File menu in Motion

The File menu contains functions and commands for managing Motion files.

• New: Opens either the Project Browser or a new default Motion project (if you’ve already set a default project). (Command-N)

• New from Project Browser: Opens the Project Browser. (Option-Command-N)

• Open: Opens a dialog to select a Motion project to open. (Command-O)

• Open Recent: Opens a submenu that lists the most recently opened files.

• Close: Closes the current project. If the project has not been saved, Motion asks you to save the project before closing the window. (Command-W)

• Save: Stores the current state of the project to disk. (Command-S)

• Save As: Saves the current state of the project with a new name. (Shift-Command-S)

• Publish Template: Available when the current project is a standard Motion project, saves the current project as a Motion template or a Final Cut Generator template (for use in Final Cut Pro). See Intro to using templates and Create a generator template.

• Revert to Saved: Restores the selected project to the last saved state. Changes made after the last save are lost. Use caution; you cannot undo this operation.

• Restore from Autosave: Displays a dialog where you can choose a project previously saved to the Autosave Vault. See Cache settings.

• Import: Opens a submenu of options for importing:

  • Media: Opens a dialog to select a file to import into your project. (Command-I)

  • Image Playground: Opens Image Playground. (Option-Shift-P)

    Note: Image Playground requires macOS 15.2 Sequoia or later on Mac models with an M1 chip or later.

• Import As: Opens a submenu of options for importing:

  • Project: Opens a dialog to select a file to import as the basis of a new project using the file’s dimensions and duration. If multiple items are selected, they’re all placed in the same project. Additional options are available if an image sequence is selected. See Open an existing project. (Shift-Command-I)

  • Unused Media: Opens a dialog to select a file to import into the Media list. The imported media file isn’t added to your composition; instead, it’s stored in the Media list for future use in your project.

  • Audio: Opens a dialog to select an audio file to import into your project. If you select a video clip that has audio, only the audio component is imported.

• Share: Opens a submenu of options for sharing your project:

  • Export Movie: Exports your project as a QuickTime movie to a Finder folder to use in other projects and applications or to distribute manually. See Export a QuickTime movie.

  • Export Selection to Movie: Exports the current selection as a QuickTime movie to a Finder folder. See Export a QuickTime movie.

  • Export Audio: Exports only the audio portion your project as an audio file to a Finder folder. See Export a QuickTime movie.

  • Save Current Frame: Saves the frame currently visible in the canvas as a still image file to a Finder folder. See Export a still image.

  • Export Image Sequence: Exports your project as an image sequence to a Finder folder. See Export a QuickTime movie.

  • Apple Devices: Exports your project using presets that allow you to watch it on Apple TV, or download it to iPad, iPhone, or iPod. See Export to Apple devices.

  • Email: Opens the Mail application and attaches your project as a rendered movie file. See Export to email.

  • [Custom Compressor preset]: If you’ve created a custom Compressor preset (in the Compressor app), exports your project using that predefined export setting. See Export from Motion using Compressor.

  • Add Destination: Opens the Destinations pane of Motion Settings. See Create and modify share destinations.

  • Send to Compressor: Renders your project through the Compressor app (if installed), allowing you to further customize your export settings and output a single movie file to a Finder folder. See Export from Motion using Compressor.

  • Convert Project To: Opens a submenu of options for converting a standard Motion project to a Final Cut Effect, Final Cut Generator, Final Cut Title, or Final Cut Transition template, converting a Final Cut template to a different template type, or converting any template to a standard Motion project. See Convert a Motion project to a Final Cut Pro for Mac template or Convert a template to another type.

• Reconnect Media: Reestablishes a link to a file on disk when a layer in your project has been moved or modified.

• Remove Unused Media: Removes a media item from your project when the item is stored in the Media list but not used in the project.

• Remove Optical Flow Retiming: Resets the retiming information file when a media item has been processed for retiming. See Intro to retiming media in the Motion Timeline.

• Page Setup: Displays the standard macOS Page Setup dialog, where you can set paper size and orientation for printing. (Shift-Command-P)

• Print: Displays the standard macOS Print dialog, where you can print the contents of the canvas. (Command-P)