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Editorial export Pro
If you're taking your selects into an edit, Editorial export writes timeline files instead of rendered video — files that open directly in your NLE with every visible shot already cut, in order, pointing back at your original source footage.
Editorial timeline files are available on the Pro plan. The Selects reel described below is a separate toggle and is free on every plan.
Which file should I use?
No single timeline file opens in every editing app — that's true of timeline interchange in general, not a StoryFolder limitation. StoryFolder writes three files so you can pick the one(s) your software reads:
| File | Opens in | Doesn't open in |
|---|---|---|
Selects.edl (EDL) | Premiere, Resolve, Avid | Final Cut Pro — it has had no EDL import since Final Cut Pro 7. |
Selects.xml (Final Cut Pro 7 XML) | Premiere, Resolve, Avid | Final Cut Pro — despite the name, this is the older interchange format; current Final Cut only reads its own FCPXML. |
Selects.fcpxml (Final Cut Pro XML) | Final Cut Pro, Resolve | Premiere — it reads .xml, but has never read .fcpxml. |
If you edit in Premiere, Resolve or Avid, check EDL or Final Cut Pro 7 XML (either works; the XML also carries clip names). If you edit in Final Cut, check Final Cut Pro XML — it's the only file that opens there.
How do I export timeline files?
- Press X to open the Export view.
- Set your destination folder.
- Toggle Editorial on.
- Check the box for each format you want.
- Click Add to Queue.
- The files land in an
Editorialfolder inside your destination, alongside aREADME.txtthat repeats the source, frame rate and timecode details below.
How do I relink the media in Resolve?
Resolve needs to already know about your source clip before it can conform an EDL or XML to it:
- Open your project in DaVinci Resolve.
- Bring your source clip into the Media Pool first — File → Import Media, or drag the file in.
- File → Import → Timeline → Import AAF, EDL, XML…
- Choose
Selects.edlorSelects.xml, set the frame rate to match your source, and click Import. - Resolve builds a new timeline, matching each event to the clip already sitting in your Media Pool.
Importing the EDL before the source is in the Media Pool is the most common reason a timeline "imports but nothing links."
Why does the timecode read 00:00:00:00?
That's the normal case, not a fault — most cameras, screen recorders and downloaded video never stamp a start timecode into the file at all, so there's nothing to write except zero. What your NLE actually uses to find the right clip for each event isn't the timecode — it's the eight-character reel name (SF001) on every line. That's the field editing software matches source media by. The real filename still travels with the export, in a comment line your NLE can display, so you can always confirm which file SF001 refers to.
Why did my export refuse to make timeline files?
A timeline file works by writing one fixed number — "this many frames per second" — at the top of the file, and counting every cut point against it. A source with a variable frame rate (it speeds up or slows down instead of holding one steady rate) has no single number to write, so a timeline built from one would place cut points slightly wrong past the first. Rather than guess, Editorial export refuses outright and tells you why. You'll still get the Selects reel — since that's a rendered video, ffmpeg reads the real per-frame timing off the source and re-encodes it to a steady rate, so it works even when the timeline formats can't.
What is the Selects reel, and why is it H.264?
Selects reel is a separate toggle, next to Editorial in the Export view — one video file containing every visible shot, back to back, in board order. It's the fastest way to watch your selects without opening an NLE, and it's free on every plan.
The reel is always encoded to H.264 at one fixed quality setting — there's no format picker. It's built to be watched, not cut from: if you need full-quality footage to edit with, use the EDL/XML timeline files instead and conform them back to your original camera files, which is exactly what those files are for.
What if my source file is offline?
Editorial timeline files still export — they only need the technical details StoryFolder already has on file (frame rate, dimensions, audio), not the source file itself. The Selects reel does need the file, since it's rendering new video from it; if the source is missing, that toggle shows the same offline notice as Clips.
Does this respect my filters?
Yes. Hidden shots are excluded, and an active search narrows the export the same way it does for every other output. If you hide a shot and re-export, the remaining clips renumber Shot 1..N consistently across the timeline files, the Images folder and the shot list spreadsheet.
Why isn't the Editorial toggle available?
If it's greyed out with an upgrade prompt, you're on the Free plan — timeline files are a Pro feature. See Compare plans to upgrade. The Selects reel toggle next to it is always available.