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In Summary When an imported XML plays at proxy resolution in Final Cut Pro, first check the viewer's View menu: Proxy Preferred or Proxy Only will play proxies on purpose. If it is already on Optimized/Original and the picture is still soft, the XML linked your clips to the proxy files as if they were the originals. Select the project or event, choose File > Relink Files > Original Media, click All (the window shows only missing files by default), and point Final Cut at the camera files. Steps checked against Apple's Final Cut Pro for Mac 12.4 user guide.
The short answer
Final Cut tracks two files for a clip: the original media and, optionally, a proxy. If an FCPXML from another app or a proxy workflow lists a proxy file as a clip's media, Final Cut imports that proxy as the original. Switching the viewer to Optimized/Original then changes nothing, because the "original" is the small file.
The fix is to relink the original side of those clips to your full-resolution camera files with File > Relink Files > Original Media. Final Cut updates every matched clip, in every project and event, and keeps the clips' metadata.
Step 1: Rule out the viewer settings
Two viewer settings make full-resolution clips look like proxies. Check them before you relink anything.
- Click the View pop-up menu in the upper-right corner of the viewer.
- Under Quality, choose Better Quality. Better Performance shows the video at reduced resolution.
- Under Media Playback, choose Optimized/Original. Proxy Preferred plays proxies when they exist. Proxy Only plays nothing but proxies and shows a Missing Proxy File alert where there is none.
If the picture is now sharp, you are done. Remember to stay on Optimized/Original when you share: Apple warns that exports made in proxy mode are lower quality.
Step 2: Check which file the clip is really linked to
Select a clip in the browser and choose File > Reveal in Finder (Shift-Command-R). This opens the file Final Cut uses as the original. File > Reveal Proxy Media in Finder opens the proxy, if there is one.
If Reveal in Finder lands on a proxy (a small file, often in a Proxy folder or with a suffix like _proxy), the XML linked the wrong files. That is the case this guide fixes. It also explains why Proxy Preferred seems to do nothing: as far as Final Cut knows, these clips have no proxies, only small originals.
Step 3: Relink the original media
Relink Files cannot be undone. Duplicate the project or back up the library first.
- Select what to relink: clips in the browser or timeline, the project in the browser, or the whole event or library in the Libraries sidebar.
- Choose File > Relink Files > Original Media.
- In the Relink Files window, click All. This is the step most people miss. The window lists missing files only by default, and your clips are not missing: they are linked to the proxies. Without All, the list is empty.
- Click Locate All, then go to the folder that holds the camera originals, select one file and click Choose.
- Read the result under the list, for example "12 of 12 files matched". Open the disclosure triangle to see old files on the left and the new matches on the right. Select a wrong match and press Delete to put it back in the list.
- For clips that did not match, select them, click Locate Selected and point at each file by hand.
- Click Relink Files.
Final Cut matches by filename and folder layout. If you choose a file in one folder, it also looks in the folders next to it, so a card-per-folder structure relinks in one pass.
Why a relink gets refused
Apple lists what the new file must have in common with the old one. Proxies made in another app often break one of these rules:
| Rule from Apple's guide | How proxy workflows break it |
|---|---|
| Same media type (video or audio) | An audio-only proxy, or a proxy with picture but no sound, against a camera file with both |
| Same frame rate | A proxy preset that conformed 23.976 to 25, or 29.97 to 30 |
| Similar audio channels | A proxy encoder that mixed 4 or 8 camera channels down to stereo |
| Must include all the media the clip uses | A trimmed or "media used only" proxy that is shorter than the clip, or originals trimmed shorter than the proxies |
Frame size is not on Apple's list. A quarter-resolution proxy can relink to a 4K original, as long as the rules above hold.
Filenames matter too. Apple's naming rules for transcoded files say Final Cut ignores a suffix after an underscore or hyphen, so A001_C003_proxy.mov can match A001_C003.mov. A suffix after a plus sign or a slash will not match. If two candidate files with matching names sit in the same folder, Final Cut does not automatically relink to either one, so keep proxies and originals in separate folders.
When none of this lines up, the fallback is manual: Locate Selected, one clip at a time. In one Apple Community thread about proxies imported as originals, the editor ended up replacing every shot by hand and matching timecode. Check the rules above before it comes to that.
Step 4: Get real proxies back
Once the clips point at the originals, you can rebuild the proxy side properly:
- Reuse the old proxy files. Select the clips and choose File > Relink Files > Proxy Media, then point at the proxy folder.
- Or make new ones. Select the clips and choose File > Transcode Media, then select Create proxy media with Apple ProRes 422 Proxy or HEVC, from 12.5 to 100 percent of the original frame size.
Now Proxy Preferred in the viewer switches between the two, which is what you wanted from the start. The Info inspector shows a red triangle on any clip that still has no proxy.
How to avoid this next time
The cleanest fix is an XML that points at the originals in the first place. Import your camera files into Final Cut, then attach proxies to them. Do not import proxies as if they were the camera files. If a colorist, assistant or another app sends you an FCPXML, ask which files it references before you start cutting.
If the XML comes from Eddie, the Eddie desktop app is the route that makes the export point at your original files instead of proxies. You drag simple, multicam, compound and sync clips or projects from your Final Cut event into Eddie, and drag the edit back as a project. Eddie supports pro codecs and proxies, keeps timecode, frame rate and resolution, and relinks the clips to your original media. The Final Cut Pro workflow page shows the round trip, and how to edit by transcript in Final Cut Pro walks it step by step. For the export side across Premiere, Resolve and Final Cut, see exporting an AI edit to your editor.
What it will not do
- Relinking does not repair a bad XML. If the XML has the wrong in and out points or a dropped clip, relinking puts the right file behind the wrong edit.
- It cannot undo itself. There is no Undo for Relink Files. Work on a copy.
- Eddie will not fix an XML another app made. It sends its own edits back to Final Cut pointing at the originals. An existing Final Cut project with proxies linked as originals still needs the steps above.
FAQ
Why does my FCPXML play at low resolution in Final Cut Pro?
Either the viewer is set to Proxy Preferred, Proxy Only or Better Performance, or the XML linked the clips to proxy files as their originals. Check the View menu first, then use File > Reveal in Finder on a clip to see which file it really uses.
Why is the Relink Files window empty?
It lists missing files only by default. Clips linked to proxies are not missing, so click All at the top of the window to see them.
Can I relink a 1080p proxy to a 4K original?
Yes, if the two files have the same frame rate, the same media type and similar audio channels, and the original covers all the media the clip uses. Apple does not list frame size as a requirement.
Will relinking break my edit or lose my metadata?
Apple says metadata in the relinked clips stays the same, and every matched clip in other projects and events is updated too. The edit itself is untouched. Because the command cannot be undone, duplicate the project first.
Why won't Final Cut match my renamed proxies automatically?
Automatic matching needs the filename to differ only by a suffix after an underscore or hyphen. A plus sign or slash before the suffix breaks it, and two matching files in one folder stop it from choosing. Use Locate Selected for those clips.
Do I need to switch back to original media before I export?
Yes. If you edit with proxies, Apple says to switch the viewer back to Optimized/Original before you share, so the export uses the full-quality files.
Sources
- Apple, Relink clips to media files in Final Cut Pro for Mac (Final Cut Pro 12.4)
- Apple, Control playback quality in Final Cut Pro for Mac
- Apple, Create optimized and proxy files in Final Cut Pro for Mac
- Apple, Solutions to media management issues in Final Cut Pro for Mac
- Apple, Locate source media files in Final Cut Pro for Mac
- Apple, Use XML to transfer projects in Final Cut Pro for Mac
