Importing Files in Order of the Original Folder

[351mustang]

I have been using Premiere Pro for almost 2 years now. I was using Premiere Elements for a long time before that. Premiere Elements when importing files, kept the files in order of the original folder they were imported from. Premiere Pro does not do that, but mixes up the order in the edit section in the program. This makes searching for the needed files frustrating, and can often miss a file because it was not easily found. Can the next update for Premiere change the software to please import the files in the order they were imported from the original folder? Or at least give us the option for that in a setting. Its gotten to the point when I redo an old Premiere Elements video, basically to remaster it in higher rez, that I open the Elements file and convert to Pro, because at least the files are kept in order then.

[Ann Bens]

Sorry to have to say you cannot import an elements file into Premiere Pro 2024 anymore.

In what order are the files on the hard disk?

And how are you importing the files?

[351mustang]

Ah yes you can still Import Elements files into Pro, as Im using version 24.1 and I just did this just this week. As for importing- Im selecting the folder with the files, selecting each file as they are in order of the file, and then pressing Import.

[351mustang]

But I should mention- Pro does not use the edit from Elements, it just converts the files used in the Elements file. You still have to do a re-edit of all those files in Pro.

[R Neil Haugen]

Premiere sorts by the order it thinks you want. But of course, like everything else, it gives you options.

So in the bin in Premiere, change the sort order.

[351mustang]

An illogical jumbled order is the way it thinks you want it? I suggest they make a setting for this.

[Ann Bens]

When I import a folder from hard disk, it is all alphabetic (or chronological).

Sorry trying to import .prel files the wrong way; still supported.

[R Neil Haugen]

I would guess that you have a normal for you sort order of files in Finder or Explorer. But that is an order imposed on the files by that app.

There is no guarantee that the order under the sort you are used to is the actual order in the folder, and probably isn't.

So how is Premiere supposed to know the sort order that you use in Finder or Explorer?

Often it seems Premiere initially loads in the order it sees them on disc, or by some order you last used.

[351mustang]

If file 123 is first, logically file 124 should follow, not 137.

[R Neil Haugen]

That's a sort order issue. You don't know exactly how they're listed in the folder, because every way you look at them is using an app that does some sort of indexing. When computers move things from here to yon, they don't care about "order", just getting the bits efficiently moved. And normally the files are literally in several discrete pieces in different locations physically on the disc.

A jumbled mess of data, until properly correlated and sorted somehow.

[R Neil Haugen]

And past that, we all want different sorts. You apparently want by name, which I rarely use. I normally want sorting by specific camera or codec, for example.

[351mustang]

I see. I just want them ordered in the way they show in the folder when Premiere Pro shows the order of the folder itself when importing. I still think they should make the order a setting.

[R Neil Haugen]

No problem there.

[Brandon_Balex]

You have to drag and drop the individual video files inside a folder in the bin, instead of dragging the folder with all of the footage into Premiere. if that makes sense. For example, I label folders on my harddrive based on whatever camera the SD card was used in, like "EosR", "iPhone" , etc. Instead of dragging those folders into premiere, open them up and select all of the footage, and then drag it all into Premiere. This way,  it will keep the same order as the folder it came from.  And also make sure that "User Order" is selected. 

Hope this helps,

Brandon