle file extension. Events are collections of media files or references, such as off a memory chip, or media—recorded together for inclusion in a project. It also contains metadata about the media. Projects are edited sequences. Each Project has a name and may be kept in subfolders. By default, they are stored under their corresponding event. Backups for Final Cut Pro backs up all libraries contained on a volume or folder unless filtered. It lets your restore all the libraries backed up or lets you select an individual library, project or event to restore. You may optionally backup media actually contained in an Event or Libraries. Media outside of Libraries, in external folders, is not backed up. By default, libraries on your boot (“Macintosh HD”) drive are stored in the Movies folder of the id you logged in as. But they may be located anywhere. When backing up the boot drive, Backups for Final Cut Pro gives you the option to back up the Movies folder, the top level of the drive, or another specific folder on the drive. On other drives or volumes, libraries may be located anywhere. Backups for Final Cut Pro lets you specify to search nested subfolders.
Final Cut Projects folder	Obsolete: This is a folder where Final Cut Pro X versions before 10.1 keep projects. Projects are edited sequences. There is a separate projects folder on each drive on your system where you have named Projects in FCP X. Each Project has a name and may be kept in subfolders. Backups for Final Cut Pro backs up these Project for you and lets you restore them by name. The Projects folder on your boot (“Macintosh HD”) drive is stored in the Movies folder of the id you logged in as. On other drives it is in the top level directory of the drive.
Final Cut Events folder	Obsolete: This is a folder where Final Cut Pro X versions before 10.1 keep keeps events. Events are collections of media files or references, such as off a memory chip, or media recorded together for inclusion in a project. It also contains metadata about the media. There is a separate events folder on each drive on your system where you have named events in FCP X. Each event has a name. Backups for Final Cut Pro backs up these events for you and lets you restore them by name. The events folder on your boot (“Macintosh HD”) drive is stored in the Movies folder of the id you logged in as. On other drives it is in the top level directory of the drive.
Final Cut Projects - Hidden folder	Obsolete: This is the official location for hidden projects—projects you don't want to show in Final Cut Pro X listings. This folder is easily maintained by Event Manager X.
Final Cut Events - Hidden folder	Obsolete: This is the official location for hidden events—events you don't want to show in Final Cut Pro X listings. This folder is easily maintained by Event Manager X.
Movies/Motion Templates folder	This is a folder where Final Cut Pro X and Apple’s Motion keeps global Motion effects. Motion effects are your own titlers, generators, transitions, and effects that you may apply to clips in your Final Cut projects. These are stored globally in your Movies folder, and starting in FCP X 10.3, stored in your libraries. An option in the Filters tab applies to global effects. Global effects are only saved on your boot (“Macintosh HD”) drive in the Movies folder of the id you logged in as. These are only backed up if you specifically specify to back up the Movies folder of your boot drive. Effects saved in libraries are always backed up. Each effect has a name and may be kept in subfolders. Backups for Final Cut Pro backs up effects for you and lets you restore them by name.
Backup operation	Is creating a snapshot in an archive, using a Backup Definition. These may be triggered manually, by clicking on a Go button in the main window, or selecting a definition in the Run or menus.
Restore operation	Is restoring a set of libraries, projects and events in a snapshot to a drive.These are triggered by clicking on a Restore button in the main window. When you trigger a restore, you may select a whole snapshot or any combination of libraries, projects, events, or folders to restore. You may restore to the original drive the items where backed up from or select another drive or folder to make a copy of the items selected.
Archive Search database	If turned on, the contents of archives are cataloged in a local database. This allows you to locate FCP X Libraries, Events and Projects in both online and offline archives. An add-on feature, the Find ⌘F, command lets you perform searches, locate libraries and archives, and do restores. You may do 12 free searches before you must purchase an unlimited license to continue using it.
Viewing snapshots	Backups for Final Cut Pro lets you list the Snapshots in a given archive, and delete individual snapshots to reduce the size of an archive. To activate, click on the film clip, icon in the window to see a list of the snapshots and the information contained in them.
Viewing the log	Backups for Final Cut Pro keeps a log of everything it does. You may view or save the log. In addition, a log is kept in every snapshot. It lists additions, deletions, and changed files.