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Autosaving a project

A backup copy of your project is automatically saved every five minutes. If your system crashes, you are prompted to open the backup file the next time you start the program.

Backup files are saved in the location specified in the Temporary files folder box on the General tab of the Preferences dialog. Files are saved with the .autosave.veg extension and are deleted when you close Vegas software.

If you prefer not to autosave your project, you can clear the Enable autosave check box on the General tab of the Preferences dialog.

Vegas software also creates .veg.bak files in your project folder when you save a project to allow you to return to the project’s last-saved state. Creation of .veg.bak files is independent of autosaving.

Using the Make Movie wizard

This feature is available only in Vegas Movie Studio and Vegas Movie Studio Platinum software.

Once you’ve arranged and saved your project, Vegas has an easy way to prepare your final file and get it ready for delivery: the Make Movie wizard. This wizard guides you through the process of saving your project in its final format (called “rendering”), burning it to DVD (using DVD Architect™ Studio), Video CD, or CD- ROM, publishing it to the Web, printing it to your DV camera tape, or e-mailing it.

To start the Make Movie wizard, choose Make Movie from the File menu and follow the steps for the appropriate task.

Rendering a project

Rendering refers to the process of converting a project into a single new multimedia file and formatting it for the desired playback method: media player, Internet streaming media, CD-ROM, video tape, etc. The project file is not overwritten, deleted, or altered during the rendering process. You can return to the original project to make edits or adjustments and render it again later.

Rendering a video file can take quite a bit of time, depending on the complexity of your project, the speed of your CPU, and the final format you have selected. For longer projects, you might want to plan to render your movie overnight or when you are not using your computer.

The process for rendering a project is essentially the same, regardless of the final format of the rendered file.

Note: When you route busses to hardware outputs, the outputs from those busses will not be included in the mix when you render your project. This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.

Note: For specific information on 5.1 surround projects, see Rendering surround projects on page 221. This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.

CHP. 17

SAVING, RENDERING, AND PRINTING PROJECTS