2018 .prel file won't open

Report · Jun 22, 2023

I created a video using Premier Elements 2018 in March & April of 2023. I posted it to YouTube, & I saved it as an mp4. I decided in June that I wanted to add titles. I opened the original .prel file in PE 2018 & added titles. I named the file a slightly different file name & same .prel extension. I have opened both files many times this week with normal methods. This evening I can find what looks like .prel files for both, both with the expected file names & file sizes of 33kb & 171kb. Neither file will open correctly. Sometimes I get a file that opens with no video & the titles. Most of the time I get a dialog box asking where is the original .prel file. When I select the requested file in Windows file explorer, I get a warning "File import failure. This type of file is not supported, or the required codec is not installed".

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Report · Jun 23, 2023

You cannot import in .prel into a project.

If you want to open the original .prel just double-click on the name in Windows explorer.

Report · Jul 05, 2023

I can find a .prel file in Windows file explorer with the title of the video I want to open: "Compare3withsubtitles.prel". This file shows 163 KB (this can't be the actual video file; where is the actual video file?). It is something I have been working on recently. When I double click this .prel file in Windows file explorer, my windows machine starts Premier Express 2018. After the PE user interface appears, a box shows that a project is loading. This is follwed by a new window laid out like file explorer with the heading "Where is the File 'Compare 3....mp4'?"

This is not the file I am trying to open; not the file I double-clicked. The address bar in this file explorer window shows a file path of "Adobe / Premier elements / 16.0 / Adobe Premier elements Auto-Save". This explorer window contains about a dozen .prel files, half of which are my old video & half are my new video. When I click the .prel file for my newer video with the most recent date, I get a new window: "File Import Failure. Compare3 with subtitles-5.prel Error Message: This type of file is not supported, or the required codec is not installed. OK". I get this same message with ALL .prel files in this Auto-Save folder.

This "Compare3...mp4 file is one of 2 formats of an older related video, but not the one I want to open. I saved the previous video as an mp4 to upload to YouTube. This previous video exists as a .prel and as a .mp4. It has no subtitles.

I intended to create a new video adding subtitles to the existing, older video. I have only saved this newer video as a .prel file. I have not converted it to .mp4. This newer video is the one I want to open.

Report · Jul 05, 2023

Are you using version 2018 to open your version 2018 project? Premiere Elements is not backwards compatible. Newer versions of the program can't open older version projects without running into problems like you describe and sometimes outright file corruption.

Report · Jul 05, 2023

I was just able to open the file I wanted. Part of the problem might be that I changed the file name after a save action in APE. I have not tried to repeat my steps to open this file, so I am not sure about anything related to APE. But I think the commumity should consider this case closed. I do have an APE box with docs & DVD for 2011 version. But I have at some point upgraded to 2018 & have only used 2018 for the last 2 or 3 years. I suspect that my less than best practices are causing wasted time for multiple people. I do very much appreciate the responses.