YoYotta | Preferences

Permissions

When copying with the Finder, new files will be created with read + write permissions for the current user. These files will not be readable by other users.
When copying with YoYotta you can choose User, but it may be easier to choose Group or Everyone.
Group or Everyone will allow other users to read, write and delete the new files.

This only applies to new files created by YoYotta. Files on the source must be readable and YoYotta will warn if the permissions for any source files are preventing access. Use the Finder to change permissions, then reindex the source by clicking the refresh button above the Job table.

Indexing

Extract Metadata When a job is added and this preference is enabled, then YoYotta extracts video clip metadata including timecode, duration and codec. Open the Source Browser to view the metadata.
This metadata will be stored in the project, then later on you can filter by codec, resolution etc in the Project Browser to help locate clips for restore.

This preference will be ignored for LTFS tapes as it will take too long to extract. Creating metadata will also take time when working with large source drives or volumes. Metadata is optional and can be turned off without affecting the archive.
When turned off basic metadata including file name, size, checksums, creation and modification dates will still be extracted.
If the option is off then you can also manually create metadata in the Source Browser for specific folders.

Parse ALE, MD5, MHL files
When enabled MHL and MD5 report files will be parsed during indexing and the checksums used during verification.
ARRI cameras create ALE report files which will also be parsed and the metadata used to ensure all the ARRI clips are present and have the correct duration.

If the report files contain incorrect information or include files that are no longer on the source media, then turn this option off. YoYotta will continue to verify jobs using internal checksums.
Changing this setting will not affect existing jobs. Parsing for existing jobs can be turned on/off in the Source Browser.

Create Thumbnails When indexing a job create thumbnails for video assets. The thumbnails are shown in the PDF reports.
This will be ignored for LTFS tapes as it will take too long. Creating thumbnails will take time when working with large source drives or volumes. Thumbnails are optional and can be turned off. If needed you can create metadata and thumbnails in the Source Browser for specific folders.

Creating thumbnails for some codecs requires Apple Pro Video Formats 2.2.4 or newer.

Supported camera codecs are listed on the Transcode page

Strict file and folder naming When archiving camera footage we suggest using only these characters: [ a-z ], [ A-Z ], [ 0-9 ], [ . ], [ _ ], [ - ] in file and folder names. This is a requirement for studio uploads and is good practice. However if the job contains files that have been renamed then turn this off and re-index the files.
When turned On YoYotta will be strict and warn about other characters while indexing. These files and folders will be ignored. So rename them and then click the refresh button above the job table to reindex the job. This setting will be too strict for jobs with other files and documents.
So no spaces in file name or paths.
When turned Off you can use almost any characters.

There are still some characters that are illegal to use on any drive or tape, this can mean that the file name has been corrupted. YoYotta will warn about these when indexing. They will be flagged in the Status column in the Source Browser. Either fix the names by renaming or zip the files and remove the originals. Then reindex the job.

Auto Open Source Browser Open the Source Browser automatically when adding a new job.

Copy

Copy linked files and folders
Links are a way for applications like FCPX to reference or link to files that are in another place on your storage. When a source with links is indexed LNK will be shown in the file type table. If there are linked files in the source, then normally YoYotta will create the same links on the destination. So the material will not be part of the archive. Then when the archive is restored the links will point back to the original material, assuming it is still there.

Turn on Copy linked files and folders to copy the linked files. After turning this on refresh the source and YoYotta will reindex and the size of the source will increase. The archive will then be self contained and can be restored without needing the linked material.
Internally in macOS these links are symlinks. Aliases are similar to links, but they are unique to the Finder. So YoYotta does not copy them. Aliases will not work on other operating systems or LTFS.
If the original file cannot be located, then the link is broken. YoYotta will warn about this when indexing.

Split image sequences
Images sequences consist of sequentially numbered files like DNG, DPX or EXR. When copying a folder with an image sequence YoYotta will by default not split up the sequence. So if a destination does not have enough space then YoYotta will copy the entire sequence to the next tape or drive listed as a destination.
If the sequence is large, like 90 minutes of 4K DPX this may be larger than will fit on a drive or tape.
To allow this to be archived set a number of frames (for example 10000) and turn on Split image sequences. Now YoYotta will try to fit as many 10,000 frame parts, moving on when the destination is full.
The minimum is 100 frames.
If you have already indexed a source then after turning this on or changing the number of frames click the refresh above the Job table.
Note that this does not change the folder structure on the destination.

Folders with other files won't be split up, unless the folder is larger than 200GB.
An example... a 1TB folder with no subfolders. YoYotta will keep writing a minimum of 200GB of files at a time until the media is full.
Single files will not be split into parts.

Verify

Double Source verify
This is a double check of the source files read about it here.

Normally YoYotta performs a full verification by reading back all files.
Optionally use Quick Verify when restoring to skip the full verify.
Full Verify must be used when spanning tapes.

xxHash : Quick Verify
You should let the verify complete before erasing the camera card, deleting the source material or returning the drive.
Enabling Quick Verify will disable this full verify.
Note that YoYotta always calculates xxHash checksums even in QUick Verify mode.

xxHash : Full Verify
xxHash checksums will be generated whilst copying.
This is the fastest way to run jobs and is completely secure.
During the full verification another checksum will be created for every copied file. Then the two checksums will be compared to ensure that everything has been copied correctly.

MD5 + xxHash : Full Verify
Both MD5 + xxHash checksums will be generated whilst copying.
This will run slower as MD5 checksums take longer to generate.
Use this mode if delivering media to clients who require MD5 reports.
During the full verification another checksum will be created for every copied file. Then the two checksums will be compared to ensure that everything has been copied correctly.

Generate MD5 + xxHash for tape archives
Enabling this will always generate both MD5 + xxHash checksums for all tape archive jobs.
YoYotta can generate MD5 + xxHash checksums faster than tape archiving so there is no disadvantage to keeping this enabled.

ASC MHL
There are two versions of MHL reports. Turning on ASC MHL in Preferences will enable ASC or v2 MHL format. ASC MHL reports are written inside an ascmhl folder along with an xml file which lists the chain of reports.

Note that changing these settings will only affect new jobs. For existing jobs adjust Verify settings in the Source Browser.
Always use Full Verify when archiving to perform a full verification of each destination.
More details about verifying.

Software

Read about release and beta software versions here.

Read about error logs here.

Cache