Note: This feature is similar to the Wiretap path translation function available in Autodesk Lustre, but configured differently. If you're using Lustre, you configure Wiretap path translation using instruction found in the Configuration Guide, not the instructions below.
Path Translation allows you to fix problems with media that was relocated after it was imported in
Flame.
Use path translation for:
- Clips in the Workspace: If the file system location of the clip's source has been modified, add a translation path to fix the issue without having to use Conform or re-import the contents. Restore a broken connection between a clip and its media. This break can happen when the media referenced by the clip is moved from its location. The original paths to the media are not changed, but translated by
Flame. This means that if you open the workspace on the original workstation, the sources remain linked.
- Batch setups: Loading a Batch setup with Import, Read File, and Write File nodes uses the path translation to modify the location of media files, Open Clip files and Batch setup. The data from the setup files is not modified, to protect its integrity: a user on the original file system will not be impacted.
- Conform: When you import an AAF or an FCP XML file with Link to Media Files enabled,
Flame tries to reconnect the segments to their sources, using the paths defined within the sequence file. Oftentimes in a collaborative environment, with varying OSes and volume mount points, or with dead drops, the paths in the imported sequence cannot be resolved by
Flame.
Usually, the AAF is produced on a macOS or Windows, where external volumes are mounted under
/Volumes/ or a drive name. On Linux, such volumes can be mounted on any point. Path translation allows you to convert a path from one format into another. Once path translation is set up, linking and relinking to sources should be seamless.
Applying Media Location Path Translation
You can edit the Source and Destination paths of the /opt/Autodesk/cfg/pathTranslation.cfg file directly from Preferences > Storage > Media Location Path Translation.
From there, you can Create, Duplicate, or Delete a rule using the buttons at the bottom of the table. When you create a new rule, it is set to /SourcePath and /DestinationPath by default, so it has no effect on the media. This path can be modified using the following methods:
- Click on the Source or Destination path cells of the selected rule to edit the path directly within the table.
- Select either Browse Source or Browse Destination to manually select a path for the selected rule using the MediaHub Browser
The refresh button can be used to manually refresh the list. This can be useful in the event that the pathTranslation.cfg has been modified using a text editor outside of Flame while Flame is running.
Note: The environment variable
DL_LOCK_PATH_TRANSLATION_TABLE can be used to set the table (empty by default) within Flame to be read-only. A message is displayed below the table when it cannot be edited in Flame because either the file permissions were modified or the environment variable is set. These settings are not Project or User-based. They are System based.
Applying Media Location Path Translation Manually
You ca also set up the path translation in a configuration file, where you define pairs of paths.
To set a path translation pair:
- Open a shell window. You do not have to close
Flame.
- As root, open the following file in a text editor:
/opt/Autodesk/cfg/pathTranslation.cfg
- Define a Source path and a Destination.
For example, we need
Flame to search for media files seen from an offlining Mac at /Volumes/SAN, but seen from the conforming Linux workstation at /ProductionSAN:
- <PathTranslationTable>
- <PathTranslation src="/Volumes/SAN" dst="/ProductionSAN" />
- </PathTranslationTable>
- Save and close the file.
Flame can immediately start translating a source path found in pathTranslation.cfg to its destination path when you import a sequence or use Link To Media File in Conform.