First released in October 2010, EdiMarker v1 was created to enable Pro Tools users to convert text files containing notes or cues into Pro Tools markers. As Pro Tools didn’t contain a way to import markers from anything apart from a MIDI file, this first release of EdiMarker simply converted text files containing timecodes, footages or minutes + seconds into a MIDI file that could be imported into a session.
This was a good start, but using MIDI files to import marker data into Pro Tools is quite limited as markers cannot be appended on import, they cannot store the marker comments, they need to be created with a start time that matches the start time of the session, they cannot contain Unicode text, and the markers must be sorted in time order.
EdiMarker v2 addressed some of these issues by providing the option to export markers in AAF files. Unfortunately Pro Tools modifies the marker name and comments that are imported from an AAF file, and markers still need to be sorted by time order.
With the release of EdiMarker v2.1 markers can now be exported in a Pro Tools session (.ptx) file. This update finally allows Pro Tools users to load markers into Pro Tools containing the correct marker names and comments, with the option to sort the marker lists by the marker names or marker comments. For large lists, being able to sort markers by their name can save a lot of time searching the list for a particular marker.
The following screen shot shows the data of a MS excel file loaded into EdiMarker sorted by marker name:
When this data is exported as a Pro Tools session and opened in Pro Tools, the marker list in Pro Tools shows the same data still sorted by marker name:
Pro Tools allows you to toggle the sort order between marker name and time by checking and un-checking ‘Sort by Time’ in the marker list menu.
In addition to being able to export Pro Tools session files, EdiMarker can now also import marker data from Frame.io XML (.fioxml) files, Ableton Live (.als) files and CSV files with embedded characters, like CSV files from Premiere Pro.
Here’s the full EdiMarker feature list:
Imports Text files including Premiere Pro, Nuendo, Reaper and iZotope RX marker files
Fields can be delimited with a tab, comma or semicolon character
CSV files with embedded characters can be parsed
Imports Microsoft Excel files to avoid text encoding issues
Imports Frame.io XML (.fioxml) files
Imports Ableton Live project (.als) files
Loads markers with locations stored as:
a Timecode with a frame rate from 23.976 to 60 FPS DF (hh:mm:ss:ff)
a Footage (fff+ff)
Minutes, seconds and milliseconds (mmm:ss.sss)
During import:
Set which data fields are assigned to the marker name and comment
Sort the data by one of the imported fields
Create log files containing locator errors when found
Converts frame rates above 30FPS to the equivalent standard definition frame rate.
Exports PTX or MIDI files for Pro Tools to import. PTX files provide:
The ability to export marker names and comments
The option to export lists sorted by any order
A way to append markers in Pro Tools
Compatibility with frame rates above 30 FPS
Unicode compatibility
For more detail see the Sounds In Sync product page.
EdiMarker is available for macOS (Arm/Intel universal binary) and Windows 8+ (64-bit only). It can be downloaded from the Sounds In Sync download page.
EdiMarker v2.1 is a free update for all EdiMarker v2 license holders. EdiMarker v2 licenses can be purchased from the Sounds In Sync web store.