Possible to sort by keyword notes?

I'm having trouble figuring this out and would appreciate more expert eyes. It's a bit of a long description. MacOS 15.3.2, FCP 11.1, M4 Pro Mini.


I have:


A series of mulitcam interview clips.


Each multicam has keyword ranges applied for the topics discussed. For example, keyword ranges could be documentation, collection, collaboration, final thoughts, etc.


The browser is configured to display Notes.


For each interviewee's keyword ranges there is a Notes entry, like 3.1, 3.2, 3.3.c etc. that represents the outline section that this particular clip range should fall under.


So for example, clicking the Documentation keyword in the Interviews Multicam event filters to the ranges that pertain to Documentation. I can twirl open each multicam to show the keywords so it shows the Notes text (3.1 or 3.5.c, etc.) for each keyword. Great so far.



But I have been unable to find a way to sort by the Notes column so that the multicam clips are sorted from 3.1, then 3.2, then 3.3, etc. The goal is to quickly add them to a Selects project in numerical outline order.


As expected, adding them as is into a project puts them in whatever order they are in inside the clip browser. Enabling the Index, then selecting Tags shows the clips and their associated Notes text.



Okay, so I'll just filter the list to 3.1, then move those selected clips to the front of the project, then do the same for 3.2, 3.3 etc. But trying to filter the list by typing 3.1 results in an empty list.



I tried creating a Smart Collection but am unable to do any meaningful sorting there.


I also tried adding a new metadata field named Topic, then adding the 3.1, 3.2, etc., but these entries disappear after leaving the event and returning. My guess is these are clip-based and don't work with keyword ranges even though FCP lets me enter into the field.


Is there another way to accomplish this keyword sorting with the end goal being a project with them in an ascending order of Notes? We've been manually moving them once in the timeline but it's time-consuming and prone to error.


Thanks for any help!

Posted on Apr 2, 2025 4:41 PM

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6 replies

Apr 3, 2025 9:30 AM in response to terryb

I see what you mean now.


I don't think you can sort by that, regardless of which format you use for the notes.


In principle you could add multiple notes to different sections of the same clip - would then these sections be presented, possibly, out of order within that clip?


AFAICT, when you click on the the Notes header, you are indeed sorting the clips by the Notes field (by which I mean the Notes field of the clips themselves).


Bottom line, I don't think you can make it work.


Apr 3, 2025 10:21 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Luis Sequeira1 wrote:

AFAICT, when you click on the the Notes header, you are indeed sorting the clips by the Notes field (by which I mean the Notes field of the clips themselves).

Thanks Luis. That's what I was experiencing too.


So, do you also see the Index behavior too? Add the keyword ranges to a timeline, then show the Index, then click Tags. You can see the keyword range Notes, but searches on the Notes return an empty list. This feels like a bug.


Also, try adding a new, custom metadata field called something like Topic. Then make entries in this field in the browser for the keyword ranges. Do anything to resort the browser or open a new event then come back. The Topic entries are gone. This also feels like a bug. I've never tried either of these things in previous FCP or MacOS versions so I don't know if it's always been this way or not.

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Possible to sort by keyword notes?

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