Project v37 → v32 # Downgrade Premiere Pro 2020 to 2017 Drop your Premiere Pro 2020 .prproj and get a copy that Premiere Pro 2017 opens. Everything runs locally in your browser. Downgrade panel 100% local. No upload. Drop your .prproj here Saved in Premiere Pro 2020? or click to browse. Multiple files are fine. Open it in Always keep your original. Downgrading bypasses the version gate and repairs known format differences, but effects and features from newer releases cannot be interpreted by older builds. After opening, import the sequences into a fresh project. ## Compatibility verdict for 2020 to 2017 2020 project version v37 2017 accepts up to v32 Major releases apart 3 Downgrade outlook medium risk ## Premiere Pro 2020 vs Premiere Pro 2017: what is different? Premiere Pro 2020 (14.0, released Nov 2019) saves projects with internal schema version `37`. Premiere Pro 2017 (11.x, released Nov 2016) only understands up to `32`, which is why opening the file shows _“This project was saved in a newer version of Adobe Premiere Pro”_. The message is a gate, not a judgement about the content. | | Premiere Pro 2020 | Premiere Pro 2017 | | --- | --- | --- | | Release | Nov 2019 | Nov 2016 | | App build | 14.0 | 11.x | | Project Version attribute | 37 | 32 | | XML serialisation | Dense (full fields) | Dense (full fields) | ## What the converter changes in your file A `.prproj` is gzip-compressed XML. The tool decompresses it, edits the root `Project` element, and compresses it again: \- + Both 2020 and 2017 use the dense serialisation, so no fields need rebuilding. Changing the version is the only edit required. ## What you may lose going from 2020 to 2017 Features below were introduced after Premiere Pro 2017. Their data may stay in the XML, but Premiere Pro 2017 has no code to interpret it, so expect them to be ignored, flattened or missing: ### Added in Premiere Pro 2020 * Auto Reframe (AI reframing for vertical and square) * Time remapping up to 20,000% * HDR10 metadata on export ### Added in Premiere Pro 2019 * Selective colour grading and display colour management * Intelligent audio cleanup in Essential Sound * Add, rename and edit multiple Lumetri instances * Editable vector graphics ### Added in Premiere Pro 2018 * Team Projects collaboration * Essential Sound panel * Essential Graphics improvements ## Why this jump is rated medium risk * 3 major releases separate these versions, so more newer features are unsupported. ## Step-by-step: open a 2020 project in 2017 1. Duplicate your `.prproj`. Never convert your only copy. 2. Drop it into the panel above and choose Premiere Pro 2017 as the target. 3. Download the converted file and open it in Premiere Pro 2017. Expect a prompt about converting an older project, which is normal. 4. Create a brand new empty project in Premiere Pro 2017 and **import** the converted project into it, rather than continuing in it. 5. Scrub every sequence. Relink media if drive letters or paths differ. Don't have Premiere Pro 2017? Open the Creative Cloud desktop app, choose _All apps → Premiere Pro → Other versions_ and install it alongside your current version. ## Frequently asked questions Can I open a Premiere Pro 2020 project in Premiere Pro 2017? Yes, in most cases. Premiere Pro 2017 refuses Premiere Pro 2020 files because the project carries version 37 while Premiere Pro 2017 only accepts up to version 32. This tool rewrites that number to 32, so Premiere Pro 2017 loads the file instead of showing "saved in a newer version". Risk for this jump is medium: 3 major releases apart. What will I lose downgrading from 2020 to 2017? Anything that only exists in newer releases cannot be interpreted by Premiere Pro 2017. That includes Auto Reframe (AI reframing for vertical and square), Time remapping up to 20,000%, Selective colour grading and display colour management and Intelligent audio cleanup in Essential Sound. Basic cuts, tracks, clips, markers, transitions and effects that exist in both versions normally survive, but always check the timeline after opening. Why does Premiere Pro 2017 say the project was saved in a newer version? A .prproj is gzip-compressed XML and the root element stores an integer schema version (2020 = 37, 2017 = 32). Premiere reads it before anything else and stops if it is higher than its own. Is my 2020 project uploaded to a server? No. Decompression, editing and re-compression run inside your browser using JavaScript and the native Compression Streams API. Your project file never leaves your computer, and there is no backend. Is it safer to go 2020 → 2017 in steps? Not with this method, because only the version stamp and a few fields change, and Premiere Pro 2017 reads the result directly. What does help is opening the converted file in Premiere Pro 2017 and importing its sequences into a fresh empty project rather than continuing to work in the converted one. ## Other jumps from 2020 * [2020 → 2019](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2020-to-2019) * [2020 → 2018](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2020-to-2018) ## Other projects that open in 2017 * [2026 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2026-to-2017) * [2025 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2025-to-2017) * [2024 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2024-to-2017) * [2023 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2023-to-2017) * [2022 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2022-to-2017) * [2021 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2021-to-2017) * [2019 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2019-to-2017) * [2018 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2018-to-2017) Want the internals? Read [how project downgrading works](/premiere-pro-downgrader/how-premiere-project-downgrade-works) or check the [version map](/premiere-pro-downgrader/premiere-pro-project-version-map). Reverse direction: any [2020 → 2017](/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2020-to-2017) copy opens in newer Premiere versions without conversion. Canonical page: https://vakago-tools.com/premiere-pro-downgrader/downgrade-premiere-pro-2020-to-2017 Keep the original project. Newer effects and features may be lost; check the converted timeline in the target Premiere Pro release.