File operations

Everyday actions

These commands are on the right-click menu. Show in Finder is also File → Show in Finder (⌥⌘F) once a video is selected.

1. Show in Finder (⌥⌘F) reveals the file in Finder.
2. Edit Title…, or Return on a single focused video, changes the catalog Title. The file name on disk stays as it is. Press Esc to cancel the edit.
3. Rename File… changes the file name on disk. The catalog keeps the previous name as Original File Name, and search and export can still use that historical name.
4. Open With lists installed apps that can open the file. Choose one to hand the file to that app.

Bulk Rename…

Bulk Rename renames many files on disk from parts you stack. Each file stays in its folder. The window, the examples, templates, and undo are a separate guide.

1. Choose File → Bulk Rename… to rename every video in the current view, including the effect of search and filters. Or select videos, right-click, and choose Bulk Rename… to rename only that selection.
2. Nothing is written until the preview looks right and you click Rename N Files.

Parts, examples, templates, and undo. See Bulk Rename.

Move files

1. Select the videos, right-click, and choose Move Files…. Choose the destination folder and click Move Here.
2. A move on the same volume finishes immediately. It does not appear in the Move Queue.
3. A move onto another volume copies first, verifies the copy, and only then removes the original. The activity strip at the bottom of the window shows progress, for example Moving 18% · +2.
4. Click the activity strip, or choose View → Move Queue…, to abort a cross-volume move, retry a failed one, or reorder the queue.

Make a playable copy

Most files play with no conversion. Use this when this Mac cannot play a file in Skagway. You can also hand that file to another app with Play in External Player.

1. Right-click the video and choose Make a playable copy…. On a Grid or Storyboard card the same command is the Convert to play mark. If playback cannot start, the player offers Make a playable copy… as well.
2. Your original file stays in the catalog, in the folder it is already in. Skagway saves an MP4 copy beside it and plays that copy. The library entry stays one video. If that name is already taken, the copy uses the next free name.
3. A card reads In Queue while the copy waits, and Processing with the percent while it runs. The activity strip shows the same job, for example Re-encode 42% · +2. Click the strip, or choose View → Re-encode Queue…, to open the queue.
4. When the copy is saved, the strip keeps a line such as “1 playable copy.” In the queue, Delete original moves the original file to the Trash and points the catalog entry at the copy. Clear from queue leaves both files and drops the row. Finished copies also appear in the Recently Converted smart library.

The activity strip

The activity strip is the progress line along the bottom of the library window. A playable copy keeps a line there after it finishes, so the queue can still be opened. A finished move clears itself.

1. While a move or a playable copy is running, the strip shows the job and a percent, for example Re-encode 42% or Moving 18% · +2. The +N is further work still queued. Click the strip to open that queue.

   Click to enlarge

2. When the copy is saved, the strip reads “1 playable copy,” or a count. Click it to open Re-encode Queue. Delete original or Clear from queue is on that row.

   Click to enlarge

Remove vs. Delete

Remove forgets a video. Delete throws the file away. Both are on the right-click menu. Pick the one that matches what you want left on disk.

1. Remove from Library (⌥⌘R) drops the video from the catalog. The file stays on disk. A later scan of that folder brings the video back.
2. Delete Video… (⌘⌫) asks for confirmation, then moves the file to the Trash.
3. To skip that confirmation, turn off Confirm deletions under Settings → Library.

Duplicates

1. Open the Duplicates smart library from Quick Filter. Skagway groups videos whose file content matches, even when the file names differ.
2. Keep the copy you want. On the others, choose Remove from Library or Delete Video….
3. If a group is not really the same video, right-click → Not a Duplicate. Skagway remembers that exception and leaves those files out of the group.

Fix thumbnails and filmstrips

1. Choose Regenerate Thumbnail when a poster landed on a black frame or a title card. Skagway picks a new frame. The command works on a batch selection.
2. Right-click → Set Poster from Image… to choose an image file as the poster. Dragging an image onto a Grid card does the same.
3. Right-click → Modify Filmstrip… to change the rows and columns of that video’s filmstrip preview. The library-wide default for the Inspector filmstrip is Settings → Video → Default Filmstrip Size.
4. For a thumbnail taken from the exact frame on screen, play the video and press ⌥⌘M instead of regenerating.