Moving Motion Templates folder to external hard drive

My main hard drive is getting too full due to the number of files in the "Motion Templates" folder. Is there a simple way to move that folder to an external SSD hard drive and still have FCPX recognize it? I saw one explanation on a search, but even the people posting seemed unsure. 

You can't have FCP recognise a 'Global' Motion templates folder that is outside the default location. You can store Motion templates on a single library level anywhere you like by setting the destination in the library settings (select library and open the inspector to see the destination setting for media, Motion content etc).

If the size of the default template folder blows out what you might want to have a look at is whether you have duplicates of templates in the default directory. Sometimes FCP creates duplicates of templates after modifying templates and not closing FCP in-between. You have to delete copies manually.

Thank you so much for your informative reply. My research has indicated though that it can be done, and others have claimed to have done it by typing command lines in Terminal. The instructions though are not clear (to me at least), so I was hoping someone here could provide clearer instructions. No, no duplicates in the folders...I think I just have too many plugins!

Ah ok didn't know that you can when you're willing to mess with the internals of FCP/system. Personally I wouldn't go there but if you're confident you can manage it then there might be a possibility .

What is the size of the Motion Templates folder itself?

I'm not in the studio right now, Ben, but I think the folder contents are at about 35 GB. I have a lot of great plugins.

Mine is 38GB which I consider very small even for a 1TB system drive. All my Libraries are on secondary drives, as they should be. If your system drive is getting full, I'd look at other sources for space hogging. It's a PITA and opens up so many thing that can go wrong moving that folder to a secondary drive, IMHO. How large is your system drive?

Hi Frank, Welcome to the forums
Yes you can move files/folders/directories to external drives then create a symbolic link (sym link or -s) that tells the OS where file is located. This is built into UNIX, the underlying OS in Macs. I use this for all my Logic/GarageBand sound files to free up space. I moved them to a sd card to free up internal drive space and not block one of my other I/O ports. You must remember to have the external drive mounted or you will get errors or in the case of Logic it will try to download the sound files from Apple.
So you are looking to create a symlink not an alias.
To create a symlink, in macOS you need to use Terminal. Ok I'm lying, you can use a GUI interface like SymbolicLinker or write an Apple Script/Automator action, but Terminal is easier and more reliable. It is getting somewhat harder when changing system directories as the directory may be protected via System Integrity Protection (SIP) in Finder. If you get errors while trying to write to a system directory, you would need to disable SIP first, make the additions then reenable SIP. This has/is changing with different versions of macOS. 

PLEASE PLEASE BACK UP YOUR DRIVE!  Not a bad idea to have several back-ups!

The basic Terminal command is  ln -s <path to the file/folder to be linked> <the path of the link to be created>

Here is one article that describes how to create symlinks…
  www.howtogeek.com/297721/how-to-create-a...a-symlinks-on-a-mac/

I start by backing up my drive! X2 or 3
Copy Motion Templets Folder and contents to new location.
Create temporary folder on desktop and move Motion Templets contents only and renaming/appending "old" to folder name. This is just file security till everything works out and then can be deleted. Here you want to move the contents but leave the Directory named MotionTemplets in original location
Open Terminal, type ln -s   (thats a lowercase L)
Now the easiest way is to drag and drop the new just created folder from the external drive into the Terminal window, this creates the path the link will go to. Otherwise you must type in the path including any // or "", etc…
Add a space then drag and drop the old now empty MotionTemplet Folder into the Terminal Window. This will create the link from the MotionTemplets folder on your Mac to the external drive.
Press "enter/return" and your symbolic link should be created.
In Finder your MotionTemplets directory will now have a small red arrow indicating a link, unfortunately this is the same indicator for both aliases and symbolic links, but they are not the same. Do not create aliases or they will fail in the future.
Now when you launch FCP the system will follow the link to find the files on the external drive.
Use a fast external drive and I/O port.
Not a bad idea to restart your Mac first.



Hope this Helps, Greg

Ben Balser wrote: Mine is 38GB which I consider very small even for a 1TB system drive. All my Libraries are on secondary drives, as they should be. If your system drive is getting full, I'd look at other sources for space hogging. It's a PITA and opens up so many thing that can go wrong moving that folder to a secondary drive, IMHO. How large is your system drive?

Hi Ben. My computer is a 2013 Mac Pro with a 250GB internal drive, and I have moved everything off it that I can. I am also awaiting the new Macs so I can upgrade, but a Mini Mac Pro isn't even scheduled yet. Anyway, I do have several Thunderbolt external drives in Black Magic enclosures, so thats where I store music libraries and video projects. That works well. It would not be practical to spend money to update my internal drive right now since I plan to buy a new computer. Anyway, that's why I want to move my Motion Templates folder. Cheers.

VidGreg wrote: Hi Frank, Welcome to the forums
Yes you can move files/folders/directories to external drives then create a symbolic link (sym link or -s) that tells the OS where file is located. This is built into UNIX, the underlying OS in Macs. I use this for all my Logic/GarageBand sound files to free up space. I moved them to a sd card to free up internal drive space and not block one of my other I/O ports. You must remember to have the external drive mounted or you will get errors or in the case of Logic it will try to download the sound files from Apple.
So you are looking to create a symlink not an alias.
To create a symlink, in macOS you need to use Terminal. Ok I'm lying, you can use a GUI interface like SymbolicLinker or write an Apple Script/Automator action, but Terminal is easier and more reliable. It is getting somewhat harder when changing system directories as the directory may be protected via System Integrity Protection (SIP) in Finder. If you get errors while trying to write to a system directory, you would need to disable SIP first, make the additions then reenable SIP. This has/is changing with different versions of macOS.

PLEASE PLEASE BACK UP YOUR DRIVE! Not a bad idea to have several back-ups!

The basic Terminal command is ln -s <path to the file/folder to be linked> <the path of the link to be created>

Here is one article that describes how to create symlinks…
www.howtogeek.com/297721/how-to-create-a...a-symlinks-on-a-mac/

I start by backing up my drive! X2 or 3
Copy Motion Templets Folder and contents to new location.
Create temporary folder on desktop and move Motion Templets contents only and renaming/appending "old" to folder name. This is just file security till everything works out and then can be deleted. Here you want to move the contents but leave the Directory named MotionTemplets in original location
Open Terminal, type ln -s (thats a lowercase L)
Now the easiest way is to drag and drop the new just created folder from the external drive into the Terminal window, this creates the path the link will go to. Otherwise you must type in the path including any // or "", etc…
Add a space then drag and drop the old now empty MotionTemplet Folder into the Terminal Window. This will create the link from the MotionTemplets folder on your Mac to the external drive.
Press "enter/return" and your symbolic link should be created.
In Finder your MotionTemplets directory will now have a small red arrow indicating a link, unfortunately this is the same indicator for both aliases and symbolic links, but they are not the same. Do not create aliases or they will fail in the future.
Now when you launch FCP the system will follow the link to find the files on the external drive.
Use a fast external drive and I/O port.
Not a bad idea to restart your Mac first.



Hope this Helps, Greg

Thank you, Greg for the comprehensive and useful information. I do backups regularly, but haven't cloned my main drive in awhile, so will do that first. And I do have fast, external SSD drive(s) available to contain the folder. Anyway, at first glance, I think I can follow your instructions, and we'll see what happens. 😀 Many thanks for your help! This will solve a big problem if I am successful.

Ah, yes, back when Apple put tiny tiny tiny systems drives in their computers.

VidGreg wrote: Hi Frank, Welcome to the forums

Thank you...and hi again, Greg. Okay, it suggests elsewhere that my current "Motion Templates" folder needs to be called "Motion Templates.localized", not the current name. Is that correct? Interestingly, when I copied the entire main-drive "Motion Templates" folder to an external drive as a backup (not enough space on my main drive), it automatically renamed the folder "Motion Templates.localized" (copying still underway). So a bit confused here re. required folder names. 😀

EDIT: And now that copying the backup folder has finished, it has renamed itself to "Motion Templates"!
EDIT 2: Ah-ha, figured that out. Of course the directory and folders have to be named with .localized extension added or FCPX won't recognize them. They all are, but .localized is hidden until one views the them in "Get Info". There the full name is shown. Another step forward. 😀
EDIT 3: Followed your instructions, tried 3 times, same error messages every time. I'm on Catalina so maybe that's the problem? Anyway, did NOT alter SIP as I am uncomfortable doing that. Here's is the Terminal input. My new Motion Templates folder is on my drive named "Video". The 'old' one in the normal location on my main hard drive. Any more tips?

Franks-Mac-Pro:~ Frank$ ln -s/Volumes/Video/Motion\ Templates.localized  /Users/Frank/Movies/Motion\ Templates.localized ln: illegal option -- /usage: ln [-Ffhinsv] source_file [target_file]       ln [-Ffhinsv] source_file ... target_dir       link source_file target_file

Ben Balser wrote: Ah, yes, back when Apple put tiny tiny tiny systems drives in their computers.

Yes, and this was their top of the line Mac Pro back then!

Hi Frank
Rusty on Terminal Foo here but think you need to add a space after -s (tap spacebar) then drag and drop.
OK doing this off top of head so think that is what the error message means. As I remember you need a space after dragging and dropping the first link also. If you go to the website I provided, you can see the spaces in the command codes, make sure you have them in all needed places.

ln <space> -s <space> <drag and drop newly created folder here> <space> <drag and drop the Motion Templates folder from Finder>User>Movies>Motion Templets here> the press enter/return.

If this doesn't work, preface the commands with sudo<space>
When you use sudo (superuser do) it basically promotes to Root Access and in the case of system directories may require sudo. After typing sudo you will be prompted for administer password, typically your login user password if your user account is an administer. You will not see on screen your password so just type it and hit enter.

Beginning with Mojave and especially with Catalina and beyond, system software/firmware has been locked down more and more. 
Even some aspects for Terminal have now changed. IMHO locking down the system OS is a good thing, but limits the changes users can make. SIP is the way Apple is partially locking the system, but users can still unlock the door, make the necessary changes, then re-enable SIP. This is pretty safe as you only open the door to do something then lock it again.

I do not know if the Motion Templates folder in your User>Movies folder is in fact a System Directory, but it may well be. It is created when Motion or FCP is first opened. I think it is a System Directory and from what I have read is that you may need to disable SIP in order to change a System Directory  i.e. to attach a link.  Frank, unfortunately I cannot test this out as I am still on High Sierra and so what I do may not apply to you.

So try adding the spaces and run the commands to create symlink
Try sudo preface and run commands
Unlock SIP and run commands
Also make sure the original Motion Templates folder is empty and you renamed the moved files folder.

Hopefully this will work.
Best of Luck, Greg

I

VidGreg wrote: Hi Frank
Rusty on Terminal Foo here but think you need to add a space after -s (tap spacebar) then drag and drop.
OK doing this off top of head so think that is what the error message means. As I remember you need a space after dragging and dropping the first link also. If you go to the website I provided, you can see the spaces in the command codes, make sure you have them in all needed places  etc....


I

Thanks again, Greg. I really appreciate the assistance you have provided and the time spent trying to help. Will definitely give this a shot again as soon as I'm back in the studio and see what happens. If not, I guess it's time to replace the hard drive, whether it's cost-wise or not. 😀 Cheers...frank

Hi Frank
I know symlinks will work and you can move the files, but Terminal is Very Unforgiving on syntext. You have to type commands precisely. Leaving out a space, Uppercase/Lowercase, use of /, \, |,~, -,  all have precise meanings for program actions. Terminal is very unforgiving and provides little hand-holding and little to no safety warnings. The "Man" (manual) provides the info, but is/was written by nerds as need arose, so not very easy to interpret. 
Forgive me if I am telling you something you already know. Just think you can do this. People are afraid of Terminal, caution is wise, it is powerful and can mess up your computer, back ups essential. Lots of users out there that use Terminal as main interface and bypass the GUI interface as much as possible. 
Linux, micro computers/controllers all tend to make heavy use of a Terminal shell. I moved away from using Terminal much with Macs, but I have been programming some Raspberry Pi's and micro controllers for solar, remote cameras, LEDs, and well controls here on the old Ranch, so having to relearn some stuff. 

I think you just misplaced a space or two. Or perhaps Catalina requires sudo or SIP bypass. But what you want to do is built into the system. You will figure this out.

Just to go back slightly, have you looked at other ways to save space? Clear out old cruff and crud? Make sure all apps have empty trash folders? Many apps do not actually remove the files until you actually select the trash can from within the app itself and select all then delete… looking at you Mail and other Apple apps. I often can find 10-25% more free space by removing or Archiving old files and manually emptying trashes. I also have only 256GB on a shared computer, so constantly fighting maintaining 15- 25% free space. Like right now, YIKES

Love to hear that you worked this out!
Best of Luck, Greg

VidGreg wrote: Hi Frank
I know symlinks will work and you can move the files, but Terminal is Very Unforgiving on syntext. You have to type commands precisely. Leaving out a space, Uppercase/Lowercase, use of /, \, |,~, -, all have precise meanings for program actions. Terminal is very unforgiving and provides little hand-holding and little to no safety warnings. The "Man" (manual) provides the info, but is/was written by nerds as need arose, so not very easy to interpret.
Forgive me if I am telling you something you already know. Just think you can do this. People are afraid of Terminal, caution is wise, it is powerful and can mess up your computer, back ups essential. Lots of users out there that use Terminal as main interface and bypass the GUI interface as much as possible.
Linux, micro computers/controllers all tend to make heavy use of a Terminal shell. I moved away from using Terminal much with Macs, but I have been programming some Raspberry Pi's and micro controllers for solar, remote cameras, LEDs, and well controls here on the old Ranch, so having to relearn some stuff.

I think you just misplaced a space or two. Or perhaps Catalina requires sudo or SIP bypass. But what you want to do is built into the system. You will figure this out.

Just to go back slightly, have you looked at other ways to save space? Clear out old cruff and crud? Make sure all apps have empty trash folders? Many apps do not actually remove the files until you actually select the trash can from within the app itself and select all then delete… looking at you Mail and other Apple apps. I often can find 10-25% more free space by removing or Archiving old files and manually emptying trashes. I also have only 256GB on a shared computer, so constantly fighting maintaining 15- 25% free space. Like right now, YIKES

Love to hear that you worked this out!
Best of Luck, Greg

Thank you again, Greg. Your patience and support has been invaluable. I do believe that somehow this will work, but alas it just isn't happening for me on Catalina. I tried everything you suggested...the extra space after the first command, sudo etc., but nothing worked. However, I did not try the SIP bypass, due to the chances of what could happen, so forgive me for that. I've put everything back as it should be and everything is working, so probably my next approach will be to invest in a larger hard drive, clone the current one with Carbon Cloner then just load everything back on to the new main drive. I have indeed moved everything off the current main drive that I can. but because I run Cubase, Logic and Final Cut Pro with a large number of support programs and plugins, there's not much else I can do to save space. I use the current Clean My Mac app as well. A new hard drive will buy me time until such time as Apple releases the new Mac Pro mini. When that will be, I do not know. I am also looking forward to the advanced video features of an M(x) computer, because some processes in FCPX are sluggish with the current machine. Anyway, thanks again for everything, I have retained all the information you provided and perhaps someone here can figure this out. All the best. Cheers.....frank 

Hi Frank
Sorry to hear it did not work for you. It did make me curious about system changes in Catalina and going forward. Turns out not as easy as I thought. Yes you do need to disable SIP. I would need to do lots more research, but I don’t have access to a Catalina based Mac, so I can’t test. Is it possible? Yes, maybe, but not for faint of heart.
Here Apple says NO you can’t the OS is totally locked down…
support.apple.com/en-us/HT210650

But on several forums sites there are ways to alter some System Files including adding symlinks. Here is a thread on Apple Developer Forums talking about how to modify system files, but note this is for a Beta version of Catalina and there have been lots to changes since… (Think this is public?)
developer.apple.com/forums/thread/119790

On Apple Stack Exchange I found this thread and it includes what I think is the command to “write” a symlink to a system directory using the synthetic.conf command. This may be how Apple allows user created/defined symlink when you move storage locations for FCP and other apps. Just guessing?? 
apple.stackexchange.com/questions/371908...le-again-in-catalina

There are probably lots of other changes to the OS I am not fully aware of. 
I think you now have to go into system preferences privacy/security and grant “full disk access” for Terminal? If so this may also be an issue for you. I find that somewhat Ironic.
Maybe someone else here on the forums will give it a go in Catalina. I’d be curious as I would have to be able to symlink for this computer, but in all honesty, Catalina is not for me. Maybe I’ll get brave and try Mojave. Saving my pennies for a new M2(?) MBP. This old first generation 2012 rMBP is way too long in tooth.
Perhaps your drive replacement is the right move. Have the same reservations about upgrading storage in this computer.
Sorry not able to help more
Greg

Again, thank you, Greg. A new SSD has been ordered, and in the long run it will probably be an easier solution and should also keep me going until new machines are available. I'm comfortable with Terminal, provided I know I have the commands correct. It's actually no more intimidating than with DOS and PCs many years ago. Although I will admit, one must be of a certain age to even understand that comment. 😀 And Terminal does have Full Disk Access here. Anyway, I sure do appreciate all your help. All the best in the days ahead...frank