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justaguyincolo
Participant
September 3, 2026
Answered

My recent Premiere project files have disappeared after the 26.0 update

  • September 3, 2026
  • 6 replies
  • 78 views

My recent Premiere project files have disappeared after the 26.0 update. Nothing in the auto save folders, nothing anywhere. It says the last time I opened that file was May of 2026 which is bullshit because I opened it a couple of weeks ago and used it.

Plus all of my presets for editing workspaces were gone as well. Ive been with you guys since 3.0 but this has made me decide to drop you and go somewhere else.

    Correct answer Kevin-Monahan

    Hi there,

    I'm really sorry about this. First, I wouldn't assume the project files themselves have been deleted based on what Premiere is showing in the Recent Projects list.

    Please search your drives directly in Finder or File Explorer for the project name or for .prproj files and sort the results by date modified. Also check the folder where you normally save your projects.

    If you locate the project, open it directly rather than through the Recent list.

    The missing workspaces and presets after updating to 26.x may be a separate issue, and we've seen other reports of settings not migrating correctly between major versions.

    Please let us know whether you can locate the .prproj file on disk before doing any additional troubleshooting.

    Thanks,
    Kevin

    6 replies

    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    September 21, 2026

    The ‘recent files’ list is an internal database thing of Premiere, and has nothing to do with checking files on disc. It’s in your User Prefs stuff, and if Premiere loses access to that, as it can easily do with both OS updates and especially with OneDrive, WeTransfer, Dropbox, or similar file syncing apps operating on that computer.

     

    There was one shipping version of Premiere years ago that could under certain circumstances, delete .prproj files. One. None since. 

     

    But other apps have at times been shown to ‘make hidden’ files like the prproj ones … some system protection apps have decided they were suspicious and quarantined them … and of course, accidental user error is always a possibility. 

     

    As also are the syncing apps … so there are quite a few things that could be affecting you here, and Premiere having done something is way down the “likely suspects” list.

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    September 4, 2026

    “Justa” … Premiere gets the “recent files” list from an internal file listing the recently used projects. It has nothing to do with the files actually on disk.

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
    SightlessGunner
    Participating Frequently
    September 6, 2026

    It’s not true!
    26.3.2 on Windows - projects dissapear from ‘recent files’ and welcome screen list after you move or delete them (and relaunch Premiere).

      SightlessGunner
      Participating Frequently
      September 4, 2026

      Check if it was saved in other folder. One that you recently used to export or import files (maybe in [another project] folder?).
      I’m talking about this issue:


      I bet you are experiencing similar thing that happened to me. I had no idea that my .proj was accidentally saved in folder of my last export. It was completely different project folder, that I moved later from scratch disk to another drive.
      So Premiere wasn’t able to find this version anymore.
      Realising wtf happened here cost a lot of time and damages mental health. It’s just ridiculous! Thanks adobe!

      I hope that you, too - without realizing it - simply moved [some folder] somewhere else rather than deleting it. Good luck with the search!

      Community Manager
      Kevin-MonahanCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
      Community Manager
      September 3, 2026

      Hi there,

      I'm really sorry about this. First, I wouldn't assume the project files themselves have been deleted based on what Premiere is showing in the Recent Projects list.

      Please search your drives directly in Finder or File Explorer for the project name or for .prproj files and sort the results by date modified. Also check the folder where you normally save your projects.

      If you locate the project, open it directly rather than through the Recent list.

      The missing workspaces and presets after updating to 26.x may be a separate issue, and we've seen other reports of settings not migrating correctly between major versions.

      Please let us know whether you can locate the .prproj file on disk before doing any additional troubleshooting.

      Thanks,
      Kevin

      aqiba73494702
      Participant
      September 20, 2026

      Hi, Im going through the exact same thing. I just worked on a file all day long, exported it. Now I have to make a tiny change to it and when I opened Premiere Pro Beta, I see no recent projects at all. Everything seems to be wiped clean?! I checked .prproj files all over my macbook + SSD but the files seem to be nowhere. What gives? This is extremely frustrating!!

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