P: Premiere projects saved in v25.6.0 cannot be opened in other v25.x versions

[Francis-Crossman]

We are aware that customers who saved projects in Premiere v25.6.0 may find that those files now open only in v26 (beta) and cannot be opened in v25 versions. We know this is disruptive, and we have provided an app to fix the issue. 

What you need to know: 

• Projects saved in v25.6.0 save in the v26 version format. 

• Because of this, they can’t be opened in earlier versions, including v25.6.1 (even though it is the current generally available release) 

Our Solution 

We have built an app that will convert a v25.6.0-saved project back to the v25 format. This app is now available - please refer to the article on this page: https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere/desktop/troubleshooting/limitations-and-known-issues/cannot-open-25.... 

The app is able to process one or more files simultaneously. If you have any questions or comments about the app, please let us know via a comment in this thread.

Note: We know there are a number of downgrading apps available online, but we strongly recommend not using these. Non-Adobe apps and scripts are often outdated and may cause crashes and data loss.  

Further Details 

A bug caused Premiere v25.6.0 to prompt customers to enable Object Masking even though it is not yet in full release. Object Masking (and our yearly major version update) changes the Premiere project file structure such that it can only be opened in v26, which is only available in public beta. Turning this on caused projects to save in the newer v26 project format, even though users were still technically on the v25 release line. 

Opening an older project in v25.6.0 triggered a prompt to save a copy of the project with “_1” appended. We know that many customers upgraded the project and continued working in the new copy, potentially also deleting the original. This means the only active version became the file saved in v26 format. 

Premiere 25.6.0 was only available briefly before being replaced by 25.6.1 and is no longer available to reinstall. This means impacted users who auto updated to 25.6.1 cannot open v26 formatted projects. 

[Peru Bob]

Install the Beta version and it will open there.

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

ALARM ALARM ALARM
POWERSHELL SCRIPT!!!


Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.prproj | ForEach-Object {
$in=$_.FullName
$out=Join-Path $_.DirectoryName ($_.BaseName + "_downgrage.prproj")

$fs=[IO.File]::OpenRead($in)
$gz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($fs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Decompress)
$r =New-Object IO.StreamReader($gz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$xml=$r.ReadToEnd()
$r.Close();$gz.Close();$fs.Close()

# БЕЗ третього аргумента – замінює всі входження
$xml = $xml.Replace('Version="44"','Version="43"')

$ofs=[IO.File]::Create($out)
$ogz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($ofs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Compress)
$w =New-Object IO.StreamWriter($ogz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$w.Write($xml)
$w.Close();$ogz.Close();$ofs.Close()

Write-Host "Done $out"
}

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

PowerShell ScriptFIX for problem projects in Adobe Premiere

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.prproj | ForEach-Object {
$in=$_.FullName
$out=Join-Path $_.DirectoryName ($_.BaseName + "_downgrage.prproj")

$fs=[IO.File]::OpenRead($in)
$gz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($fs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Decompress)
$r =New-Object IO.StreamReader($gz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$xml=$r.ReadToEnd()
$r.Close();$gz.Close();$fs.Close()

# БЕЗ третього аргумента – замінює всі входження
$xml = $xml.Replace('Version="44"','Version="43"')

$ofs=[IO.File]::Create($out)
$ogz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($ofs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Compress)
$w =New-Object IO.StreamWriter($ogz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$w.Write($xml)
$w.Close();$ogz.Close();$ofs.Close()

Write-Host "Done $out"
}

[crystal_7835]

I'm also having this problem. I opened this project yesterday and now it won't open today, even though I have the latest version of Premiere. Currently running 25.6.1.

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.prproj | ForEach-Object {
$in=$_.FullName
$out=Join-Path $_.DirectoryName ($_.BaseName + "_downgrage.prproj")

$fs=[IO.File]::OpenRead($in)
$gz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($fs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Decompress)
$r =New-Object IO.StreamReader($gz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$xml=$r.ReadToEnd()
$r.Close();$gz.Close();$fs.Close()

# БЕЗ третього аргумента – замінює всі входження
$xml = $xml.Replace('Version="44"','Version="43"')

$ofs=[IO.File]::Create($out)
$ogz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($ofs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Compress)
$w =New-Object IO.StreamWriter($ogz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$w.Write($xml)
$w.Close();$ogz.Close();$ofs.Close()

Write-Host "Done $out"
}

Script for FIX projects

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

Fix Script PowerShell for you project

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.prproj | ForEach-Object {
$in=$_.FullName
$out=Join-Path $_.DirectoryName ($_.BaseName + "_downgrage.prproj")

$fs=[IO.File]::OpenRead($in)
$gz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($fs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Decompress)
$r =New-Object IO.StreamReader($gz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$xml=$r.ReadToEnd()
$r.Close();$gz.Close();$fs.Close()

# БЕЗ третього аргумента – замінює всі входження
$xml = $xml.Replace('Version="44"','Version="43"')

$ofs=[IO.File]::Create($out)
$ogz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($ofs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Compress)
$w =New-Object IO.StreamWriter($ogz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$w.Write($xml)
$w.Close();$ogz.Close();$ofs.Close()

Write-Host "Done $out"
}

[federicovolter]

Thank you for your message, Sertao. I can open the project with the beta version but unfortunately it's very hard to even trip de clips or exporting an AAF without majour issues.

I was succesful to dowgrade the project and open it but I could not even press play into the sequence because this "audio error" would pop up. So I'm stuck.
This is very upseting because I have a lot of people waiting for this.

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

використай мій powershell скрипт
який є вище
тільки скопіюй проект в окремий каталог

[Greg Sandor]

Thank you, I'll give it a try, let's hope for the best, even though I'm a bit angry that Adobe is giving me extra work to do... 😞

[unclefrito101]

I updated Premiere yesterday and now my current projects will not open. I get the message that it can't open because "It was created with a Newer version" which makes no sence becasue I was using the most current version of Premiere until that version updated to the NOW newest version. How do I get my projects working again? PLEASE HELP!

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

Fix Script PowerShell for you project

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.prproj | ForEach-Object {
$in=$_.FullName
$out=Join-Path $_.DirectoryName ($_.BaseName + "_downgrage.prproj")

$fs=[IO.File]::OpenRead($in)
$gz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($fs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Decompress)
$r =New-Object IO.StreamReader($gz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$xml=$r.ReadToEnd()
$r.Close();$gz.Close();$fs.Close()

# БЕЗ третього аргумента – замінює всі входження
$xml = $xml.Replace('Version="44"','Version="43"')

$ofs=[IO.File]::Create($out)
$ogz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($ofs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Compress)
$w =New-Object IO.StreamWriter($ogz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$w.Write($xml)
$w.Close();$ogz.Close();$ofs.Close()

Write-Host "Done $out"
}

[unclefrito101]

Is this script for Windows? I am on a Mac.

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

How to Fix "This project was saved in a newer version" Error in Premiere Pro 25.6.1

Thanks to advice from [Petri5], I found a working solution that helped me open my project again in version 25.6.1. Here’s a step-by-step guide for anyone with the same issue:

Guide:

Make a backup copy of your .prproj project file first.

Using 7zip (or any archive tool), extract the contents of your project file (since it is a gzip-compressed XML file).

Open the extracted XML file with a text editor and look for the following section at the top:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <PremiereData Version="3"> <Project ObjectRef="1"/> <Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="44">

Pay special attention to the “44” in the Version parameter.

Change “44” to “43” (which matches the internal project version for Premiere Pro 25.5).

Save the file, and then re-archive it with gzip compression just like the original.

Now, your project should open just fine in Premiere Pro 25.6.1!

This trick helped me save a critical project and keep my workflow going. Huge thanks to [Petri5] for sharing this solution!

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

take for MacOS

How to Fix "This project was saved in a newer version" Error in Premiere Pro 25.6.1

Thanks to advice from [Petri5], I found a working solution that helped me open my project again in version 25.6.1. Here’s a step-by-step guide for anyone with the same issue:

Guide:

Make a backup copy of your .prproj project file first.

Using 7zip (or any archive tool), extract the contents of your project file (since it is a gzip-compressed XML file).

Open the extracted XML file with a text editor and look for the following section at the top:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <PremiereData Version="3"> <Project ObjectRef="1"/> <Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="44">
Pay special attention to the “44” in the Version parameter.

Change “44” to “43” (which matches the internal project version for Premiere Pro 25.5).

Save the file, and then re-archive it with gzip compression just like the original.

Now, your project should open just fine in Premiere Pro 25.6.1!

This trick helped me save a critical project and keep my workflow going. Huge thanks to [Petri5] for sharing this solution!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJO4PlHASIs

[crystal_7835]

Build 2

[federicovolter]

does it work also for Mac? not sure how to do that. 

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

How to Fix "This project was saved in a newer version" Error in Premiere Pro 25.6.1

Thanks to advice from [Petri5], I found a working solution that helped me open my project again in version 25.6.1. Here’s a step-by-step guide for anyone with the same issue:

Guide:

Make a backup copy of your .prproj project file first.

Using 7zip (or any archive tool), extract the contents of your project file (since it is a gzip-compressed XML file).

Open the extracted XML file with a text editor and look for the following section at the top:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <PremiereData Version="3"> <Project ObjectRef="1"/> <Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="44">
Pay special attention to the “44” in the Version parameter.

Change “44” to “43” (which matches the internal project version for Premiere Pro 25.5).

Save the file, and then re-archive it with gzip compression just like the original.

Now, your project should open just fine in Premiere Pro 25.6.1!

This trick helped me save a critical project and keep my workflow going. Huge thanks to [Petri5] for sharing this solution!

 

or

you have Windows PC
take PowerShell Script

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.prproj | ForEach-Object {
$in=$_.FullName
$out=Join-Path $_.DirectoryName ($_.BaseName + "_downgrage.prproj")

$fs=[IO.File]::OpenRead($in)
$gz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($fs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Decompress)
$r =New-Object IO.StreamReader($gz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$xml=$r.ReadToEnd()
$r.Close();$gz.Close();$fs.Close()

# БЕЗ третього аргумента – замінює всі входження
$xml = $xml.Replace('Version="44"','Version="43"')

$ofs=[IO.File]::Create($out)
$ogz=New-Object IO.Compression.GZipStream($ofs,[IO.Compression.CompressionMode]::Compress)
$w =New-Object IO.StreamWriter($ogz,[Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
$w.Write($xml)
$w.Close();$ogz.Close();$ofs.Close()

Write-Host "Done $out"
}

 

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

XXX
send my your file project

Email address removed by mod: forum rules.

Communicate via PM

[Ann Bens]

This is a well known downgrade method.

[defaultj381phg30oxk]

HELP. I worked 2 week's work on a project in 25.6. Now I updated to 25.6.1. When I want to open the project it says: This project was saved in a newer version of Adobe Premiere Pro and cannot be opened in this version.  WT actual F! You gave version 25.6.1 a lower version number than 25.6 !

[Volodymyr Kuropiatnyk]

send my you project file

[crystal_7835]

Thank you so much!! You just saved me needing to re-do 2 weeks worth of work.

[petri_7_7]

Hi,

I had a file created with 25.6. which would not open with 25.6.1.

I followed this tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJO4PlHASIs and did the proceedure.

Then I opened the file with Premiere 25.5 (this is still available in the "other versions" of Creative Cloud). This worked. In 25.6.1 it would not open ("corrupted") but in 25.5 it worked and I could save it.

[Highdeny]

That helped a lot, quick and easy fix without too much steps. Thanks

[jamieclarke]

Hi @Dirthmitore - We are working on a solution, more information to come.  Would you be able to send the project file you can't open to jamiec@adobe.com