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How do I export to FCP 7 XML?

Here are detailed instructions for exporting your InqScribe transcript to Final Cut Pro 7.

Exporting from InqScribe

1. Start InqScribe

2. Open your InqScribe transcript file.  
Select File->Open Document... and select your file.

3. Make sure your media is opened along with it.  
If it's missing, re-link it by selecting Media->Media Source... from the menu, click the "Select File..." button, and select your media file.  (We need the media file open in order to do the next step.  If you don't have access to the media, you can skip Step 4).

4. Make sure your timecodes are valid.

If you have timecode errors in your transcript, you may have problems importing into FCP. Use InqScribe’s “Save Subtitled QuickTime Movie…” feature (in the “File” menu) to test your subtitles. If there are timecodes that are repeated or out of order, the Save Subtitled QuickTime Movie feature will generate a report for you. Fix the timecodes and try saving the subtitled movie again until InqScribe doesn’t report any errors, then do your FCP XML export again.

For instructions on saving a subtitled movie, see this page: http://docs.inqscribe.com/2.2/subtitling.html

If you were able to generate the subtitled movie, your timecodes are probably fine and you can go on to step 5.

5. In InqScribe, select File->Export->Final Cut Pro XML... from the menu.  
(Note, make sure you select "Final Cut Prop XML..." and not "Final Cut Pro Markers," which is a different command.)

6. In the "Export Settings" dialog that appears, do the following:

6a. Make sure "Format" is set to "Final Cut Pro XML" (it should be by default)

6b. In the "XML Template" section, click on the "Use Default" button to use the default InqScribe FCP template.  If you're having trouble, it's important to use the default template, which we know works.  Here are instructions for creating a custom template: http://support.inqscribe.com/knowledgebase/articles/166511

6c. OPTIONAL: If you want to call the exported file something other than "export.html," change the "Target:" field.  You can call the file whatever you want.

6d. OPTIONAL: If you want to save the exported file somewhere other than the same directory as your InqScribe transcript, click on the "Choose" button and select another directory.  You can also rename the file with that dialog.

6e. Click on the "Export" button to export the XML.

7. Look in the same directory as your InqScribe transcript file for the "export.xml" file (or elsewhere if you renamed it or saved it to a different place).
If you don't see it, the file may not have been exported properly.  Please try these instructions again.


Importing into FCP 7

Once you have the export.xml file, you're ready to import it into FCP.

1. Start FCP 7

2. Select File->Import->XML...

3. Select the "export.xml" file.

4. In the "Import XML..." window, select Destination "(Create New Project)".
You can of course use an existing project, but we're assuming this is a test.

5. Click "OK"

6. You should see a new item in your "Browser" window called something like "Template_InqScribe".

7. Drag this down to the "Timeline" window into the "V1" row.

8. Scrub the video and you should see the transcript text appear in the "Canvas" window.

Add a video track and you're set.


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If you're interested in learning more about how InqScribe power users work with Final Cut Pro, check out the following posts from our
blog:

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