Premiere Pro · Import, export and hand-off
How to open a Premiere Pro project in an older version
Short answer
Premiere cannot save a project for an older version. Export the sequence as Final Cut Pro XML from the newer version, then import the .xml in the older version.
In Premiere Pro
01
Open the project in the newer version
Open the project in the version that created it.
02
Export an XML
Select the sequence and choose File > Export > Final Cut Pro XML. Repeat for each sequence you need.
03
Import in the older version
In the older Premiere, create a new project and choose File > Import to bring in the .xml.
04
Rebuild what didn't carry
Check the translation report. Rebuild graphics, grades and effects that the XML dropped.
- Opening an older project in a newer version is fine: Premiere converts it and saves a new copy. It is only the other direction that is blocked.
Eddie AI
Do it in Eddie
Eddie gives you a choice of Premiere formats when you export.
Eddie's Premiere button downloads a .prproj by default, and the arrow next to it gives Premiere XML for Premiere Pro 2018 and older. If the newest project file won't open on an older machine, take the XML.
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 project was saved in a newer version?
- The project file was saved by a later release. Update Premiere, or ask for an XML export instead.
- Does the XML keep my bins?
- It keeps the sequence and the clips it uses. Bins and unused clips need to be exported separately or rebuilt.