Opening Projects In An Earlier Version Of FCP

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Final Cut Pro project files can not generally be opened in earlier versions of Final Cut Pro. Another way of stating this is that projects are "not backwards compatible". In some cases, even a "dot" update will not be backwards compatible, in other words starting a project in Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 will not open on another computer that has Final Cut Pro 5.1.1 installed.

In most cases, there are no issues using the captured QuickTime media files with an older version of Final Cut Pro, just the project itself is not compatible.

To revert your project into an earlier version of Final Cut Pro, you can use XML export which will allow you to transfer that project information into an older system (and project format). The XML interchange format is a way of transferring data in a very useful way as it includes a lot more information than an EDL (edit decision list). XML became available as of Final Cut Pro 4 and would not be helpful for reverting to a version of Final Cut Pro before version 4.

1. Open the project in your current version of Final Cut Pro.

2. Click into the Browser window to make it active. To export the entire project- clips, bins and all sequences, be sure that no item in the Browser is highlighted (selected).

3. Go to File > Export > XML.

In the XML export window notice that it lists all bins, clips and sequences. If anything in the Browser was highlighted before choosing the export, then only that item would be listed here, and the XML would only export that information.

4. Final Cut Pro 6 included a new flavor of XML- version 4. To revert back to earlier versions of FCP use a compatible version of XML for the earlier version.

        Use XML version 1 for going back to Final Cut Pro 4.1
        Use XML version 2 for going back to Final Cut Pro 5.0
        Use XML version 3 for going back to Final Cut Pro 5.1.2
        Use XML version 4 for moving between Final Cut Pro 6 systems

5. Complete the XML export, naming it and saving it.

6. Open a new project in the earlier version of Final Cut Pro.

7. Go to File > Import > XML. You will have many options on how to import. One important option is to override with settings from XML if your audio/video settings are different from the project you are trying to re-create.

If you import the XML with the settings as shown above, everything about your project will be rebuilt- clips, bins, sequences, effects. If the media is not on the same computer system yet, you may want to un-check the option for Reconnect to Media Files. This can always be done later.

*Note: In the latest versions of FCP, the default options on import of an XML will be to override with settings from XML and the options will be grayed out. You can always choose another setting, but the defaults are generally correct.

At kenstone.net, author Philip Hodgetts writes in more detail about the XML interchange format and its uses with Final Cut Pro: http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/xml_hodgetts.html

*Note: Although many media files can be played in an older version of Final Cut Pro, there are exceptions. When QuickTime and Final Cut Pro are installed, certain video codecs are installed. An earlier version of QuickTime and Final Cut Pro may not have the same codecs available- and subsequently, the video is not compatible on that system. For example, the codec called ProRes is installed specifically with Final Cut Pro 6 and these video files can not play on another system without FCP 6 installed.