logic pro 7 backwards compatibility?

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logic pro 7 backwards compatibility?

I'm having some problems sharing my logic pro 7 files with users of logic who are on older versions (such as gold etc). Is there any backwards compatibility at all with logic pro 7? Is it possible to save the file in an older format? Most pro applications (whether adobe or whatever) have this kind of functionality and I can't believe that logic doesn't.

the guys at technical support were totally unhelpful and when pressed just flatly said you couldn't save a song in any older format at all.

does this really mean that I can only share my files with people who have the very latest version of logic?

intel imac 20", Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on Jun 27, 2006 1:02 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 27, 2006 4:41 AM in response to carlossax

Unfortunately, what you're discovering is true. I believe the only "older" version of Logic that will open a Logic 7 file is 6.4.3

Back in Logic 6, there was a "Save as 4.8 Format" command, that would allow you to open a version 5 or 6 file in the last incarnation of version 4. But that has been removed in version 7.

There have been so many changes made to Logic over the past 5 years, it's certainly not unreasonable to realize that at some point, the software has to move forward. Staying compatible with a version as old as the Gold version really doesn't make sense.

And you also need to realize that Gold was made by Emagic. Apple owns and creates Logic now. There's absolutely no incentive for them to want to remain compatible with another company's (older) software.

You could always do what the rest of the DAW community does to exchange files. Turn all tracks into audio wave files, starting a bar 1, beat 1. These will load into any audio software program, Mac or PC. No, it's not as convenient as simply opening a song file, but it gets the job done...

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Answer 2

carlossax Author

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Jun 27, 2006 7:24 AM in response to Jim Frazier

Thanks for your thoughts.

I can appreciate that apple don't want to maintain backward compatibility with pre-apple versions of logic but do you think it's going to ever re-instate the 'save as xxx format' command, at least for older apple versions? I know there's a limit to how far back you make things compatible but I'm increasingly suspicious of apple (having been a loyal user for the last 10 years) - it strikes me that this kind of inconvenience forces people into upgrading to the latest version when their current one may be working fine.

Sure I can send a bunch of aiffs or whatever but, as you point out, this is neither as convenient (for me or the person I'm sending to), nor as flexible - the main reason I'm sharing song files in the first place is for a certain amount of co-work. One of us tweaks some parts and sends them back and vice versa etc. For songs which use a mixture of audio and midi, soft synths etc, it used to work well... Now unless the people I work with also upgrade to the latest version this kind of remote co-working will be almost impossible.

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Answer 3

Jun 27, 2006 9:08 AM in response to carlossax

I can appreciate that apple don't want to maintain
backward compatibility with pre-apple versions of
logic but do you think it's going to ever re-instate
the 'save as xxx format' command, at least for older
apple versions?I can appreciate that apple don't want to maintain
backward compatibility with pre-apple versions of
logic but do you think it's going to ever re-instate
the 'save as xxx format' command, at least for older
apple versions?

Actually, If I'm not mistaken, version 6.4.3 was the first "official" Apple version of Logic. So they are making it backwards compatible with their older versions.

I totally understand your frustration though. If anything, it's your co-writer who should be upset. At least you're staying up to date. If you're both serious about being able to do this, there needs to be a commitment from both of you to keep your software/hardware compatible. I don't mean to sound like I'm belittling you, just trying to mention what I think are reasonable expectations for the doing what you're wanting to do...

See if you can't convince him/her to update. I hope it can work out for you.

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