Premiere Pro · Import, export and hand-off
How to import an XML file into Premiere Pro
Short answer
Choose File > Import, select the .xml file and click Import. Premiere builds a bin that holds the sequence and its clips. If clips show offline, right-click them and choose Link Media.
In Premiere Pro
01
Open or create a project
Open the Premiere project you want the timeline in. A new, empty project is safest when the XML came from another app, because it keeps the imported bins apart from your own.
02
Choose File > Import
Choose File > Import (Cmd+I on Mac, Ctrl+I on Windows), select the .xml file and click Import. You can also drag the .xml from Finder or Explorer into the Project panel.
03
Read the translation report
If Premiere could not carry something across, such as an effect or a transition, it opens a translation report. It is a text file that lists what was dropped. Keep it open while you check the timeline.
04
Open the sequence
Premiere puts the imported sequence in a new bin named after the XML. Double-click the sequence to open it in the Timeline.
05
Relink offline media
Clips that show red with Media Offline could not be found at the path in the XML. Select them, right-click and choose Link Media, then Locate the first file. Premiere finds the rest when they sit in the same folder.
- Premiere reads Final Cut Pro 7 XML (the .xml format, also called XMEML). It does not open Final Cut Pro X's .fcpxml files.
- XML carries cuts, clip timing, basic motion, opacity and audio levels. Color grades, most third-party effects and titles usually do not survive.
Eddie AI
Do it in Eddie
If the XML would come from Eddie, you can skip it. Eddie hands you a Premiere project file instead.
Eddie builds the edit from your footage when you ask for it in plain words, such as a 3-minute cut of an interview with the best answers in order. When it is ready, the Premiere button in Export downloads a .prproj you open directly, with bins, crops, clip gain and multicam kept. Premiere XML is still there for Premiere 2018 and older.
If Premiere refuses an XML that came from Eddie, export it again first. A fresh export fixes most failures; the help article lists the rest.
Back to Premiere
Open the edit, click Export and choose Premiere. You get a Premiere project (.prproj) or the older Premiere XML. In the desktop app, Send to Premiere Pro builds the edit inside Premiere through Eddie's panel, which the app installs for you.
If you imported the footage through the desktop app, the timeline points at your original camera files, so Premiere relinks to them. If you uploaded on the web or pulled from cloud storage, it points at Eddie's proxy media; relink to those, not to the camera originals.
From the help center
Questions
- Why does Premiere say the XML can't be imported?
- Usually the file is FCPXML from Final Cut Pro X, which Premiere cannot read, or a file name inside it has unusual characters. Check the extension: Premiere needs .xml, not .fcpxml.
- Does importing an XML bring the media with it?
- No. An XML only points to media files by path. The media has to be on your drive, and you relink it if the path differs.