The information in this article applies to:

• SONAR (All SONAR Family Products)

Why do I get The error Message "Not a Cakewalk format file error" when I attempt to load file?

1. Users may get this error when attempting to open project created in SONAR 1.3 in which the Auto punch feature was used. Updating to SONAR 1.31 Will solve this problem and allow you reopen these files.
2. You are opening an incompatible version of a SONAR Project. Please see the Backwards Compatibility knowledge base article.
3. The file may be corrupted. Make sure that all Virus Scanning and Disk Protection Software is disabled when saving/loading files and avoid using software like Direct CD to create archives of Bundle files. 
   
   Try opening the file in Recovery Mode (SONAR 5 and higher). If you are opening a file from the Most Recently Used files list in the File menu, hold down the Shift key while selecting file name.
   If you are opening the file from the Open dialog, select the file in the dialog and hold down the Shift key while clicking the OK button. Click "No to All" when asked to load any shared component or plug-in that could be causing the issue. When the project loads, please try reinserting the offending plug-in.
   
   If the file still does not open, please contact Cakewalk Technical Support.