Open projects

Open projects

You can open an existing project to continue working. You can also open several projects simultaneously, allowing you to copy or move data between them, or to compare different versions of a project.

Opening projects created in earlier Logic Pro versions

You can open projects created in Logic Pro 5 or later. Projects saved in Logic Pro X are not backward-compatible with earlier Logic Pro versions.

When you open a project created in an earlier version of Logic Pro, the project is converted to a Logic Pro X project. In the Save dialog, you can select whether to save the converted project as a project package or a project folder.

  • Project package: Project assets are copied to the project package, or are referenced from another location, depending on which asset types are selected in the Save dialog. By default, the converted project is saved inside the existing project folder, if one exists.

  • Project folder: Project assets are copied to the appropriate subfolders of the project folder, or are referenced from another location, depending on which asset types are selected in the Save dialog. By default, the existing project folder and subfolders are used, if present, and any additional subfolders needed for project assets are created.

Important: After a project is saved as a Logic Pro X project, it can no longer be opened in earlier versions of Logic Pro.

You can configure Logic Pro to open a project automatically on startup by choosing a startup action in the Logic Pro > Preferences > General > Project Handling pane. For more information, see Project Handling preferences.

Open an existing project

  1. Choose File > Open (or press Command-O).

    Figure. Open dialog, showing browsing to a project.

    If another project is open, a dialog appears, asking whether you want to close the open project. You can turn off this prompt in the Logic Pro > Preferences > General > Project Handling pane.

  2. To limit your view to a specific file type, choose the file type in the File Type pop-up menu:

    • All Logic Document Types: View all document types supported by Logic Pro.

    • Logic Projects: View projects created with the current version of Logic Pro or earlier versions.

    • GarageBand Projects: View projects created in GarageBand.

    • MIDI Files: View Standard MIDI files in either format 0 or 1.

    • AAF Files: View Advanced Authoring Format files used by other DAW applications such as Pro Tools.

    • XML (Final Cut Pro): View XML files supported by Final Cut Pro X.

  3. Locate and select the file, then click Open.

You can also open a Logic Pro project (or a MIDI file) by dragging it onto the Logic Pro icon in the Dock.

Open a recent project

Do one of the following:

  • Choose File > Open Recent, then choose your project.

  • In the Project Chooser, click Recent, then double-click the project.

You can clear all items in the Open Recent submenu by choosing Clear Menu.

Tip: If you set the Startup Action in Logic Pro > Preferences > General > Project Handling to Open Most Recent Project, Logic Pro reopens the last open project automatically.

Open multiple projects

  1. Open one project, then open one or more additional projects.

  2. In the dialog that appears, click Don’t Close.

Switch between open projects

  • Choose the project name at the bottom of the Window menu. The active project is marked with a checkmark.