@Former user

Hi.

Can I ask why you are zooming in so close?

Are you editing audio?

If so, open the audio editor where you can zoom down to sample level. You will never be able to edit audio to match a frame exactly due to the time length of frames.

Ray.

Hi guys, thanks for the reply.

I get the message when I zoom *out*, not when I zoom in, which is why I said it was grammatically weird. I think it's pretty obvious that if a 1-hour video isn't moving at all on the timeline and is more or less pushed into the left half of the timeline, I've reached the max zoom out level. But I cannot zoom in again until and unless I first dismiss the dialog box that says the movie can't get bigger. As you know, video editing is time-consuming and intensive enough without that kind of thing.

@Former user

Hi

Have you tried using the buttons in the bottom right hand side of the timeline editor instead?

I would have thought that would be incapable of producing that message.

Ray.

@Former user

Hi

I can replicate this under a particular condition.

What is the work flow you are using to edit your projects eg are you adding all the video clips and/or images on to the timeline then sorting, cutting etc, and does this result in the timeline being filled up with many hours of images and video?

If you press the End key on your keyboard what time is displayed where the timeline cursor stops?

The error message is correct in that you cannot make the timeline any bigger - the timeline can hold many hours of content, once the limit is reached the error message pops up up when you try to use the zoom out button - see image below circled in yellow.

Once this occurs you are locked in a loop, the full timeline view button - circled in red - and the zoom in button still work, the zoom out button stops functioning, the error message then pops up every time it is clicked.

The project movie is corrupted - to correct this and get out of the looping - with the project open:

1. select all the objects on the timeline and copy them - do not use Ctrl+A - lasso them with the mouse - there may be a stray object at the end of the timeline and you do not want to copy this otherwise the problem will be repeated.
    
2. click the add movie button to create a new timeline
   
   
    
3. paste the copied objects into the new timeline
    
4. delete the old timeline - X seen next to the yellow circle in image above
    
5. save the project

You should now be able to continue editing and the zoom buttons work correctly.

John EB

@CubeAce: Clicking buttons instead of using the scroll wheel is really cumbersome and not something I'd welcome, but thanks for the idea.

@johnebaker: There's nothing wrong with the video files or the project, nothing's corrupted. I'm seeing a dialog box pop up when I reach what the app calls "maximum zoom level" when I zoom out. I can't just immediately scroll *in* with the center mouse wheel when I zoom out to maximum, I have to dismiss the dialog box first. Yet there's no such dialog box when I zoom *in* to maximum, which is inconsistent.

My issue is that it's an unnecessary dialog box and slightly annoying; when I zoom out to skip back and forth between events from, let's say, 1/4 of the way from the end to one closer to the beginning, and I zoom out in order to be able to do that, if I inadvertently scroll out to max I have to experience this box and click it first. The box is the kind of well-intentioned clutter that the good idea fairy provides as an answer to a question nobody asked.

@Former user

Hi

. . . . There's nothing wrong with the video files or the project, nothing's corrupted. . . . .

To clarify - I never said there was anything wrong with the video files.

With the method I used to replicate the issue, once you get that message box and dismiss it every time the the zoom out button is clicked it fails to work and the popup message appears, it also then affects the using the mouse wheel

The project is then 'corrupted' because once saved with this occurring it remembers the issue, even when reloading the saved project - this is a bug - see the clip below

. . . . .My issue is that it's an unnecessary dialog box and slightly annoying . . . .

That is a personal preference, the program behaviour cannot be changed.

With a 1 hour long project you should not be hitting the maximum zoom message using the mouse wheel (or buttons if you try them) unless it has already been triggered by the condition that enabled me to replicate the issue.

As a check, start a new project, add one video clip, 5 to 30 secs long should be enough, to the timeline and using the mouse wheel zoom out to the maximum - what happens?

We still need details of your workflow as I requested - to clarify - are you adding all the video clips and/or images on to the timeline then sorting, cutting etc?

Additionally - what is the duration of the timeline before starting editing?

John EB

Hi,

Interesting. I was wondering how you were doing that. By default, at least in mine (VPX11), the mousewheel scrolls left and right along the timeline, it does not zoom in. I just found that using the mousewheel with the mouse over the - or + buttons at the bottom of the Project Window zooms in and out of the timeline. New feature for me.

Like in MEP, in VPX, I get the same message once the maximum zoom has been reached. Clicking on Ok turns it off, so there is no problem. I don't see anything wrong with having the message pop up; it tells you that you can't go any further, so stop trying. In all my years of editing, I have never seen this message and I doubt that many other users have seen it. Why would one keep trying to zoom out on the timeline? You can't see anything except a bunch of lines; any more and the resolution of the screen is not fine enough to render them. If you want the entire timeline, there is a button for it at the bottom or shortcut F. However, the max. zoom level shows 4h32m approximately, so you likely would not be able to see more. Do you have movies longer than that?

John CB

Perhaps your scroll speed is set slower than mine. In a 1- or 2-hour project it's almost as easy as in a 3-minute vid to scroll out to max zoom if your scroll speed is fast. Let's say you're zoomed in to work on a particular small set of frames; then you zoom out again to apply the same fix or correction to frames near the beginning. There's that dialog box. You have to click ok before proceeding.

Imagine for a minute that every time you turned on your computer it displayed a box saying, "Your computer is now on." Would you not ask what the point was of that?

It's obvious when I'm zoomed out to max, but instead of just letting me zoom in again, it disrupts my work flow to tell me I can't zoom in again until and unless I click the box. But when I'm zoomed in to max in order to select a frame, there's no box there. I just can't scroll in any more. That's just as obvious, but no box.

I'd set the mouse scroll speed slower, but I work fast on large projects and mouse settings are global afaik, unless there's a scroll speed setting in MEP I don't know about.

Apart from the old Serif product I used for quick videos, I'm using Resolve which is fantastic (despite industry jokes about Blackmagic); I got MEP to sort of bridge the gap between Resolve and a quickie editor.

I appreciate your suggestions but I'm sensing that the bottom line is that if there were an answer to my brief initial question it would be no, I cannot disable this dialog box.

@Former user

Hi

. . . . I appreciate your suggestions but I'm sensing that the bottom line is that if there were an answer to my brief initial question it would be no, I cannot disable this dialog box. . . . .

It has already been stated that the message cannot be disabled, however you are missing the point of the rest of the responses you have had..

. . . . In a 1- or 2-hour project . . . .

As I said before there is no way you should be getting this message in such a short project unless you have hit a specific condition, that has been replicated by myself and @browj2.

However your last comment puts another light on the issue:-

. . . . Perhaps your scroll speed is set slower than mine. In a 1- or 2-hour project it's almost as easy as in a 3-minute vid to scroll out to max zoom if your scroll speed is fast. . . .

At the speeds you are describing there is a distinct lack of finer control, - by analogy this equivalent of driving down the road at 100 mph (160 kph) and then trying to stop in the distance more appropriate to a speed of 5 mph (8 kph) - the equivalent of momentum kicks in resulting in a serious overshoot and the message popping up.

. . . . I'd set the mouse scroll speed slower, but I work fast on large projects . . . .

I would advise you to do so and make a small modification to your work flow and use any one or more of these options to zoom out to the maximum without incurring the popup message :-

1. the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+F, this can be modified if the default 2 key combination is not suitable for you
    
2. the single click button shown below to expand the view to the full occupied timeline length
   
   
    
3. if you use a Shuttle type device, program one of the buttons to do this function for you
    
4. if your mouse is programmable set, for example, clicking both left and right buttons simultaneously or clicking the wheel to perform the same as the above shortcuts.

All 4 options will reduce the time wasted having to click the pop up message and make for a much smoother editing experience.

John EB

Thanks.

I didn't realize 1- or 2-hour projects were so short.

@Former user

. . . . I didn't realize 1- or 2-hour projects were so short . . .

It is a relative comparison - compared to what MEP is capable of with multiple movies (timelines) and timeline lengths as has been indicated by John CB.

MEP is much more sophisticated and capable then meets the eye, eg you could have multiple movies, in one project - the most I have done is 7 each about 40 mins - 1 hr long - I do not recommended doing this unless specific methods are used to reduce loading on the PC or you have a very powerful computer.

My workflow tends to be very linear and sequenced once I have the required video on the timeline in the correct order.

Depending on the nature of the project, I tend to break up projects of 1 1/2 to 2hrs, into segments to ease the workflow and/or use other options and aids to reduce the time spent jumping backwards and forwards, eg saving applied effects on one clip for use on clips further down the line or in other projects, setting markers (with names or numbers) at points within the movie which can be jumped to with a single keypress - this is very useful.

John EB

@Former user

1 or 2 hour projects are long. I tested out my mouse wheel to see what happens from fully zoomed in to fully out. I counted 23 clicks. It seems that each click is doubling the zoom factor, so that when I see 2 hours on the screen, the next click is 4 hours and at the limit. In VPX, the zoom factor is 6334%, strangely in MEP, it's 204800, but still about 4+ hours.

It's unlikely that the message will be removed, so I suggest that you look at slightly modifying your workflow to avoid getting to the limit. Use the optimize timeline button or Ctrl+F (or F which does the same thing) to get to full project width, and then zoom in from there to the area that you need.

I use a ShuttlePro V2. Saves a lot of time.

John CB

@johnebaker @browj2 @CubeAce Thank you all.

At first all I wanted was a simple yes or no regarding whether the dialog box could be disabled. I appreciate you taking the time to look at this from a variety of different angles.

It's interesting to see how a European vs American design team approaches things.

Using the Ctrl+F or F shortcut instead of zooming out with the mouse is indeed the way to go to get around this particular thing. It's odd; in my audio editing program I love using keyboard shortcuts, but perhaps since editing video is such a visual experience I just naturally gravitate towards using the mouse.

John is the ShuttlePro a reliable unit? I've heard otherwise.

@Former user

It was an interesting exercise, not having ever seen the message or knowing what the limit was.

I have not heard anything bad about the ShuttlePro V2, but a lot of positive comments, especially on the Vegas forum. I have not had any problems with it, except remembering which buttons to press. I did up the following tutorial for Vegas users, but it's the same process for MEP/VPX. I reprogrammed the default buttons and made 3 banks for VPX, with oft-used commands for basic movement, editing, and importing. As shown, I printed the button maps to help remember which buttons to use with which bank. The goal was to be able to keep one hand on the mouse, the other on the ShuttlePro, avoiding, as much as possible, to use the keyboard for shortcuts.

John CB

@Former user@browj2

Hi

. . . . It was an interesting exercise, not having ever seen the message . . .

Same here, it is also interesting to find out other users workflow and methods you never know when a simple tip or trick helps.

Re the Shuttle - I have the smaller Shuttle Express and it works admirably - no issues since I got it over 18 months ago.

It has many uses, not just for MEP, it has preset settings ( all reprogrammable) for many other programs as well as other video and music editors. Outside of video use, the most useful for me is in a web browsers - new blank tab - click, scroll up/down turn the jog dial, bookmarks - click, etc etc.

John EB

I'm with BPT. I get that message occasionally when I wizz my mouse wheel too fast the wrong way ie wheel it back towards me. You have to dismiss the message before you can continue. The message is pointless, unless MEP has (what looks like about) a 6 hour movie limit. And as BPT says, it should say "you can't zoom out any further", not "movie cannot get any bigger". 🙂

@AAProds @Former user

I suggest that you each raise a ticket with Magix asking that the message be removed. Good luck!

John CB

@browj2 @AAProds @Former user @emmrecs @johnebaker

I didn't even know this existed. Having now tried it, I can see the appeal and the annoyance of the constant pop-up message each time. I think removing it would be a mistake as that would just lead to more enquiries as to why the zoom function just stops working, but being able to dismiss it with a 'Remember this action. do not show me again' I think would be better.

Ray.

@CubeAce I can't imagine anyone thinking that the zoom function has stopped working since it'll immediately zoom in again when you scroll in. There's no similar message when zoomed *in* to max, why would there be one when zoomed out to max?

Working on 4-minute music video projects means this message gets displayed waaay too often.

On an unrelated note, I assume you work with music editing software, amirite? (Cubase). Do you use a Shuttle or similar mouse and if so, what's your experience with it?

@Former user

Hi I just think that eventually we will get lots of enquiries about zoom levels if the warning doesn't come up at least once. If anyone could then permanently dismiss it, never to be seen again. It wouldn't bother anyone. Did it really annoy you that much the first time,or was it the fact it doesn't go away ever?

I had a Griffin 1040-PMT PowerMate that no longer is supported under Windows 10 and is better than not having one but falls short of being able to physically turn 10" tape spools when working with analogue equipment 😉.

Have never tried with Video editing. I can't remember whether you have to have VP-X to use one with MEP or not. I still do most of my audio editing in Cubase but others here will get upset I said that as if it's blasphemy. I'm just more used to it than MEP and Cubase has better response times than MEP for audio and is more flexible for sub grouping etc and you can hear the audio is much smoother. Scrolling in MEP for audio is awful in my opinion. I don't do as much audio as I used to so I haven't been bothered to get another shuttle but you would probably find it useful.

Ray.

@Former user

Hi

. . . . Working on 4-minute music video projects means this message gets displayed waaay too often. . . . .

As I have said previously there is now you should be getting that message for such a short video.

This discussion is becoming frustrating because we are not getting any feedback on the suggestions that have been made

This is the timeline when I first hit the limit and get the message - note the time at the and - it is 4hrs 28 mins.

The actual limit when the message pops up depends on how the timeline is loaded with video and image objects.

Depending on the way I load a the project the limits for me were 4hrs 28 min, and loading the project in a different manner it is actually possible to get up to 12 hrs of video and images on the timeline.

This raises the following questions:

Is the 4 minute video project the same one where you initially posted about the message issue?

And at the risk of repeating myself though rephrased:

How many video clips were added to the timeline and at what time on the timeline was the end of the last video clip?

John EB

@johnebaker

Hi John.

I don't know if this is relevant or not but I can get the message using one 10 second clip.

Ray.