Using the Project Bin

The Project Bin[1] is where all your assets are. Depending on the size of your project, that list can quickly become confusing and difficult to work with. Kdenlive has several features to manage the bin’s content.

User Interface

project_bin_layout

The Project Bin in Kdenlive

1

kdenlive-add-clipAdd clip or folder opens a window similar to the file manager of your OS allowing you to navigate around your file system and select files to be added to the project bin.

go-down opens a pop-up window from where you can select what kind of clip you want to add

folder-newAdd folder creates a new folder in the current project bin. These are virtual folders that help you organize large bins. Folders can be turned into their own bins.

2

edit-deleteDelete clip or folder deletes the currently selected clip or folder from the bin

3

tagTags Panel toggles the tags panel

4

application-menuOptions opens a pop-window with more options including the option to scale the view

5

view-filterFilter switches a filter on or off

go-downFilter opens a pop-up window to set filter parameters

6

Search field to search for assets in the bin

7

go-upSort Toggles between sorting ascending and descending

8

The folder with all the sequences. It is there even if you did not create a sequence.

9

Folders created by the user (for illustration purposes only). You can turn folders into individual bins that can be added to your workspace and docked.

10

kdenlive-audio indicates a file with an audio stream

kdenlive-show-video indicates a file with a video stream

11

Indicators for duration of the clip in the format hh:mm:ss:ff, and the number of instances in sequences (first number) and the timeline (second number).

Scaling the View

You can zoom the project bin view in and out.

project_bin_scale_view

Scaling the project bin view

Click on the application-menuOptions icon and use the slider or the buttons to the left or right of it to increase or decrease the zoom level.

Changing the View

You can switch the project bin view from Tree View to Icon View, change the sort criterion, show additional columns for Date, Description, Rating, and have a preview in the thumbnails for video files.

project_bin_scale_view

Scaling the project bin view

Click on the application-menuOptions icon and select the View Mode, Sort By criteria, and tick the boxes for additional columns.

Select favoriteDisable Bin Effects to (temporarily) disable any effect applied to a clip in the Project Bin. See also the chapter about Effects and Filters and Effects on Project Bin Clips.

Thumbnail Video Preview

A neat feature is to have a preview in the thumbnails for video files. This allows scrubbing in the thumbnail to quickly check whether that particular clip has the scene or footage you are looking for.

project_bin_scale_view

Scaling the project bin view

Check the Show Video Preview in Thumbnails to enable the feature.

Attention

This will trigger several clip jobs to generate the video previews. Depending on the size of your project bin and video assets this may take a while. You can continue working with Kdenlive but expect some performance degradation.

Using Tags

Tags are a good way to stay organized as they give you a quick overview of the nature of your assets. You can create as many tags as you need, assign different colors, and change the default tags. After you assigned tags to your assets you can then quickly filter by tags making it much easier to assemble the clips in the timeline and building your story.

Attention

Kdenlive adjusts the width of the project bin widget to accommodate all tags and their description. It is recommended to keep the number of tags and the length of the description as small as possible to conserve valuable screen real estate for other widgets (in particular the timeline and monitors). If you have multiple monitors at your disposal consider undocking some of the widgets and moving them off the main screen used for editing.

project_bin_toolbar_tags

Enabling the tags panel

Click on the tagTags Panel icon in the project bin toolbar to enable the panel.

Assigning Tags

Assigning tags is as simple as selecting a clip and then clicking the appropriate tag in the panel.

project_bin_tags_assign

Assigning tags to clips

A clip can have more than one tag.

Click the tag again to remove it from the clip

Editing Tags

project_bin_tags_edit

Editing tags

You can change the description and color of existing tags.

Click on edit-deleteDelete to delete a tag.

Click on tag-addAdd tag to add a new tag.

Make sure to click document-saveSave to save the changes.

Hint

You can change the order of the tags in the panel by simply grabbing a tag adn dragging it to the desired place in the panel.

Filtering by Tags

You can filter the project bin list using tags.

project_bin_tags_filter

Filtering using tags

Note how the background of the view-filtericon changes as soon as filter criteria have been selected.

Filter criteria within the same category (like tag or rating) are applied in an OR fashion, meaning that all clips with any of the selected criteria will be listed (red OR green tag).

Filter criteria across different categories are applied in an AND fashion, meaning that clips with criteria from both categories will be listed (red OR green tag AND with four OR five stars)

For more details refer to the chapter about using filters.


Using Filters

Filters are an easy way to quickly narrow down assets by tag, rating, type, or whether or not they are being used in the timeline.

project_bin_filter

Filtering options

1:

Category Tags

2:

Category Rating

3:

Category Usage

4:

Category Type

Filters are applied in an OR way between objects of the same category, and in an AND way between different categories.

Example

project_bin_filter_example

Filtering options

This filter setting shows all assets that have a red OR blue tag, AND have a rating of 4 stars, AND are unused, AND are an AV Clip (file with video and audio streams) OR a Mute Video (file with only a video stream).

If filter criteria have been set, the filter icon in the project bin toolbar changes background color. Filter on: filter-on - filter off: filter-off

Sorting the Project Bin

You can sort the project bin content by various criteria.

project_bin_sort_by

Sorting options

Name:

Default sorting options

Date:

Sort by file date

Duration:

Sort by duration of the clip

Rating:

Sort by the rating of the clip

Type:

Sort by the file type

Insert Order:

Sort by the sequence in which the files were added

Description:

Sort by the description of the clip (this is an extra text field)

Descending:

Sort in descending order (default is off which sorts ascending)

Searching the Project Bin

The Project Bin is where all your assets are. Depending on the size of your project that list can quickly become confusing and difficult to work with. Kdenlive has several features to manage the bin’s content.

project_bin_searching

Searching the Project Bin

Enter the search term into the Search field. Kdenlive will start filtering the asset list immediately and continue adjusting the search results as you type.

Searching takes the entire filename including any suffixes (e.g. .ac3) into account.

Note

Searching takes place only in the current view. If you want to search in folders you must open the folder first.

Multiple Bins

Folders are a good way to stay organized but they are tied to the Project Bin. If you need more flexibility you can create various bins from folders you have created. The advantage of multiple bins is that you can un-dock them, move them around your workspace, change the sequence in the dock area, and even move them to a second (or third) monitor.

project_bin_multiple_bins

Turning folders into bins

Right-click the folder name and choose Open Current Folder In New Bin.

A bin can be closed either by clicking the window-closeClose Current Bin icon the the bin toolbar, opening the application-menuOptions menu and selecting Close Current Bin (you must be in the bin), or by selecting the Menu ‣ View ‣ Project Bins and un-ticking the respective bin in the list.

project_bin_multiple_bins_toolbar

Additional icons in the toolbar

Note the additional icons in the toolbar of the bin.

go-upGo up (keyboard shortcut Alt+UP) goes up one level in the current bin.

window-closeClose Current Bin closes the current bin.


Folders

Folders help keeping the Project Bin organized, structured, and easy to navigate. Folders can be nested and turned into individual bins.

project_bin_folder_create

Creating folders in the project bin

You create a folder by clicking the folder-newCreate Folder icon in the project bin toolbar.

Alternatively, right-click on empty space in the project bin and select folder-newCreate Folder.

If you want to create a folder below an existing one, select that folder first.

You can delete a folder by selecting the folder and clicking on the edit-deleteDelete Folder icon, or by right-click on the folder and selecting edit-deleteDelete Folder.

Folder Right-Click Menu

Right-click on a folder opens this context menu:

../../_images/project_bin_folder_options.webp
document-editRename:

Renames the folder. Keyboard shortcut is F2. You can also just double-click the folder name in the bin

document-openOpen Current Folder in New Bin:

Creates a new bin from the folder

favoriteDefault Target Folder for Sequences:

Check this if you want this folder to be target for new sequences

favoriteDefault Target Folder for Audio Captures:

Select this if you want this folder to receive all audio captures

folder-newCreate Folder:

Creates a new folder. If nothing has been selected in the bin, a new folder is created at the bin level. If a folder has been selected, a new folder underneath the selected one is created.

edit-deleteDelete Folder:

Deletes the selected folder.

Note

Deleting an empty folder happens immediately without any are-you-sure? dialog. Only if there is content will there be a warning dialog window that you need to confirm or cancel.

Context Menu

Right-click on any asset or item in the Project Bin to get a context menu with several and different options depending on the asset or item you used it on. The menu is also available via Menu ‣ Clip.

project_bin_context_menu

The context menu for bin items

Extract Audio:

Extracts the audio stream of the clip and adds a .wav file with a sample rate of 48kHz to the project bin. Is only available if the clip is of type audio or a video file with an audio stream. For further details see the chapter Extract Audio.

Clip Jobs:

Opens a flyout with additional options

  • My Custom Job runs the clip job My Custom Job

  • Automatic Scene Split runs a clip job that detects scene changes and creates individual clips for each detected scene. For further details see the chapter Automatic Scene Split.

  • Stabilize runs a stabilizer. See also the chapter Stabilize.

  • Duplicate Clip with Speed Change creates a copy of the selected clip and applies a speed change you can specify in a dialog window. For further details see the chapter Duplicate Clip with Speed Change.

  • configureConfigure Clip Jobs opens a window to manage clip jobs. See also the chapter Configure Clip Jobs

go-jumpClip in Timeline:

Opens a flyout with a list of all the instances of the selected clip in the timeline. For example V2: 00:00:22:15 indicates that this clip is in video track V2 at position (timecode) 00:00:22:15 (format is hh:mm:ss:ff)

find-locationLocate Clip:

Opens the folder in your file system where the selected clip is located in your OS default file manager. See also the chapter Locate Clip.

view-refreshReload Clip:

Reloads the selected clip from the file system. See also the chapter Reload Clip.

edit-find-replaceReplace Clip:

Opens your OS file manager. Select the file you want to replace the selected clip with. See also the chapter Replace Clip.

edit-find-replaceReplace Clip in Timeline:

You need to select two clips in the bin for this action. The clip you right-clicked on will be replace by the other. See also the chapter Replace Clip.

edit-copyDuplicate Clip:

Craetes a copy of the selected clip. See also the chapter Duplicate Clip.

edit-copyTranscode to Edit Friendly Format:

Opens a window with the selected clips where you can select the format to transcode the clips to. See also the chapter Transcode to Edit Friendly Format.

Proxy Clip:

If checked indicates that the selected clip is a proxy clip* Proxy Clip. If the option is greyed out, proxy clips are not enabled for the project. Go to the Proxy Settings tab in the Project Settings (Menu ‣ Project ‣ Project Settings) and enable proxy clips.

document-editClip Properties:

Opens the widget for the Clip Properties. For more details refer to the chapter Clip Properties.

document-openEdit Clip:

Opens the application associated with the type of the selected clip. See also the chapter Edit Clip.

document-editRename (default keyboard shortcut F2):

Opens the clip name field in the bin for editing. This does not change the filename in the file system. See also the chapter Rename.

edit-deleteDelete Clip:

Deletes the selected clips. If the clips are being used in the timeline or in sequences, a warning windows is opened where you need to confirm that the clips’ instances in the timeline will also be deleted. See also the chapter Delete Clip.