With the latest version of Autodesk Smoke for Mac OS X the Essentials project and media is automatically installed with the software.
This exercise is to install the media manually when you are using a different Smoke release.

FIRST verify if the media was installed before proceeding with this exercise, otherwise you will end up duplicating the tutorials project.
Refer to the previous exercise Create a Project & User if needed.

1. Download the Smoke_Essentials_Project_Achive file to your Mac system by clicking on the link below.
2. When this is done, make sure to double-click the Smoke_essentials_Project_Archive.zip file to extract it.

Smoke has a proprietary archive format that maintains the Library structure. You can archive and restore selected clips, entire Smoke Libraries, setups or even an entire Smoke project.
The file you just downloaded contains the Smoke Essentials project and media.

1. If not done already, start Smoke with the project you just created in the previous Create a Project & User exercise.
2. Click on the Splash screen to access Smoke main interface; the EditDesk.
3. Click on the Library Box to access the Library menu.
The Library box is a blue button located in the middle of the EditDesk.


4. Inside the Library, select the Archive menu.

5. In the Archive menu, click on the location path to access the file browser.
6. Navigate to the directory that contains the archive file.
Unless you have changed the default location, it should be located in your “downloads” folder.
Use the small up arrow to navigate the Mac folders to your /Users/user_name/Download.

7. Choose the file “Smoke_Essentials_Archive”.
The archive consists of two parts; make sure you select the file “Smoke_Essentials_Archive” and not the segment file with a .seg extension.
8. Back in the Library menu; press Open to open the archive.
Notice that the Library name now states: Archive.
9. *Important: Change the Archive Options from Selection to Project.
We need this option because we want to restore a complete project not just footage selection.
10. You can expand the archive folders to see its content.
11. Make sure you select the top folder “Smoke_Essentials_Archive” to include everything underneath.
12. Press Restore in the Archive settings.
13. When the restoration process is finished, press Close to close the archive file.

We just restored a Project Archive; but we are still currently working in the last loaded project. Now we need to switch to that new project.

1. Press Exit Library to go back to the EditDesk.
2. Press Preferences to access this menu.
3. In the Project Management section, click on the Project box and choose the “SMOKE_ESSENTIALS” project.
This is the project that was just restored.
4. Press Load to load that project.
There is a little blue LED that indicates which project is loaded.
5. Press Exit Preferences.

1. Click on the Library box and choose “Smoke_essentials”.
2. Click on it to access the Library.
3. Inside the Library menu, select the “Smoke_Essentials” item at the root of the library.
4. This selects the entire Library content.
Note that you can also load a selected record or source reel, or only selected clips.

Make sure to set these load options (on the left side of the Library menu):
The Destination Box is set to EditDesk Library
The Clip Arrangement box is set to Tile

5. Press Load.
6. This loads the selected content to the EditDesk.


You are now ready to start the first editing exercise!

If you want to know more about the interface and the functionalities covered in this exercise, watch the following interface overviews:


To continue with the exercises, click on the following link: