Opening ALE Files

The ALE file type is primarily associated with Media Composer.

ALE	File extension: ALE
	File type:	film metadata

What is an ALE file?

ALE files mostly belong to Media Composer by Avid. ALE, short for Avid Log Exchange is a text-based metadata exchange format used to store and transfer film, audio, and video data between systems and video-editing software. An ALE file essentially contains the schema and contents of a tab-delimited film database containing data such as timelines, timecode, video and audio track names/formats, soundrolls, shot log, start and stop times, scenes, LUT information, settings, bins, shooting dates, file paths, and much more. The raw data in ALE files are ASCII text subdivided into sections such as the Heading, VIDEO_FORMAT, frequency, Clip duration, etc. Log Exchange, a discontinued software for converting film to tape transfers and was originally used to create ALE files. However, programs such as Media Composer and Final Cut Pro X can be used to view and edit ALE files today.

How to open ALE files

You need a suitable software like Media Composer to open an ALE file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your ALE file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a ALE file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online ALE Text Viewer

Choose your .ale file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

✈

Read our privacy guarantee in Filext’s terms and privacy policy

Please allow ads on our site

This helps us keep our servers running. Then re-upload your file to view it.

Click here to see how to disable the ad blocker for filext.com

How do you convert ALE files to MP4, MP3, MKV, AVI, ...

You can convert ALE files using our online ALE file viewer (powered by Convert.Guru):

To do so, click the "Choose your .ale file to view" button above.
After your file is opened in browser,
click "Save as..." in the menu.
Then click the video format (e.g. MP4, MKV, AVI, ...) you want.
Download the converted file.

Programs that open and convert ALE files:

Media Composer by Avid
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. ALE files are often referred to as Media Composer videos because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Final Cut (film metadata) by Apple
Final Cut Pro X is a Mac-based audio editing solution that offers non-linear and non-destructive video editing capabilities for video formats compatible with the QuickTime framework. The program can use the metadata and logs stored in ALE files to transfer and render film and other multimedia across systems. This file format is classified as Video.
Notepad++ (film metadata) by Don Ho
Notepad++ is a lightweight text/code editor compatible with various text, XML, hypertext, and source code file formats. It may be used to view and edit the text contents of an ALE file. This file format is classified as Video.

ALE file format details:

Every file has a defined file format, i.e. how the data is arranged in the file. The first characters in a file identify the file format, for example, HTML files start with the bytes <html>. However, different programs can use the same file extension, and file extensions can be assigned incorrectly. So a detailed analysis of a file is vital in order to determine the format and the associated program. Below is our analysis of the ALE files:

The ALE file extension is not widely used. Such a file mainly uses a defined ALE format. The following file formats are most commonly found in ALE files:

85% of all ALE files are Avid Log Exchange files. The contents of these files can even be read by a human. Most of these files are 790 bytes to 18 KB in size. The file type was created 20 years ago but is still used today. The following keywords are characteristic: AUDIO_FORMAT, Column, FIELD_DELIM, Heading, TABS, VIDEO_FORMAT, Name, Start, Tracks, 48kHz, Duration, Tape and Source File. Such files are related to avid, steamboathd, sportsskoolhd and aner.

The remaining 15% of all ALE files are files with no common format. Sometimes used for cloakeffect. Drag & drop your file here to see the file format and a preview of your ALE file!

Technical Data for ALE File Extension

File classification:

Video

Related files:

txt, avb, avc, plg

Mime type:

text/plain

an ale film metadata is a special file format by Avid and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with ALE files

Associate the ALE file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open film metadata files. Because only the current version supports the latest ALE file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Avid manufacturer website after an available Media Composer update.
To make sure that your ALE file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .ALE file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.