selecting multiple files and adding/changing output folder

[trancepriest]

Is there a way to select multiple files in Adobe Media Encoder CS5.5 and change or add the output folder for all? It would be great if the output folder could be set in the Preset rather than in the AME Preference.

[Colin_Brougham]

Unfortunately, no; you can't change the output location for multiple files once they've been added to the queue. As a workaround of sorts, you can go into the AME preferences and specify a default output folder; if you do this before adding your batch of clips, all files will be directed there. Changing this preference after files have been added to the queue won't change the destination of those particular files, so remember to do it before setting up your batch.

I've requested this several times: one request was to separate the output path from the file name, so that you change the path for all selected inputs independent of the name (like you can with format and preset), and another request was a dialog asking if you wanted to change the path for multiple files, should you have more than one selected. Personally, I wouldn't want paths as part of presets: if you wanted the same output for multiple clients, for example, you'd have to duplicate your preset multiple times just to change the output location. That could get a little messy, from my perspective, but if you can offer a compelling way to implement that, by all means make a feature request: Adobe Feature Request/Bug Report Form

[Jim_Simon]

one request was to separate the output path from the file name

Can you do that though?  At the OS level, the "name" of the file includes the entire path, not just the part you see when you're in the folder.

[Colin_Brougham]

Why not? We're not talking about the OS level. We're talking about the application level. The application can do whatever it wants--or rather, whatever it's programmed and told to do. You do this when you create a new project, so why not when outputting?

[Jim_Simon]

The application can only be programmed to do what the OS will allow it to do.  I just wonder if the OS would allow this.  Not saying it can't, and a feature request never hurts.  I'm just musing, is all.

[Colin_Brougham]

Again, it already does--just not for exports. What I requested was that the save location (e.g. folder path) be a separate column in the AME queue and a separate selectable field in the Export Settings window. So--using the AME queue as an example--instead of a single column called Output File, you'd have one called Output Location that is the folder path (clickable hot-text that opens up a file browser dialog) and one called something like Output Filename that when clicked opens up a simple text entry box like the Rename Clip box in Premiere Pro. The actual output combines those elements; it doesn't matter what the OS requires at that point, since its getting exactly what it wants.

[Tim Kurkoski]

Yes, this is absolutely possible.  Jim is correct that the OS needs the full file path, name included, in order to write the file.  Colin is correct that at the application level, we can present the destination path and file name as separate variables to the user.  The application then concatenates the two variables together and supplies the OS with the complete output path.

Both of these requests (setting the output path for multiple items at once and disconnecting the UI for the filename from the UI for the path) are improvements that the AME team is considering for a future release. Thanks for the feature requests, guys.  Keep 'em coming.

[Colin_Brougham]

Thanks for the clarification, Tim--I just don't know the fancy words like "variable"

For good measure, I'm sending in another feature request on this--and I'm adding a note that says "Tim says so."

[Jim_Simon]

Makes more sense to me now, too.  It does sound like a good idea.

[trancepriest]

Good news to hear... looking forward to the next upgrade.

[leejk]

It's now 2 years later but this still has not made it into the release. I'd settle for the same behavior After Effects has if that would simplify it. This is annoying behavior currently.

[Tim Kurkoski]

Keith, which version of AME are you using?

In AME CC (7.0), we added the ability to select multiple output items and change the path for all of them at the same time. So that feature request has been answered.

The displayed output paths are still concatenated. If you'd like them to be separated, I'm afraid the answer is still the same: please file a feature request.

[leejk]

I'm using that version I think on my Mac. I tried to change the output path on a multiple selection but could not. I'll look at it again to make sure I did it right.

[Andrew1977]

Tim, I'm still having difficulty changing settings for multiple items simultaneously. It works only if you're using a preset from the drop down menu, but if you need to apply custom settings by dragging from the preset menu, it still only applies one at a time. There's also the option to select multiple queue items and then go to Edit-->Export Settings... but for some reason you can't have the actual files selected, only their settings fields, which means using Select All or Shift/Select is not an option. You still have to go clicking on each item one by one, all the way down the list. Am I missing something? Why would custom presets be excluded from this ability?

Thanks,

Andrew

[Tim Kurkoski]

Hi Andrew,

The discussion in this thread so far has been about changing the output paths for multiple items in the queue at once, but I'll try to tackle your question about presets.

First, selecting items: there are two types of items in the queue, the source item (the reference to the file, Premiere Pro sequence, or After Effects comp) that you're encoding from, and the output item, which are the settings which you are encoding to. (And remember that you can have multiple output items for a single source item.) Source items don't have encoding settings, so you can't open the Export Settings dialog when only source items are selected. Inversely, output items don't have source properties, so you can't open the File > Interpret Footage or Source Settings dialogs from them.

If you have a mixed selection of source and output items, such as what happens if you use Select All, the menu commands, such as Export Settings, for both items will become disabled. This makes some sense because you can't invoke Export Settings on a source item. (However, I think this is a bug, because there is no danger of the contexts being mixed for these menu commands; they would only apply to the appropriate type of item.)

Fortunately, there are other ways to do what you want to do. Once you select your output items, whether by Select All or Shift-selecting, you can change all of them at once by using the Format or Preset drop down menus, or click on the hot text for the Format or Preset to open the Export Settings dialog.

Regarding dragging presets, you are correct that dragging a preset onto multiple selected output items only changes the item you dragged to. That's worthy of a feature request for the AME team. On a related note, you can also drag output items onto a preset, but that results in a new output item being added to each source item involved in the selection. That's also worth a feature request if you don't like that behavior and think it should change the selected output items instead. All of this applies to both user presets and system presets; there's no difference in behavior between the two.

I hope that helps clarify things a bit for you. Here's the feature request form: http://adobe.ly/feature_request

[Dusey]

"by Select All or Shift-selecting, you can change all of them at once by using the Format or Preset drop down menus, or click on the hot text for the Format or Preset to open the Export Settings dialog."

Hey, it works!  I think in old versions it must have been different, this is a huge time saver!