Importing OMF files

Procedure

  1. Open the File menu, open the Import submenu and select “OMF…”.
  2. In the file dialog that opens, locate the OMF file and click Open.

    If there is already an open project, a dialog opens in which you can select whether a new project is created for the file.

    If you select “No”, the OMF file will be imported into the current project.

  3. If you choose to create a new project, a file dialog opens in which you can select the project folder.

    Select an existing project folder or create a new one.

  4. The Import Options dialog opens, allowing you to choose a track for the import.

    • Activating the “Import all media files” option allows you to import media that is not referenced by events.

    • Activating the “Import Clip Gain as Automation” option imports volume automation and envelopes of the Volume Automation Track of each track.

    • “Import at Timecode Position” will insert the elements contained in the OMF file at their original timecode positions.

      This is useful when you want to position every imported element at its exact timecode position, i. e. as it was saved in the OMF file. This way, the elements will end up at their correct time positions even when Cubase uses a different frame rate than the OMF file. This is usually required in a picture-related context.

    • “Import at Absolute Time” will insert the elements contained in the OMF file starting at the timecode position saved in the file and keeping the relative distances between the elements.

      This is required when the relative positioning of the elements inside the OMF file needs to be maintained after importing it into the Cubase timeline (even if Cubase is set to a different frame rate than the OMF file). This is usually required in music contexts, where the timing between objects has highest priority.

    • If the OMF file contains video event information, you are asked whether you want to create Markers at the start position of the video events.

      This allows you to manually import the video files, using the Markers as position references.

    A new, untitled project is created (or tracks are added to the existing project), containing the audio events of the imported OMF file.