Inputting and Outputting Media > Importing Media Files and Sequences > Setting FCP XML & AAF Preferences >

# FCP XML & AAF Media Options Menu

(a) Handles field(b) Directories Up field(c) Filter Selection box

Link to Files button
  Enable Link to Files to create a sequence with track segments that link to the original media. Disable Link to Files to create an empty shell with only the structure of the sequence, without references to files.
Consolidate on Import button
  Enable to force Smoke to override the handles specified in the timeline. Disabled if Search and Import Files is enabled.
Handles field
  Disabled if Consolidate on Import is enabled. Set the maximum number of head and tail frames that you want to retain after consolidating the clip.
Preferred Media box
  Select which of the offline intermediates or original sources to import when both are found by Smoke. Used only with AAF sequences.
Search and Import Files button
  Enable to locate and import the media listed in the sequence, using the selected Search Criteria options. The media is imported as segments of the sequence. Enabled if Link to Files is enabled.
Directories Up field
  By default, Smoke searches for media to match, starting with the directory from where the timeline file is imported. It includes any sub-directory in this search. Use Directories Up to expand the search to parent directories. How high in the hierarchy depends on the value set.
  NoteWhen setting the Directories Up field, keep in mind that the Smoke will navigate the whole directory structure starting with what you specified. This means that the higher up you go in the directory structure, the longer the conform will take. And this issue is amplified in a networked environment.
Filter button
  Enable to search and import only the clips of the format specified in Filter Selection. Enabled only if Search and Import Files is enabled.
Filter Selection box
  Select the format to filter for during a search and import operation.
Save Sources Separately button
  Enable to create a copy of each source referred to in the sequence. The source clips are copied next to the sequence in the clip library. Enabled if Search and Import Files is enabled.
Use Filename button
  Enable to use the filename specified in the timeline as a match criteria.
Use Timecode button
  Enable to use the source timecode specified in the timeline as a match criteria.
Use Tape button
  Enable to use the tape name specified in the timeline as a match criteria.
Use UMID button
  Enable to use the starting SMPTE UMID in the timeline as a match criteria. This is only used with MXF files, ignored in any other case.
Use Resolution button
  Enable to use the resolution specified in the sequence as a match criteria. If this option is disabled, Smoke soft-resizes the media found to the resolution specified in the imported sequence, if required.
Use Framerate button
  Enable to use the frame rate specified for the source in the sequence as a match criteria. Disable to disregard the edit's frame rate when relinking to the sources; afterwards, you might need to slip the clip and use a timewarp in the timeline after loading it to correct the frame rate discrepancy.
  Note When importing FCP XML sequences into Smoke, timewarps are added automatically to edits of differing frame rates to match more closely the results in Final Cut Pro.

Be careful when using the Use Framerate search option with FCP XML files, especially if the FCP sequence is using multiple frame rates. With Use Framerate enabled, Smoke uses the frame rate of the sequence's edits as a match criteria to relink to the correct sources: if the frame rate of the considered source is 24fps while the edit is at 30fps, that source is not a potential candidate. So whether or not Smoke relinks the considered source to the edit has nothing to do with the frame rate of the sequence.

But, if you are importing an FCP sequence, Smoke timewarps the edits so that they match the frame rate of the imported sequence. For example, an FCP sequence @60fps contains edits @50fps: Smoke timewarps the edits to 60fps as it imports the sequence. Whether or not edits are relinked to their sources has nothing to do with this: if Use Framerate is enabled, Smoke only relinks the above edits if the sources are matching the edits' original frame rate, in this case 50fps.