Remove all blank spaces at once with MEP2015

oontimovaan wrote on 8/6/2015, 11:45 AM

I have moved from MEP2013 to MEP2015 and run immediately into a showstopper problem. I just completed editing my first 3 hour project and realized that MEP2015 does not have the same basic functionality as 2013.

After cutting out all unwanted parts there are more than 200 empty spaces scattered evenly inside the 3h project. Naturally I want to remove all empty gaps in one click and move all objects together.

This was possible in MEP2013 albeit it was undocumented and bizarrely complicated. First one had to click transition icon inside one object and select "cut (no fade)" which removed empty gap between selected and previous object. Then the same icon should be re-selected with "apply to all" option which extended this to all objects in the track (it also removed all empty gaps at once).

Well, it seems that even this functionality was removed from MEP2015. Selecting "cut (no fade)" does nothing at all. I know the easier way to do this manually ( first "<", then "x", and finally "Alt+Del") but I will NOT repeat that 200 times. There must be a way to get rid of all empty spaces with a single command as in every other video editing SW on this planet.

Thanks in advance if someone can help.

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 8/6/2015, 1:00 PM

. . . . .Well, it seems that even this functionality was removed from MEP2015. Selecting "cut (no fade)" does nothing at all. I know the easier way to do this manually ( first "<", then "x", and finally "Alt+Del") but I will NOT repeat that 200 times. There must be a way to get rid of all empty spaces with a single command as in every other video editing SW on this planet. . . . .

Not that I have found. This was a deliberate design change.

To avoid this in future use the Z (delete start) or U (delete end) keys to make the cut, delete the start or end respectively of the object at the position of the timeline cursor and close the gap.

Or - for taking out a middle section of an object - the T (cut) key followed by reposition the cursor then the Z or U .

HTH

John EB

browj2 wrote on 8/6/2015, 2:23 PM

Hi,

Even Video Pro X7 does not have a feature to remove gaps, but at least it has a command to find the gaps and go to them.

As indicated by John Baker and in the manual, when editing, use the appropriate commands to avoid getting the gaps in the first place. One thing to remember about using Z and U if you have objects on tracks higher than 1 (and 2 if V/A are on 2 tracks), if you highlight an object and then use Z or U, the piece will be removed and the gap closed up, but only on the track with the object (and any groups or associated objects). If you don't select an object at the split location, all objects including the higher track numbers will be trimmed at that location and everything to the right will be moved up. If there is only something on track 1, say, and you do not select the object, then everything on all tracks will still be shifted along with the piece cut out. So you really have to understand what you are doing or you can create an even bigger mess.

Sorry we can't help resolve your problem. You will have to bite the bullet and remove the gaps manually.

When you cut out the 200 parts, how did you do it such that gaps were created?

BTW, I also use Pinnacle Studio 18.5 and I have not seen a way to automatically close gaps.

mods315 wrote on 10/23/2017, 3:19 PM

I have movie edit pro 2016. Is there still no way a series of gaps can be closed easily? None of the suggestions in the forum seem to work and the drop down menus are also different. I get gaps because I find it convenient to cut highlight pieces (AFL masters football) out of a long video. I do this in a separate movie tab, then copy those clips asa group and transfer them to the main movie tab but of course I have a lot of gaps. Don't understand why there is not a simple function to close the gaps in this great product?!!

browj2 wrote on 10/24/2017, 7:19 AM

Hi,

I don't understand why you have gaps. When you delete something, either use Ctrl+Del or use mouse mode for a track or multi-track ripple. When you delete something, the gap is closed up. Otherwise, you have to do it manually. And when you do, use one of the ripple mouse modes (shortcuts 8 and 7 to get into a ripple mode) or you will likely create more gaps. See my tutorials on basic editing.