Inputting and Outputting Media > Importing Media Files and Sequences >

# Setting Global Import Preferences

Four global preferences manage how all clips are created when media is imported. These preferences are not attached to any format import preferences, and are either on or off for all import operations performed with a Gateway library.

You access the Gateway library import preferences through the File I/O menu in the library menu.

(a) RGB Import box(b) Container button

Store Local Copy button
  Enable to copy the media to the local Smoke storage when importing media. This preference ensures that Smoke is the sole owner of the media, preventing the media from being modified by an external source; it can also provide better playback performances, depending on your setup.

For a clip displayed in the Clip Library menu and in the EditDesk, the frames that have not yet been copied to the local storage are replaced by the frames from the original file, and are overlaid with Pending Render. As each frame is copied to the local storage, the clip is updated to display the local copy of the frame, and Pending Render is removed.

NoteClips also display Pending Render if low-resolution proxies are being generated.

Disable Store Local Copy to create a link to the media of the imported clip; the media is not copied to the local Smoke storage. There is no transcoding, as Smoke decodes the clip as required.

Create Reel Per Clip button
  Enable this preference to create a reel for each multi-channel clip imported (including RGB+alpha clips). The created reel is named after the multi-channel clip, and contains all the individual channels that make up the imported clip. Disable this preference to import all the channels where you drag the multi-channel clip. Only applied when importing multi-channel video clips.
RGB Import box
  Select RGB to only import the RGB portion of RGB+alpha clips. Select RGBA to import both RGB and Alpha channels of an RGB+alpha channel clip.
Container button
  Enable to create a matte container when importing a clip with an alpha channel. A matte container is a multitrack clip with the RGB portion of an clip on one track and its matte on another.
Import Sub-Directories button
  Enable to import both the clips and the sub-directories of an imported directory. Disable to only import the clips of a directory and exclude its sub-directories.

NoteBe careful when importing directories and enabling the Import Sub-Directories preference: Smoke imports recursively. This means that Smoke scans and imports the contents of the sub-directories, and if these sub-directories themselves contain sub-directories, it imports those sub-directories. If the directory structure is very deep and complex, the import can result in a saturation of your network and storage.