Lost video .screenflow file
I was just working on a file I'd been recording lecture upon. I was editing it and it disappeared. I did not delete it, but it did seem to delete itself. Is there a recovery possibility?
I am working on macbook pro, 10.11.6 El Capitan
I have version 6.2.2 (29341) I had purchased on App store, for my macbook pro.
Gosh, I really need your help. I recorded for two hours! I was adding a file to it, and suddenly it was gone!!
Appreciatively, Janet
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It might be in the default scratch disk location set in ScreenFlow > Preferences > Advanced, Capture Scratch Disk: (you can change this to an easy to remember location).
Try:
Open ScreenFlow, hold the SHIFT button and click Help>Open Temp Folder in Finder. Here look through the folders to find a .scc file. -
2022 Version 10.0.5 and I have the same problem.
I tried to save my project and instead, it deleted the .screenflow file.
Now when I try to save it, it says it can not find media (it can't even find any files I used even if they are clearly in the correct folders), I am able to export it, but it doesn't change the fact that I lost all my editable content.
Can not find the files anywhere, I don't know where it's pulling the content from, it's not in:
Mac HD > Users > YourUser > Movies > ScreenFlow Data -
Nick AlikA said:
I tried to save my project and instead, it deleted the .screenflow file.That's the document itself, not just the recording.
Perhaps you need to explain in more detail. When you save it will either save or throw a warning message.
Where it saves depends on where you set it to save so I can't say specifically where to look.Nick AlikA said:
Now when I try to save it, it says it can not find mediaThis is confusing since this is an entirely different issue.
Nick AlikA said:
it says it can not find media (it can't even find any files I used even if they are clearly in the correct folders),Again, confusing. The media is always saved in the ScreenFlow document unless you changed your ScreenFlow Preferences from Packaged to Single File.
Nick AlikA said:
Mac HD > Users > YourUser > Movies > ScreenFlow DataThat's a temporary location for .scc files. They are moved to the document once saved so you wouldn't find anything but unsaved .scc files there.
Sorry but I need a more accurate and detailed description of what you are doing.
It's not clear if you are using any external drives, whether you have given ScreenFlow Permissions for Full Disk Access, File and Folders Access or what macOS you're using.
You must describe in a way we can match settings and system setup. -
Try downloading ScreenFlow 10.0.6, just released and see if that fixes the issue.
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Hi Craig, thanks for replying.
so to clarify:
A. I recorded then saved the ScreenFlow file... it saved just fine.
B. When I saved the project one more time, (instead of overwriting the file), the .screenflow file went missing.So yeah, I lost the .screenflow file, yet in the ScreenFlow application, the project is still open.
I can even export it... However, When I try to save it (in any location) it gives me the error that I can not save the project because "files are missing".
If I right-click on any media file (whether it is a ScreenFlow recording or an image I added to the project) and say "open in finder" it does nothing, does not open the finder window at all.
The entire project is saved on my local M1 1TB SSD.
ScreenFlow has full access to drives and until this moment has been working just fine, new projects are also saving just fine.
OS Monteray 12.4 M1
ScreenFlow 10.0.5
I'm just left with an open ScreenFlow project which I can not exit until I export it all.
Q: So why don't I just Export the video and import it to a new project?
... well it's because the compression of ScreenFlow is quite bad, I lose color and sharpness under any export settings, even ProRes 422 lossless. -
Nick AlikA said:
B. When I saved the project one more time, (instead of overwriting the file), the .screenflow file went missing.How have you determined this given the project is open?
Nick AlikA said:
I can even export it... However, When I try to save it (in any location) it gives me the error that I can not save the project because "files are missing".What files are missing?
The error message might have more information.
Nick AlikA said:
ScreenFlow 10.0.5Again please update and determine if this occurs in 10.0.6.
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CraigS said:
How have you determined this given the project is open?Well, I didn't "save and exit".... I just "saved as".
Then when I pressed "CMD+S" instead of updating the file it deleted it, but the project remained open.CraigS said:
Again please update and determine if this occurs in 10.0.6.I can not close the project, or I will lose everything!
Here is a detailed explanation of the problem.and thanks once again for looking into this.
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CraigS said:
Nick AlikA said:
B. When I saved the project one more time, (instead of overwriting the file), the .screenflow file went missing.
How have you determined this given the project is open?Oh, I misunderstood the question:
I had the S.F. Project and Apple Finer with the location of the .screenflow file open side by side, I watched it disappear.-
Nick AlikA In your video you start by opening a file in the Library. Those are not .screenflow documents. Those are media files. It's not clear that the "01" you refer to previously existed. The problem is there's no evidence the file existed nor that it was deleted. The viewer can only assume that based on your comment so there's no way for the developers to troubleshoot that.
Additionally when you subsequently Save, that the dialog is looking for the original files in your Download folder or Desktop etc. to move, indicates that the document that begins with 01 has never been saved. Once a document is saved, ScreenFlow moves all the files into the Package. If the file had been saved it wouldn't search in the Downloads or Desktop folder for the file. It would search in ScreenFlow's internal Media folder. The messages noting the missing files shows exactly where the original files are located and those don't seem to be in the designated locations.
As presented it shows in your video that the 01 document has never been saved and that it can't be because the media files you imported are no longer in the locations you imported them from. It looks like you have a workflow issue.
When you import files they must remain in their original location until you do the first save. After that, they are located in the ScreenFlow Packaged Document.
If you previously saved that document you should show evidence of that and then show that it has disappeared.
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CraigS This is not a trial, I am not testifying and I don't need to present "evidence" I am sharing my story and asking you to belive me, taking screenshots when you assume everything works fine is a bit absurd, and I am sure you will agree..
I understand everything you say, I stand strong in saying that screenslow deleted my file, and I hereby testify that is the truth, and everything I observed led me to witness it personally.
However I am not accusing screenflow of doing that, I am meerely asking if you would happen to know where the current temp files are located.
I am asking for help, I am not here to defend myself, and definitely not trying to prove that 01 ever existed as I am certain of it, as I was working with the file for weeks.
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p.s. I found proof that the file "01" indeed did exist!-
Nick AlikA The screenshot indicates that the .scc file is not in the document's Media folder. Unfortunately, it doesn't indicate that the document is itself missing. It's possible the .scc wasn't initially copied for a number of reasons depending on where it was stored.
The temp file location can be set by the user. The exact location can be found by holding Shift and then selecting ScreenFlow > Help menu.
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Well, it clearly says: "01 wizard.screenflow/Media" which means it is trying to pull the .scc media from the .screenflow file, in the /Media subfolder... which would in turn indicate that it was indeed saved and stored in that .screenflow file... otherwise (and please consider this) otherwise if it was not saved, it would not be pulling from the .screenflow file. so by definition, it was saved and indeed existed.
p.s. It clearly says Recording_xxx.scc "LOCATED AT" .screenflow/Media so the .scc is not trying to import itself "INTO" the project, but already is "IN" the project and that means it was saved into the project.
The matter of it being deleted is indeed unprovable and impossible to replicate, so I will not press the matter, and you are right to assume that most commonly this happens due to user error, however... if I had even the slightest thought that it was me deleting the file by accident, I would not have posted here and would have most likely found the file in the trash folder, but as stated previously I watched the file disappear, and it was nowhere to be found after that. (it could very much be an OSX bug completely unrelated to ScreenFlow too.)
Thank you for helping me, and I understand that this is a strange error, and I am the first to report it, and that there is no known solution, and I accept that.
So to sum up, I am the first one to report this issue, if anyone has the same, this will become a point of reference.Until then, thank you one more time for spending the time to listen and examine my case.
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Nick AlikA Document might have been accidentally deleted after it was opened or perhaps if using iCloud or Dropbox or equivalent cloud backup, there was a syncing issue (those are reasons media might not be moved) or the document might have been moved before the copy/save of the source file was completed (but that would only account for missing media, not deleted document).
Nick AlikA said:
if I had even the slightest thought that it was me deleting the file by accident,If there was a potential cause, even by the user, it could be something we can prevent in the future. The developers haven't been able to come up with a scenario they can prevent as of yet. Sorry about that.
.scc files themselves can go missing if there's a copy issue but the documents themselves still exist even if it were empty of any media files. -
Nick AlikA Developers would like to look at your System Diagnostics.
Hold shift key and open ScreenFlow Help and Gather Support Diagnostics and use the Gather button. Then link to them here or send me a forum private message linking to them in Dropbox or Google Drive or similar. Perhaps they can see something about your config that might cause this.
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Nick AlikA said:
(it could very much be an OSX bug completely unrelated to ScreenFlow too.)That's one way a temp .scc file can be deleted as might be done during OS cleanup. It certainly would be dangerous if the OS could delete documents though. Perhaps the document was never finalized during a save process but even the failure to move source media wouldn't cause that.