Premiere Pro 2023 vs Premiere Pro 2017: what is different?
Premiere Pro 2023 (23.x, released Oct 2022) saves projects with internal schema version 41. 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 2023 | Premiere Pro 2017 | |
|---|---|---|
| Release | Oct 2022 | Nov 2016 |
| App build | 23.x | 11.x |
| Project Version attribute | 41 | 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:
- <Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="41"> + <Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="32">
Both 2023 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 2023 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 2023
- Speech-to-Text upgraded to 18 languages
- Mask colour visualisation and improved masking tools
- Sequence locking for Team Projects
- Faster hardware-accelerated export
Added in Premiere Pro 2022
- Speech-to-Text transcripts and rebuilt captions tracks
- New workspace layouts and enhanced proxy workflow
- Remix tool and Apple silicon support
Added in Premiere Pro 2021
- Productions workflow becoming mainstream
- Large under-the-hood project format changes (community reports a hard barrier between 2021 and 2020)
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 high risk
- This crosses the 2021 → 2020 boundary where Adobe changed the project format substantially.
- 6 major releases separate these versions, so more newer features are unsupported.
Step-by-step: open a 2023 project in 2017
- Duplicate your
.prproj. Never convert your only copy. - Drop it into the panel above and choose Premiere Pro 2017 as the target.
- Download the converted file and open it in Premiere Pro 2017. Expect a prompt about converting an older project, which is normal.
- Create a brand new empty project in Premiere Pro 2017 and import the converted project into it, rather than continuing in it.
- 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.