A VEG file acts as a non-destructive editing plan for VEGAS Pro, capturing references to source media plus metadata and all creative decisions like cuts, color work, transitions, and automation, making the file small because it stores instructions rather than footage; when reopened, VEGAS Pro follows those saved paths to rebuild the timeline, alerting the user if items were moved, and uses the original media for preview until the project is formally rendered.

Rendering is the process that creates a true video file, with VEGAS Pro pulling from the original media, applying every project instruction, and saving an MP4 or MOV, while deleting the VEG file doesn’t erase the source footage but does eliminate the ability to reopen or alter the project, meaning the VEG file works as an editable blueprint rather than a finished video, and it cannot function as one because it only supports temporary previews until rendering locks everything in.

Rendering is the moment when VEGAS Pro commits all edit instructions into a real video file, as the software moves through the timeline frame by frame, applying cuts, transitions, effects, color grading, and audio processing before encoding everything into MP4, MOV, or AVI, resulting in a self-contained video that no longer depends on the project structure, while the VEG file stays editable but unusable as a final product, and deleting it removes all edit choices even though the rendered video remains, whereas deleting the render still allows a new export if the VEG and media remain, reinforcing that the VEG file is the master and rendering is the finalizing step.

When you open a VEG file, VEGAS Pro loads the saved project structure that represents the timeline as it was last saved, treating the file as a set of instructions rather than loading real media, and using it to understand tracks, clip order, timings, effects, transitions, keyframes, and project settings like resolution and frame rate, after which it searches for each referenced source file and rebuilds the timeline if everything is found, or prompts you to locate missing items since the VEG file stores no actual media.

Once the media is linked, VEGAS Pro calculates all saved edits on the fly to create a live preview, combining the source files with effects, color work, transitions, motion paths, and audio processing as you scrub or play, meaning the preview is not pre-rendered but a temporary visualization that depends on system power, with no finished video created and the project staying fully editable so the VEG file simply restores the workspace for continued editing until a final render is produced Here is more info on VEG file type have a look at our own web page. .