PROBLEM: Help! I went to work on my project but all my clip icons had turned into red boxes saying "Media Offline".
ANSWER: If you keep coming back to the same Mac you shouldn't have any problems. But if you save your Final Cut Express project on to a thumb drive and try to keep working on another computer, you may find that your media files will show up as "offline".
The trick is to round up all files relating to your project and take all of them with you when you move from one computer to another. So, where do you find all these files? When the computer initially digitises from tape, it dumps the files in a folder called Capture Scratch. In the CSU MacLab, you'll find this folder on the Student Drive. If you're working somewhere else, go hunting for Capture Scratch!
If you save and name your project BEFORE you start digitising, then you'll have no trouble locating your files (once you find the Capture folder). If you didn't name your project beforehand, they'll all be titled something like "untitled" and could be hard to track down.
Anyway, copy ALL your files on to your thumb drive or burn them to a CD or DVD (you may have too much digital info to fit on your thumb drive). When you start work again on another computer, you might still find that you get a "Media Offline" problem but never fear, just right click the icon in the browser window and follow the prompts through "reconnect media".
PROBLEM: Help! I had that nifty little set of tools on the ride hand side of the screen, including the very handy razor blade tool. But now it's gone and I can't get it back!
ANSWER: Okay, the best thing to do when your working screen gets a bit untidy and things seem to get lost, is go Window/Arrange/Standard. Suddenly, everything springs back neatly to its rightful spot & you'll find the tool bar sitting there waiting for you.